July 22, 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:
A beautiful but HOT day in Orem today!!! Our home really does stay cool & comfortable until about 3 o'clock in the afternoon and then we turn on the cooler and that really helps. It gets SO cool here at night that we open all the doors in the morning to "capture" that cool air.
We had such a wonderful time yesterday. Ricky was ordained to the Aaronic Priesthood and ordained a deacon - WHAT A WONDERFUL YOUNG MAN HE IS (INSIDE & OUT)!!! Ann drove with her girls, Susanna, Jessie & LeeAnna and got to Farmington early yesterday morning - Daddy & I got there just barely in time for their services that started at 9 a.m.!!! Bob & Claire and their children went to their services first and then came for his ordination at noon. Ron had to go to Jerome on Friday and he had taken Russell & Jimmy with him so they weren't able to be with us and John was on a camping trip to Jackson Hole, Wyoming so he wasn't there and we missed them!!! We also missed Roy, Patrice, Emily & Timothy!!!
It was really "Weinert Day" in their ward. Rick & Jean gave the prayers and Mary Ann played a beautiful violin solo (we were SO proud of you Mary Ann), then Jeannie gave the Relief Society lesson on Prayer and it was one of the best I have ever had.
After their services we all went to the Weinerts for a DELICIOUS dinner and we were starved!!! They had fixed bar-b-cue beef for sandwiches and we had fresh fruit, salad and ice cream sundaes. Their deck looked beautiful with umbrella tables and all their flowers & shrubs are doing SO well!!! I forgot our camera and feel bad about it but everyone else was happy!!! We had so much fun visiting and the children all play SO good together!!!
The Weinerts have a young Japanese girl staying with them for a month. She is here along with other Japanese young people in an exchange program - they have some kind of study program during the day at the church and then they have their evenings and weekends free to be with the families they are staying with. The girl staying with the Weinerts is an absolute doll - her name is something like Rayoko - she is 16 years old and doesn't speak a word of English but she just smiles all the time and the young children just adopted her immediately. It was a joy for us to meet her and be with her.
After Daddy & I left the Weinerts we decided to drive through Farmington and see if they had any apricots for sale - we could see some on the trees. All the apricots in Utah county were frozen and we were worried that we wouldn't be able to find any to make our jam. Well - we found the most beautiful apricots I have ever seen - they were huge and the best we have ever tasted. We brought some and when we got home we could see they were plenty ripe SO we made jam until about midnight last night!!! We finished this morning and we have about 24 pints - GOOD!!!
This week is birthday week for the Woolleys - Ron's birthday is tomorrow and then Jimmy's on Thursday. We hope they have really HAPPY BIRTHDAYS!!!
John came home last night from Jackson Hole and he had had a great time. He went with a group of his friends - one of them works for Stephen Covey who presents motivational seminars all over and they were having a special "Covey Corporation Meeting" in Jackson Hole and I believe they were with that group. His friend Gayla also has a birthday this week - July 24th!!!
Chris & Wayne came on Wednesday. Wayne's mother was with them and she is such a lovely, lovely woman - she's 86 years old and her husband died last year. They had dinner with us Wednesday night and then they went to Boise, Idaho the next day where Wayne's sister met them and took his mother to Washington with her. Chris & Wayne came back here on Thursday night and we have had such a good time. Daddy & Wayne went fishing on Friday morning and caught a "mess" of huge catfish - I'm going to have to get a freezer just for fish!!! They brought us a lot of shrimp from the coast and also everything for "gumbo" - Wayne made a big pot of that on Saturday morning and we also made a freezer of raspberry ice cream. They went to Scofield Saturday afternoon and we'll go to be with them tomorrow. They just love Scofield and it's so much cooler than Alabama that it's good for them to get away from the heat. Daddy & Wayne will probably do some more "fixing up" at the cabin - like maybe another cabinet and some more electric outlets. They have had some more work days for the bowery since we have seen it so we're anxious to see what progress they have made - Daddy told them he couldn't do any of that kind of work so he helps financially.
We plan to go to Alaska about the first of August and will probably be gone most of the month if all goes well. We will go to Butte, Montana then to Spokane and into Alaska that way - we're going to try to find that Island where they got all those oysters. We'll be in our own van. Wayne has done a great job in customizing their van and it has a stove in it so we'll do what cooking we do in theirs.
Now - about Daddy's birthday!!!! We have decided that our plans to go to Maddox for dinner are too one-sided. We would like to have a Mexican Dinner here next Sunday evening July 27th - if you have any exceptions to this let us know as soon as you can. We could have it about 6 o'clock and then just visit for a little while so you wouldn't be too late in getting home!!!
We love each one of you so very much. PLEASE BE VERY CAREFUL!!!