Dear Kids,
      I’m writing from a motel in Great Falls, Montana, because Dad and I are on our way to Canada! We left home yesterday morning, after taking the bird to Nora’s house and the kitten to McGettigans, and leaving food and water for our two big fat cats, to fend for themselves. We drove to Pocatello and visited with Vanessa and the kids, and had a delicious lunch there. Then we drove up through Idaho Falls into southern Montana. We weren’t much impressed with the scenery until we got to Butte, but from there up through the mountains to Great Falls, it’s absolutely gorgeous. Yep, “A River Runs Through It.” This morning we’re going up past Glacier (where we’re bound to see more gorgeous scenery,) to Cardston, where we’ll be going to the temple, and then driving on up to Calgary, where Rich and Jeanne live.
      Meanwhile, back home . . . oh, yeah, Paul called last Sunday, to wish me a happy Mothers Day, and boy have things changed for him! He’s been sent down to Ft. Lauderdale, because they simply didn’t have many installs in Jacksonville. At least five of their salesmen were fired, and two more just left in the middle of the night, and drove straight to the airport. So Paul and another guy, John, drove down to Ft. Lauderdale, where they’ve had more work. At least, that was the situation last week. Paul says that while he’s so far south anyway, he wants to drive the Overseas Highway from Miami to Key West, like Dad and I did last fall. I totally recommend that drive! Especially the 7-Mile Bridge!
      Let’s see, what else is going on at home? At the Cabin, it’s open season on the Magpies! They’ve driven off the other birds, and they fly into the garage and rip open the garbage. They even flew into Kim’s car, when she left the door open for a minute, and tore into some crackers. They’ve gotta go! Dad located his air rifle, that he used as a kid 50 years ago, (still in perfect working order!) and Tom’s looking on the internet for ammunition. When he finds it, look out magpies! If anybody else wants to get in on the fun, it’s OK with me!
      Dad and I are taking off from this motel in just a little while. When we get into Canada, we’re going to be turning off our cell phones, because the roaming cost is 40 cents a minute. If you really, really need to get a hold of us, you can call Rich and Jeanne’s house at 403 695 0370. We hope there are no serious emergencies while we’re gone! We should be home again late Friday night, the 23rd.
      Lots of love, Mom

Dear Kids,
      We have a new kitten! Kara and I picked him out on Tuesday. His name is Oreo, because he’s black and white, and you can see him in the cat gallery at the bottom of Ackerson.org. He’s not a “shelter cat,” because there wasn’t much of a selection there. I had written down a couple of addresses from the ads in KSL.com, so we found one nearby, in Magna. There were four kittens up for grabs, and Kara chose the one she liked best. We have no regrets. You’re all invited to come and see him, while he’s still little and cute. Kara comes every day.
      My sister Barbara is getting married on June 21st, to her long-time boyfriend J.J. Schulter (pronounced Shoe-ler.) Her bishop is going to marry them, but she doesn’t know yet where it will be. She says it will be low-key and casual, “come if you want but no big deal.” She doesn’t think she can even talk him out of wearing levis.
      Paul is doing OK in Florida. He and his friends were delayed a little bit, moving into their apartment, because of lice. The place had to be de-loused, so they hung out with some of the other guys. I haven’t heard much about his installing job, yet. Five of the salesmen were fired just before they got there, because of “bad things,” so hopefully there will be enough new salesmen to keep the installers busy. If not, Paul always has the option to go out and sell. They get $400 a pop.
      In my last letter, I said John’s birthday is July 28th. How could I be so flaky? I ought to know he was born July 27th, because it was one of the greatest days of my life.
      July 28th is my sister Katie’s birthday, and it was a very big deal when we were young. By the way, I’ve been sorting through Grandma’s pictures, and I just did 1954. There’s one picture of me as a geeky 7-year-old, in my glasses, playing chess, with a cat slung over my shoulder. What could have been more prophetic?
