once upon a time...

Once upon time, there was a young woman named Barbara.

She met a very nice young man named John.

They fell in love, and got married on August 31, 1957.

Over the next few years, they had three children- Jeff, Jackie, and Judy.

A few years later, they had another daughter named Jennifer.

After that, the family did what all families do- they went to school and to work, following the seasons of the seed corn crops and the school bookkeeping calendar. They spent their summer vacations making wonderful memories in Minnesota on a beautiful lake where they listened to the loons, fished for bluegills, bullheads, and crappies, enjoyed campfires, and each others' company.

They had puppies and kittens for pets, and raised various gerbils, butterflies, goldfish, frogs and toads in jars on the dining room buffet. They read lots of stories to each other, made forts out of the living room davenport, and played in the backyard sandbox and playhouse.

They enjoyed many lunches and dinners in a crowded, cozy kitchen. They spent many enjoyable hours around the dining room table on holidays, eating the wonderful food, playing many rousing card games of Euchre, Hearts, and Uno, and talking about everything.

The four lucky children eventually grew up and moved away, to the 10,000 lakes of Minnesota, the dairy country of Wisconsin, the rolling hills of Missouri, and the Sonoran Desert of Arizona.

Even though they can't always be together, they always know that the family is still there for them, just like the lake in Minnesota is still there.

Happy 49th Anniversary, Mom and Dad. I love you.