Happy Birthday to my lovely Mama

Today is my Mama's 80th birthday.  I am in awe of her.  She is a remarkable woman of strength and courage.  She is brilliant, vibrant, full of heart and truly a treasure in my life.  She has been my comforter, mentor and encourager, and is always my friend. I am so thankful, especially, for that last part.

I love her 'story' and have a dream of writing it out one day in its entirety.  (in as much as it is possible to 'write out' someones story.)   She grew up on a homestead near Powell, WY in a little two room house that her Daddy and his cousin built.  Her earliest memory is of waking up on the bed she shared with her little brother and older sister and wiping the snow off her eyelashes before she could open her eyes.  As she tells it, "the Little House stories were about the rich folks!"  But she LOVED her life in the basin of the Big Horn mountains.  Even today, when she steps foot on that ground, she feels she is back 'home'.

One of my very favorite memories will always be a trip she and I took together in the summer of 2008.  We had discovered that the Homesteader Museum in Powell was celebrating the 100th anniversary of the massive irrigation project that was implemented in Wyoming in 1908 - which opened the area up to settling.  Without that project, the land would have been unlivable.  Walking that ground alongside her was tremendously powerful and meaningful for me.  Hearing her tell stories, sometimes just quietly as we walked along, was something I'll treasure forever.  We even went back to the land where her family homesteaded and were able to meet the people who lived there.  Although the home Mama grew up in was long since gone, some of the outbuildings of her youth were still there.  And, of course, the land - the unchanging landscape of her childhood; that never goes away.  We could look out over the same horizon of her youth and I could imagine her sitting there dreaming of her own future.  How could she have ever guessed, sitting there on those rocks, what her future would actually hold?

walking on the 'sacred ground' of her childhood in Wyoming

Mama standing under a cottonwood tree her Daddy planted back in the 1930's!

This was a view she looked at again and again as a child - toward those hills in the distance.

she and her siblings played for hours on this rocky slope where you could always unearth a rattler... or two.

Standing with Mr. Hart who purchased the property in the 50's and graciously allowed us to wander all over it - not just this visit in 2008, but again the next summer when we returned with 16 of us!   :)  Sadly, we learned he has since passed away.  What a wonderful man.  

You can't talk about Mama without talking about Daddy, and vice versa.  That catalyctic moment of their meeting in June 1954 changed both of their futures in a way that I most appreciate - because, of course, it defined my own.  Since that fateful summer Mama and Daddy have journeyed together touching so many people along the way.

part of the secret to 57, almost 58 years of happy marriage... he makes her laugh!

and she makes him happy.   :)

This Friday they will retire (for the 2nd time!) from their life of dedication to education and public service.  Of course, we all know they will never retire from that life they so effectively lead, but we are truly looking forward to having more time with them here at home and I know that they are looking forward to more time together without a 'schedule'.  :)

Daddy said he would retire by Mama's 80th birthday.  He is almost going to make it.  :)  And although we will have birthday cake for her on Friday (and we did a group celebration last week) I want to take this opportunity to tell her 'Happy Birthday and I love you so very, very much, Mama.  You have enriched my life in so many, many ways and I am deeply grateful that I am your daughter.  Always.'

A few years ago I made a video tribute for Mama's birthday.  It is pretty long but I sure do love to watch it over again.  Although we can be a somewhat patriarchal family in some ways, I cannot over-estimate the value of the legacy of strong, loving women that I 'come from'.  If you like, you can watch the video here.  The women shown are members of my family, from both sides; some still with us, some passed on.  This is the heart of our family.

Here are some of my favorite photos of my lovely Mama through the years.

Mama, Dale and Aleta

Dale, Aleta and Mama in front of the old potato cellar. 

The photo on the left is of Dale, Aleta and Mama standing on a leveler.  This one is in the Homesteader Museum and when my aunt saw it she exclaimed, 'Why, we look like 3 little urchins!"  Mama said, "we WERE!"  :)   The middle photo is of my Grandpa on the tractor. 

Look!  They are in a deck of cards sold at the Homesteader Museum!   :)

Those same three 'little urchins' - Mama, Dale and Aleta

Aleta, Dale and Mama reminiscing over old photos while in our old camper - May 2008

Daddy and Mama - Aug. 4, 1954 - a mere 8 weeks after they met!   :D  (kids, don't try that at home...)

Mama with my babies - Jackson and Jonathan

I love this series of photos from Mama and Daddy's 50th Wedding anniversary... they are trying to recreate the photo on the table of Daddy's grandparents on their 50th wedding anniversary.  (which Daddy remembers attending as a child)

They are trying to get those faces down but...

...somehow they just can't quite pull it off.   :D  (note the two cuties on the stairs behind them!)   :)

On their 50th wedding anniversary

Mama is FAMOUS for her chocolate buttermilk sheet cake and Jonathan always helps her make one for his birthday cake.  It's a tradition!   :)

That was the year he had his 'Military' party.   :)

And this is part of why we also call her 'Big Sue'!!   :)

She may be barely 5 feet tall, but she has always been able to handle any rascally grandson!  :)

I love this photo from Anna's graduation day.  The two of them seated atop Mama's capstone at Truman campus... 'Truman's First Lady'.

Bonfire!

Last Friday night Jackson had a bonfire out here at Willis Creek Ranch.  A terrific group of 'kids' joined him for an evening of Ultimate Frisbee, 'Ninja' on the trampoline (to make it more interesting!), roasting hot dogs and s'mores and making music around the bonfire.  I think they all had a great time, even if it was really hot.

