Dear Kids,
           You know it’s spring here at the cabin because the magpies are swooping around looking for good nesting spots. Two very silly ones decided to build in the pine tree by the back door. I don’t think they’re the same ones who tried it last year–if so, they don’t have the intelligence that Tom claims they have. Anyway, in just a couple of days, their nest was nearly done. Then I climbed up a ladder with a crow bar and destroyed it. It wasn’t easy, because they use thick twigs and weave them together, plastering everything with mud. They mix in a few rocks, too, so it’s really heavy duty. But I brought it all down with the crow bar, and Dad burned their twigs in the stove. Then they came back to the tree and hopped around among the branches for a while. Finally they flew off. It’s OK with me if they build someplace else. I’m not as hostile towards magpies as I used to be. They didn’t choose to be born magpies.
          Two weeks from tomorrow is Memorial Day AND Dad’s birthday! We’ll have a barbecue at the cabin, and we’ll probably eat about 2:00 in the afternoon. We have to try out the new barbecue you all gave us for Christmas! Dad put it together several weeks ago, but we haven’t really cooked on it yet. I’ll probably make hamburger patties, or you can bring your own meat if you want something fancier.
          Our house on Scenic Heights Road now has a foundation! I wish the grandkids could have been there last Tuesday when the cement trucks and the pump truck were working there. The chute arches way up in the air, and they move it to where they’re pumping next. The next day, they took the forms off the foundation, and now they’ve already done the sub-plumbing, water line, and electrical. They’re supposed to start framing this Thursday. That’s the best part of all.
          On Friday, Dad and I went to Heber for Grandparents’ day at JR Smith Elementary. Both Emma and Aaron invited us! We got to hang out with the Bentleys, eat school lunch, do a little school work, walk around the playground, and watch a program. I wish we were closer to all of you, but it sure is nice having three families in Heber Valley! Life is good!
          Love, Monm