Like the Tulips....

I had to write the monthly message for our ward newsletter, and I thought I'd share it with you here.

Like the Tulips

One of my favorite reasons for living in Utah is the tulips. Tulips are some of my favorite flowers, and I’ve lived a lot of places where you can’t grow them.

Tulips thrive here specifically because of the cold winters we have.  They won’t grow where I used to live in California or in the cozy weather of Florida. They can’t survive without a harsh winter. They use that nasty time to get nutrition and nourishment, waiting patiently for the spring, so they can shoot their way up to the sun.

After each Utah winter, I eagerly wait for my tulips to start stretching up their little green arms. Seeing those bits of life amid the snow thrills me every time – and gives me hope – I know spring and summer are coming because my tulips know it.

Just as Utah winters are very tough for me, so are all of our individual times of adversity. We all have our cold, harsh, dark winters of sorrows and trial. But as we huddle in the cold of those times, we need to remember we are tulips in the Lord’s garden. Our adversity nourishes us and strengthens us spiritually. We can’t expect to have the strength and beauty of a tulip, if we don’t put in the harsh times.

And just as the tulips are the first bearers of the good news of Spring and the Sun of summer is coming, we can also be those who reach for the Son, and give others hope that He is coming.

In his April 2003 conference talk, “Faith through Tribulation Brings Peace and Joy,” Elder Robert D. Hales encouraged us to be those beacons of hope, even as trials beset us.

“As we look into the eyes of our children and grandchildren, we see the doubt and fear of our times. Wherever these precious ones go in the world, they hear about unemployment, poverty, war, immorality, and crime. They wonder, “How can we cope with these problems?”

To find answers, they look back into our eyes and listen to our words. Do they hear us speaking faithfully and hopefully, despite the tribulations of our times?

They need to see us continuing to pray and study the scriptures together, to hold family home evening and family councils, to serve faithfully in our Church callings, to attend the temple regularly, and to be obedient to our covenants. When they see our steadfastness in keeping the commandments, their fears will subside and their confidence in the Lord will increase.

By showing our faith through tribulation, we assure them that the fury of the adversary is not fatal. “

My grandfather, who recently died, was one of the greatest tulips I have ever known. He had many cold, harsh winters of life, living with multiple chronic illnesses for more than 20 years. But that man was always bringing hope to all of us around him. He was always blooming with faith in his tribulations. And even when it seemed like spring was on its way, and those late spring snows would dump on him, he was still there reaching for the Son. Like the tulips, he would stand there, strong and immovable, beautiful in his example, urging others to have hope – he was ever showing that the fury of our winter times is not fatal.

We can all be a bit more like the tulips, blooming and bringing hope to the other flowers of the world. We have the gospel, and we can be strengthened by our trials and then tell the other flowers of the good news. The news that the Son is there. That the winter is over and the Son is coming.

Karissa

Les Mis!!!

Jason, Austin and I went to Les Mis in SLC the day before Mother's Day, and it was great. Austin loved it, but sobbed every time someone died (which is often, in that play!)
At the end, he was sobbing quite loudly, and we were getting some odd looks, so I comforted him.
"Don't worry, honey," I said. "It's okay to cry. Everyone cries at Les Mis. You're just the loudest."

Karissa

Not Tired

So, Emmett was falling asleep in the car today, and I said, "Oh, you look tired."
He said, "No, I not. My eyes are just sticking together."

-Karissa

Soccer Mom

Can I just tell you how much I love soccer?!
I heard you laughed, Jared, when mom told you I was playing soccer again - bah!! I recently started playing indoor soccer, and I am sooo hooked. I now look forward every week to my Friday night game. I love the competiveness of it, pushing people against the walls, making good passes. I love it!
This last Friday, I even got carded.
There was this one girl on the other team who was really throwing elbows - a lot. At one point, she hooked one of my players, who then flipped up and landed flat on her back. The girl said "Sorry," but she was totally smirking. She totally clotheslined one of my players! So I yelled at her a bit.
Then later, she and I were jostling for the ball, and I let my temper get to me, and I full on body shoved her. I got the penalty, and had to sit out for 2 minutes. I was so mad, I even yelled as the ref was carding me, "Yeah, well, I don't even care! She deserved it!"
We ended up tying the game with them, and one of her team's players came up to me after, and apologized for the girl. She said, "She is a bit out of control. I mean it's just a soccer game! Whatever you did to her, she did deserve it."
I know I should feel bad about my temper, but I'm sorry, it was totally awesome.

