Dear Kids,
     I had a lot of excitement at the cabin yesterday. There’s a pheasant with red on the top of his head, Tom, you know the one. He started following me back and forth as I wheeled dirt in the wheelbarrow, running alongside, and then getting in front of me. I reached down to see if I could pick him up, he seemed so tame. Naturally he fought back. Then he started attacking my legs and biting at my feet. I tried shoveling dirt, and he kept jumping on the shovel, and then going for my legs again. I didn’t want to hurt him, because he’s so pretty, so I kept batting him away, gently. I wheeled dirt around to the front of the cabin, and he kept after me. The faster I ran, the faster he chased me. Finally I went inside, but he waited for me, and when I came out, he attacked me again. I decided to spray weeds, trying to block him with the cannister, and he kept getting downwind of the spray. Too bad. I think it made him really sick. Later in the afternoon, there wasn’t a sign of him. Well, at least I could shovel dirt in peace.





     Dad is really having fun with the dune buggy. Now he’s always excited to go to the cabin, exactly what I wanted. Last Friday night we went for a drive up around the little loop. Hey, it’s sure faster than hiking!! Then we drove down to the river, and then over to see the alpacas. They’ve all been shaved, and they look like skinny little animal crackers. There are baby ones, too! Some dogs were guarding them, and they barked at the dune buggy until they got tired of it.
     Paul, we had a phone call from a nice woman who fed you dinner the other night. She said she told you she would call your “Mum.” Her name was Penny. I’m so glad that nice people feed you! She said you’re working hard. She thinks you and Elder Eckman are wonderful.
     Donna, I got a call from Elder Gaffney, who wanted to know how he could get a hold of you. I started giving him your phone number, but then he couldn’t find a pen to write it down, and I had to wait 5 minutes while he looked for one. I know you’re excited to hear from him. Aso, I’m supposed to tell you Hi from Aaron Rosser. He and his wife Emily were at Stacy and Derrick’s wedding reception. Also from Patrick, who was best man.
     Addie has a new, shorter haircut, way short on one side. That’s because she did it herself. Nora was all engrossed in sewing a quilt block, and Addie took the opportunity to use the scissors. I think the hairdo is cute! Nora could even it up on both sides by giving her a mullet. But instead, Nora curls it under in a page-boy, like I used to do with all you girls on Sunday. (Oh, remember those sessions with the curling iron!) I remember a lot of you kids cutting your hair, too, and each others’.
     This Sunday is Fathers Day. If you want to have dinner with us, let me know. We’ll be eating about 5:00 pm. If you want gift ideas, give me a call. I sure don’t know what I’m going to get Dad. I could never top the dune buggy. I don’t think John could top the Star Trek DVD’s, either.
As always, we’re “doin’ great and lovin’ it.”
     Mom

Dear Kids,
     We’ve never had such crazy weather! Back in April, I drove through Parley’s canyon in a blizzard, and I promised myself it was the last one. Same thing happened in May. Yesterday, June 7th, here I was, driving over Parley’s in another blizzard. Cars off the road, the whole bit. The snow was coming sideways. I got off the interstate at Kimball Junction and wandered around Walmart for an hour, and by then it was sunny again. But when I got to the cabin, another snowstorm hit. This morning, when I left the cabin to go to Heber, I had to scrape a thick layer of frost off the car. In Heber, they’d also had frost, and Heather’s beautiful garden had some very sad-looking tomato plants in it.
     I went to Heber to watch John & Heather’s kids while John had hernia surgery. It was an out-patient operation! 20 years ago, when I had surgery for a hernia, they kept me in the hospital for three days! But John was back home again four hours after he left home. He had instructions to just watch TV for three days. Hopefully he’ll heal up OK.
      Donna reports that she’s doing fine at Jackson Lake, except that she was almost charged by a moose. There was a baby moose in the volleyball pit, just nosing around, and Donna got behind a big log and crept close with her camera, trying to get a good picture. She knew the mother was hiding behind a tree, but she thought it was OK. Then she saw the mother walking towards her, with her head down, looking very threatening. Donna got out of there quick! Donna’s been stiffed a couple of times, in the restaurant, but I hear that’s business as usual.
