From the Beginning

Starting in 2008, I began to keep significant, or insignificant emails from the family.  

Some are fun, some are sorrowful, all are from inside the family circle.

And, all will be fun for you to look at in little periodic spurts now and then.

There were so many to choose from and this is only a tiny bit of what is written...but I couldn't include them all, sad to say....so

Merry Christmas and Happy Reading.

The Gifford's Farm - April 2011

Dear Mom and Dad,
Tonight I asked my boys to run over to the Jensens and borrow some garlic. They both complained and whined and said why do I have to go and how come you always ask me to do everything. I thought, that’s it. I’ve had it up to here with your complaints. You think that’s hard? I’ll show you what’s hard. I’m going to send you to the Gifford's farm. 

I knew if they spent time there it would be hard, because of all the times I heard about it growing up. Whenever I would complain about having to set the table or take out the garbage, I’d hear how if I complained on more time, I’d have to go live on the Gifford’s farm for two weeks. Then I’d know what hard work was. Because at the Gifford’s farm, you had to get up at 4am every morning to milk the cows. And that was just the beginning. Then you had to go put a new roof on the barn and by the time you did that, the cows needed milking again. Then you had to slaughter one of the beef cows and deliver the meat by horseback to the outlying neighborhoods, but hurry and get back because you had to milk the cows one more time before you headed off to school. 

That’s just the sort of hard work I needed my boys to learn, I realized. So I called up Lee Gifford to let them know my boys would be coming to work. Get ready for some light-weights, I said. But I want you to toughen them up. In fact, I only want them to eat nails and hot sauce while they are at your farm. Lee said, “Hold it! Now just hold it right there. I think you have the wrong idea about this place.” I said, I don’t think so. This is the Gifford’s farm, right. He said yes. I said, You’ve got all those cows to milk, right. He said, well, we do have some cows, but we have a bunch of Mexicans that milk the cows, now. We don’t so much have the dairy farm the way we did when you kids were little. Once we realized we could get somebody else to milk those cows, we figured we’d make our farm an amusement park.

I started to get light-headed. Where would my kids learn to work? I said, let me get this straight. Your farm is an amusement park? He said, Oh, you’d love it. We have a Ferris wheel, pony rides, cotton candy up the ying-yang, dunking booth, carousel, snow cones, shooting gallery, I’m telling you what, I’ve never had so much fun in my whole life. I said, Fun? You can’t have fun there. You’re the Gifford’s farm? What am I supposed to do with these boys of mine that think their arm will fall off if they have to go borrow eggs? He said, bring ‘em by. Next week we’re having a two for the price of one discount!
Justin

Thanks for the Gifford Farm essay.  It's great to have you doing some writing
Allen

This totally made me laugh out loud.  You are so very very gifted at writing Justin. Loved it and apologize that I was such a mean mom with all those threats. Love mom

Don't worry Loni- I'm *meaner*. I tell the kids that I'll "sell 'em to the gypsies". Too bad for them that I just went to Europe and found a whole slew of gypsies....none of whom seemed open to my suggestions (in high school french), that they might consider a few extra mouths to feed....They're stuck with me for now, I guess....

xo

Janna

PS. Where's Gifford's Farm? :D

it's true she does threaten us with the gypsies.

Oliver

Gypsies wouldn't be a bad gig. Get to travel, see the world, wear big rings. 

Justin this essay was hilarious. And take heart... There would still be work for your boys at the amusement park... Someone has to say "keep your hands and arms in at all times". Miles would say that with such oommph and pizazz.
jenni

PLEASE Read This: Rebuttal to My Previous Email‏ - Jul 2012

Hello All,

Yesterday, I sent you an email about the new W-2 Tax Forms. Now I am writing as proof that chain emails are RARELY, if ever, to be trusted. PLEASE don't take chain emails at face value.

 

The email I sent refers you to Kiplinger. Please go here and look for yourself: (look at #3): http://www.kiplinger.com/businessresource/forecast/archive/health-care-reform-tax-hikes-on-the-way.html
Yes your insurance costs will be put on your W-2 but it is for checking penalties for those without insurance not for taxable income. You may remember they put the IRS in charge of collecting penalties for those without insurance. Thanks to my good friend, Debbie, who is smart as a whipple, for clarification and for championing truth.

