Happy Birthday Mom !

Time for another family post! Today is my Mom's birthday and I thought she should get her own tribute. Of course, I had to share some pictures to go along with this. You'll have to forgive the slightly blurred quality of the photos - my scanner is uncooperative so I took a picture of each picture. (Ahem, coincidentally with my mom's camera.) That picture up above is her with her dad - I told you I am descended from True Cowboy stock.

This is her on Hopalong Cassidy's horse. Yep, that's right. The legend of Hollywood Western movies is the guy standing beside her. That's the man himself - William Boyd. This was taken at Railroad Pass - halfway between Las Vegas and Boulder City, NV. Mom said he was a really good looking man, but at that age she was more in love with his horse.

This is her in a photo from the Las Vegas Review Journal. The caption says, "They'll do anything to be different in Las Vegas, and Dianne Verser, 24, helps out by hiding Easter eggs in Lake Mead for the annual Whamco Divers egg search under water. The hunt begins at 10:30 a.m. Sunday off the Boulder Islands." Pretty freakin' cool, huh?

There are two other photos that I searched high and low for but couldn't find. If I can get my hands on them I'll post them later. One is her in a bikini and heels for a beauty contest - (woo-woo!) and the other is of she and my grandad both wearing cowboy hats and gun holsters with six-shooters. That one in particular is one of my favorites.
And here's a more recent picture. Tell the truth - and remember I'm 37 years old. Does she look old enough to have a 37-year old kid? Let alone grand kids? Yes, she hears that all the time. Strangers are always saying that they think we're sisters when we're out together.

She drives a sweet little silver PT Cruiser, loves NASCAR and Dale Earnhardt Jr., kicks major ass at Trivial Pursuit, has taught art classes off and on for 25 years, can make a computer do anything she wants, often reads a book in one day (now you know where I get it from), exposes my kids to culture by taking them to art shows, museums, historical sites, as well as half a dozen festivals (Native American, Renaissance, etc...) a year, and still takes them shopping, to movies, and to play in the snow at Mt. Charleston. She can name most any flower you point out, is a total sucker for animals (especially Shelby, her granddog - that's her term, not mine), can crochet, sew, embroider and makes her own jewelry. Oh, and pretty much any household repair around the house - including installing our garbage disposal when I was a kid. That blew my mind at age 10. She also makes a mean cherry cheesecake. She and my dad have been divorced for years, but they have always kept a good relationship for my sake. In fact, she often goes to dinner with he and his wife, Laura. How rare is that?

Yep, she's a great mom, I love her very much. Happy Birthday Mom / Grandma !

Lots of love and hugs and kisses from all of us ...

P.S. - Did I mention she's single? If you happen to know a smart, funny, unattached guy who can match wits with her, drop me a line. Cowboys get bonus points.

And yes, she's probably going to kill me for that last line but I'll bet she was getting all teary-eyed and I'm pretty sure that stopped the tears. Hee-Hee ... love you Mom!