Grandma's

I found this poem when I was looking through a picture album my Grandpa gave me a while back. I wrote this after my freshman year in college -- my mom, Leo, Harley, and I took a trip to Nebraska and weaved our way back to Utah through Sturgis and Yellowstone (you have to love family trips to Sturgis!). Anyway, I wanted to share it because it basically says it all about the summers I spent in West Point, Nebraska, with Grandma and Grandpa.

Ahhh...vacation. A vacation to Grandma's house is like no other. Someone at work asked me why: “Because it's Grandma's, duh," I said. Some people just don't understand.

Grandma's is fried chicken and mashed potatoes, peach pie, and favorite desserts. It's frozen chocolate chip cookies dipped in morning-old java and all-you-can-eat french toast feasts. At Grandma's, the scale is hidden in the bathroom cupboard and the pounds you gain are laughed at and not cared about.

Grandma's is crisp clean sheets and falling asleep to chirping crickets after a nighttime bath. It's patio picnics and Grandpa's flowers and crimson radishes from his garden. With Grandma's comes West Point and brick-lined Main Street, Smitty's, and Graybeals. It's the essence of small-town life and the idea that gold is wrapped in a green husk.

jro 7/25/96

My Grandma

My grandma passed away a couple of weeks ago and I will truly miss her. She was a very special person and one of the strongest women I've ever known. I'm at peace knowing that she was warmly welcomed into Heaven after a life living God's word. Grandma--give Grandpa a big hug for me and know that I love you both very much!

View the OBITUARY

Banks Family Reunion in McCall!

The stage was set July 9th for 5 days of family fun with the Banks in McCall. I sent Jeff and the kids up early to spend quality time with Grandma and Grandpa Chewy...even Great Grandma and Grandpa Banks made the trip for the 1st part of the week. You have to love Idaho!

I hopped on the Greyhound on Wednesday morning to see everyone and join the fun. We spent some time at the hot springs, on the beach at Payette Lake, on Daddy Warbucks' (Larry's) boat, and on the raft (North Fork Payette - Cabarton run). We even had family shirts and a talent show! For more fun pictures and stories check out Erika & Justin's and the Hess family's blogs (they are so much better at this blogging thing than I am!)

Meyer Family in McCall!

The Meyer Family reunion was a blast, even without my brothers in attendance. My mom and Leo made the trip along with my niece, Kylee, who is so beautiful at age 13 that she must take after her Aunt Jenny. We headed up to McCall on Friday night and stopped at the Banks Cafe for dinner--not long after that we had to stop so Jenny could hurl. Oh, family road trips. On Saturday we took the kayaks and rented a canoe to take up the North Fork Meanders on the Payette River. Yes, Jeff made us paddle UPstream! Peyton was in his own kayak for awhile and did pretty well. Jenny and Kylee took a turn in the topo duo and just kept paddling in circles! Grandma Judy decided she wanted to try the kayak to see how hard it was (didn't she notice Jenny and Kylee going in circles???)--she decided it was harder than it looked. Then Jenny had this "great" idea to get in the topo duo with Grandma Judy--as if the trip with Kylee and watching my mom struggle wasn't foreshadowing enough. We attempted to get around a fast-moving current about three times before Jeff said to head back to the nearest beach for lunch. By this time all our attempts to paddle upstream in the current had caused us take on a lot of water (no, we didn't wear kayak skirts for our "leisurely" trip up-river). So of course it was a **tch to paddle with all that extra water in the boat. And as soon as we got a little tipsy, the water sloshed around and made us go a lot tipsy, and we were about 6 feet from shore when a "a lot tipsy" suddenly meant "tipped over" in the 10 degree water. Damn it was cold! I couldn't stop laughing, though! It was the best part of the whole trip to see my mom and me try to swim out of an upside down 50-pound kayak! I have to mention here that my mom swam straight for shore but I, being the wife of a kayaker, kept hold of my paddle AND the boat and swam to shore with all my gear in tact. It was about 15 minutes later that we realized the camera was in my lake-soaked life jacket. I decided not to try and turn it on--I laid it in the sun and watched the condensation under the LCD screen get steamy. When we got back to the house I put in the oven at 100 degrees for about two hours and now it's as good as new! Our pictures we had taken didn't even get ruined! I'm a genius. Here are some of those miracle pictures.

New Videos Posted to Youtube Channel

...and we've made these private, too (you just can't be too careful!) To view, go to www.youtube.com/kayakjj and logon as kayakjj with password boisebanks. Enjoy!

Birthday Princess Pictures!

Another Great Boise Treasure: Hiking in the Foothills

Happy Father's Day!

There are quite a few men out there who are great dads, but my Jeffy is the BEST! While I pride myself on choosing him to be the father of our children, I must admit I didn't know he would be this good. He is so patient and caring with our children - he knows when Peyton needs to talk it out and has the patience to talk with him. He knows how to calm Ashley down with a soft song to melt her heart (and mine!). He makes sure we do family activities to enrich our lives and make our bond stronger. He fills an important spot in our family and the three of us would be less if not for him.

I have other fathers to thank, too. Thank you to Leo for bringing together all the parts of our family from my Mom and me driving across Wyoming in 1983 in that crazy truck and camper, to three wild young boys shipped out from Nebraska. Thanks especially for making my Mom smile and never being bothered at how spoiled I was!

Thank you to Larry for raising such an amazing son and continuing to guide him and me. You are also not bothered by spoiling me or our kids, and I pray your love for music gets passed down to our children.

Thank you to our grandfathers. Grandpa Bob O. - I miss you and will always have you in my heart. Grandpa Meyer - I lost you too young but see you live on in your son. Grandpa Jones - I never had the opportunity to meet you but Jeff remembers and talks of you with a smile. Grandpa Banks - you are uniquely you and I'm grateful to have you in our lives - now we just have to see more of you!

Happy Father's Day to our brothers, uncles, cousins, and all other great fathers out there.

Love from the Banks Family

Jennifer Banks, M.B.A. (Finally!)

Ashley Turns 4

Our sweet little princess is 4 years old as of 5/28/2008 - can you believe it? We can't. It seems like just yesterday we were cuddling her and protecting her from the aggressive love of her 3-year-old brother Peyton. Now we have to protect Peyton from Ashley! Just kidding - it's pretty much an even battle these days.

Ashley is our baby and always will be. It's good to know that when Jenny feels like she wants another baby she can just visit her sisters-in-law. Sounds like Brandi has a little bun in the oven as I type - I can't wait!