Dear Kids,
      Dad and I had a wonderful time at Lake Powell. Blue sky. White clouds. Red rock. Clear water. Not very hot. In fact, the water was so cool that Dad and I hardly ever jumped in. I like lake water when it’s about 98.6°, and this water was about 25° cooler than that. But we still had lots of fun. We climbed Hole-in-the-Rock, rode up the San Juan River, went to church in Ticaboo, talked a lot to the Ulriches and the Smiths, and ate a lot of good food. There were giant ravens that swooped over our houseboat, and their wings sounded like helicopter blades. We climbed on the rocks and watched several great sunsets. At night, we slept on the top deck under a million stars. My souvenirs are a piece of driftwood, a raven feather, and lots of colored rocks.
      On our way home, we stopped in Price to get gas at the Mavrick. I told Dad that if we stayed in Price longer than 20 minutes, we would see either the Larsens, the Bentleys, or Brad King. Turned out it was Brad King, with his wife, at the Chinese Buffet, where we ate dinner. He said to say Hi to all of you.
      After we got home, we both swayed back and forth when we walked, from the rocking of the houseboat. We had 568 unread e-mails. Sunday night, Dad and Paul were both pumping up their bike tires, to get to work on Monday morning. It seemed pathetic, after the grand vehicles we’d ridden in all week. But we’re glad to be back to our real lives. I’ve already been back at the cabin, raking rocks and mixing cement.
      On Sunday we went to the missionary farewells for David Tregaskis and Austin James. Then we visited both houses afterwards, and I think we saw almost all of my family, in one place or the other. Grandma and Grandpa were at both, with Barbara as their chauffeur. I got to talk to Suzy and Whitney. Max has long blonde hair now, and it’s wavy.
      There was a police shooting in Centerville last Sunday morning, the only one they’ve ever had. It was a drug house, although the neighbors they interviewed on the news said “They were such nice people!” Allen was sitting outside in his cop car, filling out a report, when it happened. He said he didn’t even hear the shots. You can look it up on desnews.com or sltrib.com. It happened on the 10th, but the news stories were on the 11th.
      There’s a phone at the cabin now. If you want to surprise Tom and Kim, you can call them on it. Nobody ever does, except for telemarketers. The number is 435 783 6239.
      You know those Texas muffin tins, that make really big muffins? Some of you have them now. Monica gave me some for Christmas. I finally bought the muffin papers that fit in them, at Orson Gigi, but it was a sleeve of 500. So if any of you need the papers, make sure you get them from me. It’s fun to make the giant muffins, and of course you can make giant cupcakes, too.
      We’re looking forward to seeing everybody at the wedding. It’s coming up fast. In the Deseret News this morning, there was a news story about all the people getting married on 07-07-07, for good luck. It’ll be a great day.
      Lots of love, Mom