Dear Kids,
      I visited Grandma and Grandpa in Orem today. Grandma reminded me to tell all of you that the summer family reunion will be July 25th, same park, same format as before. It’s a week earlier than we usually do it. (Probably the same week as the Spudman.) I hope at least some of you can make it.
      One person who mostly likely won’t make it will be Paul. You all know his APEX assignment changed from northern Alberta to Florida, but have you heard that it’s been changed again, to Halifax, Nova Scotia? That’s right, 3,000 miles away. 1,100 miles farther than Florida. I’m sort of hoping they’ll change their minds one more time. I’m sure Nova Scotia is a great place, and we all have soft places in our hearts for Canada, but it’s so dang far. Nevertheless, he’s rounding up his passport and checking on health care. Go, Paul!
      I found a shredded bird on the shop floor a couple of days ago. Both cats were staring at me, seeing how I would react. Donna and Bevan were here, and Donna cleaned it up. You know the poem, “. . . Soon he was a heap of plumage, and a little blood and gore–only this, and nothing more.” Well, that described the unfortunate bird. You would think two cats without claws would leave birds alone, but that makes it more of a challenge, I guess. They can both climb the back fence OK.
      Winter goes on and on, and I’ve had two more wonderful snowboarding trips since I wrote last week. On Friday I went to Brighton with Becca Davis, and on Tuesday I went with Jennifer Longhurst Halling, who won my “snowboarding lesson” at our Relief Society auction last fall. This was the first time we could get our schedules together. It was absolutely fabulous snow, and Jennifer picked it up like she’d been doing it all her life. (She’s a skiier–she met Micah while she was working at Steamboat in Colorado.) So we had a great time. Normally I would hate having snow in April, but this year it’s been great.
      Last Saturday it was still spring, (before winter came back)so I went on another long bike ride. I was just going on 25 miles, when my front tire went flat. Luckily Dad was home, and he came to pick me up. By that time my back tire was flat, too, because I had started pulling thorns out of my tires. Dad put those special anti-thorn liners in, and I’m hoping it won’t happen again. I’m planning on lots of great rides on the Jordan River Parkway. If you ride from our house over to the river, and go as far south as you can, and then as far north as you can, and home again, it’s 35 miles. That ought to get me in great shape for the Big Utah Ride.
     Like me, I hope you’re all doin’ great and lovin’ it.       Mom