Dear Kids,
          I’m still reeling from the excitement and fun of Dad’s retirement. Wasn’t that bus ride the best? I was so proud of our huge gang waiting at the bus stop, and everybody staring at us. Good thing there were only two bus passengers for us to freak out. I’m glad so many of our grandkids will have that memory of "riding Grandpa’s bus." And thanks to everybody for coming to the party at Golden Corral! I hope we all ate enough to get our money’s worth! And thanks for the cards and presents and good wishes to Dad. Leaving UTA is going to be a hard adjustment for him, but at least he had a great send off!
          Yesterday afternoon Dad and I finally met Stefanie’s parents. We had arranged to meet at the Applebee’s in Layton, and I’m pretty sure that’s where we met James’s parents 15 years ago. What a coincidence! You can be sure Stefanie has wonderful parents! We had plenty of questions for them, and they had plenty for us. Her dad works in microbiology, and he’s very interested in science. I sure wish he could talk to Grandpa Allen! Stefanie’s mom is delightful. She’s looking forward to having grandchildren to babysit, so Paul and Stefanie have it made.
        I have a new church calling now–I’m a home teacher. Yep, that’s right. I’m Dad’s new companion. There’s a high rate of inactivity in our ward, and there aren’t enough active men to visit all the families. When the idea was first floated, I said, "Heck no! I’m already a visiting teacher!" But then I went out once with Dad, and I was hooked. He has great people. I’ve already been visiting my ladies on the third Sunday, and Dad wants to visit his families on the second Sunday, so . . . this brings me to my point: I want to start having Sunday dinner at the cabin again, so is the fourth Sunday OK? I’ll fix dinner on January 27th, and let’s see how it goes! I really want to start having Sunday dinners again, now that our remodeling is done. I’ll be calling all of you to find out for sure if it will work for you.
          Meanwhile, life moves on. Thanks for all your love and support to both Dad and me.
          Mom