June 24,1991 Orem, Utah
Dearest John; Roy, Patrice, Emily & Timothy; Bob, Claire, Michael, Laura, Brett & Katie; Rick, Jean, Ricky, Barbara Jean, Mary Ann & Sarah; and Ron, Ann, Susanna, Jessie, Russell, LeeAnna & Jimmy:
WHAT A GORGEOUS DAY IN OREM!!! All our flowers are blooming, the yard is spectacular and the weather is PERFECT - not too hot and not too cold!!! It is hard to believe that it is almost the end of June and we haven't even had our air conditioner on.
We hope you're all doing good. John went to Layton to be with Bob & Claire on Saturday night and they're all fine. Bob showed John his new office and of course John LOVED it and then they went to Maddox for dinner and of course he LOVED that too!!! John is through school - had his last final on Friday and he is relaxed for the first time for a long, long time.
John and his friend, Rick Spencer, went fishing with Daddy on Saturday morning and they had a wonderful time. Daddy & I had gone on Friday and it was slow but it was better on Saturday and they each caught at least four huge catfish. Daddy smoked them yesterday - John likes them better smoked than any other way.
We talked to Ann on Thursday and they're doing fine. Susanna & Jessie had been to their "camps" last week and Ann said they had done fun things with their other children like going to the zoo. LeeAnna had just come home from her violin lesson and she was SO thrilled because she was in Book 3 now - it's wonderful to see her so enthusiastic about her lessons!!!
Jean called us on Friday on their way to the airport. They spent the weekend in San Francisco and we hope they had a wonderful time. She said Rick had some frequent flyer tickets and told her he would take her any place she wanted to go and she chose San Francisco. Their children are so much easier to leave now and we're thrilled they can "get away" like that.
We know Roy & Patrice and their family are doing good too. We watch the temperatures all the time and Salt Lake has been hotter than Little Rock so they are comfortable - their humidity is higher of course. We talk about little Emily & Timothy all the time and can just see Emily taking such good care of him and teaching him all kinds of things. Roy said he is trying to sit up by himself now.
This is the week of birthdays for Michael on Wednesday and Barji on Sunday. Michael turns 10 and Barji 11. We hope they have happy birthdays. They are at the ages where parties are SO important. We always tried to talk you kids into having "family parties" - do you remember? Daddy's sister, Ramona, had a birthday yesterday and she is 76. She has had a lot of surgery on her mouth but is doing fine.
Speaking of parties - Daddy & I are "partied out"!!! Our Family Home Evening group met at the cabin last Monday night. Daddy & I spent all morning preparing and then drove to the cabin about noon. We had made potato salad, baked beans and fixed hamburgers to cook on the outside fireplace. We also had cantaloupe and watermelon. We also made a peach cobbler in the Dutch oven that was very, very good - we had taken cool whip to put on top. Or friends were all SO impressed with the cabin - two couples came early and fished off the dock. They didn't' catch anything but it was fun. After we had eaten we played that game we all played on the house boat that is kinda' like jeopardy and we laughed and laughed. We couldn't' sit on the deck because of the "midgie bugs" - they go away when it gets dark and Daddy & I sit out there in the evenings but our friends didn't stay that long.
Daddy & I stayed at the cabin until Tuesday evening. We tried to scrub off some of the bird "stuff" on the roof of the cabin and then Daddy repainted that part. He also put up our new owl that Roy & Patrice had given us and it really looks sharp and also our wind sock that Ann & Ron had given us and it will help keep the birds from flying that close. We bought another one of those ugly snakes and put that up too.
We came home by way of Moroni and stopped at the turkey processing plan and bought turkey breast to cook for our luncheon on Thursday. Wednesday we cooked most of the day and prepared the house and yard and then Thursday we had 21 of our friends come for lunch. They wanted it potluck so I had assigned out fruit and vegetable salads and rolls - Daddy bar-b-cued the turkey using the recipe they use for the Manti pageant and we made Ann's potatoes and then a lady brought a cake and we had ice cream to go with it. IT WAS ALL HEAVENLY!!! I had typed up some questions for the husbands & wives to answer to see how well they knew each other and it was fun. EVERYONE LOVED DADDY'S YARD.
We are looking forward to July 4th. We bought enough turkey breast to cook for a family get together before we go to the fireworks if you all want to come here. Ann has also planned something so it doesn't matter one bit to us what we do. We have our annual ward breakfast that morning and I want to go to the parade - we know you all have plans too!!! This is such a fun time of year - every little town in Utah celebrates!!!
Daddy is feeling really good - I think that new medication is helping him. He gets up to walk every morning at 6 and I tell him to "slither" out of bed - I couldn't walk at 6 if my life depended on it!!! We will either go fishing today or go to the cabin for a night or so. He is anxious to see if he is catching any crawdads at the cabin. John does all the yard work and that really helps - we can't believe how strong he is!!!
We love each one of you so very much. PLEASE BE VERY CAREFUL IN EVERYTHING YOU DO and let us know how we can help you.