Rebecca H. Barrett was born in Arimo, Idaho 85 years ago today. She is a darling, fun, delightful, supporting, rascal of a mother, grandmother, and great grandmother. Her family loves her VERY much, and here are 85 reasons why her daughters adore her! (We could have kept going & going & going!)

Our mom …

1. LOVES our Daddy who loves her from heaven!
2. was Daddy’s loving and loyal care-giver for so long.
3. loves & adores her Nae!
4. loves & adores her ConnieB.
5. loves & appreciates her sons-in-law.
6. gets a kick out of her 7 crazy grandsons.
7. is thankful for 2 beautiful grand-daughters.
8. thinks her 22.8 GREAT grand-children are AMAZING.
9. never thought herself as poor even though she was raised during the depths of the Great Depression.
10. survived the teasing of 6 older brothers.
11. still loved those rascals in spite of their shenanigans!
12. is SPUNKY – always was!
13. did NOT marry her high school boyfriend, but married Henry Dale Barrett.
14. knew a good thing when she saw HIM.
15. dressed her 2  little girls alike.
16. dressed her little girls in the cutest of clothes.
17. stayed up through the night to sew dresses for her girls’ special occasions.
18. puts on her make-up first thing in the morning, EVERY morning!
19. is NOT afraid of hard work.
20. would NEVER  let us lie about our ages to get into movies cheaper.
21. is NOT afraid to “tell it like it is.”
22. will say “I’m sorry” if she is wrong.
23. is forgiving of those who wronged her or those she loves.
24. is a wonderful confidante.
25. is eager to LAUGH.
26. would NOT let her grandsons beat her at golf!
27. can perform household repairs as good as most men.
28. was as cute as ANY World War II pin-up!
29. could really “cut a rug” at the USO club – even that time she got leg make-up all over a sailor’s whites!
30. taught us the words to lots of fun old songs as we traveled on our  wonderful vacations.
31. and Daddy took us to Disneyland the FIRST year it opened!
32. took us clear to Idaho Falls to shop for school clothes!
33. took us clear to Salt Lake City to shop for school clothes.
34. tried to teach us manners by taking us out to nice restaurants.
35. introduced us to Chinese food at the Shanghai Restaurant.
36. introduced us to smorgasbords at the Colonial Inn in Blackfoot, ID.
37. introduced us to “fancy-schmanzy” food at the Bannock Hotel dining room.
38. made sure we got our polio shots at the Green Triangle.
39. carefully managed the household budget so she could spoil her daughters.
40. bailed Daddy out of jail when he failed to pay a dozen parking tickets.
41. searched for and rescued Daddy when he got lost during his one AND only deer hunting expedition (and that was long BEFORE cell phones!)
42. is a faithful friend.
43. nursed us through the Asiatic flu.
44. could copy the cutest and most expensive dresses AND coats for her girls and sew them herself.
45. has always been a talented home-decorator.
46. created enchanting Christmas trees that looked like those featured in Better Homes & Gardens.
47. made sure Santa brought us MORE than we asked for or thought we deserved.
48. thought of such original Christmas gifts like cute ice skating outfits!
49. cheered for our successes.
50. cried with us when our hearts broke.
51. always gave us adorable “shortie” pajamas for our May and June birthdays.
52. created wonderful birthday parties for us even when she nearly amputated her finger once.
53. made Nae’s favorite angel food cake with orange frosting for her birthday.
54. let us grow up, but …
55. wouldn’t let us date until high school – except that time in 6th grade when she drove Billy Grimes and me to the Chief theater and back; and that other time when she let Connie go on a date at age 13!!!
56. trusted us even when Nae gave her reasons NOT to.
57. fixed the BEST holiday dinners, except for that time we went to the Yellowstone Hotel for Christmas dinner.
58. hated to see her little girls grow up and go away.
59. traveled 100s of miles 100s of times to be with us when we had our babies and to be with our growing families.
60. helped our families more than once when times were tough.
61. taught us the importance of education.
62. sent us to college even though she nor Daddy were college educated.
63. supported us when we dropped out of BYU to marry our sweethearts.
64. CELEBRATED when we went back to college and graduated 20 years later.
65. tells us a million or more times how proud of us she AND Daddy are.
66. can’t get over the fact that her squeamish Connie became an incredible nurse.
67. still loves Nae even though she is ALWAYS late.
68. didn’t get too mad when we borrowed her things without asking, even though a teacher had to cut a yellow scarf off Nae’s neck before she choked to death.
69. defended us to the death if we were innocent.
70. was furious when ConnieB was FALSELY accused of shoplifting, but sent Daddy to confront the store manager!
71. let 16-year-old Renae defend herself in traffic court when she swore she did not cause a car accident.
72. surrendered us to the authorities (usually teachers) if we were in the wrong!
73. followed through with her threats.
74. wasn’t afraid to spank us when Dad wouldn’t – which was always.
75. hated being the disciplinarian, but did what she had to do.
76. wouldn’t let us get away with back-talk.
77. made sure we went to church.
78. is ALWAYS there when we need her, no matter what the need is.
79. isn’t afraid to change no matter her age!
80. helped pay for 7 missionary grandsons.
81. remembers the important things in life.
82. forgets the unimportant mishaps of life.
83. lives for lots of hugs and kisses.
84. overcame some HUGE challenges, including depression and losing Daddy
85. is the PERFECT mom for Renae & Connie!