 

I'll make you a promise....I won't pass along political emails to you anymore. Would you mind returning the favor?

 

Thanks,

Jen

No. I like political emails. Keep em coming. 

Jeremy 

I like the one about the garage. For me, I approve the following forwards: interesting tidbits about monkeys, photos of kittens, youtube videos about anesthesia that are funny, clips from the onion, fantastically strange weather phenomena, pictures of children, memes, clips from NPR, comments about politicians that are awesome or interesting (ron paul's son, sarah palin), information about yellowstone, online petitions about illiteracy and, I haven't seen this one yet, but something about building bat cages outside would be great. I heard once it's supposed to be great for mosquitos and I would be willing to try it, if the forward were convincing enough anyway. 

As I think about, I guess I usually like forwards. If I don't like them, I can usually find the delete button.

Jordan

Now, This Was a FUN Surprise!‏- July 2012

Here's what we saw on ABC nightly news on the 4th of JULY....

It was quite a surprise....

(There will be a little short commercial before the news story, so just hang in there.)

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/made-america-flags-produced-domestic-production-increasing-us-16713746?tab=9482930&section=1206853&playlist=16713790

Ha! Ha!  Made us laugh.

Loni

This is great!!

Beverly Murdock - Rexburg

WOW!! HOW AWESOME!!  Your family is FAMOUS and changing the WORLD—One Chinese made American Flag at a time!!   (Now I have to go home and check where all of our “American” flags were made!) Thanks for sharing and Congrats!! 

 Gavin Gee - Boise

Oh my word!  Hackworth's right there on ABC news...It is a good thing you weren't watching NBC!  Is that so fun to see those little faces you know and hear Justin's voice....fun for me too...thanks for sharing. 

Denys Wheeler - Rexburg

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  How great was that.  Fun Fun to have your kids on a National News program.

And so true - we need to buy more American made stuff.

Linda Asay - St George

 I bet this was a fun surprise.  What a great story and cool pictures.  We forwarded to our family.  Let Justin know we want his autograph now that he's on national news.    

 Erin - Michigan

 

Thank You, Jeremy - Nov 2010

Dear Jeremy, I want to thank you for your service to our country. I love the picture you have on Facebook; to me it represents your time in Afghanistan, and though it was difficult foryou to be away from your family, I recognize what an important job our military does. Thank you, dear son. we are so proud of you on this veteran's day, and every day! Much love. 

Loni

Agree with mom. I know you only did it for the money, (hahaha) but we r still proud. Seriously, proud.
Jenni

What Do You Guys Think About Kids?‏ - Nov 2011

You know, inviting them to join mellowwood?

I bet they'd enjoy the emails, and might occasionally have something nice to say.

Jordan

personally, I've always liked kids.

Loni

What I think about kids is that they are expensive.

Jenni

So true.

Jordan

Recomendation Letter‏ - Mar 2012

Anna Sings a Solo at School‏ - Apr 2012

Anna (6) performs at black heritage night
Jordan

This is soooo 4 hrs ago. 

Since I am on your YouTube subscribers list, I got notification of this update already. 

Jeremy

So so dang cute! 
Carisa


holy smokes! she is amazing! Just the way she is.
This is just the beginning of lots of great performances. Was that Lucy playing the guitar? 

Jenni


Anna is going to be a good entertainer. 
 Love, Allen




Andy played. She sang because the school nurse/organizer of the event
asked her to. Apparently she sings a lot walking down the halls.
Jordan




Jordan,  this was just incredible....I couldn't even believe it; she didn't seem nervous at all!!!!!!!!!!  WOW, this was just os fun to watch; glad you captured it and shared it.  We need more grandkid share kind of things...hint, hint, all you out there!

Love, mom






Holy cow. that's so great. I love it.

Justin







this is AWESOME!  she is so darn cute....just wondering why her aunt that lives in the same town wasn't invited to see this live???




she is singing on tune.  amazing.  i love little anna.



thanks for sharing J - next time invite me.

