July 4, 1983 Billings, Montana

Dearest Roy, Bob, Claire & Michael, Rick, Jean, Ricky, Barbara Jean & Mary Ann and Ron, Ann, Susanna, Jessie & Russell,

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!! Daddy, John and I left Saturday about noon and drove up to the northwest part of the state and we didn't get him until about midnight last night so I'm writing my letter today. That is such a beautiful part of the country and Johnny had never been there so we had a little "vacation". We spent Saturday night in Libby, Montana and went to church there Sunday morning and visited with our missionaries there - that's the farthest part of our mission and is really gorgeous - very close to the Idaho border and Coeur de lene (sp.?) About a month ago we went to their stake conference - they have to drive 100 miles into Kalispell for their meetings. They had an early morning meeting for their youth at which Daddy spoke along with Bro. Wirthlin - after the meeting were over two young men just Johnny's age left to go back to Libby and the boy who was driving feel asleep and they had an accident and he was killed and the other boy seriously injured. We visited with the young boy's parents yesterday and I marveled at their testimonies and they were just beautiful. One of our missionaries up there is from Art Willardsen's stake - Elder Reusch and he is doing such a good job. We went through Glacier Park and it was quite foggy, windy and cold but was still pretty - Johnny says he would like to go pack packing up there some time - I would worry about grizzly bears.

Roy - we really loved our long visit with you this week and it was so good to be able to hear you (Roy has bought an inexpensive phone and we have a hard time hearing him when he calls - he says it works fine on local calls - he called us from the hospital the other night Your work sounds like it's going great and also the place you're living - we're proud of you for having a vegetable garden!!! We're really excited for both you and Bob to really get into the work for which you have been preparing for so long. It sounds like you really like Boston and we can just imagine all the things there are for you to do because you have so many different interest. The mission home is in Boston and Pres. and Sister Olsen from Orem are presiding over that mission - I wish you would go by and see it and tell us what' it's like! Okay.

Annie and Ron - we talked to Jeannie yesterday and she said you were spending the Fourth together so we guess you didn't go to Jerome - I'm sure with you family and in your condition Ann, it's much easier to stay home or was their reunion changed? How is your vegetable garden and do you have strawberries this year? I'll bet you're enjoying the cherries now - we bought some while Chris & Wayne were here that came from Washington and they were so good.

Jeannie and Rick - we loved talking to you and hearing about your plans with the Woolleys (they went to Lagoon on Saturday and then today the Weinerts were going to Orem to see the fireworks) - that really sounds fun to us. We have thought about little Ricky and how we would have loved to see him in the parade today - (Ricky is in a little musical group and they were going to march in the parade in Ogden). He would just "eat that up"!!!

Bob and Claire - we're dying to know how your new home is working out - did you have enough furniture to fill it up and is the air conditioning working good and does little Michael have some friends close by? We can just imagine how busy you are getting situated and Bob in his new work. Johnny is still talking about how good you were to him and Jason and how much fun he had in Little Rock. Claire, we hope you're feeling good - this last month is always so long - we're getting so excited!!!

Johnny has really thrown himself into his work since he has been home - he worked 10 and 11 hours a day every day last week and he really works - he doesn't stop to talk to us even when we take his lunch to him. He wants a sports car worse than I have ever seen any of our children want anything - he found a 280Z that he would like to have - it's a 1979 and the owner will sell it for $7,000 which isn't a bad price but I can't see buying a car like that - it can only seat two people and it's black and a used car spells trouble to me. We are now looking at a Toyota Celica for him and he has found the one he likes and if the car dealer will come to terms with Daddy that's what he will get. We may have him buy it in Utah if he can get a better deal because he is planning to go there the end of the month anyway. We keep telling him that none of you kids ever had to have a sports car - maybe it's because you knew you didn't have a chance to get one!!!

Elder Harman Rector Jr. came to Billings last week and he had said he would like to meat with the missionaries so we invited him to come to breakfast on Saturday morning - he had a fireside at the Stake Center on Friday night besides a diner we went to for him on that afternoon. Thursday morning I got up early and dressed in work clothes and went out and weeded the flower gardens - then I decided to sweep the balcony and as I swept I noticed how black the dirt was so I decided to get the hose up here and hose everything down - well, I had no idea what I was getting into - the more I hosed and scrubbed the bigger difference I could see and as it turned out I worked until 3 in the afternoon without stopping. There are drains in the floor on the balcony but you have to sweep the water into them because of the slant of the floor and I swept until I was blue in the face to get all the water off. The balcony really looks good even though no one sees it unless we take people to it. That night Daddy and I decided the Elders should form a work force and get the rest of the outside and their quarters cleaned so Friday morning Daddy dressed in work clothes and worked with them. Brenda loves to set her little "feather duster" and spend an hour dusting the furniture so I decided to try a different tactic with her - I made a list of all the things that had to be done and I specified that the furniture had to be oiled and rubbed (even the table legs) a lot with some other things and then I took the list to her and said I would come help her when I got time. She spends at least one hour washing the lunch dishes and they could be done in less than thirty minutes - I'm on to her and have learned that I will have to treat her differently if I want her to do the work. Daddy is giving her a raise with the stipulation that she will have to keep the downstairs clean or we will hire someone else to do it and lower he pay. She has the idea that all she has to do is fix the meals and wipe off the kitchen table and I will do the rest - I can do it but I have to neglect other more important things to do it. She is going home the first two weeks in August and I will be the cook so maybe I'll get a better idea of what I can expect of her. She is so social and will leave the kitchen dirty if she has to in order to get to all her special interest events on time. There really isn't a lot for to do except on two days of the month when we have those missionaries come in and go out and she's making a good salary. She is employed as a cook and a housekeeper but I have to define every single thing I want for her to do.

Daddy had to send a missionary home last week and that is always so hard on him. Our baptisms are down about 25% from last year and that worries him too - he gets a report on all the mission sand most of them are lower than that but he would like to be n top. Having the missionaries serve 18 months instead of 24 months is making the difference we think but since we know it's an inspired program I'm sure there is a reason - some of our best missionaries just get effective and it's time for them to go home. We start zone conference for this month tomorrow and they are constantly trying to get new methods for teaching and tracting. We have 61 baptisms for the moth of June and I think that's great but the goal was 100.

We are going to cook not dogs and made home made ice cream for the Elders this afternoon so I had better get with it - Brenda's day off is today and she had gone somewhere since early this morning. Daddy keeps reminding me that no house is big enough for two women and I couldn't agree more!!!!

We love each one of you so very much - PLEASE BE CAREFUL IN EVERYTHING YOU DO - and remember to let us know how we can help you.
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