I've been waiting for Ding to add his comments and pictures about the birthday party but I do understand he's a working man. I will add the 40 year old honorees at the party. They were:

Christopher Spreitler
Jane Crawford
Chris Crawford
Eric Nichols
Julie Nichols
Suzanne Hollensbe
Doug Hollensbe
Dan Cullinane
Laurie Stallings

These kids have been friends since before they were in school. They all call me "Mom," and most of their kids call me "Granny". There's a man at the lake who wonders how many kids that woman has. Again, let me repeat, the party was a huge success. I'm waiting for Ding to add his comments and pictures.

Mark Lary (Brick's son} and his wife Karen are raising chickens in their backyard in Kirkwood. Mark's experience with chicken raising has been picking eggs at Grandma Spreitler's when he was a kid. Karen has named them. She has named one "Martha" after me and says I could change the name if I'd want to. Grandma Spreitler's name was also Martha. I don't want to change the name. I just hope it's the prettiest one. The chickens haven't started laying yet, but Mark has heard it will take about six months. He has expanded the coop to give them more room but is limited in space.

Now when Ding and Shelly go on their float trip with Kelly and his boys, Mark and Karen are going to meet them in Boise and float with them. Ding and Shelly are going to bring two of their dogs and leave Tucker, the biggest one, with Shelly's mother. Mark's son is going to be in Germany studying this summer. Mark's daughter lives out of town so they won't be available to chickensit. There is no listing in the yellow pages. Have you ever hired a chickensitter? The word comes out as a typo on my computer. Scott and Ding both have chickensitting experience as children from visiting their Spreitler grandparents and from spending parts of their summer vacations with Uncle Pete and Aunt Janet in Idaho, but Ding will be on the Westward Ho Trip and Scott lives in Louisville so he's too far away. Uncle Joe did say he remembers on the farm we would chop the chickens' heads off, dip them in scalding water, pluck them, butcher them and fry them for supper. He asked if I remembered. I told him I must have blocked it out, and I don't think that's what Mark and Karen have in mind.