Dear Kids,
      Well, the big event of the week was, of course, Donna and Bevan’s wedding. I was so glad to have nearly our whole family there. We felt bad that Kim and the kids couldn’t come, but it’s like that, when you have a tiny newborn in the middle of winter. (Ali seems to be doing well now.) Thanks so much to all of you who helped in the kitchen, and especially to those of you who stayed till the bitter end to clean up. I was so tired I could hardly move, and it was great to have you kids racing around, packing up and cleaning. I hope most of you got home before the storm hit. Dad and I (and Sharon and Seth and Charlie) left right as it was getting bad, and we went on a wild goose chase up through Alpine (hey, in a blizzard you don’t always know where you are) but we saw some very elegant houses, and eventually we found the highway and made it home. I assume Donna and Bevan are having a good time in Hawaii. No news is good news.
      Sharon and Seth and Charlie have spent most of the week with us, and it’s been entertaining. Charlie feeds the cats for me every day. I think he’s a little scared of them, because he gets part way to the sliding door, and stops. I have to nudge him along the rest of the way, and open the door so he can dump the cat food into the pan. Then he laughs and has lots to say about feeding the kitties. In fact, he has lots to say overall. That kid is a talker!
      Last night we had our first annual Christmas Music open house, for all my piano students and anybody else who wanted to come. Nora and James and Addie and Ben sang “Jingle Bells.” It was really cute. Al and Missy and their kids came, and I think I heard Allen playing the piano later on. And of course Sharon and Seth and Charlie. And the Fultons and the McGettigans and the Parkers and the Kilburns and a few others. Lots of people. Lots of food, but it went fast. In fact, we finished up most of the wedding leftovers. There were lots of good musical numbers, and some pretty ordinary ones, too. I think we’ll do it again next year. Sunday night, Dad’s cousin Marla had a “Beethoven’s Birthday Party” at her house, but we couldn’t go. She said she served smoked salmon, high-end cheeses, blanched vegetables, and eggnog that was spiked. She said it didn’t offend her Mormon friends, because they’re all OK with being in places where alcohol is served. (I asked her if any of them drank it, and she said No.) She played the first movement of Beethoven’s Appassionata Sonata. We didn’t have any high-end numbers like that at our party. Or high-end cheeses, either. (Or eggnog.)
      Paul has been hanging around here this week, working sudoku puzzles and watching TV. After Christmas, he might work at Deer Valley with Donna and Bevan. He just needs a good pair of boots. Too bad he can’t borrow them, but who else wears a 14? (The only good thing about wearing a 14 is that the boxes make very good cat coffins.)
      We received a nice e-mail letter from Rich and Jeanne, telling a little about life in Calgary. If I can remember how, I’ll put it up on ackerson.org, under other family letters. They’re going to be here in town the week after Christmas, and there’s an eagle court of honor for Matt on Wednesday, the 27th, at their old ward house. (2550 W 9800 S., W. Jordan) Everybody’s invited. Austin James will be getting his eagle then, too.
      Last week, it seemed my hands were getting dirtier and dirtier, but I thought it was just all the chocolate from the wedding cake. The lines in my hands were actually black! No matter how often I washed my hands, it didn’t get any better. Then I took a good look at the new lotion I’ve been using, which Dad bought. It’s a “bronzing moisturizer.” Duh! I told my sisters, and they laughed at how clueless I was. Katie uses it on her arms and legs, but she said you definitely don’t use it on your hands. So, does anybody want the rest of it? Or do we all prefer to be “Ackerson white?”
      Gotta go! I love you all! Mom