September 27, 1987 Orem, Utah

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

It's an absolutely gorgeous Fall day - I love it when the temperatures cool down even though we have had a very cool Summer. We're waiting for Johnny to come home from church - we have different schedules- we go from 9 a.m. until noon and he goes from 1 p.m. until four. All the young people in our class ask about him and would love to have him go to this ward but we surely don't blame him for wanting to go to a BYU ward.

The news for this week is that Bob & Claires' pictures turned out and we have a wonderful one of our WHOLE family for Christmas cards. There are several that are really good and we are so thrilled with them - in fact, I believe we'll have one of the ones with all of us on the houseboat enlarged!!!! Bob - thanks so much for bringing your tripod and planning to take the pictures - I'm sure with everything else you had to bring that was not an easy thing to do.

Daddy and I worked on our "hill" most of this week. I'm sure you don't remember but it has been just covered with tiger lilies - the former owners planted them to try to stabilize the hill. It has been so hard to get anything else to grow on it and with the tiger lilies and the weeds we were losing a constant battle. We dug all of them out and Daddy hauled them away on his trailer. We want to get some more shrubs to put on the hill and hope they will crowd out any weeds that will grow there. Daddy is going to brick in a little flower wall at the very top of the hill.

Johnny is doing really good - he has found that it helps a lot to study with a "buddy". I'm sure it has been hard for him to get back into the routine of studying hard things like calculus and physics after being away from it for awhile. He is such a joy to have with us - he does all the yard work and helps with anything that needs to be done. It's fun to have his friends come over too - they were over last night and we could hear them laughing and it was "music to our ears"!!!!

Daddy, Johnny & Ray went rabbit hunting over in Lehi one day last week - Johnny kept missing them and the next day Daddy "sighted in his rifle" and found that it was shooting a foot too high - whatever that means. Daddy & Ray left Friday afternoon to go down to Southern Utah to find a good elk hunting place - they spent the night and had such a good time just being out in the mountains. Daddy said they saw hundreds of deer but not any elk but I'm sure they'll go back down there for the hunt this weekend. Johnny is excited about that and I hope they have some success - not that I want the meat but it would mean a lot to them.

I went to Brigham City yesterday and spent about an hour and a half with Grandpa Forrest - I fed him his lunch and then wheeled him all over the nursing home. He only said one sentence to me all the time I was there - I took him by the big window and he said, "Oh, that's beautiful". He doesn't see very well and I guess the light at the window seemed pretty to him. I asked the nurse how he was doing and she said, "He can get pretty mean". I have assumed from that, that they keep him pretty well drugged because he just wasn't one bit alert. I took him some doughnuts and he loved them and he ate all his lunch so I know he is doing well physically but it just kills me to see him that way.

I stopped in to visit with Jeannie and the children on my way home - Rick is in Florida on a business trip. They were just driving away to go shopping but they came back and we visited for a little while - they're all doing fine. Jeannie loves her work and the children are adjusting fine - little Mary Ann is so excited about her pre-school and Sarah has a little girl just her age at the baby sitters. Ricky has earned his "Bobcat" badge and he showed me his shirt with it sewed on - wow, did that bring back memories - I never could get those things sewed on straight the first time. Jeannie is his den mother and that's such a lot of work. Barji was so cute - she had a little friend with her and they were buddies!!!!

Annie went to Logan with Jessie on Friday to participate in a gymnastics meet. They were to leave about 3:30 in the afternoon and Ann said it would be the wee hours of the morning before they got back. I haven't heard how the meet turned out. Their home is coming along beautifully but it will be a long time before they will be moving in, I think. Ann brought us some whole wheat pancake mix and it is so good I had to buy lots of syrup to have with it - POUNDS, POUNDS, POUNDS!!!!!

Roy & Patrice - we hope you're doing good. It's fun to look at our Lake Powell pictures and remember how much we enjoyed being with you. I took a picture of you both on the sailboards so I could send it to your Mom, Patrice, but she will never be able to see that it is you - the scenery is pretty though.

Daddy still has his stiff neck - his doctor took lots of x-rays and says it is arthritis. He's having problems with his tongue too so he will go back tomorrow for more tests. He feels really good other than that.

We love each 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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