Dear Kenzie, How special it has been to have you for our granddaughter. You made us laugh with your antics as a toddler and always on the GO! And you were always happiest in the buff with a pacifier in your mouth. You reminded me of a duck in your pool; swimming and playing with Carly on your amazing inflated toys. You just laughed when you tipped over and climbed back on again. You were really coordinated and agile swinging off the couch with those gym rings when you were six and later you and Carly mastered the trampoline without fear though I worried you’d fall off. Then there was hockey – you were a little tiger on the ice just like your talented mom was. And you played baseball and soccer with your friends but being really competitive wasn’t that important. You were three and four when we gave you American Girl dolls Bitty Baby and Kitt. Carly had Molly Maguire and you had such good times playing together. I loved making new outfits for the dolls for Xmas and birthdays each year. Life became stressful when you had to cope with being a new teenager as well as deal emotionally with your parent’s divorce. You must have felt torn apart by your loyalties to the two people you loved the most and Carly was at a loss as well. However, life went on and you grew prettier each day and enjoyed your friends and typical teenager’s activities – shopping, sports, changing your nail polish color frequently ( I never liked the black very much), and just hanging out. We were all so proud of you when you graduated from St. Johnsbury Academy. It must have been agony having to pose for my pictures when it was discovered later that you had fractured a rib that morning. It was in your nature to be loving and generous with those you loved. You are the special gem; the pearl in the crystal shell that you gave to me and I will always treasure it. I still have the loving thank you notes you wrote to us and special cards for all occasions. You were very artistic and created colorful bowls, vases and the wonderful Xmas cookie plates that we will use this Christmas. You will be sorely missed at cookie painting day. Your cookies were more artistic each year. Perhaps you don’t remember the one’s you painted at three years old – all one color! You were an adventurous cook! Loved it when you popped in with some sweet, often gooey concoction you baked or sent one by your dad. You were a graceful and an accomplished runner as well as a yoga instructor. We never did get my lesson in did we? Next time I see you, okay? You also loved your animals and I’m certain that Marko misses you but your devoted dad is really glad to have him around the house. I hope Iggy and Ollie are with you in heaven. Now you can run to your happy heart’s content with a whole and healthy body. Mackenzie, I miss you and love you so very much. Grammy, December 7, 2020

Her baking, I loved that she got so passionate about it, so much so she started an Instagram account with so many amazing baked good images. She loved nothing more than sharing her creations, and always offered to bring a cake to our family gatherings. 💕

I’ll never forget, I was put on babysitting duty for both Mackenzie + Carly--it was a pretty sweet gig and I loved to do it as a big cousin. But in their mid 3-7 year old age it was quite a challenge. First off, Mackenzie never wanted clothes on so if we were going into public this was issue #1. But this particular day, the girls had just gotten baby Ollie. We were downstairs in their living room and Mackenzie is holding the little pup. Quickly I heard screaming and (naked) Mackenzie had decided Ollie’s rough nose needed fixing and she took scissors to it. Rest assured we just had a little blood. But I always laugh at 16 year old me with a naked 4-5 year old, her sister eating pizza upstairs, a bleeding puppy, and no driver’s license. I used to tell Mackenzie this story, probably more than she would have liked, and she laughed so hard each time I told it. - Leah Randall, Cousin