Dear Kids,
          It’s Sunday morning, and John’s kinds are romping around the cabin, except for Julie, who’s still asleep. Jacob was just now stung by a wasp, so we went on a rampage and killed four of them. I explained to the kids that you have to break them in half or flush them down the toilet. If you just smash them on the floor, they get up again. John is trying to figure out how they survive here in the winter. I told him good luck on that one.
          Dad has another church calling: he’s been asked to be second counselor in the Sunday School presidency. There’s an opening for ward clerk, and I was hoping Dad would be called to that, but it wasn’t to be. Still, he’s got a new title, and there isn’t much work. (Probably not any.) Besides that, Dad has applied for a job. At the fitness center there’s a sign up that says they need somebody for the front desk. It would only be two or three days a week, and the hours are very flexible. It doesn’t pay much, but I think Dad would really enjoy it. He’s used to interacting with people all day long, not just talking to me. So, he filled out their application. It’s run by the South Summit School District, and we’ve already been fingerprinted, so he’s good to go. Hopefully we’ll hear in a day or two.
          Our on-again-off-again relationship with Fieldstone Homes has gone over another bump. Two weeks ago I thought we were good to go, and we agreed on a price, but then they came back and said the developer was insisting on 3-car garages for his "premium" lots. That seemed pretty bogus for an area that’s only sold 3 lots in 7 years, and part of it has turned into a garbage dump. Besides, we don’t want a 3-car garage. The house looks way better without it–more balanced. I told them that we didn’t want the extra garage, but that our daughter was doing a fabulous landscape design that would make the site look very classy. They wanted to see the design. Donna sent it to them, and it included the .1 acre common area next to us, on the corner. I told them they would be getting at least $5,000 in free landscaping, so the developer could easily come down on his price for the lot. And by then they realized the 3-car garage wouldn’t even work there because the common area takes up part of the front of our lot. Long story short, they loved Donna’s design, and came down on their price. So we might sign papers as early as Tuesday. Thanks to Donna. Grandma Allen used to point out that in a big family, everybody can do something. It’s true with us. John takes care of our eyes, Nora cuts our hair, Donna designs our landscaping, Monica tells us what to eat . . . Dad and I are very grateful to all of you!
          I’m cooking Sunday dinner next week, on the 24th. Hopefully some of you can come.
          Love, Mom