100

On July 24th my Grandma Richards turned 100 years old. It was a fun day filled with lots of family togetherness and fun. During the day we had the usual extended family gathering at the Lind's. There was lots of picture taking, eating, swimming, and catching up. It was lovely. Grandma looked beautiful in her purple outfit and was in seventh heaven with all the attention.


The Richards Family



The Bowen family with grandma Richards (yes that is my large noggin covering up the patriarch of our family. Don't worry about it. It's fine.)




Gwen Mathews Richards and Gwen Mathews Cluff. Born 100 years apart.

Uncle Steve had a cake made with her picture on it...she was amazed. We sang and she recited her poetry. Memorized. At 100. Please bless I inherited some of those genes!

A few years ago we gave grandma a book that had questions about her life that she was supposed to answer. She really worked hard on answering the questions in detail and adding some of her own memories. When we go to visit her she always reads to us from the book. It is amazing to listen to her beautiful writing and her life experiences. For one of Courtney's Young Women value projects, she decided to take the book and type it all up. She had an actual book published so that everone in the family could have a copy. It is priceless and turned out so well. A special thank you to aunt Rose and my mom for their hours of editing and to our Alisha who helped us with the front and back covers. Courtney couldn't wait to give it to grandma Richards. Grandma was so overwhelmed and pleased that Courtney made this little book. What a treasure.

The front cover

The back cover. The quote is from a letter she wrote to her posterity.

Grandmas reaction made it all worth it.

Later in the evening we had an open house for grandma at the old sixth ward builiding in American Fork. She lived and taught school in AF for many, many years. We expected to see quite a few people, but we were amazed as the line streched down the hall all night long.

It was amazing. Grandma was in fine form. Mom and aunt Rose sat on either side of grandma and told her who each person was and grandma immediately recognized them and was so warm and congenial. She even rememberd tiny details related to each person going through the line. My heart swelled with love and admiration as I realized how many lives my grandma had touched.

Everyone pitched in to make it a night to remember. Jackie, Ashley, Heather and I did the dessert table. It was a fun project. There were flowers, pictures, food, and amazing entertainment. It couldn't have turned out any better.

Grandma was even featured in two local newpapers. The articles were very well done. You can read them here and here. It is no secret how I feel about my grandma. She has been a very imprtant part of my life (plus, she is responsible for my love of frozen cookies). She is an example of faith, enduring well and testimony. I adore her. Happy Birthday Grandma. You amaze me. I love you.