      Brendan Quinn finally got his mission call, to the Las Vegas West mission. It was held up for a long time, while he had extra interviews and tests by a psychologist. He has some kind of separation anxiety, and he’s a complete vegetarian, which could make missionary life kind of hard. But I’m glad they finally decided he would be OK. He goes into the MTC on July 13th. Jane said that up till now, the only boys from their ward who have gone on missions have been the ones who’ve gone to college at BYU or BYU Idaho. Brendan is the first exception. Let’s hope he makes it.
     Grandpa says that Ramona is doing fine, getting very spoiled. She considers it her job to sit in the window, looking out at the bird feeder, which keeps the birds away. I guess the sight of Ramona in a window is enough to scare the birds away. (She certainly kept the mice away at the cabin! They’re finally venturing back.) Grandpa said that Ramona disappeared for a day, but then she showed up in the garage. She always liked to do that disappearing act.
     Hey, Paul, I hope your Stop Smoking clinic goes well. Let us know if you have any success. I’m sending you a copy of our ward newsletter so you can see what’s going on.
     What a great family we have! I love you all!
     Mom

Dear Kids,
      Xena just came to the patio door with a big dead bird in her mouth. The feet were stiff, so she might have found it dead already. Who knows? Now that Dad and I have finished our travels and adventures, the cats and birds are my main entertainment.
      Birds? Actually, it’s just “bird,” now. No, there were no deaths in the family. While Dad and I were gone to the East, I asked Barbutos to tend Peep and Scooter. When I called them from New York, they said they were really enjoying the birds, and wanted to get one for Corban. I told them they could have 2, if they wanted. I seriously meant it, and they took me up on it. Peep and Scooter never came home. But I discovered that I really missed those bird sounds, and having somebody to talk to while I do laundry. (Pathetic!) So I easily convinced Nora to give us Reggie (aka Arius/Kirby) back. So now he’s right back where he started from, shrieking up a storm. I forgot that he was so loud. Oh, well, I’m not lonesome in the laundry room.
      Our trip to the East was lots of fun. Cathy’s graduation at Darden (Univ. Of Virginia) was very impressive. Amber, Jessie, and Boyd came. We sat outside, and the sun beat down on us, but fortunately, John Frederick had convinced us to buy straw hats at Walmart, so we were fine. Afterwards there was a fabulous luncheon, distrubuted in Darden gift bags, with pasta, chicken, fruit, cheese, cake, and a roll. There was free pop in big coolers. They really know how to spend money there. Cathy’s only $50,000 in debt from her tuition. I guess some of it paid for our lunch.
      Then we went to a hillbilly barbecue somewhere on the back roads of Virginia. It was put on by some of Ginni’s relatives. She was staying there. They had a pond where they shot catfish so they could fry them. The food was great. That was Sunday. On Monday morning, we rented a car and drove to New York, where we saw all the usual things: Statue of Liberty, top of the Empire state building, Central Park, Manhattan temple, Washington Square, and the Trade Towers site. We had parked the car for the day in an underground lot, and we took the subway all over. But after one day, I’d had enough sightseeing. The next day we drove to Boston, where we hung out for 3 days with Jane and Joe. And their two big fat cats, Allen and Lillywhite, who both have big paws. One day we went to Wachusett Mountain, the highest ski resort in Massachusetts. It’s 2,006 ft. at the summit. And 1,000 feet at the base. We walked to the top, but you can also drive. Jane, Dad, and I also went to a session in the Boston temple, where we were the only patrons. Just like D.C. and San Diego. President Hinckley was right. Outside of Utah, temples don’t get used that much.
      I was glad to come home on Sunday, but I think Dad could have traveled forever. I was excited about the party we had planned for Sunday night, at the cabin. He knew nothing about his presents. Paul, you’re probably the only person in the family who wasn’t in on the secret. We got him a Yerf Dog go-kart. (Model 3206, if you look for it online.) He honestly had no clue. As we pulled into the cabin driveway, the garage door opened and Tom came out driving the go-cart. Dad was speechless. He didn’t say, “Oh, wow.” He didn’t even reach for the camera. He got in the cart and gave everybody rides. So it was lots of fun. The next day, he changed the oil and did a front-end alignment. It will keep him occupied for hours, when we go to the cabin. John also gave him DVD’s of the first season of Star Trek. That kept us all occupied the next day, when it rained. Except I went nuts from hearing that Star Trek theme song so many times.