I love soccer!!!!

The Great Snake Charmer!

This is a summer experience from Erik.

So we moved into our new home and we have been spending every day of the past two-three weeks putting everything in its place. We have new grass but we were not able to install sprinklers. So, we have to hand water the grass morning and night. Tonight we started the backyard by hand (rotating sprinkler) that we move from corner to corner. After twenty minutes, we move the sprinkler. Lisa has been so good at handling this while I put Kyson to bed, but tonight she was already putting him to bed so I was responsible for changing the sprinkler.

It’s about 9:00 pm. I click on the porch light and walk on the grass to the left side of the yard. I pick up the sprinkler and start dragging it towards the right side of the yard. I look to my left to pull more slack in the hose. I squat down and start to adjust the sprinkler so that it covers the areas I need. Almost done; so I start to slide the hose over to the right and my hand brushes up against something unfamiliar. It’s not grass. It doesn’t feel like fence. It doesn’t feel like the hose. So I look over and quickly realize it’s a snake! Wait a minute…..I know that pattern…..oh yeah it’s a rattlesnake! I squeal like a girl and jump about 5 feet back! Hovering over my knees, I catch my breath with wide eyes facing the snake. My brain slowly starts to function again and I ask myself; “do I say thank you for not biting me and spare his life?” Oh yeah, Lisa and Kyson are terrified of snakes. I guess I am going to engage in a battle to kill the snake now. I look to my right and grab our shovel (it’s there to scoop poop – yes I remember those days Mom and Dad).

Shovel in hand, I raise it in the air like a Last Mohican. Now the snake starts to coil up and rattle. I think at this point he/she is thinking; “I should have just bitten the dumb guy.” Standing about 8 feet away (further than striking distance), I throw the shovel at the snake like it’s a spear. Of course, I don’t kill him. Now the snake is mad and my shovel is lying next to him. What do I do now? BB Gun! I run inside and grab my BB gun with the scope on it! I quickly drop 30-40 BB’s in the chamber. I’ve got him now.

I run back on the porch and pump a few times. I look in the scope but it’s too dark to see the snake. I fire the gun anyways. He’s mad and I can’t seem to hit him. I fire again, and again, and again, and again. I might have hit him but he slowly slithers backwards and ends up on the other side of the fence through a small opening. I can still see his half his body on my side of the fence. Do I grab him and pull him back in like a bad wrestling episode? Nope….

I run back in the house and grab a flashlight. I hop on top of the doghouse next to the fence. I can see the snake. Now I start to get excited. History flashes through my mind….10 pumps! So I pump it 10 times and hold the flashlight next to the barrel. I am feeling confident like a marine in battle. I look through the scope and can see the snake clearly. I slowly pull the trigger. I missed again. Now I am starting to realize my scope is not sighted in. The game is on! Instead of 10 pumps, I start going until the gun won’t pump anymore. Marine in formation, I fire again. Miss! While this is happening, cars are driving by on the street next to us (we are the only house on the block so they can see something is going on with a man hanging over the fence with a flashlight and a gun). I am so in the zone, I don’t even care.

Determined, I end up shooting about 25-30 shots. I know one of them hit the snake because I can see the head fasciculating (convulsing). He stops moving. I think I have finally won! I take a few more shots to make sure. Hands go up in the air as if I just won a skeet shoot competition, forgetting that it took about 30 shots.

With a smile on my face, I enter the house. By this time, Lisa is now sitting on the couch downstairs with Kyson upstairs asleep. She looks over at me and is confused as to why I have a flashlight and BB gun in hand. After some awkward giggles, I tell her the story. Thankfully she finds humor in the way I reenacted my victory, but she firmly closes by saying “Tomorrow you will be buying snake-away to put around the entire house.”

I think I kept going out back every 15 minutes checking to see if the snake was truly dead…..

Vacation memories

Yikes, I am really behind on this.  Thank goodness there isn't a July challenge yet.

Growing up, we would do road trips from Oklahoma to Utah every summer.  Along the way, we'd stop in Cheyenne, WY and Pocatello, ID to see my dad's family.  Then on to Orem, UT too see my mom's side.  That's the childhood vacation and I loved it.  I remember wishing we could go somewhere else for the summer and one year we finally did.  It was fun but I missed seeing my cousins.