Kristi

Epiphany - Aug 2012

It hit me this morning!  While I was laying in bed wondering why I am so picky and not satisfied with any of the men I have dated- I finally realized what the problem is.  I have already lived with the most perfect example and picture of what a great husband and partner should be- and I have been looking for that all along.   I can't find anyone that is as awesome and incredible as my dad. When I think about everything I want in a partner- dad has every one of them!!  Think that is a coincidence?  Here's my list: (in no particular order)

Sense of adventure- I love how dad would say- let's go down a road we've never driven down before. Or how every summer he would pull out a map and say ok- where should we go this summer. He is always wanting to go somewhere or see something new. I love that about dad!  And I love that about myself- which I know is because of his example. 

Intellectual- dad is always wanting to learn something new, reading, talking about different concepts- and then teach them to his kids. I love how smart he is and always wanting to keep his mind sharp. Reading, keeping our house filled with books and installing in his kids the desire and importance of learning and education. 

Romantic- I love the example of how dad treats mom. I have memories of dad kissing mom in front of us growing up and I always loved that he was not ashamed to demonstrate to us kids how much he loved mom. He always speaks so highly of her and treats her with tenderness and respect.

Social- dad is always putting together some kind kind of gathering- the breakfasts for his students once a semester- now his ATV rides. I know mom is a little bit more of the social butterfly that I think I get that piece of me from.... But dad has it too. And I really like it. 

Handy and resourceful- I mean he built his own house for heavens sake. And how he would always work so hard on the yard. He would do projects on his own and just figure it out. Like raising the garage. I mean seriously- that was incredible!  And a little scary. 

Frugal- self explanatory. And awesome. 

Musical- I LOVED growing up hearing my dad play guitar, piano, and sing.  I have very fond memories of sitting at dads feet in his bedroom while he sat in that blue chair next to the fireplace asking him to play song after song. And he knew so much about music that he taught me. 

Funny- I love dads quirky sense of humor and then when he laughs- Oh man I love it, what a rich sound! I love how his mouth kind of turns up when he's about to tell a joke. I always knew when he was getting silly- I could tell by looking at his lips. And it always made me laugh. 

An incredible dad

Appreciator of the outdoors- I love that we grew up camping and fishing. That dad would teach me the names of the trees

Handsome- still to this day....

Sensitive- dad has a tenderness and sensitivity to things that are beautiful and things that are sacred that is a wonderful trait. 

Selfless and giving- dad is such a great example of a giving generous person. He used to take care of sister Lawson and a bunch of others. 

Willing to help around the house- I used to think it was always so cool that dad would be willing to do what was traditionally womens work. I was always so proud and felt I had such a progressive dad cause he would help mom around the house. 

Clean- he appreciates and tries to keep his surroundings clean and organized. His tool wall in our garage was a great example of that. He would always say to me- have a place for everything and always put it back in its place. What simple but incredible advice. 

Cooks- I have to honestly say I did not appreciate his mystery stews as a kid- but I do now!!!  And I love that he would take a turn cooking. 

Always a teacher. Always a teacher. 

I mean essentially I can't say enough good about dad and how wonderful he is.  I mean, how lucky am I to have such an amazing example of a father. Only problem I guess now- is it has made me extremely picky about who I want as a partner.  John Adams said the most important decision you'll make is the spouse you choose- and one reason is because of the partner you have to help you raise your kids.  And when I think about the pieces of myself that I really like and am proud of- it's always the pieces I feel that were taught to me by my parents.  And looking at this list I have realized that so much of these things were things TAUGHT to me by dad. He is overall a great teacher- both by direct teaching and teaching by example. How appropriate that was his career.  But I too want a partner that will teach. Teach me- and if I would be so blessed with a little tyke (what he used to always call me) and teach them. 

I couldn't make it through writing this email without tearing up. My dad is so amazing and I feel so lucky to have his influence in my life. And by the way, I could write an equivalent email about how incredible and awesome mom is- but I am not gay and am not looking for a female partner which is how this whole thought process materialized. Just sayin'.....

BACK TO SCHOOL with the Hackworth cousins‏ - Aug 2012

Ah, there's a feeling in the air, and the aisles of Wal*Mart are filled with notebooks, pencils, and backpacks.  

I thought this year that Just FYI, you might like to know what grades each of our grandchildren are in.

So, here by families are the grades of the grandchildren:

Sean - Junior at BYU

Janessa - sophomore at Dixie State

Stockton and Landon - freshmen at Southern Utah University (can you believe this - all four kids in college?)

