simply priceless.

This is my Grandma and Grandpa Marx. They have always lived in Las Vegas, so I get to see them quite often. As I've gotten older, life gets busier and I don't get over to see them as much as I should. Today, I spent pretty much the entire day with both, doing different things, at different times - but just being with them. The more I sit and listen the more I learn about them, about my extended family (like geneology) and about life. It's exciting and fun and I should be writing more of this down. A conversation with Lit & Ash got me counting. I hope my numbers are right, if not it's my mom's fault since she's in charge of the annual Marx family phone directory, which is so nice and handy. My grandparents had 8 children. Who had 37 grandchildren [not incl. spouses], who's had 55 great-grandchildren, and one on the way. I didn't include my aunt Laura's, who married my uncle with 6 kids, and 23 grandchildren of her own. But I know my grandparents love them and include them in everything too. So just add another 29 to that. I can't even begin to tell you how many times I've said, "oh, that's my cousin" to someone while talking. And besides a select few, we all basically live in Las Vegas. That's just a lot of relatives.

My grandpa had a stroke a while back and has never been the same. To me, he just got older really quick. They were the traveling grandparents growing up, always on the go in their motorhome whether in Quartzsite with their lifelong friends, entire summers on Lake Powell staying week to week with a different child's family, or making the annual trip to the Shakespearean festival - they were always all over the place. But they never missed, and still don't, a family event. On so many occasions I can remember them changing their plans or cutting a trip short to come home because something "important" was happening. With my grandpa's health, their traveling has pretty much come to an end besides an occasional outing that one of the boys has to drive them too. And when I say boys, my grandma had one girl and 7 boys!! SEVEN. I would have stopped after two knowing the mischief the Marx brothers would get into growing up. I'm surprised non of them ended up in jail or even worse got killed. The stories they have would make any mother gringe and I mean taking an engine out of a car, putting their little brother in it and pushing it down a hill.

 Glen, my dad, Carson, Steve, grandpa, and Lee

My dad started taking grandpa out to lunch every Tuesday just so he could get out of the house. And now over a year later it's tradition. They go out to lunch every Tuesday, same place, same time and whatever brothers can make it, do. I've heard about it for awhile and since I now have a boy. I figured I could invite myself to the party if I brought him. They go to Souper Salad, which isn't anyone's first choice but Grandpa just LOVES it. It tickles me how much he looks forward to it, EVERY week. My grandma said she can't schedule any doctor's appointments on that day because he's just terrified he would miss it. The hostesses greet him, the owner knows them by name, and he's treated like royalty, which is exactly what he deserves. He's an amazing person, he's lived a righteous life, is so strong in the gospel and loves his family more than anything.

My grandma is super woman and knows how to pretty much do anything. I needed to emboss a name on scripture cases, and when their handmade (not by me, I wish.) and Deseret Book, or any other place wouldn't do it - grandma came to the rescue. She has so many cool gadgets.

She told me the story of how she came to own this priceless gem. When Berdella Marx died (my great-grandma), my grandma only wanted one thing, her monogramming machine. Since my grandpa's two sisters didn't want to learn how to use it, my grandpa got it for his sweet wife. It's so cute and ancient, from the 1950's. Berdella had a make-shift storefront out of her garage back then where she would emboss peoples names on their scriptures.

Between driving and embossing we chatting about everything under the sun and ended up spending the entire afternoon together. Simply priceless.