I was going to wait until I could post pictures but I probably should give you an update anyway.
Ralph took his mom and sister to a concert last night. It featured a girl in our ward singing with somebody Beck, a boy singer that others know about but I have never heard of. I got to stay home and listen to Grandma Kern's new dog yip in his cage for an hour and a half. Not many functions are held at 9:00 o'clock in the the morning before my body completely shuts down. Ralph is good to bring me pictures or a program. Misst Babcock, the girl, specializes in jazz music which I've tried to like but haven't made it yet. Ralph said his favorite song was "The Prayer" which Emily performed with two other girls at her High School graduation.
We will probably spend most of Augusr at the cabin which I am looking forward to. He has only one month summer vacation and has it filled with projects. Today he is picking up his third Modek A in Utah, meeting with a photographer in Salt Lake so they can collaborate on the book he is writing, and attending his aunt's 80th birthday party. He manages to stay busy but I think there could be worse problems.
The girls and husbands want to take another hike so they will probably go with Ralph into Yellowstone Park about the third week in August. Josie and family, Sara and family have already been up to Island Park once or twice this summer.
We found a wild strawberry patch in bloom and I hope there are some ripe berries left by the time we make it up to the cabin. Ralph made two new swings in our back yard. The Grandkids have been picking lots of raspberries from our backyard and making signs that say "Welcome to Raspberry Park!" This week Hailey and I (Hailey did all the work.) made Raspberry/Peach jam. Hailey, her husband and their new baby rent our basement apt. downstairs. She has become a good friend and helps us out with a lot of things. Happy Summer!

Ashtyn went to Golf Camp with some of her cousins in Driggs, ID the following week and stayed the night at our house before Ralph took her home this Saturday. It was a delight for us to have her here. She picked a bouquet of snowball flowers for me. It was so beautiful we had to take a picture. (See below) I guess all the rain has been good for them. We each had a piece of oatmeal cake for breakfast and called it our "bowl of oatmeal". Each of us decided not to tell her mom. It was fun to have her here but I think she was glad to get home with her own family.

A Fun Week

Last week our entire family was here for kind of a mini-family reunion. Wd were glad Ralph had finished the room over the garage so we could accommodate everyone. The room turned nicer than we thought - so much so that Ralph is interested in staying in this house instead of building a new one next door.
All our daughters and one daughter-in-law ran a half marathon in the Teton Dam Marathon. Two son-in-laws ran too. I worried about them getting rained on but weather for the race was beautiful. I didn't give any thought however to what it would be like to have 13 grandkids cooped up in the house while it rained the rest of the time. Chad saved the day and rented a "Bounce House" which eventually got rain-soaked too.
Ralph parked his recently acquired Model A a couple blocks from the finish line and put all he grandkids in it. They honked the "ah-oo-ga" horn at each runner to encourage them at the end of the race. Everybody in our family finished well and were proud of their accomplishment.
We also had delicious meals provided by each families' contribution. The weekend was wonderful! I was tired out from doing nothing but it was worth it because of all the good memories we made.

Taking Things Too Seriously

I was thinking about and remembered a time when I had to remind myself not to take things too seriously, There have been many times I've had to remind myself of this. I guess the key is to just keep working at being a parent. Teenagers have a way of making you wonder.
One day I was driving in the country with the kids in the car. My son, a teenager, said "Smell that dairy air." as we passed a farm. Concentrating on my driving and other things, I assumed he said the French word "derriere" which means "behind". I said, "Do you know what that means? " and proceeded to explain why his statement was inappropriate. It took awhile before I understood that he was just making a comment on a rural reality. Because he currently works in the dairy industry, I think he still likes to smell the "dairy air" and I have learned not to make assumptions quite so quickly.

Being a Mother

Yesterday was Mother's Day and I talked to each one of my kids. Mother's Day brought back many wonderful "mother memories". Mother's Day used to be my unfavorite day of the year. Besides making sure each of Ralph's and my mother were appropriately taken care of, we sat in church and listened to some mother talk about how angelic motherhood was. At our house that morning we had panic because we couldn't even find the hairbrush. I'm not going to subject you to the same thing but I would like to list some of my favorite "mother memories". I'll admit there were times I knelt by each child's bed after they were asleep and wet their pillow with my tears because I felt like such a falure or wondered why I had childen in the first place because it was so hard when they were growing up. However, it is kind of like childbirth. You can't remember what the labor pains felt like, just the joy when you held the little one in your arms.
I remember an article in the Children's Friend magazine when I was young about a little girl who couldn't make up her mind what she wanted to be when she grew up. One day she wanted to be a teacher and the next day she thought she wanted to be a nurse. There were many other aspirations so she asked her mother for some advice. Her mother explained that they were all good ideas but a mother will be all those things to her children. I have felt like I have accomplished and become good at many things in my life but I still have much to learn as a mother.

Favorite Motherhood Memories

I remember my first time sitting beside my son, wearing his cub scout uniform, in church on "Scout Sunday" and listening to him sing a patriotic song.

I remember watching my oldest daughter give birth to her first child and the many sacrifices she made to ensure that the child thrived.

I remember a weekend when the family had planned to go somewhere but I was at my emotional rope's end so a teenage daughter stayed home with me while the rest of the family went. We layed in the grass in the orchard to talk and went to a garden tour together. At the end of the weekend my "cup" was filled again and I could face life.

I remember a gift on Mother''s Day from a grade school daughter. It was in a small white box with a note that said, "Open me, it will be a BLAST!" Inside was a paper clip that had been bent so one could make it jump.

I remember a mother's day when after the "Breakfast in Bed" tradition my ostensible gift was a red vacuum. Throughout the day each child gave me an unknowing gift. My teenagers sat on the stairs and talked to a discouraged mother, and my gradeschooler came out of her bedroom dressed for church with a big smile on her face. She said, "Look, Mom. I am wearing tights." Every Sunday before, putting on the tights had been a big fight.

There are many other memories that make me smile and give me comfort and peace. Now, I love watching my own children be parents. It confirms what I believed when my young children used to ask, "Why can't I go to daycare like all the other kids at school?" I used to think and I still do, "Why should somebody else have all the fun!"

Today the elevator at church was broken so we decided to go on a Sunday drive instead. Ralph went up the stairs and checked it out but after going to the trouble of dressing and getting in the car (which is a big effort for me) we went to Kilgore the back way which Ralph nor I had never been. We also went to check on the cabin and yes, there is still snow there. This area will appreciate the moisture and I am really looking forward to our short summer. We listened to one of Elder Uchdorf's conference addresses and Sunday music on KBYI. It is cloudy and rainy today but we are having an enjoyablle day.
Now it is nice to be home with our variety of daffodils. I took a picture of our flower bed outside but I'm still working on getting it into the computer. I'm slow as I am with just about everything these days.