Eli - 3rd  

Miles - 1st 

Bridger - 8th

Oscar - 5th

Sayre - 1st

Kaelyn - 6th

Alyson - 4th

Oliver - 7th

Lucy - 3rd

Imogen - 3rd

Anna - 2nd

As you can see, we have grades 1-8, plus the first three years of college...wow, how fun, exciting, and challenging.

I encourage all of our grandchildren to study hard; it's so fun to do well in school.  I know, because I got an A once, and it felt so good.  I also got a "C" in French, and I didn't like that at all!  

Education is a great blessing and opportunity.

Here's to SCHOOL.  

Love, GMA H!

Oh that was so fun to read...thanks for sending Loni!  

Kaelyn & Alyson start their new schools on Thursday & are soooo nervous. Kaelyn also starts her 1st swim team practice today. This is something she's always wanted to do & this is her first opportunity. 

xo. C

Wow. All grades covered to 8th. Happy schooling to all!

Swim team rocks. I think it's the sport where the kids are the most fit. 

jenni

Wow, so fun! I love this list! 
Good luck to Kaelyn on swim team...I wish I were a better swimmer, so I'm especially impressed.
And good luck to all these cute kids as they start another school year. Our boys go tomorrow...so exciting!

Amy

This is pretty awesome!  
  

I would just like to add from the Kristi Rose family:



Kristi- 26th grade



Cheers to life long test taking!!! And life long swimmimg to help add persepctive. 



Love,

K

From Sean: There's Water on the Horizon...and it's not Rain‏ - Jul 2011

Dear Family / friends,

We're having a baptism on Sunday!  Myriam, who has been inactive for like 19 years, has now been to church like three times.  And her kids are getting baptized!  And her husband gave his permission, which means that his heart truly was softened by our prayers and fast.  We're super excited.  And I was just telling President Summerhays that we have like 4 other people that are pretty much 90% going to get baptized.  So it's pretty exciting.  And Ifrain went to scout camp this week so he's going to be gone all week.  We had to pull some serious strings to get him to go.

So we don't have too much time today because they're cleaning the carpets and we have to be done soon.  So I'll just say thank you for the emails!  Sounds like the soccer tournament was good.  I've been fairly sore recently as well.  It sounds like next emails will be filled with some fun and adventure.

Happy Pioneer day, by the way.

It'll be kind of weird reporting to a new ward.  Are we still going to the stake center?

OK, well, we'll talk to you later!  Oh, so there's a chance that I might be leaving Immokalee for my last ten days.  We'll see what President wants to do with me!

Love,
Elder Fisher

My stomach is already full of whirling butterflies. Sean comes home in 18 days!!! 

Here are some events to be aware of. YOU ARE INVITED TO ALL!! PLEASE COME! We want to see you.
Saturday, Aug. 13  4:00 pm Arrives at St. George airport 
Saturday, Aug. 20  7-9 p Welcome Home Party. Our backyard. Swimming and food. 
Sunday, Aug. 21  Report home. Sacrament meeting 9 am. Hurricane Stake Center  (food afterwards)

Thanks for your support of Sean throughout his mission! Much, much love. 
Jenni

Sean,

I guess it's time again to write my weekly letter.  

I think I'll tell some more stories about my time in the mission field.  I was thinking about all those rules, and how people can get caught up in the letter of the law.  One of my good friends, David Griffin (who I lived with in a house, and later requested to be his companion - he killed me actually) was training a greenie and there was an amazing down poor of rain - much more than was usual in puerto Rico.  It was causing a lot of flooding in the streets and my buddy Dave was sitting on the porch watching the cars go in and get stuck.  Eventually it became dangerous for some of them and Dave jumped in the rushing waters, swam to the people stuck in the cars, and helped them get out and to safety.  He continued to do this for most of the night.  When he was done, his greenie junior companion was furious - stating how he was breaking the mission rules for swimming!  I always loved that story - that poor greenie.  Hopefully he wised up a little.

