Dear Mark,
          How are you?  As you can probably tell, I am typing this on the new laptop Doug has been issued as part of his job, to help him “keep track of things”!!  Of course, he went straight out and bought computer games, and the only time I’ve seen him work on it was the very first night when he ended up cursing human invention for creating…well I don’t think I’ll go into detail.
          Thank you for your letter, we’re thrilled to hear you may be visiting.  Hopefully Rachel can drop by as well.  Isn’t Oregon a long way to go for a summer camp?  Anyway, we can’t wait to see you both, if Elizabeth agrees to come.
          Since I last wrote, both girls have learnt to walk, or waddle as Doug calls it.  They’re now working on the art of perfecting the staircase.  I had a job interview last week (for a nursing position in an ICU) and left Doug to babysit for the first time.  Needless to say, I came back and found quite a mess, but he was great.  You may think that’s weird, like I’m assessing him as a parent or something, but it’s still taking a bit of getting used to is all.
I hope Elizabeth is well, and write soon!

Love from Carol xxx

P.S. Doug says hi and that his basketball skills have always been more superior than yours, and that him and the twins are going to “kick your butt”.