Dear Kids,
      We have a new kitten! Kara and I picked him out on Tuesday. His name is Oreo, because he’s black and white, and you can see him in the cat gallery at the bottom of Ackerson.org. He’s not a “shelter cat,” because there wasn’t much of a selection there. I had written down a couple of addresses from the ads in KSL.com, so we found one nearby, in Magna. There were four kittens up for grabs, and Kara chose the one she liked best. We have no regrets. You’re all invited to come and see him, while he’s still little and cute. Kara comes every day.
      My sister Barbara is getting married on June 21st, to her long-time boyfriend J.J. Schulter (pronounced Shoe-ler.) Her bishop is going to marry them, but she doesn’t know yet where it will be. She says it will be low-key and casual, “come if you want but no big deal.” She doesn’t think she can even talk him out of wearing levis.
      Paul is doing OK in Florida. He and his friends were delayed a little bit, moving into their apartment, because of lice. The place had to be de-loused, so they hung out with some of the other guys. I haven’t heard much about his installing job, yet. Five of the salesmen were fired just before they got there, because of “bad things,” so hopefully there will be enough new salesmen to keep the installers busy. If not, Paul always has the option to go out and sell. They get $400 a pop.
      In my last letter, I said John’s birthday is July 28th. How could I be so flaky? I ought to know he was born July 27th, because it was one of the greatest days of my life.
      July 28th is my sister Katie’s birthday, and it was a very big deal when we were young. By the way, I’ve been sorting through Grandma’s pictures, and I just did 1954. There’s one picture of me as a geeky 7-year-old, in my glasses, playing chess, with a cat slung over my shoulder. What could have been more prophetic?
      Dad and I are driving to Canada next Friday, May 17th, to visit Richard and Jeanne and Megan. Too bad Grandma and Grandpa can’t come with us, as we originally planned, but it would be too long for them. We’ll be gone about a week. I know it’s probably cold up there, but it will be a great vacation. I’ll post some pictures on our website after we get back.
      Lots of love, Mom