Another time, in the mission office (I wasn't there - heard it from my buddy the secretary), someone had brought in some fast food takeout.  A small argument broke out between someone who brought the food and one of the AP's over the fact that only Coke soda was purchased.  After words were spoken back and forth, my awesome mission president calls out from his office "If he's not gonna drink it, bring it in here for me!"  I love that too.  HAHA.  Like father like daughter I guess, because another story an AP told me was similar - a general authority was visiting the mission, and the mission pres, his daughter, and the AP's were at McDonald's or something, and the Mission Pres says to his daughter - "what would you like to drink?"  She replies, "a coke".  The GA was incredulous and spent the next 5 or 10 minutes giving her a lecture on how she should act and how she needs to be a leader and example, etc.  After his diatribe, the Pres said, "well Jen, what would you like?"  Without skipping a beat, she replies, "Dad, I TOLD you, a Coke."  HAHAHAHA.  Another great story.  I loved my Mission President, and his family.  He was such a wise man.  One of my first roommates on the mission (actually my first area, not companion but roommate) ended up being AP and eventually came home and married the Pres' daughter.  He is the dentist at the prison in SLC.  Anyway, my mission president told us that we should obey the rules, but if we don't enjoy a sunset or sunrise on the beach there in beautiful PR at least once, we were nuts.  He also, going against the grain of common Mormon folklore, said to his missionaries - don't rush home and get married.  Take your time.  Do it right.  

One of my favorite companions, Elder Haskell, was companions with on of the more famous missionaries that had stories passed around about him.  He was an incredibly efficient missionary and led the mission with baptisms, but struggled with some of rules (nothing real serious, stuff like curfew, etc i think).  The President had once told him after sitting in the office after getting in trouble for something (he was zone leader at the time) "I sure wish you could stay out of trouble so I could make you my AP."  He was really an Elder that was full of love and goodness.  Anyway, Elder Haskell told me that this guy found one of the best families he ever baptized while he was in a movie store renting a movie!  Holy smokes...that's kinda funny too.  Imagine, you are in the movie store where you shouldn't be, but you preach away. Another time, Elder Haskell and his companion had found a golden investigator, and she wanted to get baptized, but was really afraid of cold water.  (The way water was heated for a shower in PR was from this heating element in the shower, right after the water came out).  Anyway, this guy took one of those heating elements out of its casing - broke into the church, filled the baptismal font, dropped this element in it, and heated it all night.  In the morning when the baptism was planned, the water was a nice bath water warm.

By the way, I'm not encouraging rule breaking by the way - just sharing some of the stories about broken rules that made me smile.  I, for one, tried to live the rules as close as I dared.  One broken rule I don't regret it is my reading list.  I know we were only suppose to read the Scriptures and maybe Jesus the Christ, but I read some of other church books - for one, I figured books like "Spiritual Roots for Human Relations"  by Steven Covey, would have a very hard time competing with books like Harry Potter once I returned.  And it has turned out to be true.  I have only read a handful of church books since returning, despite my goal to re-read Jesus the Christ.  Oh, I also listened to the Joseph Smith tapes by Trumen G Madsen.  

Anyway, that is my report.  I am very excited to see you soon.  Hang in there.  

Jeremy

In Love for the Last Time.....‏Apr 2012

Folks!

Carisa and I are going to celebrate getting married!  We have pondered dates (as you are aware) but during our pondering - the place where we reserved decided for us! (due to availability....)

Anyway, we will be celebrating this wondrous occasion on Saturday, July 21rst.   

I hope you all come come.

Love ya all.

Carisa and Jeremy

Congrats! We wouldn’t miss it for the world!
Gheen Hillman

We'll be there and I'll come bearing gifts of frankincense and myrrh. 

Dave  (Anderson)

Dave, you should bring gold. Let someone else bring frankincense and myrrh.
justin

So what then do I do with all the frankincense and myrrh that I have left over from Christmas?

Dave

I actually have frankincense and myrrh in my possession at this moment... but they are much to valuable to give away. :)

Beth

Hmmmmmm I am suspicious!!!

Amie Campbell

Yahoo! Congratulations! Can't wait!

