May 17, 1993 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:
This is the BIG birthday for little Sarah on Friday. She will be 8 years old and will be baptized in a couple weeks. Sarah, I'm SO proud of you and I hope you have a really happy day - I know you're going to have a party but we'll celebrate as a family on your baptism day - June 5th - and I'll save your gift until then -OKAY????
I WANT TO GIVE A GREAT BIG THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR HELP OVER THIS PAST WEEKEND!!! I have planned and worried about that day for four months and I'm SO thrilled with the way everything turned out. We missed your help Roy & Patrice, Emily & Timothy, and we also missed Claire but I REALLY appreciate all that was done. The cabin looks one million times better and as soon as I have time to work in our downstairs that will look one million times better too. The furniture doesn't fit as well downstairs as I thought it would - it's hard for me to believe that our Little Rock family room was that much larger - but I love it anyway!!!
John was SO much help with the food. He had a special marinade that he has wanted to use on lamb and the Woolleys gave us some lamb chops, ribs and steaks so John came over here on Friday night and fixed all the meat - we also had some chicken. He also went to the farm and got the trailer and had it ready.
We all met here at noon as we had planned and they loaded the furniture on the trailer - I was sure it was going to rain on us and I had some plastic just in case but it sprinkled a little and that was all. I still can't believe the couches went into the cabin room as easily as they did - they had to take the door off but it didn't take them long. We gave one of the old couches to a man in Scofield West and then took the other one to the dumpster and as I looked at them out in the sunlight I couldn't believe that we had actually lived with them for five years.
We had a WONDERFUL time at the cabin and everyone was SO sweet to spend the night even though we were VERY crowded. I couldn't have asked for anything better and I hope you all realize that. The children loved being together and they were so good. We got to the cabin about 3 o'clock on Saturday afternoon and left about 3 o'clock on Sunday afternoon. They fixed the boat dock so it is on the beach and not so far out in the water although everyone expects the water to come up quite a bit more. They even got the motor going and put the boat in the water and did a little fishing - Daddy would be so proud. They didn't catch anything but I understand some people are catching them and there are a lot of people fishing there. They have told me that U.S. West is bringing in telephone lines so I'll be able to have a phone.
Patrice - thank you for you detailed itinerary. You really have a marvelous vacation planned and I'm excited for you. Yellowstone will be really pretty and your children will love it. (They will arrive here on the afternoon of May 28th and go to Yellowstone on Tuesday, June 2nd and spend about five days traveling in that area and then come back here for a few days before going back to Little Rock on Friday, June 11th.)
I plan to go to Brigham City on Sunday, May 30th to decorate graves. The Weinerts have always gone with me before - will you be able to go this time? I hope Bob & Claire will let me bring Katie home with me to spend some time with Emily. I REALLY feel like I must go to Brigham City even though it is a kinda' hard time with Roy & Patrice coming - it's just too long of a drive to ask them to go up there too when they are going to do such a lot of driving later in the week.
Memorial Day will be a really fun family day. We talked about this at the cabin and decided that "Taco Salad" would be an easy thing to prepare and something the children would enjoy. I will bring the taco shells, the meat, the lemonade and some cookies. We will plan this more in detail later but if Ann & Jean would bring some of the toppings and some cookies that should do it.
I am a little bit worried about the grass at the farm being too high. I was over there this morning and it has really grown. Stan (the man leasing the farm) is going to cut it the first part of July. We'll go over there prepared to play ball, etc. but if we can't we'll come back here and play in my backyard. Let's make it easy and just visit and have fun. Bob is on call so he won't be able to join us but we would love to have his family if they are able to come.
I told you about the problem at the farm. When I went over this morning to return the trailer, I visited with Stan about repairing the damage done to Don's garden. He suggested that Don plant the way it is and then in the Fall he would go in with his tractor and get some topsoil and really fill it up for him. I called Ron and he felt this would be a good idea too but he wanted to check with Don first. Well - Don wants his topsoil now!!! Ron has arranged for a topsoil company to deliver it tomorrow morning. Ron had them call me and when I talked to them they seemed to think it would be too wet right now and they are worried they will get stuck but they are going to try it.
Ramona called me this morning. Her freezer konked out on her and she has pie cherries that have thawed and melted all over her floor. We sat and laughed together over the phone at how many things go wrong when you're alone. She wasn't invited to Carol Ann's son's wedding luncheon - I wasn't going to tell her that I had been invited but when she asked me, I couldn't lie. It's going to be at Snowbird and I know it will really be nice but I have already called in my regrets. I will go to the reception at the Country Club in Salt Lake but that's all!!!