Grandma Jake

Last week Grandma Jake passed away.

Grandma Jake holds a special place in my heart.

look at that Alex chunck!

The first time I met her was at Ben and Kate's wedding.  I didn't know much of the family and I was pretty shy and reserved at that point.  I remember Tyler had to leave at some point and I was left in the hands of Grandma Brady and Grandma Jake.  

It was hilarious! The two Grandma's had known each other since high school, and 4 of their children had gotten married, (2 of the Brady brothers married the 2 Jacobson sisters.)  Suddenly I was in this girls club, laughing and teasing and having a blast.  Grandma adopted me immediately and treated me like we had been friends forever, there was no awkward silences or anything- just instant friends.

 Going to Grandma Jakes house was always a treat.  I'm glad that the girls got to know her so well and spend so much time with their Great Grandmother.

 Even Quinn got to meet this exceptional woman a few times.

 Grandma was very supportive, she came to Alex's dance class to watch, fed the kids swedish fish like they were vitamins and sent them off with bags of quarters every now and then.  She was SO stubborn, and often tried to slip us a $20 to completely overcompensate for some small service.

 She was always happy to see us, and we were always happy to see her.  The summer we spent at the garden was a wonderful adventure, and I'll never forget how she taught Alex to eat tomatoes raw with salt!  She will still grab a raw tomato and chew it up like and apple!

 The girls still talk about the Sylvester and Tweety bird book that they had Grandma read 100 times on each visit.  Poor Grandma was such a sport and would read until her voice gave out!

 In the fall we would go and pick apples and eat until we were sick of them.

We have lots of great memories with Grandma, since that first day on she always treated me like I was an old friend.


 Heidi had Grandma wrapped around her finger and Grandma had Heidi wrapped around hers.  These two were the best of friends.
 I think some of our greatest memories came from riding the bike down to her house a few times a week when the weather was good and having Grandkid Friday.  We would get all the cousins who could come and spent the day dumping out the penny jar, running around the yard, and having a yummy lunch.

 It's been fun to hear all the stories about Grandma from before I came along, she was a hoot and had a strong will and I can't wait to catch up with her when I get to heaven.