Amy H

Exciting! we'll be there. We'll bring a cheesecake. Not as valuable as myrrh but much more tasty.
Jenni

Bridger - Apr 2012

Here is the mission I made in fourth grade.
Bridger

FYI the Posting Stats‏ - Dec 2010

These are about a month old

All time

583	Loni
400	Jenni
287	Jordan Hackworth
238	Kristi Rose
192	Justin
119	Amy
110	Loni
105	slackyhacky
75	Wet Tap
27	Janna

I see slackyhacky lives up to his name.
Sent from my fruit phone
Kristi

He lives up to his code name, and I talk too much!
Loni

Funeral for a Gentleman - Jan 2011

Dear Allen & Loni:    I just arrived home an hour or so ago after attending the funeral for such a gentleman. (your father, Hubert Hackworth "Hack")  I saw your 3 children and only had time to visit with Jenny a few minutes before they left for the cemetery.  Hadn't seen her for a long time, what a sweet gal.

 When I read the obituary in the paper it said you guys were from St. George, UT/China and so it made me wonder then where you were. I called and visited this morning for a few minutes with Maxine Burt before the funeral in the afternoon and she told me you weren't going to be here, that you were teaching English in China for a year.

I can only imagine how difficult it was, to not be able to attend your father's funeral and that was mentioned a couple of times during the course of the funeral.  A lovely note/tribute which you sent by e-mail was read by Gerald ( I always knew him as Jerry, so I'll refer to him as Jerry)  and was indeed a sweet addition to the funeral.  

I was interested to find out just exactly how your families meshed.  All this time I thought you (Allen) was Hubert's son by his first marriage, and after the Life History was given; found out that you were Dorothy's boy by her first marriage and also your sister Shirleen.  That Regina was Hubert's and then added Lois, Donna and Jerry.  It was quoted from your dad that when he married your mom and then there was a family of 5 and he said that is the way it should of been with me being the age I was."  It was mentioned that Hubert, & I believe they called her Lillian were divorced; were your folks also divorced or did your dad die? How old were you when your mom married Hubert?  

I remember going a few times to your folks place with Siri (Davidson) Pinnock.  We walked over there after school (we must of stayed after school for something) and spent some time at the Hackworth's until our ride came.  I remember such a warm reception, laughter, funny stories and I always felt so welcome.  I also remember going over to "Hack's Grocery" store.  What a fun place.  Indeed your parents were great people and anyone who became acquainted with them, loved them from the very beginning.  Just like Richard and I have felt toward you and Loni.

Jerry's daughter, Cindy, who gave the life sketch really brought her grandpa to life.  She told a lot of it from the history your dad had written himself and then added some of her own thoughts and thoughts from the family.  She really did an excellent job portraying his life.
The music was absolutely beautiful.  The Law's did an exceptionally good job.  But Trisha Baker's song which was a medley of old love songs, was spectacular.  She has a beautiful voice.  Is she Donna's daughter or daughter-in-law?  I could tell that Jerry was nervous when he had to get up and speak and who wouldn't when it was their father's funeral.  But he did an excellent job, and described your father so well.  Gave some of his sayings, which I have heard from my folks,  "If I have to be late, I'd rather not go at all"  His expertise in keeping books, how he loved to ride his 3 wheel bike up town and even went clear over to Jerry's house, how he hated to give up his drivers license, how he loved people and how they loved him.  How your folks enjoyed running the grocery store, and Jerry said (and I'm sure all you children had to work there at the store) that all those hours for dad working was pure joy, but for us kids, it wasn't so fun. I guess the statement I really like was in the obituary in the paper, that old people should just talk to each other because they would not remember they'd already heard the same story before. 

I was glad I was able to attend your father's funeral.  Funerals are really a celebration of ones life and my what living your dad got out of his life. You were truly born of goodly parents...

p.s. I knew I was writing this e-mail to retired English Teachers, so I tried to punctuate correctly, use my spell check and write sentences that weren't ramblers and do as, you taught me in 9th Grade English, Loni!

Linda Withers (former neighbor and student in my first year of teaching)

Congratulations to Kristi!!‏ - Mar 2011

She was chosen by her peers to serve as Chief Resident during her final year of residency. Way to go Kristi! It's a big honor and a big responsibility.

I'm not one bit surprised she was chosen, as everyone I meet can't avoid commenting on how nice, bright, thoughtful and fun she is.
Jordan

Wow congratulations K!!