A few years ago, Jared and I took a road trip to Nauvoo.  That was a lot of fun.  We went at Halloween so they were having a lot of events including a parade, Jack-o-lantern contests, and other street vendors.  It was fun celebrating a holiday the small town way.

Next year, we are planning a beach vacation to celebrate, among other things, freedom from school.  We hope to make it to a place where we can learn how to surf, lay on the beach, and go on fun excursions around the town.  We still haven't decided our destination so if you have any suggestions, we are open to them.

Erin

Vacations I've Loved

Look at that! It's the last day of the month, and I'm finally writing a response to my own challenge! Yeah, it's been that busy over here.

Anyways, on to my favorite vacations.

1. Switzerland: Yes this one has to come first, because it was the most amazing, peaceful, fun, interesting, memorable of all my vacations ever. I remember how excited and surprised I was when I came home from my Freshman year of college, and my parents said I couldn't so something a certain week. I asked why, and they matter-of-factly said we were going to Switzerland. It was so unexpected, but amazing. And being in that culture, being in all those small towns - all the little memories that I have from that experience still brighten my day every once in a while.

2. Hawaii: Sorry, Jason, this one came in second. This was our honeymoon destination, and it was wonderful in totally different ways than Switzerland. I think everyone in the world should go to Hawaii at least once in their life, and Jason and I plan to go at least one more time. The sand, the shockingly warm ocean water, the scuba-diving, the Polynesian Cultural center - all awesome. And of course, the company I was with was great!

3. Pinecrest/Moab/Washington D.C.: Yes, these are tied for third place. Each represents something unique and important to me. Pinecrest - aaaahhhh, camping..... And of course, moms in hairnets, bats and tennis rackets, cliff-jumper Aunt Julie, and singing the Lollipop song over and over - what could be better? Moab - red rock, hiking, being with my kids and my husband - a great escape that's not so far away. D.C. - Another place that everyone should go at least once - and stay there for at least 2 weeks so they actually see everything. A place that you can live there for 4 months, and still feel like I need to go back to.

I hope I can give my own kids great vacation memories like these.

Karissa

From San Antonio ~

Hi there!  I wanted to start by making sure each of you has our new blog address.  I just started it but thought it was a little more personable then FB.  The address is www.samolls.blogspot.com

Hmmm, favorite summer vacation.

The most favorite one I remember from being little is my family would head to Fallen Leaf Lake.  I was little; it was before we moved to Antioch.  I remember a really big rock out in the lake, seemed forever far away, and every day it was my goal to get to the rock.  In reality, it probably wasn't that far but I guess I've always had swimmer buried deep inside :)
As an older person, my parents took us all to NY, DC, NJ, MD, DE, PA before Bryce left on his mission.  It was awesome.  We had so much fun and in a short week, I fell in love with the east coast!  I love the business and craziness and hustle and bustle.  It was fun to experience DC and to understand what we were seeing, the Smithsonians were incredible.  And of course, the yummy food - a real NY-style bagel (more cream cheese then bagel) and a guy in DC sold my dad a watermelon...he cut in quarters, long-way.  He gave each of us one and then asked my dad for money.  Sneaky.  It was delicious.  We were there for the 4th of July and to see the fireworks from the Capitol was an amazing experience - over a million people were on "The Mall".  It was great!

Now as a married person, Erik and I have SO many dreams of travel:  DisneyWorld, Europe, the beach, the Virgin Islands and so much more!!!  Our first possibility will be DisneyWorld so be ready, Cameron and Suzanne!  :)

I never thought...

I love my babies so much and they bring me so much joy. I never thought I would feel about someone, the way I feel about them. You all know that feeling and I felt it with Turner so strongly that I didn't know how it could be duplicated for another child, and yet I love Britta just as strongly.

