Dear Kids,
          First things first: Blake’s baby blessing will be next Sunday morning at Tom’s church, which is just east of J.R. Smith Elementary, which is just past Smiths, on 5th North in Heber. Sacrament meeting is at 9 am. The after-party will be after the block, at noon, at Tom’s house, but if you want to ditch the other meetings, you can go to Tom’s house early. For food assignments, call Kim.
          We’re still having odd weather. It snowed on Monday, but it didn’t stick. Since then, the wind has been blowing furiously. Dad and I have been furiously spreading our very expensive rock over the little bit of bark that is left in our yard. It’s very satisfying to rake it into place, and know it won’t go anywhere. We’re also moving ahead with the fire pit. I put down all the pavers for the patio, and now I’m ready to put the polymer sand into the joints. When you spray it with water, it hardens up and keeps the bricks in place. Hopefully they won’t go anywhere, either. And thirdly, we got some rubber mulch for our playground. It looks like bark, but it’s made of ground up tires, dyed brown. It’s not supposed to blow away, either, but I have my doubts. We had a great adventure, getting that mulch. We were able to save $150 on delivery if we picked it up ourselves in Ogden, so we borrowed the family truck and drove up there. The mulch (50 bags of it) was packed on a giant pallet, designed to be put onto flatbeds. We unpacked it and stacked the bags in the back of the truck, and put the cargo net over it all. It weighed a ton, which is exactly the load limit of the truck. We got it all home OK. Donna’s kids helped us spread it, and Bevan, too. Thanks to all of you!
           On Monday morning, August 21 there will be a "To-tal E-clipse of the Sun" (the song from Little Shop of Horrors is running through my mind), and the center of the blackout strip runs right through Rexburg. (You can google it and find a map of the eclipse path.) Dad and I are going to be there. When else, in your life, are you going to see a total eclipse? We’ll drive up to Pocatello Sunday night and stay over at Vanessa and Trent’s, if they can accommodate us, and then drive to Rexburg Monday morning. Shall we make a big party of it? It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
           So much going on! So much fun!
           Love, Mom