That is sort of like being called as Bishop. You don't know whether to offer congrats or condolences. But it is really an honor and a verification of how awesome you are!!!  I'm sooo super proud of you. So proud.
jenni

Thank you all.....I appreciate the congratulations....and yes Jen - I think an offer of condolence is also appropriate.  I think this is going to be a tough job that I may wonder why I ever considered it - but I'm also very excited about the challenge and responsibilities.  The support of my family is superb and very comforting...thank you all so much!!!

love,

k

Dr. Fisher Graduation‏ - Apr 2011

Just sharing my news. I'm so excited!!!
Jen

Awesome Awesome Awesome

Can't wait.

Jordan

Jen,

This is so awesome! You have no idea how proud I am of you.  Such a cool, accomplished, smart, driven, wonderful woman.  I am so honored to call you sister....and friend!

Much love,

Kristi

Comment Card - Nov 2011

Dear Guest,

It has come to our attention that you recently spent some time vacationing at our resort:
the Hackworth Hacienda for Happy Hallowed Habitants.

In an effort to best serve our customers, we are requesting that you fill out our survey card.  These help us with future visitors.  We want your honest opinions about your stay (if they are in line with our own feelings).

1.  How did you find the bed linens?
a.  it was difficult, but we finally located them in the bottom drawer.
b.  bed linens were provided?  Why didn't someone mention it sooner?
c.  none of the above

2. How would you describe the noise level while visiting the HHforHHH?
a. I would rank it along with a Rolling Stones concert; in other words, my hearing is permanently impaired.
b.  It could be raised a little before I would start to complain; the children seemed to be able to control their noise level quite well.
c.  Well, I notice that all the neighbors just put up "FOR SALE" signs, if that indicates anything about the noise level

3.  Were adequate restroom facilities provided for your large group during your stay?
a.  I hope no one was ever looking outside
b.  I didn't drink any water, so that solved the situation for me.
c.  I forgot my toothbrush, so I just chewed a lot of gum.
d.  Who put an entire toilet paper roll in the toilet during the final days?

4.  Would you and your family ever consider again visiting the Hackworth Hacienda for Happy Hallowed Habitants?
a.  Only if the same chefs are still working there.
b.  Are you kidding me?  Too many people.  We went for privacy and peace.  Didn't happen.  We won't be back
c.  We are planning on going to an outdoor water park for our next vacation the first week in August.  We love camping in tents rather than staying in luxurious rooms.

5.  Were adequate activities provided for you and your guests?
a.  Well, we were hoping to have a free cruise vacation thrown in, but other than that, the activities were quite well-planned and adequate.
b.  Too many activities...we just wanted time to visit, chat, and play Nertz.  Next time, please do not plan any activities, except for the kids; have them go on all-day hikes by themselves.
c.  Is there anywhere close where we could play the slots?  That's what we would really like to do.

Thank you so much for your input and for helping us improve our service.  It has been a pleasure to serve you at our resort.

Please note:  WE have now opened a lost and found for items left by your group...these items include:
a skein of yellow and blue yarn
a black pocket knife
a book called Jewel Fairies (Jeremy, really, you should be reading above this level by now!)
a brown sweater that smells a lot like glow sticks
a shirt or pj top with 2 guitars on it

To reclaim these itmes, they must be personally picked up at this location.

Your friendly, eager-to-please staff.

On Thursday I'm going to the Dominican Republic‏ - July 2009

The Dominican Republic: An ill-informed traveler's guide

Welcome to the Dominican Republic. The first thing you will notice: everyone that is a native of the Dominican Republic is exactly 3 feet 9 inches tall. Short, yes, but very good at reaching objects behind a sofa. The second thing you will notice is that there are not very many sofas. 

The reason the native Dominicans are so short has not yet been discovered, but a long time theory persists suggesting it's because they lived in cupboards for many many years. That is why you will sometimes hear them referred to as the Cupboard People, or sometimes just Cupboards (as in, I went fishing and both the guides were Cupboards), or simply, Cupeeps. Do not think you can just put a Cupeep in your pocket and take them along with you on your return trip. You can't. See, they are people, too. Where you do think the word "people" comes from in "the Cupboard People". 

The third thing you will notice in the Dominican Republic is that so many of the town squares are paved with gold. Feel free to chip away and take some of the gold. There's so much of it here. In fact, for a long time people used to melt it down and pour it over their pancakes. Also, their pancakes were made of solid gold.

