Dear Kids
      Yay, it’s snowing again! Just like last time I wrote. Which was the last time it snowed. But I’m hoping this storm moves out fast, because Nora and I want to drive to Pocatello tonight, and go snowboarding tomorrow with Vanessa. But Nora says she won’t drive there with three kids, if it’s still snowing. She wondered, is she getting old, or what? If it were just herself, she said, nothing would stop her, but she doesn’t want to risk it with her kids.
     Last Friday Paul and I went snowboarding at Wolf Mountain, in Ogden Valley, and had a great time. They’d just had their first big snow of the year, and they hadn’t even groomed the trails on their mountain, but the bunny hill was enough terrain for me. I did try one run down the real mountain, in the deep snow, and fell down about 20 times. Paul did it over and over again. We both had lots of fun.
     Now Paul’s back at school, back to the grind. We drove him to Price Sunday night, where we had dinner with Tom and Kim and their family. Little Ali is putting on weight, and looking cute. Emma and Bentley were all over the place. Like always. Bentley was riding Paul like a horse. Tom and Kim are packing up their stuff, because they have to be out of their house in March. Kim and the kids are moving in with the Bentleys. It should be wild.
     Donna, too, is back to the grind. She took off for Logan Tuesday in her new car (a 98 Honda Civic, looks black to me, but she says it’s green), ready for her new life as a vagabond. She spent her first night in the Landscape Architecture Studio, on the couch, in her sleeping bag. She said it was plenty comfortable. They have a big-screen TV with a DVD player, a refrigerator, a freezer, and a microwave. When she called me the next morning, she was on her way to the gym, to shower. Of course she only has to do that for 2 days, and then she’ll drive back to the cabin. And then do it again next week. Remember when Monica was a vagabond, her last semester at USU? You kids are so adventurous! When I was a college student, I never even dared sleep over in the library.
     Since it’s January, I’ve been hit with the remodeling bug. I’m getting new carpet for the living room (it’s the fourth incarnation, since we moved in,) and right now, I’m painting the walls. I bought brown paint, but I couldn’t quite do it. I hate dark colors. So I kept diluting the paint with white, until it ended up sort of beige. I really liked the old color better, but I need a change. Dad said he didn’t understand that. Why didn’t I just keep the old color? But then he caught on–his favorite bus run is Ogden, but after a few months, he always wants something new.
      Dad’s major preoccupation these days is the computer. It’s been down for weeks. He bought a new motherboard, and installed it, but can’t find the magic commands to get it up and running. I’m still using the laptop.
     New baby announcements: Adrien Webb, in August. Amy Anson, too. Bonnie filled me in, when I called her yesterday. She said they’re looking forward to Amy’s baby, since all the other grandchildren born recently have been out of town. She wants a baby to hold and play with..
     Jana McGettigan had surgery for breast cancer last Friday. She first had the cancer six years ago, and she had surgery then, too. But this time she’s also going to have the radiation and chemo. She’ll be pretty sick for about six months, and then hopefully have a normal life. I’ve gotta admire her guts. Of course, her kids are young, and they need her. Glen, too. Maybe you can remember her in your prayers.
     Life is good. I love you all! Mom