Dear Kids,

I hope summer is going well for all of you.  There’s no end to the adventures!  Donna and Anna went to camp, and John towed his glider to Afton, Wyoming, to a fly-in, where he spent a full week.  Dad looked up Vanessa on his phone and found out she was in Island Park.  I’m sure that’s only the beginning of the fun you’re all having!

Our next book club will be July 9, and we’re reading The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare.  I read it several years ago and really enjoyed it, but I’ll definitely be reading it again so I can answer the questions.  It will be the sixteenth book we’ve read together.  Thank you all for making book club such a success!

We’ll probably be having Super Sunday on July 23 or 30th, depending on what Vanessa’s plans are for her kids’ farewell/homecoming.  I’ll let you know when it gets closer.  Paul will be in charge.

Sonia is still totally crazy about tuna.  While Dad is dishing it up, she dances around on her hind legs like a circus animal.  When he puts it down, she gobbles like there’s no tomorrow.  We keep wondering if she’ll get tired of the stuff, but so far it’s not happening.

Dad and I are totally immersed in summer projects.  Dad spent more than two weeks on the cabin’s watering system, because all the things that can go wrong with plumbing, went wrong.  He ended up getting a new manifold and new valves, and endless small parts, but finally it all worked, with no leaks.  I’m glad it’s finally working, because we’re supposed to have warm sunny days for at least two more weeks, with no rain.  Our bushes and shrubs at the cabin finally need our water.  My summer project for now is pruning shrubs at our house, but I haven’t been able to do much this week because of chemo.  

I’ve been having a lot of trouble breathing lately, but my oncologist couldn’t see what was causing it, when I saw him last Monday.  He advised me to buy a pulse oximeter, the gadget they put on your finger in the doctor’s office to see if you have enough oxygen in your system.  Naturally I ordered one off Amazon, and now Dad and I have fun checking our oxygen levels.  Yesterday morning, when I was absolutely gasping for breath, my score was 100 percent.  Dad, who breathes just fine, came in at 94.  Crazy!

Too bad there’s nothing more exciting in our lives!  But we love you all!  Mom

 Dear Kids,

Happy Fathers Day to all you sons and sons-in-law of mine!  I’m so happy with the way you’re raising your families, and the good examples you set for them.  I’m sure you know how important fatherhood is, and when you get to be senior citizens like Dad and me, you’ll see it even more clearly.  Thanks!

We’ll be having book club this evening at 5 at our house, and we’re talking about Superfudge.  Donna’s family will be at the Hawkins’, but they said they finished the book anyway.  The rest of us will have a good discussion, and great refreshments, of course.  This is the fifteenth book we will have read together.  We won’t be having Super Sunday this month because of the events of last week and this week, and I’ll let you know about July.  

I was sorry to miss Adelaide’s homecoming last week, but I had been in the LDS Hospital ER all night long.  I had a bowl blockage, and it was terribly painful.  They gave me two units of morphine and then cleaned me out.  When the morphine really kicked in, I got terribly groggy, and when we got home I slept all day Sunday.  Dad did, too.  We couldn’t go anywhere.  My abdomen has been hurting for most of the week, but it’s finally feeling better.  All’s well that ends well, and I thank you for all your prayers for me.  It could have been so much worse.

Dad is really excited about the new phone that some of you went in on for Fathers Day.  He can connect it up with the Apple watch John gave him a little while ago, and do all those twenty-first century things that most of you are doing.  Dad offered me his old I-phone, but I prefer to stay in the twentieth century with my simple little android.  If any of you want his old I-phone, I’m sure he’ll give it to you.

Now that we’re into summer, we’re into cabin projects.  Dad is working on the watering system, which is a challenge every year.  I’m working on the pantry, getting ready to lay the tile we cut a couple of weeks ago.  We had to trim off the bottom of the door into the water-heater room, so it would fit over the tile.  It’s been lots of fun.  By the way, thanks again for all your help in raking out the gravel last week.  It turned out better than I ever imagined.

