Dear Kids,
      Wasn’t Monica’s wedding spectacular? It seemed like everything turned out perfectly–the food, the tents, the games, the weather–how about that cloud cover that came over just in time for the ceremony? And the two mountain bluebirds that flew up behind the arch just as Monica and Neil were saying “I do.” And Matheny’s goats not bleating–they could have been really obnoxious, if they’d had better timing. It was all good. Thanks to all of you who helped, especially with the clean-up. If any of you Ackerson cousins are reading this, thanks for all your help, too. Thanks for goin’ the distance, or coming the distance–it was great to see you.
      Mike Rogers e-mailed our proofs to us, and I think Dad’s forwarding them on to all of you. Also, you can see them on Ackerson.org: there’s a link on the home page, right near the top. I listed them by number. They’re all low-resolution jpegs, so people can’t just download them and print them at Walmart. So if you zoom in on them, you don’t see much detail, but at least you can tell if your kids are crying or not. Let me know asap what pictures you want. Mike hasn’t raised his prices in years. (4 wallets: $6.00, 4x5: $4.00, 5x7: $11.00, 8x10: $16.00, 11x14: $53.00, 16x20: $119.00) We’ll pay the first $25 of everybody’s order, plus the sitting fee, if he charges one. Dad and I didn’t look our best–I think we were really stressed. The rest of you looked really good. I think it’s a miracle the big mob scenes turned out as well as they did. Anyway, let me know what you want.
      A couple of days after the wedding I called Patty Paxman, to explain why we didn’t come to Chris’s wedding, which was the same day. She dropped by later that morning to give me a present for Donna, and we sat and talked about all the things that have happened over the years. She said it was hard having Chris get married in the Catholic Church by a priest, but his wife is from a great family, and they’re rich, too! Patty asked me about all you kids, and she admired the grandchildren’s pictures in our kitchen.
      My broken toe is still giving me a lot of trouble, and it’s been two weeks now. Everyone says it takes much longer than that. I was so mad, because the day I broke it, I’d decided to do everything right, since I needed all the blessings I could get. I studied the scriptures that morning, did my visiting teaching, went to the temple with Dad, and paid my tithing. I was just waiting for those blessings to roll in. And what did I do? I walked down the hall in bare feet, and stumbled into the heavy leg of a bar stool. There’s a lesson there. Do all the good things you’re supposed to do, but don’t be stupid.
      Our apricot tree was loaded this year, and luckily, Jana McGettigan wanted to pick them. She said she was going to dry them, and I imagined some fruit dryer churning away in their kitchen. But since it’s been so blazing hot, she just laid them out on card tables, out on their driveway, next to the hot brick on the side of their house. They dried in record time. Dad and I sampled a few, when we were out on our Sunday night bike ride. I was proud they turned out so well. Maybe someday I’ll try that myself.
      Paul is getting a job a Mygrant Glass, where he worked during Christmas. He might be driving a delivery truck. At least, he says, he won’t be outside. The pay isn’t as good as his drilling job, but at this point, he doesn’t seem to care.
      Well, it was great to see all of you last week. I’m so proud of our big wonderful family! Love, Mom