so much love in Moreland, Idaho.

2 days ago I walked into our pantry and was instantly lost in a whirlwind of cozy, sentimental memories...

As is turns out when you mix the smell of laundry soap, a bag of potatoes and various canned goods it produces this magical concoction that takes me right back to my Gramma and Grampa Coopers house. (that's how we pronounce it.) I stood there taking deep breaths and dreaming about some of the best times of my life.

My gramma and grampa didn't have much but what they did have was nothing less than perfect looking through my eyes as a child. There was always Sunny Delight in the fridge, cough drops in grammas bottom drawer (that we would sneak), our "special" mug that hung on the hook with our name on it that we never got to use, yellow shag carpet that I got to go around and trim the snags, the "twin beds" that always had matching comforters on them, the bread drawer with a never-ending supply of wonder bread, half and half along with white sugar to drown our cream of wheat in, grammas silky nightgowns that she would let us wear to bed, the picture of a little stream surrounded by trees hanging at the end of the hall that would light up, the little wood tractors that grampa made, that shampoo that had a picture of wheat on it (what brand was that anyway?), the hot tub which, let's face it, was practically a full size swimming pool in our eyes, and grampa's special hot cakes that were the size of your plate.

I sure to miss those two.

I hope I never forget how it feels to have grampa nuzzle his whiskery face in my neck or have gramma carefully apply her red lipstick to my lips.

...I guess I'll be sure to keep laundry soap, potatoes and canned goods close at hand.