July 8, 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:
Wow!!! What a fun week we had celebrating the Fourth of July. The program we saw at the tabernacle in Provo last Monday was really good - it's hard to believe how many programs there are going on constantly here in Utah County. This was a program put on by groups of young people and also families and it was outstanding.
Our ward always has a flag raising ceremony early on the morning of the Fourth, followed by a pancake breakfast. It is held just down the street from us and we have always enjoyed that SO much. We went to the parade after the breakfast and that was good too ª we thought it was very late in getting started and even though we were in the shade and had taken a stool to sit on we didn't stay until it was over. It was fun to see the celebrities though - Governor Bangerter and his wife, Rex Lee & his wife and many others - lots of horses and Desert Storm troops!!!
After the parade we came home and finished making some filling for the fajitas. Ann had found a special recipe in the latest Bon Appetit and we tried that one - we used turkey breast instead of beef steaks and marinated it in a marinade of lime juice, soy & Worcestershire sauce, etc. It was very good. Ann also made an unusual black eye pea dip and cheese squares from that same magazine that were exceptionally good. Jean brought a dip like the one Patrice made when she was here and it was so good as an appetizer along with a beautiful tray of fresh fruit. Everything tasted just wonderful. Ron made two freezers of his favorite vanilla ice cream - we didn't know he was going to make two freezers so we made one of raspberry - and we could have eaten all night but we LOVED it!!! Bob says he always passes over the parts in my letter that describe what we had to eat but in a hundred years when our posterity read what kinds of food we had maybe it will be significant!!!
We left the Woolleys home about 7:30 to go to the "Stadium of Fire" held at the BYU stadium. Ann & Jean walked with all the children - Daddy & I drove our car and Ron took their car and parked them on the temple parking lot. It was really a long walk from the temple but we couldn't complain because most of the others had walked clear from the Woolleys. I have never seen anything to compare with the "Red, Hot & Blue" program - I know I haven't seen a lot of things but really it was just spectacular. They had a lot of music before the fireworks and that might have been a little boring for the children but it was "our" kind of music. Phylicia Rashad, Lorie Morgan & Andy Williams performed with the Osmond brothers and they were all SO good. I could have listened to Andy Williams & the Osmond brothers all night - they are SO much better live. They had invited the families of Desert Storm troops to sit on the lawn right in front of the stage (I'm sure they were invited in free of charge) and they paid tribute to them throughout the program. They had many local groups perform and it was full patriotism!!! Daddy & I didn't have any trouble with the traffic getting home - they didn't announce how many people were there but it was sold out weeks ago so there was a huge crowd. Annie - we appreciate all you do in organizing that for all of us. The children all spent the night at the Woolleys - it was fun to see them pick their "spots" - some slept on top of the trampoline, some under it on the lawn, others on pads in their basement but we know they were tired and went right to sleep. Jeannie & Rick stayed also and took them all home Friday morning. Bob was on call so he & Claire and Katie couldn't come - we missed them and also Susanna, John & the Roy Mellors.
We talked to Roy last night and he said they enjoyed the fireworks from their home - they don't live far from War Memorial Park and they had a program that featured Marie Osmond & Bob Hope. They are doing fine. That little Emily is SO grown-up - when we talked to her she said, "My very best wish came true today" - her little friend, Katie Kathryn, had come over to play with her. I asked her if she played with Timothy and she said, "Yes, but I am very tired". WE MISS HER.
John went with four of his friends up into the Uintah Mountains on Wednesday. They took two horses and had intended to stay until Sunday. John said they found a gorgeous spot and got all settled in and in just a matter of minutes he had caught three big trout - they were excited and really enjoying it. BUT when it got dark he said they heard a noise like a big freight train and the air was completely filled with mosquitoes. They had spray and could take care of themselves but it was just devastating for the horses - they were completely covered and one of them fell to the ground and started rolling in the dirt and got tangled up in his rope. They got the rope untangled and let the horse loose and it ran fast through the trees and bushes and just cut itself all over. SO they decided to move. They went to a camping ground by Strawberry Reservoir and found a beautiful place to camp and stayed there one night but it was SO crowded with people they decided to come home and drop off the horses. They spent their last night in the apartment of his friend, Reid Folsom. When he came home last night he said that was the most confusing weekend he had ever had but they still loved it. They went fishing out on Utah lake Saturday afternoon and caught some big catfish. John is getting letters from all the dental schools now wanting his application - he got one from Northwestern University and I think that would be great but he says it is too expensive. He is guaranteed a spot at Iowa and he is happy about that. We have a darling couple in our ward and they have been announcing for months that they were going to dental school this Fall and they had given up their apartment and everything and then he didn't pass the DAT - the wife just cried!!!
I should never start this new page!!!
Friday night was our night to go to Salt Lake to the City Rep. Theatre - it was "The Little Mermaid". Susanna has been attending BYU Academy for girls for almost two weeks and Friday night was their banquet and the final event. Ron & Ann went to that with her so they could meet some of her new friends and we took Jessie, LeeAnna, Russell & Jimmy to City Rep. I am constantly amazed at those programs and this one was exceptionally good - they had huge yards of different shades of blue chiffon for the water and the costuming was SO good. One of the children's favorite actresses was the Sea Witch and she was amazing. The children were SO good and even Jimmy didn't miss one thing.
Daddy reminded me that in my last letter I forgot the most important thing about our trip to Scofield last weekend. They caught about a dozen huge crawdads in their traps and he cooked them and we all ate them!!! Daddy is much more fond of crawdads than I am (I really don't care much for seafood either) but he loved them. They are going to poison all the fish in Scofield Reservoir this Fall and close it to fishing until Labor Day next year. It will be good because they are going to plant millions of fish of all sizes when they kill the "bad" fish that are in there now. Daddy is worried that they will kill the crawdads and they won't come back. The "old timers" tell us that they did this many years ago and left the fish to die on the banks and the smell was so bad you couldn't stand it - so we'll probably not enjoy going to the cabin for a few months when they start this. We're going there tomorrow for a few days.
Daddy & I went fishing two days last week. It is quite hot here now and it just "zots" me but we always catch fish. When we went last Saturday we went early and then came home before the sun got unbearably hot. Daddy just soaks up the heat and loves it!!!
Since I have the space on my letter I'll mention the building that is going on over on the UVCC campus. You all remember the parking lot they built temporarily right across from us. Now they have closed part of that parking lot and are building onto the library. We don't know how high it is going to go but I'm sure it will take some of our view of the lake - they'll never be able to take all of it so we don't really care. They have built a permanent parking lot on the East part of their property. They have also built the President's home and it is a mansion - it's just four houses to the East of our home. We are very happy about that because we feel they will always keep the grounds up around us and it is well patrolled. They are expanding so fast and it's exciting for us - they will build a huge addition to their physical education building that will be used as an Orem community center similar to the Marriott center at the Y. Their building projects have caused a lot of neighborhood noise and they came around last week with a letter explaining everything!!! WE LOVE YOU ALL SO VERY MUCH!!!