Dear Kids,
      Well, Dad and I were just settled in with our new e-mail address (just2cats) and only having two real cats lounging on the deck, when a new kitten arrived at our door. CC Barbuto showed up with her. It seems that a mother cat stumbled onto Barbuto’s driveway, “as big as a house,” according to CC, and started having kittens, 7 of them. So here was one for us. Well, I’ve hardly ever chosen our cats. It’s more a matter of fate. (Like having kids.) So we’re trying out this kitten for a while. (OK, probably permanent.) She’s tiny and gray and fluffy, and her eyes are so little and gray you can hardly see them. And like all fluffy kittens, she’s really dumb. I have to clean her bottom with a washrag, because she hasn’t learned yet. She really likes Dad. She uses his leg and his back for a climbing wall. The other two cats hate her, of course.
      Addie is carrying around a popsicle stick with her “stitches” on it. 5 of them. The same day she got them, (on her chin, like Nora had, like James once had,) Ben was stung by a bee. Nora was making stroganoff for dinner, and she burned it. Just one of those days, she said.
      Tom found some information on the web about Victory Ranch, the development that’s supposed to come right up next to our cabin area. Only the part they’re showing in their first map is down by the Provo River, near the sawmill, if you’re coming from Heber. You know that spillway, that looks like it would be so much fun to ride down–it’s right near that. They’re selling lots right next to the river, (I think Tom said about $600,000 for 1 acre) where people can build big beautiful mountain homes. On a flood plain. Up on the mountainside, they’re building the golf course. Duh. I hope those people buy good flood insurance, because it’s not if, but when, their beautiful homes are going to be washed down the river. If you want to see the map, check out victoryranchclub.com.
      Monica called from Tucson, where she and Neil were looking for a place to live. She’s flying here Monday, to get her truck and have a dental checkup. She also said she wants to go to the Tetons for a few days. It will be nice having her around, even if it isn’t very long. I look back fondly to last winter, when she and Caroline and Ramona lived at the cabin. It was so much fun, visiting them! Caroline’s last pot of flowers just recently gave up the ghost. It was sad to toss them out.
      John’s family had their annual vacation all in one day, last Saturday. They rode the Heber Creeper and went swimming at the fitness center in Kamas, and then they came to the cabin to fix dinner and ride the Yerf Dog. I guess if your vacation is only one day, you have to make the most of it!
      Most of you have heard that Brendan didn’t stay on his mission very long. He was only in the MTC for a few days, and then being separated from his family was too much for him. So he’s back home, doing splits with the missionaries and working 2 days a week at the bishops’ storehouse. I hope that all works out well for him.
      I’m off to visit Grandma. She had a bad fall more than a week ago, and her leg was so bruised up, it’s taking forever to heal. She made one trip to the hospital, and Grandpa’s taking her to the doctors this morning. I really wish she could get back to her old life, where she was able to do a lot of things she enjoyed, but it’s getting harder.
      I love you all, and I miss those of you that we don’t see very often!
     Love, Mom