I snuck outside a few times to take some photos of them.  :)  I was glad that this time I was in town for the bonfire!  But poor Jonathan was sick and had to stay inside and miss the whole thing.  However, both boys are already planning another one for sometime in July (hopefully).

Here are a few photos from the evening.

playing Ultimate Frisbee in the backyard

I love how everyone is running, but Jackson is just standing there.  He says he was contemplating what Kyle was going to do with the frisbee...   :)

Not sure what Joey and Nils are doing, but it cracks me up!  :)

Ummmmm.... I think there are too many on the trampoline!!   

you can play frisbee through buildings, too...   :)

Melina and Megan

Arayna and Tenea

playing 'Ninja' on the trampoline

this shot makes me laugh    :)

Matthew said it was like laying in his own private planetarium...   :)

Matthew and Anna

Jackson showing Rachel the horses

Carol, Tenea and Marvin

Megan, Anna, Arayna and Mia (in background)

enjoying the evening at the bonfire

Preparations

As you may have noticed, except for recipes, there hasn't been a lot of activity here on the blog this month.  So what have we been up to?  Well, we haven't been traveling (as we often are in June).  In fact, I cancelled two trips within the last 30 days simply because we have been so busy here at home.  What have we been doing?  Preparing.  Preparing for this very week!  This Friday my Daddy, and therefore my Mama, are finally retiring for GOOD!  There will be a reception for them Friday afternoon which will be immediately followed by the annual family reunion, which will be hosted here at Willis Creek Ranch this year.  We are so excited to be welcoming a LOT of people in this weekend!  I can't wait!

But, all the company coming in made us realize how much work there was to be done around home.  You know how you go along for months, even years, letting things slide?  Then suddenly you look with fresh eyes and you see the horrors right in front of you!  That is what happened to us.  :)  So, along with all the regular seasonal transition type work that has to be done every year, we have been trying to shape this place up.  Believe me, that is a much harder job than we anticipated.    And truly, I probably shouldn't even share that we are working so hard, because I fear the end result won't look like much.  But, as they say, you should've seen it before!!  :)

We have replaced 3 windows in the house, repaired holes in siding, painted fence, planted grass and mowed grass, worked on massive landscaping projects, cleaned house, organized pantries, put together a new grill and trampoline, gotten out the pool for the season, worked horses, played tennis, walked miles, sanded outdoor furniture, tried to paint furniture (I gave up on this one...) and power-washed anything standing out here including 3 houses, 2 barns and a lot of fence.  To top it off, Daddy is having a new dock built for the pond to be delivered by Friday.  I simply cannot believe he managed to pull that one off, but he did!  Amazing.  

And in the midst of all this Marvin has been nursing Runner through an abscessed hoof for over 2 weeks.  Twice daily Marvin has been soaking Runner's hoof in a bucket of warm water and Epsom salts trying to work the abscess out.  It was pretty touch and go there for awhile, but now looks like all is going to fully heal and be okay.  Whew!

the hay guy even got here in time to bale our hay!

hay bales in the sunset

I like this shot Jackson got of the equipment in the sunset.

Landscaping.... ah, the bane of our existence.  We are not good at this at all.  We laugh and say we grow annual perennials, but we aren't really kidding.  :/  My sister is the greenest of thumbs and tries valiantly to help us out, though.  She helped me choose some new plantings that she feels might actually survive our clay ground and 'us'.  After a full day of shopping for plants and flowers, poor Marvin got to do all the manual labor while I took Mama and Julie out to dinner.  That really is awful, isn't it?  I don't deserve him!!   :)

This stump from an old bush took him all day long to dig out.  

He had to use the log chain and the tractor!

and he's still smiling!

digging out all the old gravel to put in new dirt and plantings

Mama and Jonathan redid our front flower bed - so lovely!

this doesn't look like much here, but it was laying out the plan for new plantings...

where that awful stump was...

again, laying out a new plan...

at least I have been feeding them well through all this!  Even if Jackson does look rather 'deadish'...

Jackson has had a lot of fence to paint...

And here is a funny story... Julie told me to get packing peanuts to put in the bottom half of my planter pots, then put a layer of coffee filters, then potting soil.  That way I can just change out the top layer of potting soil each year and not have to use as much.  Plus, the packing peanuts will help with drainage.  Great idea!  And I just happened to have a dear friend who was moving away at the time and gave me 2 big trash bags full of packing peanuts that showed up in a big box she got to pack stuff in.  We dutifully followed Julie's instructions, then watered the new plants.  Guess what we discovered?  The packing peanuts are the biodegradable kind... you know, the kind that dissolve when you put water on them?  These pots all started out with dirt above the top.  Within about 30 minutes they had sunk down this far.  They are now about halfway down the pots.  ha!  We laughed so hard when we found out - and we don't have plans to change it just yet.  :)

Note - you should only be laughing at the sinking dirt, NOT at the pitiful looking plants.  ;)

Jackson has been cleaning a LOT of tack.  Man, had that stuff gotten dirty.  

And with so many saddles, bridles and the biggie, harness, he has had his hands full.  

he spotted me taking his photo and closed me out!   :D

I will have to try to come back at some point with some 'after' shots.  I realize after looking back over this post that nothing really looks good yet.  But, it will!  And besides, we still have at least 36 more hours, right?!?!    :D