Looking for something to see that's a little off the beaten path? Try heading south to Hump Back Whale village. Here, you'll find humpback whales that have learned to adapt to life on land and have created an entire village of their own. And the population is growing! In 1980 only 25 whales lived in Humpback Whale Village but in 2008 they were over 3,200 of them. Later this fall, they'll have opened an Applebees and a Walmart. Good for you, whales. As a human, there's nothing I like seeing more in a whale than that "nothing can stop us" attitude. This may be a little off the subject, but so many whales that get beached just sit there and complain and say, "Oh, poor me. I can't breathe very well. I'm so sad. I'll just lay here and get fat and bloated. Isn't there a government agency that can fix my problems? Breathing becoming more difficult. Skin, chaffing." Oh, please.

Next up on your list of must see destinations is the world's largest muffin. I feel like I should tell you, it's big, but it's not that big. You would think that the world's largest muffin would be, say, the size of a Mazda or something, but really it's not much bigger than two regular sized muffins. You might be asking yourself, if this muffin isn't all that big, why should I want to see it? Good question. It's because it's sitting on top of the world's largest fake muffin, and that thing is huge. 

There's so many more things to tell you about that we can't possibly fit in this brochure or continue to make up on the spot. Thank you for visiting the Dominican Republic. Oh, and one last thing. You're welcome to drink freely from the tap!
Justin

Sayre - June 2009

To Mom:

Fwd: Chee Kong Teo sent you a message on Facebook...‏July 2009

Subject: Chee Kong Reunion with The Hackworth

Justin,

I am planning within these 2 years to have a reunion with the Hackworth. Please please proposed the best time and where (Utah or Rexburg, Idaho) for us to have the reunion. I am looking forward for this reunion. We have not met for more than 25 years. I will pay the re-union dinner and just name the place. Please send my regard to all the Hackworth. I miss you all.

Thanks,
Regards,
Teo Chee Kong

Snow, and when it rains it pours - the JHP business report‏ - Apr 2009

Yesterday it snowed 12 inches. That's just crazy. By Sunday, it's supposed to be Spring again and the temperature will get to 70 degrees. Like a parent in the grocery store, "Good weather, you get over here right now. I thought I told you to quit snowing. We talked about this."

And over the next two days, I have five photo shoots. When it rains it pours. This 30 Strangers project has drummed up some business. In addition to the 30 Strangers session each day, we have lined up a few other people that were interested, but didn't get on the list of 30 in time. And we do something different, now. Instead of just uploading all the images, we invite the people back to the studio to see the images projected large, on a screen. Then we offer the prints in packages. The least expensive package is $175. And we give them a nice discount if they buy something right then. Like I said, we used to just upload them and hope someone is in the buying mood. Now we put them in the buying mood and encourage them to think about getting lots of pictures. It's working. I wish I would have thought of this a year ago.

Speaking of a year ago, I've attached a file that shows our web traffic this year in April so far, versus our web traffic last year in April. It's consistently three times as much web traffic and on some days, much more than that. Some of the increase comes from the buzz we're creating with the 30 Stranger project. Most of these people have blogs and we've encouraged them to post about their experience here. Man, I love blogs. (NOTE FROM LONI: The picture did not turn out well...sorry)

Amy and I are working on getting a location to hold an exhibit once the project is complete. We've asked the Center for Women and Children in Crisis to ask Thanksgiving Point for a room that we could use at the same time they have their Mother's Day brunch. We'll see what happens there.

So there's the business report.
Justin

That was fun to read. Thanks so much for the update. It makes me so
happy to hear your good tiddings.

Janna and I are headed to the outer banks again later today. We
rented a cottage that is 4 miles up the beach, so we will be without
faxes or telegrams or the like. Incidentally, we will also be without
purse or script since Janna just lost her job. But we won't be without
giggles, sandcastles or lifelong memory-making. Let's hope those
memories aren't about taking 6 hours to dig a Honda Pilot out of the
sand while 4 hungry kids sit by and whine.

 Jordan

What's cool is the staying power. There wasn't a big surge at the beginning and then a drop off. You have sustained interest. Super cool. So happy for you. 



And BTW:  parenting usually falls on deaf ears, but you just keep at it whipping old spring into subserviancy!!

Jenni

Picture From the Past - Apr 2009

I happened to run across this on Gheen's facebook the other day...thought you would all enjoy it too.

It was labeled the bachelors of SLC.
Loni