      Some of you have said that your former roommates missed reading the Mom letter. So I’m going to turn it into a blog, on Ackerson.org. Tom’s going to set up a link, so I can upload my family letter every week. Maybe I’ll get famous.
      I love you all! Mom

Dear Kids,
      I won’t be writing a letter next week, because Dad and I will be off on our trip to the east coast. Right now I’m getting things ready, but there’s lots of news, too. Donna has left for the Tetons. I drove her as far as Pocatello, and Vanessa took her there the next day, along with both kids. I haven’t heard yet how that turned out.
      We went to Pocatello by way of Logan, so we could go to Mark’s wedding. It was very nice. I’ve never seen a bride and groom smile and kiss so much. Tamri is #6 in a family of 11 kids, so there were lots of people in the “mob” picture. Sharon and Seth represented our family at the luncheon, since it wasn’t until 3 in the afternoon, and Donna and I had to be on our way. Sharon says they had a good time.
      Dan and Amanda were in town for the wedding, and we’d arranged to get together and talk about his “novel,” so they came for Sunday dinner. Andrea and Dan came too, and all the kids, so it was pretty wild. After we ate, everybody left but Dan, so we could talk in peace. I wasn’t sure how it was going to go. I had asked him to read “The Firm” and “Enders Game,” and like a good student, he had read them both. I asked him to give me the plot of The Firm in one sentence, and he did it. Same with Enders Game. Then I asked him if he could give me the plot of his novel in one sentence, and he said, “My book has a problem.” He wanted advice, and he took notes on everything I told him. We worked out a plot using the characters he already had, and he’s going to start over from the beginning. I told him to keep me posted.
      Saturday night, Dad and I and Donna and Bevan went to Trent’s football game in Orem, against the Wasatch Wildcats. Dad and I got our first senior citizens discount–it was 55 and over. The Pocatello Predators played hard, but only about half their team was there, and Wasatch had some ex-BUY football players. So the score was pretty lopsided, unfortunately, against Pocatello. But it was fun to see Vanessa and the kids, and watch Trent and Troy play, and walk around in the dark. Dad even bought a couple of over-priced hot dogs. Bevan was really interested in the game. It turns out he’s a rabid sports fan. Everything he wears is BYU. His cell phone plays the beginning part of the Cougar fight song, and it inspired me to program my own phone to play “Rise and Shout.” (Nora thought it was “Take me out to the Ball Game.” She said it’s my fault because we didn’t send you kids to BYU, like my brothers did.)
      Tom and Bentley went on their fathers’ and sons’ campout, you know, the Aaronic Priesthood weekend. (Our stake only does service projects.) Tom says they slept in a tent, played games (including an egg toss), ate, and came home. You can’t beat that.
      Dad and I are still replacing windows in the cabin, and last Friday we did the big one in the moose bedroom. I was there by myself early in the morning, and Dad had wanted me to wait for him to take it out, because he didn’t like how I was going to do it. But of course I did it my way, anyway. I stood in the bedroom and threw a brick through the window. It was 2 panes thick, so the first time it only broke one pane and bounced back into the room. I threw it harder the second time. The neighbor dogs went crazy when they heard the crash. From there, it was easy to push all the broken glass out, and the window frame. Then I spent a long time outside on the ground, collecting it all and hauling it to the trash cans down the hill. On Memorial Day we might do another window, but it won’t be as dramatic.
      Speaking of which, I’m sure you all know about Dad’s (and Grandma’s) birthday party Sunday night, (the 29th) starting about 6:00 pm. If you want to see Dad’s reaction to his presents, be there on time! If you want to go in on either present, the one I have or the one John has, let us know. We’re having a barbecue the next day, probably about noon. If I haven’t contacted you with a food assignment, call me. My cell (and Dad’s) should be in range most of the time we’re on our trip.
      Hope you’re all “doin’ great and lovin’ it.” Love, Mom