Dear Kids,
      The big news of the week, of course, is that Donna and Bevan are now officially engaged. Friday night Dad and I were having dinner with my brothers and sisters in the Joseph Smith building, when Donna and Bevan burst in, Donna with a rose in her hand and a ring on her finger. They had just had dinner at “The Roof,” and were on their way to the Faith Hill-Tim McGraw concert at the Delta center, and somewhere in there Bevan had officially proposed. Of course we suspected that they had planned the “proposal” weeks in advance, because Bevan bought the tickets a long time ago, and Donna did research on the internet to know what kind of sapphire to get (the stone in her ring.) But they looked very radiant, still. They’ve set the date for December 15.
      Other highlights of the weekend were the family reunion Saturday and Paige’s baby blessing on Sunday. First, the reunion–lotsa people, lotsa fun, lotsa sunshine and heat. There was supposed to be a bike parade, but Addie’s pink Barbie jeep (with a new battery, courtesy of ebay) was the only entry. Nevertheless, all the little kids had fun riding it up and down the sidewalk, with James running alongside, perspiring like crazy, since it was so hot. He was a good sport. The young adults played football, and Bevan joined in, like a good prospective son-in-law. I noticed he runs really fast. Maybe Trent will have some competition now. The rest of us huddled in the shade, eating each others’ food, and peering at each others’ name tags, to see what number we all were. Charles was there with a girlfriend, Julie, who’s tall and skinny like he is. Somebody asked her what her number was, and she said she didn’t have one yet, but hoped to get in under the 160 mark. (Projected for the end of the year.) Jamie was there with a girlfriend, too, named Andrea, from Vernal. She mixed right in, didn’t cling to him at all, so we like her. Jane and Joe were there from Boston. Jane says she’s a curse to all Jamie’s relationships–they always go south after Jane meets the girl. We hope it doesn’t happen this time.
      Paige’s blessing on Sunday was very nice. After the meeting we met at Nora’s house for a wonderful dinner of fake Café Rio, which actually tasted better than the real thing. And then we sat around for a long time visiting. Vanessa and Trent were there from Pocatello, so it was especially fun to talk to them. Little Meg is growing up! She would have seemed tiny if Paige hadn’t been new on the scene. And James’s Brother and Sister-in-law were there with their newborn son, a day younger than Paige, so there were plenty of babies to pass around.
      Monica bought a new car! (I didn’t talk to her, but Donna did.) Evidently it’s a 2002 Honda Civic, silver colored (that makes at least 5 of you that own silver cars) with a sun roof. She got a good deal, from some Mexicans. Hopefully it will run well and get good gas mileage! Monica also reports that she is shopping for her wedding dress, and is having more luck looking at bridesmaid dresses, since she wants something tea-length, and they’re cheaper than the regular wedding dresses. Donna is looking in the bridesmaid price-range, too. She says everything comes in white, besides all the other colors.
      Here’s some even more stunning wedding news: Dean Knighton is getting married!  Their wedding will be August 19th.
      Our house has started smelling musty; it’s really noticeable when you first walk in. I think it’s because of all the old coats, old sleeping bags, old blankets, and smelly pillows we have. So I’m going to go through every closet and get rid of everything smelly. If you have a favorite old woobie or sleeping bag or coat that’s here, please come and rescue it!
      Hey, Tom, they’re building Victory Ranch! They’re starting farther down the river, closer to the Jordanelle, than I thought, but today I drove by there, and they’re clearing a large area of land. We’ll have to keep a close eye out for Tiger Woods.
      That’s all the news! Lots of love, Mom