1986

I think one of the first memories of 86 for me was seeing the Challenger blow up. I was in my 4th grade class and we were watching it on Tv. I think the whole school was at that time. We were all excited because a teacher was going up to space. At this time I wanted to be a teacher and I wanted to be a teacher that went up in space. After it blew up we were all in shock. Mrs. Hanks turned off the TV and we were dismissed to recess while the teachers and principal had a pow-wow on what to do. I don't remember if we were dismissed from school or not but I do remember recess was very somber.

I also had my one and only birthday party when I turned 10. I got to have a slumber party. I invited 12 girls and 9 came. We watched Annie and Gremlins. My friend Rachel was so scared of Gremlins she watched it with her sleeping bag pulled around her and I grabbed her and said "Boo!" She screamed.

That summer I went to California to visit my Grandma and Grandpa there. My sister had gone the summer before and now it was my turn. My parents drove me over to my dad's aunt and uncle's house. I stayed with their daughter that lived next door. Her husband had gotten a job in California but they couldn't afford to move there yet so he lived with his parents during the week and then drove to Idaho on the weekends. He agreed to let me ride with him. He had a little pickup with no air conditioning and I got so car sick on the 13 hour drive that by the time we made it to his parents house I was very sick. It took my grandparents about an hour to get to their house. They knew I was feeling sick so they gave me some sprite. About the time my grandparents got there I was in the bathroom losing all the food I had ate that day. I rode back to my grandma's house that night lying in the back seat. I was pretty much better the next day.

My grandma made beautiful bears that she would sell. I grew very fond of this one and carried it everywhere. About 2 years later I received it for Christmas.

My grandparents lived in Aptos which was close to Santa Cruz. That was about an hour from San Francisco. Here I am at the Golden Gate Bridge. We also went to an aquarium there. We rode the BART train. I had to really go pee but there was no toilet on the train and ended up wetting my pants. My Grandmother learned to make sure I go to the bathroom before she took me anywhere. I attended her ward pioneer day and she made me a cute apron and bonnet and bought me an outfit for that. I got lost in a store for aboutt 10 minutes. I made a friend with the neighbor girl named Pauline. We stayed the night at her house but her dad kind of freaked me out so I ended up going home in the middle of the night. We also would hike through the woods near the house and I got into something I was allergic to and got hives all over my body. A car rolled down the hill in the back of my grandma's house and I was outside when I heard a loud crash. It crashed through the neighbor's fence. If it hadn't turned but jumped the curb instead it would have crashed into my grandmother's fence and probably crushed me since their back yard wasn't very large.

My grandmother took Pauline and I to the amusement park in Santa Cruz. We went to the beach several times. I learned to body surf while there. I went to the beach with my primary class once but none of the girls were very nice to me so I ended up playing with the leader's younger sons.

My grandparents drove us back to Idaho since they were going to attend the family reunion anyway. We went up through Northern California nd I slept through the Redwood Forest. We stopped in a little town called Idaho City on the way through Idaho. It was very old fashioned. We ended up in Rexburg where my uncle's inlaws drove me back to Rupert. The old couple fought the whole way and I felt so out of place sitting between them.

That fall I started the fifth grade. I had Ms. Hughey. My bad hair days started around this time. Perming was very popular but it took me several years before I learned that my hair did not like it. Be prepared for the hairdos of the next few years.

Julie had moved back to Texas before 5th grade started but she moved back before it ended and she ended up in my class again. I also became friend with a new girl that moved in Amoretta and her cousin Rhonda.