May 26, 1992 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:
I really had a wonderful day yesterday and I hope all you Utah family didn't say you enjoyed it just to please me. After learning that NONE of you really ever enjoyed the cabin I have become VERY skeptical of your comments - Ha!!! I have wanted SO much for our family to enjoy our farm while I am still alive and I hope we will have more fun times over there. It was wonderful to see the children happy and contented - Russell & Michael need something more to do over there but the younger children really made their own fun. I worry a little because the horses were a big attraction and they will be gone after this week. I would still like to buy a couple horses for the children to ride but I worry about that too!!! It was fun to see the children drive the truck (with adult supervision) and that's a good use for the truck as long as it lasts.
Bob, Michael, Laura & Brett all got to the farm about noon and then the rest of us got there soon after. We made a little "camp" under the trees and we even had a portable bathroom (I'll improve on that for next time!!!). We visited and ate chips and a delicious dip that Jeannie made and here is the recipe: 1 can of refried beans, a pint of sour cream and 1 package of taco seasoning - bake it for about 30 minutes to blend the flavors. She said you can "fancy" it up if you want by putting fresh pieces of tomatoes and grated cheese on top but we all loved it the way it was. I was in charge of hot dogs but I did a poor job - we cooked them on a little portable grill and I wished after that I had started earlier and had more of them done in time for everyone to have seconds because by the time the second ones were ready no one wanted them. I also did a poor job of the "s-mores" and came home with all the candy bars and most of the marshmallows and crackers. I really miss Daddy all the time but it is more obvious of how much he always did when I think of days like yesterday - he would have had the hot dogs ready on time and made a big fire for the children to roast their marshmallows!!! I'll learn if you don't give up on me in the meantime. Everything else was delicious - green salad, watermelon, baked beans, chips etc., etc.!!! We played ball too and I just loved that - we had more fun laughing at each other than we did playing ball - poor Jeannie had to take it on the chin and so did Claire. You are all welcome to use the farm whenever you want and it will be a relief to not have to worry about Brimley's horses getting out. The man who owns the property joining ours on the East called and wants his cows to come in in the Fall to eat the grass - I told him we would think about that but the grass will be a problem if it isn't cut or eaten. Don told me yesterday that the farmer who leases his land said he would cut it for me if I wanted him to - it will be good to see if grass grows again.
We missed you Roy, Patrice, Emily & Timothy - Emily & Katie would have had fun playing in their little tree house. Katie was SO cute as she made make believe stews and she was contented all day long. John shared the pictures he had taken of your fishing trip to Montana, Roy - they are really good. Thanks for your phone call - John called when we got home and talked to Patrice and she said you were all doing fine.
We missed you, Rick and Ricky too. They went on their annual camping trip - they go into a remote area in Wyoming and do some primitive camping and fishing. This is about the fourth or fifth year they have done it and Jeannie said they just love it. They got home last night and Jeannie talked to them before she drove home and they had had a wonderful time. I was hoping Jeannie and the girls could stay here overnight but they wanted to go home when they found out their "menfolk" were home. Jeannie and the girls had had a fun weekend - they went to the "Marriott" in Salt Lake and spent Friday night and then shopped on Saturday morning and then went home. I had fun seeing the cute little things they had bought while shopping. Sarah had had a birthday party the day before so she was "loaded" with goodies.
I am just about to survive one of the WORST messes I have ever had. I have to teach my lesson in church each Sunday - it's going to be kinda' hard teaching a weekly lesson again. Anyway, I left too much to do for Sunday morning (as usual) and when I went to the garage to let the dogs out I noticed water all over the floor - the power had been off out there and the freezers were defrosted. I absolutely couldn't believe the mess. ALL the meat and fish in the top of the old refrigerator was too thawed to save so I started cooking about 7:30 and cooked until I had to leave for church at 9. I found that a fuse had blown so it was easy to start up again and that's what I did for the big freezer - most of the stuff in that was partially frozen. I don't know if you remember but the old refrigerator defrosts and goes into the bottom part so I always keep a towel in there and then change it frequently. WELL - I had such a busy day on Sunday and somehow the door got closed and last night when I finally found time to clean it I discovered that towel and it was saturated with the fish and meat liquid and I thought last night that I would have to throw the refrigerator away - THE ODOR WAS HORRIBLE!!! I cleaned with Clorox and soda until about midnight and it is much better today but I can still smell it. A lot of Daddy's smoked fish and also shrimp from Chris & Wayne was all thawed and there is nothing harder to get rid of than that smell.
