July 20, 1986 Orem, Utah

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

I'm writing my letter downstairs again - it is so nice & cool down here and it is quite hot outside. It gets so cool here at night that the house really stays cool until late afternoon and then the upstairs get quite warm. We still just love our home - it's hard to describe how pretty it is to look outside at the mountains and lake - we sit out on our porch swing late at night and just can't believe the beauty and comfort. Daddy put brick steps down the lawn to the back yard and then he took the wooden railroad the steps that were next to the house out - he is going to plant a tree right next to the back door there and then put in more plants if we need them there - he thinks the bushes that are there will must fill in that space. Johnny - I'm sure this doesn't make any sense to you - everyone else has seen it so they know what I'm talking about. Daddy made him - self a schedule of things to do in the order he wants to do them - he is going to finish the brick walk on the East tomorrow and then do the next thing on the list.

We just finished talking to Bob, Claire, Michael & Laura - it was so good to talk to the whole family - Bob isn't home very much so we were really surprised today when, after Michael talked to us Bob's voice came on. Michael always has much long and involved stories to tell us and even Bob didn't know what he was trying to tell us. We're so thrilled to hear that the children have a trampoline and Bob says he has built a little sprinkler system so they can have a sprinkling to cool them off while they jump. We have seen how much the Woolley & Weinert children have enjoyed their trampolines - I still worry about them and especially then there are a lot of children jumping - Ann & Jean are really strict about the rules they make. Bob said that little Brett was really a darling baby and we agree and such a healthy one. We have worried about you in the heat of the South but we will envy you when it comes January & February. Claire - don't worry about not writing - that was the hardest thing I did for about twenty years of my life then the children were all young - I didn't do a good job of it wither!!! Bob says it is so enjoyable to work in his area because there is so much work in his field and not too many doctors to do it - he also says the more he learns the easier it becomes - I guess that is a good reason for such long residencies!!!

Johnny - your last letter "made my day". I guess it is very basic to a mother's life to have all her children "super happy" - I got so I was thinking about Chimbarongo too much - not because of the things you had written about it but because I knew it was like some of the places in our Mission and I could remember how hard it was for our missionaries to stay in those places for very long - four moths is a very long time to stay there! We're really proud of you for making "the best" of it - we're thrilled that you are "loving life" with your new area and new companion and hope it will continue. It's during the hard times that we grow the most though. We loved the picture with the herd of sheep - how come there are so many black ones? Your National Strike days with all the protests sound scary to me - there is a lot to learn from this experience and we can see about the unrest in Chile!!! We called Bob & Louise Erickson this afternoon - Louise had written us a long letter and I wasn't sure when I would find time to answer it - she had also sent us the 4th Ward Newsletter that I will send on to you. I asked about Brent and she said his Mission has just been divided but he was staying in his original one. Dean Lythgoe is in the MTC - I'll try to bake him some cookies - it will mean a lot to him to have you in Chile when he gets there - it would be neat if you could train him, wouldn't it? Bishop Anderson's grand daughter just drowned in Rexburg, Idaho - so sad! They are remodeling the 4th Ward church so the members are attending the Sake Center - they are anxious to get back in their own ward.

Roy & Patrice, if you should decide to take an overseas assignment for three years would you be able to come home for vacations? If we have a vote and you wouldn't be able to come home for thee years, we vote against it - Ha! Did your landlords have a good time on their trip to the Orient - they don't get to go home very often, do they? We surely hope you're both doing fine!

We had such a fun day yesterday. We left home about 8 a.m. and got in Farmington in time for their "Festival Days" Parade. Little Mary Ann and Barji were both in it and they looked so darling - Mary Ann in her little dancing costume of purple net with a little "tu tu" and Barji in a plaid Hawaiian short set that Jeannie had made for her dancing group. They had both been sick all last week with step throat and they were better but Jeannie & Ricky weren't feeling very good while we were there. After the parade which was quite long with lots and lots of children participating we went to the Weinert's for hamburgers, corn on the cob, Rick's famous potato salad (German) and ice cream cones. It was wonderful out on their back lawn and we loved it. Little Sarah still doesn't trust me - I will never put her in a closet again and tell her to go to sleep even if she stays awake all night. We went to Brigham City after that and would you believe Grandmother wouldn't even get out of bed to visit with us - she was asleep when we got there so we stayed until she awakened but she didn't want to see us. Grandpa was his usual cheerful self. I guess we just have to understand that older people have their own ways - it was a long hot drive that we really didn't feel was very worthwhile.

Annie is still "hanging in there" - bless her heart! She said she will "just die" if her doctor tells her he will see her in a week when she goes to see him tomorrow - Ha! Her due date is Wednesday - Ron's Birthday and you just can't imagine how excited that whole family is. Ann's neighbor had a little baby girl yesterday and Ann took Susanna & Jessie to the hospital to see her - they came over last night and told us about her black hair and the little bow on her head and they just went on and on. This baby will be quite a bit easier for Ann because Susanna is so dependable and will be a lot of help. Ron makes the most delicious ice cream - it's the old fashioned "fattening" kind but is worth it. We thought we had given our "hand crank" ice cream freezer away and felt bad when Ron told us he couldn't buy one so he had asked his folks to loan him theirs - we found ours yesterday over in the Lehi garage and even though it is rusted we hope we will be able to still use it - we have always felt that "hand cranking" made smoother ice cream and after tasting Ron's we are convinced it does. Johnny - do you remember how I tries to convince Ronnie Caveness of this - Ha!

Our Single Adult class has grown by leaps and bounds - Daddy is really a good teacher. We started out in a small class room, then they gave us a larger room and today they had to give us the choir loft in the chapel and every seat was filled - one young man came up to him after the class and said he had heard so much about the class he went to Priesthood in his own ward and then came to our ward for the lesson - he isn't supposed to do this! This will all change when school starts because they will go to their University wards but it surely is compliment to Daddy right now. They are having a Single Adult Conference at BYU this next week and I have tried to encourage all of them to go to it - I get upset with them when they don't want to go to things like this but we can't make them go. I have also tried to plan a hamburger cookout in our back yard but we can't get them interested in this either - they shouldn't be forced to come to things like this but we think they should get to know each other socially.

The deal on our Lehi house should close tomorrow - there have been so many mortgages to process because of the lower interest rates that there has been a backlog that has delayed it about two months. The young couple is so anxious to move in and we are anxious to have it over with - we fell very fortunate to have been able to sell it. I dream about it every night and it is hard emotionally because it has been a "family home" for all of us but we could never be happy in it as our permanent home and we know that more every time we go over there.

That's all the news and all the paper!!!! We love each one of you so very much - We're MIGHTY proud of our family - PLEASE BE CAREFUL IN EVERYTHING YOU DO - Let us know how we can help you. Oh - the dates for Lake Powell are September 17, 18, 19 & 20th and we'd love to have you all with us except for you John - Ha!




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