      Dad and I are driving to Canada next Friday, May 17th, to visit Richard and Jeanne and Megan. Too bad Grandma and Grandpa can’t come with us, as we originally planned, but it would be too long for them. We’ll be gone about a week. I know it’s probably cold up there, but it will be a great vacation. I’ll post some pictures on our website after we get back.
      Lots of love, Mom

Dear Kids,
      Paul took off for Florida this morning, in the magical Sable, driving together with a couple of other guys in their cars. I’m sure he’ll have a great summer. I’m sure it will be warm in Jacksonville. Around here, it will always be winter. How stupid were we all, to take off our Blizzak tires? Tom and his family drove over Parley’s Summit in a snowstorm yesterday afternoon. I drove to Orem in a snowstorm this morning. It will never warm up.
      Well, at least it was nice last Friday afternoon, for our bike ride on Antelope Island. It wasn’t warm, of course, maybe in the fifties, but Al declared that it was perfect bike riding weather. There were just five of us: Dad and myself, Donna and Bevan, and Allen. We saw several buffalo, and one really mean looking guy decided to race us. He was maybe 50 yards off the road, running alongside us, and then he cut over onto the road and stopped in front of us. There was a car stopped by then, taking pictures of him, so we rode gingerly around. We saw antelope, too, and a couple of coyotes. All in all, it was a great ride. We rode the 11 miles down to the Garr Ranch, and then we started back, but the sun was going down by then, and a couple of us were pretty tired, so Al and Bevan rode back to get the truck. I think they raced each other. It was a great sight, seeing that truck coming to get us. Sort of like the handcart pioneers sighting the rescue company. Well, maybe not that bad. Next year we’re going to do the ride on a Saturday, which might be easier if some of the rest of you want to come. Anybody who doesn’t want to ride can hang out at the picnic area. It could be lots of fun.
      Monica called a couple of days ago to let us know how things are going for her. She’s having injections of Avonex, a MS medication, but there were delays because her company changed insurance. She says Ramona is as bad as ever. She’s been shaved for the summer, and that seems to unleash the wild animal in her. She dumped out all the catnip and romped around in it.
      When I visited with Grandma today, she was talking about having a family reunion this summer. It won’t be the week after our reunion, like I told some of you, because Katie’s family has a conflict. Instead, it will probably be Saturday, August 9th. Ours, of course, is going to be Monday, July 28th (John’s Birthday!) at Lava Hot Springs. The Saturday before that, Vanessa and Monica are going to be in the Spudman Triathalon in Burley. So we have all that to look forward to!
      I’m cooking dinner this Sunday, the 4th. We’ll be eating about 4:30. Let me know if you plan to be there!
      Lots of love, Mom

Dear Kids,
      Today I sent in our scholarship money to CEU. Thanks to all of you who were so generous! I asked Brad King to send us a bio of the student we’re going to support. (One of you kids asked me, “What if they have a car? Will we cut them off?” Well, I never thought about that.) Anyway, it should be interesting to find out who we’re paying for. If we get an e-mail address, I can send encouraging notes to our student, telling him or her to keep up their grades or else! (Just kidding!) I’ll let you know when we find out more.
      Nora’s friend Marissa was the official photographer at Monica’s wedding, and finally we have all her pictures, reduced into jpeg’s, if any of you want a disk. (I’m already sending them to Monica and Vanessa.) It’s been fun to look back through them, and remember how great everybody looked (especially Monica and Neil) and what good food we had, and the tents, the bluegrass group, it was all a great adventure. I hope I can ever get the cabin yard looking that good again.
      I spent Tuesday at the cabin, walking around the property, seeing how much damage the deer and elk and rabbits did to our shrubs over the winter. From now on, anything I plant has to be guarded by tall cages with a layer of chicken wire inside. Most of my junipers I’ve planted in the last seven years were ripped to shreds by the elk. And most of the smaller pine trees were shredded by the rabbits. Anybody like to shoot varmints? I would gladly look the other way.
