A day in the park. . .

What a great day! It started out feeling kind of yucky, well at least I did--I suppose the day was fine to start with. After some Motrin, Excedrin, Mucinex, a Dr. Petter and a trip to the park, I started feeling much better. I went with Dante and Jake, Emily and Moira and the wee babe Kella. Snuggling with a baby always makes me feel better. Tossing a softball to my son always makes me feel better. Sitting in a chair talking to my favorite friend always makes me feel better. Feeling the breeze of a soft autumn day always makes me feel better. Doing nothing and not feeling guilty makes me feel great!

We tried to go to a little museum in the park, but it was closed. We did look around the outside and saw some great old farm equipment. It makes me think of my grandparents, even my parents. My mom and dad both grew up as farm kids. My dad's family moved to Montana when Dad was about three years old. I try to think of my sweet daddy when he was just a boy--he tells lots of great stories of his childhood. They really had nothing, but I have never heard him complain. I'll tell more of his stories another day.

Here is a picture with my grandpa and grandma, Ray and Veva Clawson and their first three kids--Orilla, George and Marion. We don't have many pictures of Veva, she died when my dad was 16. That was a rough time for this family, as would be expected. This picture of Grandpa is many years later. I remember him looking like this--the plaid shirt and overalls were common attire.

My mom grew up on a farm, then they moved into town when she was in high school. Last time we were in Idaho, we asked my mom about her farm life. She said the thing she loved best was that she got to follow her dad around--she loved being with him. Then Corky asked if there was a job she particularly disliked. She immediately responded--harvesting the hay. My dad agreed. They both said there were thistles and weeds that got harvested along with the hay. My mom's job was to stand inside the big wagon where it was all tossed. She said all the pieces were in the air all around her and all over her, making it hard to breathe. She specifically commented that the stickers and thistles got stuck in her stockings.

Mom said they had some cows, but she never had to milk them. They had chickens so she gathered eggs, and they had pigs, too. They had a large garden that sustained them, and then the hay fields. They had grain, which she told us you call it grain when you plant it, and then when you harvest it, it is wheat. I didn't know that. They would have the wheat ground into flour. They had enough milk that they could sell some.

I know they lived in a basement house. That must have been cold. She has told me before that all three girls slept in the same bed. They always wanted to sleep on a side because you could turn either way. Funny, Corky's mom said they always wanted to "breathe in the middle." Their rule was that the middle person could turn either way but the outside person had to sleep facing outside. No thanks. Three in a bed is at least one too many!

This is my mom when she was a little girl. She said she had to wear overalls when she worked on the farm. She hated them and couldn't understand why I wanted to wear them when I was in high school. Hmm. I knew a cute boy who wore overalls, so naturally I had to give them a try. Loved them! He didn't last, but the overalls did.

Okay, that's it for my reminiscing for the day.

So, the park really was great. We went to a park with a huge playground--has a castle and digging things and I really don't know what all. Lots of boardwalks and tunnels and stuff. Dante, Jake and Moira played and played. It was even too warm for their jackets. What a beautiful day. Emily, Kella and I just relaxed in the shade and the sun--we took turns being in one or the other. Sun got too hot; shade got too cool. But it all balanced out.

My boys are off track this week and next. I love having them home! We always try to do some fun things while they are out of school. They are in year-round school, which means they go for about 9 weeks and then have 3 weeks off. This time, however, they only have 2 weeks off. I know they make up for it in April with 4 weeks off. That will be good, and I know that 3 weeks is not a whole lot more than 2, but 2 certainly seems short! We have a couple of outings planned--Thursday we're going to the Ogden Children's Treehouse Museum. I love that place. The kids get to dress up and play so many different things. It's great for their imaginations. It also has lots of educational play things for them. They can sit in the "oval office" and be the president. There are just too many things to name. I'll have to post some pictures later this week.

We are getting ready for Halloween--I'm painting bones on black sweats for Jake so he can be a skeleton. I was a tad bit worried about doing the painting, but it is turning out okay. Dante wants to be a mummy, so I've got to get going on a costume for him. Moni wants to be Sally--no, not me. Sally from "A Corpse Bride." We found her a plain tan dress at the DI, so she can turn it into Sally's dress--all patched up. That should work. I'm not sure what Taylor is going to do. He thinks he should still go trick-or-treating, even though he's a senior in high school. It doesn't bother me as long as he has someone to go with, they don't cause trouble and they dress up. That's the rule--no candy unless you wear a costume. So don't forget--come to my house and trick-or-treat, but wear your costume!