February 8, 1987

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

It's Sunday afternoon and we are having such gorgeous weather - Daddy is outside with Mary Ann & Sarah while I write my letter. We all went to church this morning and my admiration for the young parents of the church was greatly enhanced as it always is when we have our grandchildren with us. Daddy and I both were up at 6:30 this morning and it took us every minute to get breakfast and get the girls and ourselves ready by 9:00 - in fact, by the time we got to church we had already had a "few fusses"!!!! I spent the time during Sacrament meeting out in the hall with Sarah along with young mothers of children her same age. I took Mary Ann to Primary and then tried to get Sarah to stay in the nursery but she cried when I started to leave so I stayed with her, thinking that Mary Ann was happily settled in her class. After two hours in the nursery I went to get Mary Ann and found that she had attended priesthood with PaPa - Ha!!! I know this is an inspired program because it works when children are in their own wards with their own friends and parents but it was actually funny this morning. Sarah had a great time in the nursery and I got some good ideas for toys for our playroom that will appeal to her age.

Jeannie is doing just great - we talked to her last night and she said she was feeling much stronger. We had planned to have Ricky and Barji for the first two days of this week because Rick has to go out of town until Wednesday but when we talked to Jeannie she said she had decided to keep them home so they wouldn't miss any school. They are so capable of helping a lot and they can get themselves ready for school so I guess it's the best thing to do. I worry about Jeannie fainting and being alone because she is so anemic but as Daddy says, "Jean isn't going to do anything dumb". We are just loving having Mary Ann & Sarah with us - we really become well acquainted with our grandchildren when they come like this without their parents and it's good for all of us - we discipline them just like we did all of you. We have spent a lot of time at parks and it is wonderful that we have had such good weather. Mary Ann spent one day at Ann's playing with her cousins and of course she loved that. Our neighbors have their married son and his wife and two little girls living with them temporarily and one of the girls is Mary Ann's age - they have played together too and that is so nice. Children need friends!!!! We have gone to the library often too and have rented some videos and checked out books for them to enjoy - today they have watched "The Care Bears", "Jack & the Beanstalk" and I promised that after they played outside they could watch "The Wizard of Oz" and "Annie". We got all of them yesterday because we thought Ricky & Barji were coming and we can keep them until tomorrow evening. I told someone at church this morning that I don't believe I would have been a very good grandmother in the days before television and videos. I remember taking Ann to my folks in Brigham City when they first got television and we would wait all day for "The Story Princess" and it was only a 30 minute program.

Johnny - your letter this week was a "classic"!!! (He wrote one line and it said, "Don't worry one bit - I'm dong great and will write a long letter soon.) Really that makes us happier than if we received a long, long letter every week. Daddy has painted your bed and chest of drawers and "chocolate brown" and they look really nice - I'm afraid to get too close to him and stand still for fear that he will paint me!!! He will have most of this Winter projects finished before long.

We talked to both Bob & Roy this week and they're doing fine. We laughed about Bob telling us about flushing the toilet after helping Laura and then she cried 'Brett put my big foot in it'- I believe that was what he flushed down. Bob said he had just barely turned around and Brett threw it and it was gone - and of course, the toilet stopped up and Bob said it hasn't worked the same since. You have to be a million places at the same time and have eyes in the back of your head to keep ahead of your children when they're that age. Daddy had to get ours downstairs unclogged one day last week - it wouldn't work with a plunger so he had to use that corkscrew thing - we have no idea what was thrown in that one!!! Roy and Patrice are doing fine - Roy said that Patrice was really being studious. They did go on their cross country skiing trip last weekend - I was sure they wouldn't be able to go because of their extremely cold and snowy weather but Roy said they had a great time. I believe Boston is having all the snow this year - we don't have any and it's more like Spring here than February. We'll probably have snow in March, April and May!!!!

Ann & Ron are busy with their house plans and it is so much fun to go over them with them - they realize how important it is to get the things they really want incorporated in their home when it is being built rather than having to add them later. It is going to be just beautiful and we're anxious for them to "break ground". Their big dilemma right now is whether or not to have ceramic tile in their dining and family rooms - they definitely want it in their bathrooms and I don't blame them. We loved our ceramic tile in Little Rock but I really agonized over the quarry tile in our entrance and finally had a lot of it carpeted.

Speaking of Little Rock - we had a long letter from Julia Ann Daniels (they bought our home there) and she explained to us that they have put the house up for sale and they're trying to sell it themselves rather than go through a realtor. They are going to move. If I can remember I'll copy her letter and send it to you - you might be interested in hearing about the little squirrels in our back yard there - Daddy loved to watch those squirrels after he retired and was home more.

Daddy went ice fishing last Wednesday again. There were six in their party and they caught their limit and Daddy caught all but three of them. I told him they would stop taking him with them but he said, "they have to take me, I have the ice auger and I catch all the fish"!!! He has always been an excellent fisherman.

I told you in my last letter that they were going to re-open Geneva Steel but that has all been changed. They announced that they were putting it on "closing-indefinitely" status - in the paper today it said that Utah County had already made the adjustment economically but it would really hurt a lot of the former workers there. Daddy and I are so happy to see that thing close but we have to be very careful about expressing those feelings because just about everyone you talk to has some relative or friend who is affected by its closing. The entire environment has been 100% better since it has been closed for good.

We had the "funniest" letter from Marge Lucas last week - she hasn't changed one bit. They like Fort Worth and I guess Marilyn will graduate from BYU this Spring and Barbie is in Med Scholl in Little Rock. I had sent them a picture of our Christmas - I had owed her a letter from about a year ago!!! We also had a letter from the Corpiers in Little Rock - they said to tell you all "hello".

That's all the news. We surely do love each one of you and we're so proud of you - PLEASE BE VERY CAREFUL IN EVERYTHING YOU DO - let us know how we can help you.
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