June 2, 1986 Orem, Utah

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

I just came home from walking my four miles - we start at 7:15 and get home about 8:30 - it is beginning to get really warm in the mornings so we have to start earlier and it is so pretty. The daughter of one of the women walks with us and Johnny, she is a darling girl and about your age - she walks much faster than I do but she is patient and slows down when I'm there.

Barji and I has such a fun day a week ago - you wouldn't believe that cemeteries here in Utah on Memorial Day - maybe they're like that all over! Next year I'll know more about what to do - I should have taken more flowers and a bucket to carry water. When I got to Brigham City it was in the late afternoon and I thought my brother would have taken flowers but he hadn't and I didn't take enough for all the graves. Barji is so much fun to be with and we had lunch at McDonalds in Brigham City and then we went on to Farmington and visited with Jeannie, Mary Ann & Sarah for awhile out on their patio - it was a fun day!

Daddy, Rick & Ricky really had a wonderful time at Lake Powell and they caught a lot of fish. They got home late Wednesday and had all kings of fish stories to tell. They loved the houseboat and everything worked this time - the weather was warm and Daddy says it is the most beautiful place he has ever been so we're really excited about our trip in a couple weeks. I guess Ricky got tired of catching fish and decided he would " just net them" - I can't even imagine it being that good - his little eyes just sparkled when he told us about it.

Roy & Patrice - just bring the bare necessities when you come - I'm sure we will have most of the things you need. Ron will take his "wind surfer" (I think that's what it is called) and he says you will really enjoy that - we have pictures of Ron & Johnny riding that last year and it looks tricky to me I guess if you can water ski you can learn to do that too. We can hardly wait for you to come.

Bob & Claire - we wish you could come too! Little Brett wouldn't enjoy it very much but Michael & Laura would have a "ball". Cissy & Charles Beyers came last Tuesday and spent the afternoon with me they tried to "pin me down" about where you were going to practice - I just told them you didn't know at this point. They said that Jim Griffin really wanted you to go in with him - they also said he was really doing well. That's going to be a hard decision - when we see the doctors around us who are doing so well we can't help but want you & Roy to start here!!!!!

Johnny - your "short" letter was good and really we can understand how hard it must be to write every week when you do the same things day in and day out. I told my "walking friends" about you letter this morning and they said their sons did that too and one of them said she even resorted to making out a questionnaire for him to answer - Ha! We're so proud of you for making the best of Chimbarongo. The Beyers told us that Carlton Wing is in Boise, Idaho on is mission (their daughter lives there). They wanted to know all about you and said to give you their love. Your friend is Billings who was baptized (Jack Bird - or is it Berg?) is in the Kansas Mission and we heard that he just loves it - isn't that neat? (Jack was one of Johnny's first friend in High School when we moved to Billings and he joined the church while Johnny was at the Y and we understand the whole family is having the lessons now). It will be your big "20th" birthday this Friday and that will be hard day for me - I hope you have some kind of a celebration and we hope your "dumb" packages from

The Woolleys and Weinerts are doing fine - it just means so much to us to be close enough to see them quite often. I keep wanting to go to Farmington to pick up the children and have them spend more time with us and their Orem cousins and hopefully we will be able to do that a lot this Summer. I can't believe how fast the days go by - our Temple assignment of two days a week really outs into our plans. The Woolleys were over for a little while last night and then we walked back to their home with them (they had come over on their roller stakes) to see their "hamsters" and "parakeets". They brought a pair of hamsters last week and they got the "hamster hotel" and of course it is really fun to watch them play in it but one of their hamsters died so they will probably get another one. Their parakeets are beautiful - LeeAnna keeps opening the cage door and I just know they are going to get out - Ha! Annie is getting "weary" and she has six weeks to go. Russell has been kinda' "unde the weather" so the doctor has been taking some tests - Ann has to take him back in today - he looks the picture of health so I'm sure it isn't serious.

Ray has just come over to visit with Daddy - they enjoy each other so much and I'm glad he will drive over here. He is going to retire the Summer so they will have more time for their fishing and hunting trips. I believe he is going to take the "dog catcher" job in Lehi part time. We miss our Lehi friends but we're so happy with this home and the ward members over here and we hope to stay here for forever. Rose Hinton came over last Saturday and we enjoyed our visit with her. One of these days I'll get ambitious and have a party and invite them all over - we would like to have Mamie & Oral come over. The FHA appraisal on our Lehi home was $64,000 so we probably could have put our price higher but we feel really good about everything - the Browns will probably be moving in in about two weeks so Daddy is going to have to get his workshop things out of the garage. It seems so funny to go over there now but we have no regrets - I do regret having given some of our furniture away - it would probably have made this home look shabby but we could have refinished it - oh well!!! No matter what I get rid of, I always wish I had kept it! We will keep our boat and house trailer on our corner lot in Lehi and it will be easy to hook them on the to the cars and move them. Daddy still has to finish the trailer - he took the back of it all apart and just hasn't had time to put it back together!

Saturday was a "missionary day" for us. Elder Baker was married in the Salt Lake Temple in the morning and he had called and asked us to please come se we went to that and it was neat to meet his family - he married a darling girl from Provo and we got to see Elders Dayton & Cardinet. (I know you don't know these people except for the Johnny.) We just came home when two former Lady Missionaries came in from Oregon - Sisters Muir & Pearson. They had dinner with us and then Elder Marianna from California brought his wife here to meets us - he was so cute - he got here at 7p.m. and didn't stop talking until they left about 10. It's fun to have them come like that themselves - find isn't the pressure of missionary rules and they really are themselves - we find out some of the funniest things that happened while we were serving that we didn't know anything about. Johnny - your Mission President is in her last month - is he excited to get back to his home? One of our missionaries brought us 50 lbs. of the most beautiful potatoes - I know he hand sorted them because they're all the same size and they're so good - he's from a little farming community in the Southern part of the state - Circleveille - Elder Dalton.

Today is Grandpa Forrest's 90th Birthday. He thinks he is much older than that and we don't argue with him - he tells everyone he is 95. He won't know the difference so we don't plan to go up today - we'll go up later in the week and take him something special. He is so sweet and seems to happy & content.

I can't think of any more news. We love each of one of you so very much - PLEASE BE VERY CAREFUL IN EVERYTHING YOU DO. Let us know how we can help you!
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