Dear Loved Ones All,

First, before I forget, want to wish Brad and Becky an Happy 4th Anniversary!

Now to continue with the promised story about the unwanted visitor. It was a Tuesday evening, Paul was in the office trying to save my computer (apparently it crashed, so I am just now getting and sending e-mails again) and I was in the front room cutting out pictures for a project I'm doing. The phone rang and it was Kristy, by friend from down and around the corner. She had been trying unsuccessfully all afternoon from Utah to call someone at her house, or one of her sons. She had told Dustin (her married son that now runs Mahaffey Enterprises and is the Elders Quorum president in his ward) that the elders and their wives could come have a swim party in her pool the next night. The only trouble was that her niece had gone swimming in her pool the day before and had told her that the pool was a little cloudy so it needed a couple of gallons of chlorine added to it. Hence I received the call asking if I would go down to her house and in her family room in the basement get 2 gallons of chlorine and pour them into her pool. Sure, no problem. Now any of you who have been to our house know that the Saturday Project (cleaning out the garage) has been put on permanent hold until some future date, so Paul and I park our cars outside in front of our garage. If I am fortunate, Paul parks back far enough from the door and the barrel of flowers that I can squeeze through in front of his car instead of having to go all the way around to get to my car. So I grab my car keys and zoomed off to Kristy's house. Well, when I got there I noticed Floyd's car parked in the driveway, but when I knocked there was no answer. Floyd is Fred's twin brother, and he and his wife live in the "grandma apartment" that was built for Kristy's mother. So, like Goldilocks, I opened the door and went in. "Hello, anyone here?" No answer. So I proceeded downstairs in search of the jugs of chlorine. I looked in the family room - nothing. I checked the hallway leading out to the pool - nothing. Maybe I just didn't see it. Back to the family room I went, searching behind furniture, etc. this time. NOTHING! Maybe someone put it out in the garage or the tool shed. So I headed to the outside door that went by the apartment. Was that voices I heard??????????????? Now I feel like and intruder. I listen quietly at the door. Yes, it is definitely a voice. I timidly knock on the door. "Come in," responds a male voice. Well, there sits Floyd. "Uh, Kristy said she tried calling because she wanted some chorine put into the pool, but she couldn't get anyone to answer their phone," I stammered. "And I have been looking but can't seem to find it. She said it was just down here in the family room" He explained that he had been talking long distance on the phone so he didn't answer his call waiting. Then he came out to show me where the jugs of chlorine had been stashed. In a bedroom, of course. Anyway, the chlorine was emptied into the pool and the mission was successfully completed so I happily jumped back into my car and returned home. Zip, into the driveway and into my spot. Open the door and hop out and slam the car door and hurry to go back into the house, because I was missing the first part of my show on HGTV. Well I got even with the front wheels of Paul's car, when I heard the most alarming racket coming from the front end. I froze with my foot mid air. What was that. Was it some strange kind of bug? Was it some weird sound coming from Paul's car -couldn't be, he had been home for hours and his car was almost cold. Was it some kind of giant cat purring loudly and the sound was amplified by the doors of the garage? I carefully backed up giving his car a wide berth, clear onto the grass and then up the front steps into the house. Paul was in the kitchen being a knight in shinning armor washing the dinner's dishes. Light bulb moment!!!!! "Paul what does a rattle snake sound like? " "Why?" he asked. "Well, I just heard this very loud, very alarming sound. " "Like what?" he wanted to know. It's like when your husband wants to know what the strange sound you hear coming from Your car. I imitated the sound as best I could by putting my tongue to the top of my mouth and forcefully blowing out air making it vibrate wildly. "Is that what a rattlesnake sounds like?" I want to know. "Why?" ( Man, all these questions and he doesn't seem too concerned.) "Well, I just heard a sound sort of like that coming from the front of your car, but I couldn't see what it was because the light above the garage doors wasn't on making it too dark to see." "That's great. Mindy and Toy just ordered pizza and the delivery boy should be here any minute. I turned around, flipped the outside light switch, and cautiously went back down the front steps. Stealthy I retraced my way back across the lawn far enough to see around the flower barrel and in front of Paul's car. Since Paul decided he had better come protect me, he was right behind me. Sure enough, there coiled in the corner of the barrel and the garage door was a sizeable rattle snake! Conveniently, leaning against the barrel was a specialty hoe. Paul grabbed it and . . . Whack! Whack! Chop! Chop! Off went it's head! Then he scooped it up, discarded the head, and took the body inside. Into a plastic Ziploc it went, and he set it down on the bookshelf beside the front door. We settled down to watch what was left of the TV show. Shortly the doorbell rang and we hollered downstairs for Mindy and Tony to let them know their dinner had arrived. Seconds later Mindy was upstairs with money in hand and the exchange was made. After a few pleasantries she shut the door and turned on her heels to take the pizza downstairs. A sharp intake of her breath followed by a piercing squeal, and a "What's that?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sheepishly Paul showed off his trophy explaining that he was going to skin it, stretch it on a board with a layer of salt, and then use it for a hat band.

So there, as promised is the tale of my unwanted visitor. Now Paul is waiting to use his computer, and since this is long enough, I will sign off for now. Hope all is well and that you are all surviving the economy.

Lots of Love to you all. Always, Mom, Diann, etc.