      Our bike ride tomorrow on Antelope Island is going to be freeeezing! I’m going to carry my ski bibs in my backpack, and put them on if I get too cold. Last year, this same week, it was really hot, and the bugs chewed us to death. That won’t happen tomorrow. There might even be snow in the higher elevations. But I’m still excited to go. It’s such a beautiful ride! Dad brought home a brochure about the island, and it has a month-by-month report on the wildlife. In April, we’re supposed to look for Bison calves, avocets, stilts, sanderlings, eared grebes, phalaropes, and peregrine falcons. I think I could recognize a bison calf or a peregrine falcon, but I have no idea about the rest of them.
      In May, I’m going to cook Sunday dinner on the 4th, because the week after that is Mothers Day, and Dad and I will probably be visiting Grandma Allen. So, let me know if you’re coming on the 4th. I think I’ll make lasagne again.
      Lots of love, Mom

Dear Kids,
      There’s not much happening around here these days. If you read everybody’s blogs, you can see that all the rest of you have more interesting lives than Dad and I do. Let’s see–Dad just came home from the pinewood derby, which they held in the hall of the Church, because there’s a new wood floor in the gym, and they didn’t want anybody to go in there yet. Now that’s news.
      Last Friday night we went to see the new movie “Emma Smith–My Story” and it was surprisingly good. I wasn’t expecting much. Our friends the Haneys, who live in Liberty, Missouri, were here in town, and we wanted to do something. And Dad had a gift card for Megaplex Cinemas. And Kara McGettigan plays “little Emma” in the movie, so I thought we should go see it. And we were pleasantly surprised. It was really touching. They have most of the same actors from the Joseph Smith movie. And Kara is really cute, too. Good acting by everybody. I really recommend it.
      The dirt in our front yard is still causing comments. I’m waiting for spring, to plant my special grass seed, and we’ve had the weirdest weather! One day I’m riding my bike around town, and the next day there’s snow on the ground. On my bike rides, though, I’ve seen a lot of yards where the sod has been cut away. So I’m part of a trend. Except that we’re not going to have rocks and cactus when I’m done.
      If you’re going to contribute to the CEU Ackerson Family Scholarship, there are still four more days to get your money to us. If you’re planning to send it and need another day or two, let me know. I’ll wait.
      I’m really looking forward to our Antelope Island bike ride on the 25th, a week from tomorrow. If the weather isn’t good, we’ll probably put it off for another week or two, but we definitely want to go before it gets too hot, and before the bugs are out in force.
      Donna and Bevan are in Michigan, visiting Sharon and Seth. I’m jealous. My only excitement, besides riding my bike and raking dirt in the yard, is playing chess on the internet. Dad is still working on our taxes. (He filed an extension.) Boring, boring, boring.
      But life is good. I love you all. Mom

Dear Kids,
      The neighbors are asking about our front yard. It’s total dirt–no grass at all. I killed it last fall, and now I’m waiting for warmer weather to plant my special low-water, low-growth fescue seed. Meanwhile, I go out and rake it almost every day. (Playing like I’m at the cabin.) George Coombs, Jeremy’s grandpa, who hasn’t talked to us ever, in the 25 years they’ve lived there, was so curious that he stopped his car to ask me what I was doing. He thought maybe I was going to make a desert landscape. That’s what Barry’s doing, next door. His grass is gone, too. I just tell everybody to keep an eye on our yard, and eventually it’s going to look really good.
      Conference at the cabin was really wild, and lots of fun. (Check out the pictures on Kim’s and Nora’s blogs). Besides the conference sessions themselves, the next most interesting thing was watching a fox try to break into Matheny’s chicken coop. The fox was almost as big as a coyote, with a big bushy tail, and he kept lunging at the chicken wire, trying to break through. The chickens would flap and squawk. Finally I called Matheny and told him what was going on. I didn’t want to see the carnage if the fox actually broke through. We all know how unhappy Matheny was when his favorite duck, Afflack, got eaten by Rosie, (who, herself, has been sent to the spirit world.) Always exciting stuff at the cabin. I’m looking forward to doing more work there, now that snowboarding season is officially over.
