Memories of Safford...

This post is especially for my siblings, who will be familiar with these places...

After the funeral my mom, Jacob and I decided to drive around Safford and see all the places I remember from visiting as a child. My Grandparent's home was right next to the cotton fields my Grandfather farmed, along with the cotton gin and storage area. We used to play ball as kids with our cousins in this field...

The front of my Grandparents house. It was really sad to see how poorly the house has been cared for the last several years, especially since my Grandma passed away and my Grandpa's health became worse. My Grandparents had such a fun house when I was a kid. There was a hallway that had shelves along it, and there was a bunch of toys to play with - the same toys my dad and his siblings played with. Big trucks and tractors (the heavy metal kind that was built to last), dolls, and one of my favorites...a big box of old sewing spools that we played with like blocks. I think all of my siblings have great memories of those. I wish we could have gone inside.

I have memories of tables filled with home made food, kids running around and picking the pecans from the tall trees that are standing tall over the rooftop. The field is on the other side of the half wall. We didn't get to visit family here too often growing up, so it always felt like a huge celebration just being able to be here.
After seeing the house we went to see the little donkeys my Grandpa loved to visit for the last few months of his life. He became quite ill, and my sweet Aunt Sherrie would come and take him for rides. They would always come see these little guys. Sherrie said that she would load a bale of hay onto the wheelchair lift on the back of his car and haul it over with them. Grandpa was very weak at that point, so she would park close to the fence and bring Grandpa hay to toss over the fence for the donkeys. It was something Grandpa looked forward to. It had been about a year since I had seen my Grandpa when he passed away, and I wanted to feel a connection with him. Jacob loved the little donkeys!
Grandpa raised and trained horses for years, and I can see why this was something he enjoyed. I'm so happy that I could share that with Jacob too. Sherrie and Grandpa named the dark gray one Shrek. :)
We stayed and fed them for a little while. Jacob was fascinated with the "horses that are just my size!" It was fun to watch him. He kept running around looking for things to feed them. I didn't have a place to haul a bale of hay ;).

Sorry for the blurry picture...this is the liquor store where my dad played a prank as a teenager. My family all knows the "white lightening" story...this is the place!

My dad was on a group date with friends in High School, and they came here to the drive up and my dad ordered "white lightening" and 6 cups. One for each of them.

The store employee handed him a long paper bag with a bottle in it, and the cups, and they drove off. The girls in the car were furious and demanded they take them home. They drove off a ways and told them they had to drink some before they would take them home...and my dad pulled it out of the bag...and it was a quart of milk. :) .

This was the beautiful sky over Mount Grahm there in Safford. It was even better in person!