Dear Kids,
      What a great week we’ve had! Paul came home last Friday morning, and he was excited about the fresh mountain air. It seemed sort of muggy to me, (the really great mountain air is at the cabin), but I guess that compared to North Caroline, West Valley City is downright invigorating. Now Paul is back in Logan, with the magical Sable, starting off his new school year.
      And Nora’s Triathlon on Saturday was a great event. Well, great for the athletes. Nora and her girlfriends seemed to be having a wonderful time. Those of us who were spectators walked around on the rocks and dirt and weeds and tried to find shade so the kids wouldn’t get too sunburned. We finally settled down in the shade of the ambulance, but it soon left with the first victim of triathlon fun. (Luckily it was hypothermia, and not drowning.) But hey, it was worth it to see Nora and her friends finish. Dad and I were tending Meg and Sarah, and we had a lot of fun with them. They’re troopers!
      I spent yesterday in Orem, mostly playing with grandma and grandpa’s new kitten. He’s fluffy and orange (well, sort of blonde) and wild as a spook. Grandma thinks he’s getting long and leggy, but he’s downright petite compared to Oreo, who is writing the book on long and leggy. Anyway, I had a lot of fun with the kitten. I tossed him out the back door when he bit me one too many times, and he got very interested in the birds. He even climbed the tree a couple of times. Grandma was worried that he would fall, but he jumped down just fine. Alley cats rule!
      Would you believe I would listen to a door-to-door salesman? Well, I did. A lady came around saying she was a contractor and they were replacing windows in our neighborhood, and we could get a discount because our house would be advertising . . . you know the schtick. (Heck, Paul heard it all summer. He probably said it himself a few times.) Anyway, I could see she wasn’t any contractor, but we do need new windows. So I told her to give us an estimate. A couple of nights later, Steve Lloyd came to the door. You know the Lloyds, parents of Gina Lloyd, Christy Lloyd, Levi Lloyd, Ben Lloyd–their kids are all the same ages as you kids. Anyway, he’s a partner in the business, and their prices were really good. So our fine old 1977 house is going to have new windows! (I know, we did them ourselves at the cabin, but I’m way too backed up on my projects.) I’m looking forward to having somebody else do the work for a change.
      I’ll be cooking Sunday Dinner on September 14th. Let me know if you plan to come! Love, Mom