      Last year, the end of April, we had a really great bike ride on Antelope Island. So we’re tentatively planning to do it again, on April 25th, which is a Friday afternoon. Allen and I thought we ought to get started about 4:00 pm, so we can ride down to the ranch and back again before it gets dark. If we meet at the entrance to the park, we can put our bikes in Dad’s truck and all ride in together, and not have to pay so much. Let me know if you want to come. I’m really excited to do it again.
      It’s getting closer to April 21st, when we need to mail in our contributions to the Ackerson Family CEU scholarship. Yeah, I know some of you don’t think you ought to contribute, but for those of you who think it’s a great idea (and want a tax deduction, too) make sure we have your money by then. Dad and I are happy to make up the rest.
      I’ve been watching Kara McGettigan on Monday and Tuesday mornings while Jana’s been having radiation. The treatments are over now, but Kara says she wants to keep coming, especially when we get the kitten. She pointed out to me that for one hour, two days a week, I’ve been half of a mom. Hey, I take what I can get.
      Lots of love, your full-time, real, Mom

Dear Kids,
      It was fun seeing so many of you at Allen and Missy’s last weekend, and at Vanessa and Trent’s in Pocatello. Grandma and Grandpa said that when you added together both parties, they pretty much saw our whole family. (Except, of course, for the Michigan Thackers and the Tucson Prendergasts and Paul) All the food was great and the kids had fun playing together. I wondered if Grandma and Grandpa could hold out for two solid days of visiting with our family, but they did great. They were OK on the road, too. It was sort of a trial run to see if we can take them to Canada next month. Grandma says she’s still thinking it over.
      I visited them today in Orem, and they’re settling back into their house. But I saw an unwelcome sight on their kitchen counter–a brochure that said “Welcome to Comcast,” or something like that. I nearly screamed. Comcast!!?? They had Comcast before they moved to the Seville, and every month they were overcharged, and Bonnie went through h*** to get them disconnected. I thought we all hated Comcast! But Bonnie said there was no other cable company they could get. They had been connected for a week, but they weren’t getting a signal. A lady on the phone was trying to talk me through their setup, and when she told me to disconnect the box, I did it gladly. And I told her that I was bringing it back to them. And I convinced Grandma that they don’t need cable. (Grandma and Grandpa have had cable for so long, they thought they would still need to pay something to get Channels 2, 4, and 5. I reminded them that this is America, and those channels are free)
      Then I visited the Comcast office to give them back their box. Of course they gave me a song and dance about Grandma and Grandpa being responsible for the installation and a week of service. I reminded them that they had a history of ripping off elderly people. (I was shooting in the dark, but it hit.) So they cancelled all the charges and disconnected the service. Meanwhile, Grandma’s TV is still getting all the cable channels. Odd.
      I’ve been e-mailing Brad King about setting up our family scholarship, and talking to some of you about whether you want to pay twice a year, or just once. I think everybody agreed on just one payment. The total, for tuition and fees for a year, is $2233.22. That seems like a real bargain. They need to have the money by May 1st to award the scholarship, so those of you who want to contribute, why don’t you send your checks to us by April 21st. Make them payable to CEU. Then, your cancelled check (or the online image, whatever) can be your receipt for taxes. It’s a charitable donation, like tithing. You can itemize it. Dad and I will pay the balance. I wouldn’t even mind paying it all, I’m so grateful to CEU for giving so many of you such a good start in life.
      I’m looking forward to the party this weekend at the cabin, where we’re supposedly going to watch conference. Well, we all know we can watch the reruns and read the talks in the Ensign. It’s all good.
      Love, Mom