A few things I thought I'd never do as a parent,
- carry on a conversation with a baby at the grocery store about which cereal we should buy
- be okay with vomit all over me
- pull the car over to get a toy, pacifier, snack that fell on the floor
- kiss a snotty child on the mouth or use my hand as a Kleenex
- share my food only to find that I only got one bite
- become sooooo forgetful
- hide in the car in the garage or the bathroom or the closet just to be alone

And I never thought I would have 2 kids so close together. I never imagined that I was capable enough to figure it out and get used to it. But I am and I did. As a side note, I recently discovered my biceps from carrying around both kids, one in each arm. But I have come to realize that all the challenges that come to us come because we are strong enough to handle it. And I never thought I would gain so much self confidence by becoming a parent. Erin

Reminds Me of Molly

Remember those days when you had to get out the shovel before you could mow the lawn to clean up the poop that Molly left? Well, yesterday I had an experience that reminded me of those days. A little background (sorry, this is going to give the ending away) -- we are currently trying to potty train Turner and he is doing very well with #1, but not so much with #2. He does not want to sit on the toilet because it is too hard to get out. Instead he needs to run around and hop to work it out. Well, yesterday we were at a Memorial Day barbecue with some friends and I saw Turner doing his "poopy dance" so I ran and grabbed him and carried him inside as fast as I could to the bathroom. Unfortunately as I was pulling his underwear down it came out and landed right on the bathroom floor. So, I picked it up with some toilet paper, took off his now dirty underwear and just put his shorts back on. Then, a little while later we were back outside having dessert and I saw in the distance he was squirming again so I ran over to him and just as I arrived it came out of the bottom of his shorts and right onto the grass. So, naturally, I did what any father would do and I bent down and picked it up with the wrapper from my ice cream sandwich! Fortunately, I was spared from any embarrassing moments as I don't think anyone else noticed me using my wrapper as a "pooper-scooper". Jared

There She Goes!

I just have to brag a little because this is something I have never accomplished nor do I plan to ever accomplish in this life - probably not in the next life either!  This morning, my beautiful, determined daughter ran, biked, and swam her first triathlon!  What a feat!!  She has been training for months with a friend and was determined that she could do this.  And when Karissa decides she can do something, there is no stopping her!  We couldn't cheer her as she ran or rode her bike, but we were all there as she swam her 400 meters cheering her on!  Funny Austin wanted to ask her some questions as she touched the side of the pool, but Jason would have none of that, as Karissa's energy was almost spent.  So Emmett and Ella bent down low to the ground and encouraged their Mom on.  Karissa did a great job and we are all so very proud of her!  Go Karissa!!

Parenting Perspective

It’s the most difficult and most rewarding thing I have ever done or ever will. I wouldn’t trade being a mother for anything. I adore it. I love it. I live for it. Even when I'm past due for a shower, pulled all my hair out and haven't slept in over a week. 

The challenge for the month: “...please share something you never thought you do as a parent.” 

I was never the play house type. I was always building forts with my brothers and enjoying the great outdoors. So I never really spent endless hours role playing, planning, organizing or setting expectations for myself. In the absence of playing mother-knows-best I have discovered over the years that what I had done was develop a love for life. A love that translates into my parenting. An enjoy the moments, my surroundings, and take-life-in-stride kind of approach to life. To be able to share and enjoy this love together has brought such peace and divine gratitude that has brought us closer. It’s reminded me to slow down and helped me to keep my priorities.

For the record, just because I didn’t routinely play with dolls growing up I did think about my future. I knew being a wife and mother was the most important thing I wanted to do. I did think about my future husband, temple marriage and children.  (Bet you didn’t know that I always thought Calvin as in Calvin & Hobbes would be the greatest kid to have. I loved his imagination and spirit.) Yes it was all at the forefront of my mind even while climbing trees and scraping my knees. 

In fact it was so important that I knew I’d accept any trials that came with parenting and never put much more thought into what I thought I’d never do. I think it’s safe to say though, I never thought one of my sons would be diagnosed with a life threatening disease and that I’d give my son daily injections. (Or at least I hoped not.)

However, I did know I would do what ever my children needed. I’ve heard plenty of parents say “I could never do that!”. Really... because... well you do realize what the alternative is right?

I suppose I have plenty of “I never thoughts”, but that is probably the biggest and most heart breaking as a parent, right now. Fingers crossed as I still have years of parenting ahead of me. So here’s to enjoying the moments, my surroundings and taking life in stride.

Suzanne

Parenting 101

Being a parent has been an incredible experience for me.  I have absolutely had plenty of ups and downs and I've noticed that for the first few years, I focused more on the downs then the ups.  Over the last year or two, I've started to really come into my own; I love our son, and have realized just how much while dealing with all the infertility mumbo-jumbo.

