August 23, 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:
I just came in from my garden - my tomatoes are finally getting ripe and they are wonderful!!!! The zucchini grows an inch a minute but the little yellow crook neck squash are so funny looking - they must be a cross between a zucchini and a crook neck because they are yellow and green - they taste good though.
I have heard from each one of you this week with the exception of John - his permanent address is here so his mail comes here and I hope he doesn't change that or I never will see him. He went to Seattle to attend the wedding of Brent McCleod - one of his good friends from Montana and the wedding was Saturday in the Seattle Temple. I have a hard time keeping things straight - I have his announcement on my refrigerator but I thought it was this coming weekend. The Mutual had an opening social this past week and I didn't need to go but I thought it was going to be on Wednesday and it was Tuesday - it was held at a lake up in American Fork canyon and I kept seeing trailers go by my house with all the canoes on them but it still didn't register that it was Tuesday - AM I GETTING OLD???
Jeannie - thank you for your phone call yesterday. It was good to talk to you - I haven't talked to you since Lake Powell. Rick had been on a Scout Outing all week with Ricky and he said everything worked like clock work and they had a wonderful time. The violin workshop was successful and Jeannie seemed glad that it was over - she had to take the girls into Salt Lake each day for a week.
Roy - thank you for your phone call too and I loved saying "Hi" to Timothy - I missed talking to Emily but I'm SO glad she has a close neighborhood friend. Your kitchen remodeling sounds just wonderful and I'm anxious to see it. Patrice - thank you for your sweet letter - I am REALLY looking forward to my visit in October. I have told some of my friends that I am coming and it will be fun to see them again but I don't want to involve you or your home - I want my visit to be relaxing for you and I hope to be able to help you in some way. Lynn's secretary at Olin wrote to me at Christmas time and asked that I call her when I visited with you so I want to see Betty Young again too. I would like to "church hop" on Sunday if I could use one of your cars. I really loved the articles about the church that you sent to me - the new Stake Center in North Little Rock looks beautiful and the article was so well written. I also loved the article about the missionary work in Arkansas - Roy remembers how small the church was when we moved there in 1964 and what an important role his Daddy played in the growth that has taken place. Thank you so much.
Roy & Patrice are going to Connecticut for Joan's wedding which will be held June 11th. I am SO thrilled for Joan and I am happy she has set the date so far in advance - that's really very thoughtful!!! I hope we will be able to plan a trip to Aspen Grove sometime but we won't be able to next Summer - we need to have a reunion when we can all get together - OF SOME KIND!!!
Bob took his two littlest children to the cabin over the weekend. The weather wasn't very god but when they stopped here on their way home they said they had had a good time - Brett had caught a fish and Katie was excited because they had seen a snake when they were out on the four-wheeler. Bob called when he left Layton and it was after dark on Thursday night - he said when they got to the cabin it was just beautiful - so clear with all the stars out. I am SO glad when they go to the cabin and Bob agrees with me that it needs to be painted. I'm going up this week sometime and put more stain and wood preservative on the deck - I ran out the last time I did it and it shows. That bath and shower has made such a wonderful difference up there.
Ann and the children came over for a little while last night. Ron is in Reno on business - Ann says he has been out of town a lot during the last couple weeks. Susanna had had a great time at Ricks College in Idaho last week and she was starting High School this morning - she looked so grown up last night I couldn't believe it. She told me that she has never even been inside Timpview High School - today is a very special day for her. Jessie will be in her last year at Farrer Jr. High, Russell will be in his last year at Rock Canyon Elementary, LeeAnna will be in the 4th grade and Jimmy will start first grade - life will really be different for Ann.
I had a WONDERFUL time at Education Week at BYU. It was a totally new experience for me - I went to the UTA office to get the bus schedule and the girl was so helpful and told me exactly what to do. I left my car at the Stake Center close by and caught the bus right there and then they dropped me off there when I came home. Ellen Mae had suggested that we see the Michael Ballam concert and in order to get tickets for it I had to be at BYU by 7 a.m. on Tuesday morning - so I was getting on the bus at 6:15 and it wasn't even daylight. I went to classes all day on Tuesday and then Ellen Mae came down by 8 o'clock on Wednesday morning and we took the bus to the campus and stayed until 10 o'clock that night. We heard that you could park at the stadium if you got there early and then take the shuttle to the campus so that's what we did on Thursday. It was so much fun to be with Ellen Mae - she is so thin and classy looking and I didn't think she would ever eat a chocolate candy bar but I saw her eat two of them - we got so hungry!!!
Stephen Covey was my favorite and I will pass this on to you - "He has never heard a man on his deathbed who said, I wish I had spent more time at the office" - I am proud of you fathers!!!
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