I heard a new story from Dad about their childhood garden.  Apparently at one point they had land or rented land, 40 acres!!  It was to garden on and then sell the excess produce.  This was in addition to the garden they had at their house, approx an acre or so.  And then I think there was some other small plot of land with produce.  When I started the tiny pool garden at the house with tomatoes and peppers, Dad said “the best smell in the world is tomato plants when they’re growing.  You could go out in the garden and pick them off and bite into them like an apple.”  Sounds like I should have grown up in that time and gotten pro tips on gardening! :-)

Little E

I thought Elizabeth was the most beautiful baby's I had ever seen. She had delightful rolls on her thighs and even her arms! She loved to laugh and when she got to be a toddler she loved to take a bath and make bubble castles.

She always spoke normally as any child of a Midwesterner should with not accent until she went to kindergarten. Her teacher was a southern belle grandma and within two weeks Elizabth came home with her own deep southern drawal!

Melissa 5th bday

There was once time when kid's birthday partys took place at the family home. Perhaps money for not so plentiful or perhaps parents did not realize they needed to outdo so and so's party since this was a pre instagram era. At any rate, for my 6th (ish) birthday, I had a birthday at home with all my neighborhood friends over. The most important things i remember from that birthday was the shock and delight that the picnic table and two long benches were brought in from outside and put in the bottom of out split level house (I had no idea that Could be done!!!) And the beautiful Barbie birthday cake mom made. Big dome shaped cake to resemble her dress and Barbie stuck right down in the middle. I was thrilled!