What a family!  We love you all!  Mom

 Dear Kids,

The gravel-raking party was a big success.  Thanks to Donna, Nora, Tom, and their families, along with Allen, and also Chandra and Natalie Garcia.  Thanks especially to our nice neighbor with his tractor, who saved us hours of work.  It looks really good–nice and level and even.  Thanks again to everybody.

Adelaide is home!  Lots of you came to the airport Thursday night, but Dad and I couldn’t come because I was having a bad chemo week.  Donna showed me her pictures, though, and it looks like it was really wild and crazy.  We’re glad she made it home safely, and hope her re-entry into real life will go smoothly.  Her homecoming is today at noon in Nora’s church.  Nora’s having lots of chances to play hostess these days.

Because of the homecoming, book club is being pushed back to next Sunday, which is also Fathers Day.  No matter.  We’ll meet here at our house at 5 pm, and have our usual great discussion.  And there will be goodies, too.   The next week, the 25th, would normally be Super Sunday, with Paul hosting, but because of all the events, we’ll push it back to the end of July, or even August, because of Sarah and Sterling’s farewell/homecoming.   We’ll see how it goes.

We went to Jana McGettigan’s funeral last Tuesday, where we ran into the Fultons, the Littles, the Brian Parkers, and the Barbutos, along with several other people from our old ward.  We saw Glenn, Tyler, Sam, and Kara, too.  It was fun talking to everybody, even though it was such a sad occasion.  Actually, Dad and I really only went to the viewing, just before the funeral, because I was wearing my chemo pump and needed to stay close to home. 

On Goodreads, I reached my goal of 1,000 books this past week.  I’m going to reward myself with a one-pound box of dark chocolates from See’s or Cummings’. Naturally I won’t stop writing book reviews.  Onward and upward!

Lots of love, Mom

 Dear Kids,

Adelaide is coming home on Thursday.  Yes, this Thursday!  Her plane lands at the Salt Lake Airport at 8 pm, coming from Atlanta.  Everybody is welcome to come to the airport.  Dad and I won’t be there, since I’ll be having a bad chemo day, but we’ll see her next Sunday.  Her homecoming will be at noon in Nora’s church, which we’re all familiar with.  The after-party will be at Nora’s, of course.  You can call her for a food assignment.  And since book club was going to be this coming Sunday, we’re pushing it back to the 18th, Fathers Day. (It’s funny, our last book club was on Mothers Day.)  As you all know, we’re reading Superfudge.  It’s hysterical.

And our gravel-raking party will be this Saturday at 9 am at the cabin.  Bring your rakes and your muscles.  Lunch will be at the Food Town Deli, paid for by Dad.  If there’s any problem getting the gravel, I’ll let you all know in time.  If you have any questions, text me.  I assume everything will go OK.

Jana McGettigan passed away on Memorial Day.  We had visited her nine days earlier, and I had no idea she was getting that close.  She seemed comfortable and alert, so things must have moved fast at the end.  I’ll have to ask Glenn about it.  The funeral is this Tuesday at their stake center in Lehi.  Jana and I had been friends for 28 years, and she knew all you kids, so this is a big loss for us.  I had been hoping she could make at least one more trip to our house, and that we could go down to the Provo River and I could watch her take pictures.  After all those years she had cancer (22) I still can’t believe it finally happened.

Dad and I had eye exams at John’s office on Wednesday.  Aaron did a scan of my eyes, and Jacob took our orders for lenses.  Heather was there, supervising the office, and John did our exams, of course.  The office is truly ACKERSON eye care.  Next thing you know Aubrey will be in there helping out, although last I heard she was happy with her job at the UPS store.

Super Sunday for June will be on the 25th, three weeks from today, and Paul will be in charge.  There will be more info when it gets closer.

Our lives are busy but good.  We love you all!  Mom