Sunday September 15, 1985 Lehi, Utah

Dearest Johnny; Roy; Bob, Claire, Michael & Laura; Rick, Jean, Ricky, Barbara Jean, Mary Ann & Sarah; and Ron, Ann, Susanna, Russell & LeeAnna:

SURPRISE!!!! Roy came in yesterday morning to spend the weekend with us - I really didn't need to include him in the salutation but I did just in case he doesn't have time to read this before he leaves tomorrow and I'll send it to him. He called one day last week and wanted to know if it would be possible for him to see Johnny for a few minutes if he came out - Daddy called Johnny's Branch President and received special permission for a brief visit so he flew out on a new flight that is with Western Airlines and was a direct flight from Boston. John's Branch President said the best time would be Sunday evening so we went to the MTC with Roy to show hi where it was and then he brought us home and he was gone back now - I'll report later in my letter if he got to see him!!!! It has been just wonderful to have him with us - Annie's whole family went with us to the airport to meet him and that was no small feat to get four little children all dressed so cute and at the airport by 10 o'clock in the morning. The BYU cougars were playing their football game at 1 o'clock so after they met Roy they went right back home (Ron has season tickets for the games). Daddy & Roy & I went to see Jeannie and she had a delicious lunch fixed for us - Rick and little Ricky had gone to Reno to see the air show so they weren't home but we visited with Barji, Mary Ann and Sarah. After that we drove up to Brigham City to visit with Grandmother & Grandpa in the rest home - that was just hilarious. I have never seen Grandmother so excited and happy - she went all through the halls in the wheelchair saying, "This is my grandson and he is a doctor", and then she would turn to him and say, "Now what is your name again" We laughed and laughed but we could tell it really made a happy day for them so it was worth the drive up there. When we got back to Lehi after that we called Ann & Ron and they came over for a little while and we had such a good time. Today was our Stake Conference so Daddy & Roy & I went to that 10 'till 12 and then we came home, changed our clothes and put a beautiful prime rib roast in the oven and then took a little ride to show Roy where the proposed new development will be built in Lehi, Jennie & her family came down about 2 0'clock (Rick had some church teaching he had promised to do) and it was just wonderful having them here for long enough to have a little visit - I guess the thing that makes me the happiest when we have get togethers like this is to see how much the cousins love each other. We took Ricky, Barji & Mary Ann to the park right close by our house here and they kept asking, "Are our cousins here yet?" Annie & Ron went to their regular church meetings and then came over afterwards (Jeannie got excused from all her responsibilities at church today). We had a really good dinner and the highlight of it was the delicious dessert that Ann brought - a lemon and also a chocolate refrigerator dessert that was just heavenly. All the grandchildren left about 7 o'clock and then Roy got dressed up in dark slacks & white shirt to go to the MTC.

Claire - thank you for your sweet letter. We can hardly wait to see Michael & Laura and we hope the weather is good so we can take them to the park. I can see why Michael would be a little grouchy after his play school - that is really an adjustment for children to make but it's good for them. PaPa and I are loving the way our grandchildren are learning responsibilities like cleaning up their rooms, etc. - you are bribing Michael much of the same way Annie is bribing Jessie and it's fun to watch. I'll have to admit that much of the time I just gave up and did the chores myself which is definitely the wrong thing to do. By the way - I found out that Bro. & Sister Fox are still here - he is in the Bishopric - she works in the Primary so I don't even see her.

Friday the 13th was really an unlucky day for me. I have had an appointment for a month with Ann's really good beautician so I decided to color my hair before I went - my hair still was a pretty brown and don't ask me why I decided to color it some more. Anyway, Ann went to special trouble to get the color for me. I put it on Friday morning and just imagine the blackest back you could imagine and my hair went ten time blacker than that. I can't believe it - I have shampooed it until my head is sore but not one ounce of color will come out - this morning I got up early and shampooed it with feels naptha soap and it didn't faze it. Ann's beautician didn't have much sympathy with me - she just said, "You never color your hair this soon after having a permanent".

I went to Brigham City two times last week to help Judy Clean the folk's home. I went through some of their drawers and threw a lot of "stuff" away and then did things like defrosting the refrigerator (I know it hadn't been done for twenty years) and I also cleaned their oven & range and cupboards. They will come home tomorrow and Dee has hired nurses and housekeepers to come in to help them. I said I would go up one day a week and cook up some food and do some food and do some cleaning and other things that need to be done. I surely hope it will work out for them because they want to go home so bad and they really shouldn't be in the rest home - Mother, especially, has improved in health so much during the last two or three months.

Daddy & I went over to Bro. & Sister Hinton's home last Monday for a family home evening. They had invited us to come & tell them about our mission. We really had a good time. Rose Hinton is an avid genealogist and has her own microfilm machine and also a computer - she says she just spends hours working on genealogy every day. I really must get interested in that SOON.

Daddy has the most beautiful grass in all of Lehi. He has done a wonderful job and put in a sprinkler system in both the back & front yards - he is a little disappointed because we don't have enough water pressure here to give them work properly so he is going to have to re-do some of it and have fewer sprinkler heads go on at one time. Now his next project is to put in a picket fence in front - he has a lot of "cold weather" projects lined up but he is slowly running our of things go do that involve "digging in the dirt" and he will miss that. He is thrilled with his new "hunting friend" - he went over to his friend's place one-day last week and they made some bullets. They are going on their elk hunt the first part of October (just before our missionary reunion) and Daddy is so excited. This fried is a policeman for the city of Lehi.

Daddy & I went to the relief Society Fall Social last Thursday and it was really nice. They had a delicious bar-b-cue chicken dinner followed by a book review by a Buddy Youngreen who has written a book about Emma Smith - it was just excellent and really gave us an insight into her personal life that we haven't had before.

We had a letter from Brenda - she is living in her daughter's home in Atlanta, Georgia while her daughter is in London on a Fulbright scholarship study program of some kind. She is really excited about Chris Mart's graduation from medical school. She said he has applied to 21 places for internships and will go into either heart or pediatric surgery. Brenda had a wonderful time on her trip to Europe in August.

Johnny - we were so thrilled with your letter this week - and, it came on Wednesday instead of Thursday. Your flight plans sound exciting - leaving the SLC airport at 10:30 a.m. on the 30th, arriving in Atlanta at 3:43 p.m. and then taking off for Miami at 5:06 - arriving in Miami at 6:40 p.m. and taking off for Chile at 10:40 p.m. and arriving there at 8:10 a.m. WHAT A LONG FLIGHT!!!! We can't tell you how very proud we are of you and we appreciated so much all you are accomplishing!!!

I don't have any more news so I'm going to leave the rest of the space to report on Roy's experience at the MTC in his efforts to visit with Johnny!!!!

10:45 p.m. Roy just came home and he had a wonderful visit with Johnny. He said he went to the front desk of the MTC and told them he had special permission to see Elder Mellor and he said they were so nice to him and called Johnny to come to the desk. Roy said he didn't get there for about ten minutes and was he ever SURPRISED to see Roy. They sat in the entrance part of the MTC and visited - Roy says he looks really great and is so happy with the things he is doing - and of course, that makes us happy.


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