Kyson has taught me unconditional love, patience, kindness, service, generosity, and to let go of the small stuff.  I have also learned that Erik and I come from different worlds and have learned to compromise and listen to his side, his story and his way of seeing the world.

I have learned that I am far from the perfect mother that I thought I would be!!!  I also have found that I don't follow through with things like 'no french fries till he's 3' or 'no television, ever'!  I don't bake bread daily or exercise for three hours a day like some of my friends, and that's ok!  I've learned to give in to sweet grandmas who want to love and give and enjoy their grandchildren till they crash from exhaustion!  I have heard the phrases "I'll give you something to cry about!" and "What part of NO do you not understand!?" come out of my mouth and think Oh my heavens!  I'm my mom!!!  

Nothing makes me happier then seeing Kyson happily succeed at school, win awards, do fantastic at baseball and accomplish greatness; I cry every time!  Nothing makes me happier then sweet kisses and "I love you mama" as I tuck him in at night.  And NOTHING has been more beautiful then talking about different family-sizes with him last week and having him say "But WE love our family just the way it is!"  Yes, my sweetness, we do :)

Lisa

Being a Parent is.......

Okay, I'll start us off this month. I'm going to share both a good and bad thing.

1. Being a parent is a learning experience. I never realized how much I'd learn from my kids. I am awed and humbled by it. There are parts of my self that, because of my kids, are starting to become better and stronger. Among many other things, Austin has taught me to remember to have fun, seek out friends, to play more, that anytime (even 5 a.m.) is a good time to dance.
Ella has taught me that affection should be often and joyous, that girly things are okay, that there is soooo much beauty around us, and that I still need to work on my temper.
Emmett has taught me to be attentive and listen to the little things, to bring humor back into the every day things,  and that boys rejoicing in boy things is hilarious.

2. Now I will admit a parenting thing I hate, and feel guilty about hating.
There are some days that if I hear, "Mom, Look!" one more time, I just might run screaming out of my house. There are days when I want to say, "No!! I am not going to look at anything, anymore!!!" They want me to look at every little thing they do on their games, everything they draw, everything they do, all day long. And yes, if I was a better person, I would rejoice in looking, in the fact that they want me to be a part of everything. But I didn't realize this parenting thing would make you a captive audience 24-7!
Isn't that awful of me? I know, I know......

Karissa

Love Languages

I thought it would be cool to know everyone's love languages.  Are you familiar with this theory?  Here's the link:

Adults:  http://www.5lovelanguages.com/assessments/30-second-quizzes/love/
Children:  http://crcpeninsula.org/Love_Languages_Children_Guiz.pdf

I think that if we all knew one another's languages it could help us understand one another and find more things in common then we already know!  It'll be fun :)

I'll start ~
Erik:  Physical Touch, Quality Time/Words of Affirmation
Lisa:  Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Acts of Service
Kyson:  Quality Time, Words of Affirmation/Gifts

The Appreciated Prank

Real tricksters do not limit themselves to a mere month in the calendar year. At least not the one I know.

Like most of you I remember one year experiencing the blue milk and green mashed potatoes. As kids we thought it was kinda cool. April Fools was for verbal jokes mostly though. The kind that instigate a head turn to look at something not really there or a "Really?" to be followed with a jocular response of "April Fools!" Our boys get a kick out of this day long game.

For my family all the real joking was sprinkled throughout the year. The source usually sprang from one brother in particular. I loved his pranks though. They made me smile. Thinking back now, I was almost always the target. Which makes me smile all the more.

For example one year while at college he baked a cake for my birthday. He arranged for an adventurous double date and brought the cake over when they came to pick me up. They lit the candle and everyone sang Happy Birthday. As my brother, his date and mine, and my roommates huddled around the homemade cake singing, I took in a big breath to blow out the candle. It was at this moment that I noticed smoke billowing out the sides of it and an overpowering foul smell of sulfur. I rushed the cake to the balcony and we worked out our abs with a good laugh.

He had ever so carefully baked and constructed a cake with a smoke bomb in side, crafting a wick long enough to thread through the cake and candle. No one suspected a thing. It was BRILLIANT!

It was acts of thoughtfulness such as these that reinforced my awareness of how much he cared about me. Silly? Maybe. But I knew the thought, the effort and attention he gave to me were acts of brotherly affection. I always remembered them with fondness and looked forward to the next one because he always had to out do himself. Never were they mean spirited.