I went to Farmington on Sunday afternoon and had a delicious lunch with Jeannie, Barji, Mary Ann & Sarah and then we went to Brigham City to decorate the family graves. I had planned to stop on the way and buy those chrysanthemums but every Smith store I stopped at was completely sold out. I ended up going to K-Mart and buying some flowering petunia plants - we put them in pots at Jeannie's home and covered the pots with foil and put ribbon on them and they turned out quite pretty. Jeannie and the girls were absolutely wonderful as we visited with Dee & Judy and their son Brennan and his wife and children - we stayed for a long time and of course I really enjoyed it and they were so patient to wait. Judy has done a good job in decorating their home - it really looks so nice. Their one wall is a photo gallery with their entire family in individual frames on it. They gave me the pictures I have wanted for a long, long time - it is a framed picture of Bob, Lela and I and it is in an old fashioned frame. Dee has had some health problems but he is doing good now. Dee really has a good heart - we know we are going to be judged by that and he won't have to worry. Both Dee & Don have more serious "shaking" than I do - Bob is worried that it runs in the family and he might get it but he is more like Daddy than he is me.
I got my hat made for the Orem Women's Club breakfast and it turned out cute - I wore the dress I got for Roy & Patrices' wedding and I bought flowers to match it and decorated a little white straw hat. The breakfast was good and I really enjoyed the program - a man & his wife put on a musical program and sang songs from "Fiddler on the Roof" and other songs - they are in their middle sixties and just came home from a mission to Australia. They have both taught music at BYU and have gorgeous voices - they're retired now.
Friday was a special day for me. I went to Jessie's sixth grade graduation exercises and what a wonderful honor she received. They only had one musical number and it was Jessie playing a violin solo - I don't have to tell you how good that was. I was sitting by a lady who said she had never heard anyone play that well, especially a sixth grader. I just wanted to cry it was so good. THEN - JESSIE RECEIVED THE HOPE OF AMERICA AWARD. This award is given each year to four sixth graders - two girls and two boys. They are voted on by the faculty and it is given by the Kiwanis Club. Susanna received it last year. It was cute because the man who presented the award is a retired gynecologist and he delivered Jessie - Ann went up to him before the program started and reminded him of that so he mentioned it in his award ceremony. I was feeling a little blue because Daddy wasn't with me and told the lady sitting next to me about his death - she said, "I know exactly how you feel - I lost my husband two years ago". They had nine children and their son was in Brazil on a mission and chose to not come home for his father's funeral. Their youngest child was in Jessie's graduating class. He died of a massive heart attack.
I went to Salt Lake to have lunch with my "Brigham Bunch" after Jessie's graduation and that was fun. There were nine of us and we laughed and visited for three hours - I know the restaurant was happy to see us leave. Ida Smith (of the Smith grocery store business) was there and she looks REALLY RICH - Ha!!! I hadn't seen her since Jean & Ricks' wedding reception. John went to Jackson Hole for Friday & Saturday and he had fun bicycling. He did the yard yesterday and it's beautiful!!
P.S.
I can't believe I have written a three page letter about Memorial Day activities and forgot to mention the most important thing about the day. I really should tear that up and start over but I don't have time!!!
We all visited Daddy's grave - in fact, I was over there every day last week watering the trees and the alyssum and taking fresh flowers from his garden. Yesterday morning I got up early and picked just about every flower we had in our yard - we have had some gorgeous roses. We still have the easel from his funeral so some gorgeous roses. We still have the easel from his funeral so Jeannie arranged the flowers in that and it looked just beautiful. We had it in the cemetery by 9 o'clock in the morning and that had been our goal.
When Jeannie & the girls came home with me on Sunday night we stopped at the cemetery - it was about 9:45 and pitch black but as we drove closer to his grave we could see a flag flying by it. At first I thought it was from the Veteran's Committee because they put flags on the veterans' graves. As we got closer we could see it wasn't an American Flag.
Our missionaries had made a flag that said, "M.B.M. Montana Billings Mission. Honoring our President, 1982 - 1985". It was on a gold pole and anchored in the ground. I have never seen anything like that I just cried and cried. It was a good thing I had seen it on Sunday night. David Taylor was responsible for it and he called me yesterday morning and said he wanted it saved so it could be put there each year. WHAT A WONDERFUL THING FOR HIM TO DO. I know Daddy is proud of the great love his missionaries had for him.
I don't believe I will ever forget seeing that flag flying by Daddy's grave - it was light in color but the night could not have been darker. I don't believe Barji, Mary Ann & Sarah will ever forget it either - it was a "might scary".
Before Memorial Day was over Daddy's grave was completely covered with flowers - I will probably never know who brought them outside of family but they were beautiful.
Our neighbors, the Theobalds, said they felt like they wanted to do something to honor Daddy on Memorial Day and instead of taking flowers to the cemetery they dug up all my weeds in the vegetable garden and furrowed the rows. I know both Daddy & I liked that much better than cemetery flowers!!!
THAT'S ALL