Dear Kids,
          We enjoyed seeing so many of you at Emma’s baptism yesterday! We especially enjoyed meeting Paul’s girlfriend, Stephanie. (Dad says he’s able to remember her name by thinking of the movie "Short Circuit.") We’re looking forward to getting to know her better!
          Dad and I had volunteered to work at the information booth at Frontier Days yesterday, but we didn’t volunteer for the storm that came up. I’ve always wanted to be in a hurricane, and I think it came close. (It would have been one of those dark red cells on weather.com.) Our canopy was staked down really well, but all our merchandise got soaked. We had put a plastic bag over our cash register, so it was OK. So when the storm got really fierce, we held onto our stuff and to each other, Most of the vendors were trying to close up their booths, but they should have just waited it out. We got at least an inch of water in about 10 minutes. When it finally blew over, we mopped up everything with a towel, and we were open again. We sold tickets to the rodeo and the barbecue, besides T shirts and candy bars and pop. We also sold Volkers bread, which is very dry, and way overrated. When our shift was over, we went home instead of staying around for the rodeo. Instead, we’re going to the Battle of the Bulls and the Ring of Fear tomorrow.
          Other news of the week: We finally have kitchen cabinets! They’re not installed yet, of course; they’re just stacked in big boxes in our living room. They were delivered on Thursday, almost on schedule. Except that the company sent a semi to bring them, and it jack knifed on the second hill. Dave Matheny’s wife was waiting to go down, and the driver panicked and pulled to the right, and skidded in the gravel. That made the back end of his trailer swung left, into the ditch. Nobody could get past for about three hours. All the neighbors stood around trying to figure out what to do, and the driver, who looked very young and very scared, stood around, too. Finally Vaughn Stanley brought his backhoe and pulled the trailer’s wheels out of the ditch. Then the driver wanted me to get a truck and take my own cabinets up the hill. I told him I’d paid for delivery to my house, and he needed to get them there. Bob Thomas, a neighbor, solved the impasse by bringing his truck and a trailer, and he hauled my cabinets up the hill. While the driver was bringing in the cabinets, I talked to Bob. I’ve known him since we first moved in there. He remembers our cabin being built, and says a high school shop class built it, along with the smaller cabin to the west of us. Bob is a stone mason, and I asked him what he thought of the stone wall I’m building in front. He said I could go for my license any time.
          Life is good. I hope you’re all doin’ great and lovin’ it. Mom