And not to worry. My roommates loved him. (Sometimes a little too much.) He was adored for his fun and adventure and good nature. Still is.

For me pranks, tricks and even April Fools bring a smile.

(It helps that my brothers could never do wrong in my eyes. They were and are my heroes.)

Delightfully Duped,
Suzanne

Spring Chickens

Okay, just had to add something that's been marinating in my brain.
Ella has been begging for an entire year, counting down the months even, to when we could get baby chicks. She's really, really wanted them. We decided we'd like to have the eggs as a family, so we gave in.
So finally, the Friday before Easter, we went and bought 2 chicks. And now they are twittering and pecking away only a few feet away from me, as I write this. We basically have a chicken run in our living room.
But, in spite of the slight farm smell wafting around our home, I am surprisingly enjoying these birds. Who knew that chickens had such personalities. Seriously. Austin's chicken is named Sonic, and she lives up to that name. She's a very contented bird, except she really would like to be able to follow us around the house. We've had to create new and better barriers (created from lego street pieces, no less) because if she gets bored when no one's home, she'll hop out and go wandering. And I worry, because of course you know, I'm not the cleanest of homemakers, and I don't want her to eat something bad.
She's very motherly toward Ella's bird, who is a Bantam - which basically means she's a smaller breed of chicken. Ella's bird, named Sally, is a bit of a spaz. Her first week here, she chirped loudly much of the day. She needed to be held, almost cuddled, to get her to calm down. Now she's much calmer, and will roam around. But still, if you take her out, and not Sonic, Sonic will fly out to check on her.
So after that long explanation, I'm just surprised at how much I enjoy these little birds. They really are like little companions, who are going to actually be useful when they grow up. They remind me of the birds Cam had growing up - so curious, so chatty, so into people.
In fact, I'm thinking they are going to be really disappointed when they have to go outside in a few weeks! And I may actually miss them.
Karissa

Funny Uncles

Okay, so I never really was into the April Fools thing, and I never really liked the whole Easter Bunny idea. Santa I could do - but the Easter Bunny, no.
But as a kid I loved our Easter Egg hunts. We'd always get together with our cousins, and everyone would be there. Then the Dads and Uncles would go out and hide all the eggs.
Looking back on it now, I can see how much fun those guys had. As a kid, I just enjoyed doing the hunt, because they always were so creative in their hiding. But seeing them in my memory now, I can see how their eyes twinkled, and the small smiles of mischief in waiting to see if we could find their treasures.
Our Dads and Uncles, especially as we got older, really, really enjoyed hiding the eggs. They'd come up with some pretty clever spots, and try to camouflage them really well.
That's the great thing about an Easter Egg hunt. It feeds into the hider's enjoyment of being tricky. But they want you to find their treasures because it shows their cleverness. And the lookers enjoy the hunt, enjoy the journey of being the "smart" one to find the tricky ones.
In fact, I remember that many years, we'd all run out, find the eggs, then dump the candy in our baskets and beg the Dads and Uncles to hide the empty eggs again, just so we could find them again. And they usually complied, sometimes even hiding the empty eggs 2 or 3 times more.
Now, as an adult, I too enjoy hiding eggs, and I actually look forward to when my kids are a bit older, so I can get creative and clever. It's neat to have traditions that are so fun for both sides.
Karissa

April what?

I never remember April Fools. The 2 memories I have are making orange juice from frozen concentrate and my brother thought the big clump of still frozen concentrate that I was trying to smash and dissolve was play dough and that I was playing a joke on him. He wouldn't believe me that it was actual oj.

The other one was when we told Nelleen we were pregnant our first year of marriage and she was so mad at us. Then we told her we were prego with Turner on April Fools. Yes, mean but not intentional. She didn't believe us for a long time.

But we had a fun Easter this year. I posted that on my blog.
There are about 3 or 4 posts about what we did, but mainly pictures.

No On April Fools!

When I was growing up my sister, Myra, was deathly afraid of spiders.  Being young and dumb I thought I would be funny and play an April Fool's joke on her.  So I told her I saw a spider sitting on her neck.  The sheer terror and panic in her eyes and her dance of horror as she tried to brush the "spider" off of her body is something I still remember fifty years later. It took us quite awhile to calm her down and reassure her everything was okay.  Therefore, I don't think I have ever done an April Fool's joke since and that is why I am not such a big fan of them.

Mom