Dear Kids,
      Well, I was wrong about the clean sweep of girls, because Sharon and Seth are having A BOY! That will be nice for Charlie–a little brother to wrestle with. Two boys together in a family can always have the fun of beating up on each other. There’s lots of other advantages, too, like sharing a room. Congratulations, Sharon and Seth! We’re really happy for you. A thorn among the roses. We need it.
      Here’s something discouraging: they give you the senior citizen discount, and you didn’t even ask for it. That happened to me at the Salvation Army thrift store. I was buying a skirt for $3.00, and she rang it up as $2.25. I wondered why, until I saw the sign that said “Mondays: Senior citizen’s discount--25%.” I did the math and came up discouraged. Maybe they count senior citizens as 25 and older. I would have gladly paid another 75¢ not to have my ego deflated.
      I went to the cabin last Friday morning, ready for two days of hard work in the yard. I’m trying to get as much done as I can before winter hits. That evening it started raining, and as I went to sleep, I was happy to hear the rain on the roof, because I knew the dirt would be soft the next morning, and I could dig out rocks all the better. But when I woke up Saturday morning and looked out the window, it was white, as far as the eye could see. So much for digging out rocks. It snowed all morning, and there were about 6" on the ground when I finally left at noon. Luckily I undid the sprinklers from the taps, and turned everything off. I saw on weather.com that it got down to 22° in Kamas that night. Tom said it was really cold when he got there after work on Monday, and a fire didn’t do much to warm it up. I told him it takes a couple of days. It’s supposed to snow again this weekend, but it should be a lot warmer for conference. So don’t worry! We’ll have lots of fun, all of you who are coming. I heard rumors of Café Rio salad for Saturday afternoon.
      Paul is plugging away at his studies at CEU, and he’s also serving as Sunday School President. But he’s having trouble getting teachers. Does that sound familiar, anybody? He says he puts in names, but they don’t call anybody. He wants at least two Gospel Doctrine teachers, so they can trade off. And he wants to have Gospel Principles, but the ward mission leader said he won’t teach it. All this is good preparation for Paul to go out into the real world, as if a mission weren’t enough.
      Kara McGettigan says it’s about time we were getting a new kitten. I explained to her that most of the kittens are born in the spring, and besides, I need to be home more, to take care of it. She wasn’t convinced. I’m still grieving for Jasmine, who disappeared in July. And Jasmine came from the South Utah Valley animal shelter. Grandma says all the cats from there end up dying. Maybe the shots they give them are bogus, to save money. I don’t know. They have a bad reputation for putting dogs to sleep before the allotted time. Maybe I’ll go looking for kittens here in Salt Lake. Or maybe I’ll be sensible and just enjoy the two cats we have. Our e-mail address ought to say it all: just2cats.
      Dad has entered a “alternative transportation” competition at UTA. They get points for riding a bike to work, or taking the bus. So Dad rides his bike to Valley Fair Mall, and catches the bus there, so he can get double points. He does the same thing coming home. But of course this week we’ve had lots of rain, so he comes home soaked. The prize is only a $30 Visa gift card, and those are impossible to redeem, but he says it’s not about the money. He wants to win. Go, Dad!
      I’m off for downtown, to attend Emily Allen’s wedding in the Salt Lake Temple. This evening is the special dinner for invited guests. Nora and Paige are coming with me, because Dad has pack meeting. The Dinner is at “The Point,” a nice restaurant up at the Huntsman Cancer center. I’m sure the food will be good, and there will be lots of fun people to talk to.
      I hope you’re all doin’ great and lovin’ it! Mom