May 2, 1994 Orem, Utah
Dearest
John; Roy, Patrice, Emily, Timothy & Jesse; Bob, Claire,
Michael, Laura, Brett & Katie; Rick, Jean, Ricky, Barbara Jean,
Mary Ann & Sarah; and Ron, Ann, Susanna, Jessie, Russell, LeeAnna
& Jimmy:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO RUSSELL ON THURSDAY - 12 YEARS OLD - GREAT!!!
WOW - we're down to the final week - Ha!!! I'm REALLY looking
forward to this weekend and now I'm just praying for good
weather!!! We have had the craziest weather for the past couple
weeks. It was really hot and I had my evaporative cooler all
serviced and then it got really cold and it has been cold and
rainy since then. It is supposed to rain on Friday but hopefully
the weathermen will be wrong as they usually are.
The Woolleys are under the most pressure - their deck isn't quite finished and they can't finish it until it stops raining and has time to dry out. Ann and Ron painted their wooden deck on Saturday - they said it took them a long time and it rained soon after but they think it had time to dry out. The people making their awning aren't finished with it yet but they have promised it will be ready by Wednesday.
They were over here last night and they decided on an alternate plan for the "line" in case it rains. They will take their dining room table down and have the line in there and then put the chairs they already have around in their home. They don't want to bring the outside chairs inside their home. Even if it rains, people will be able to sit outside under the awning.
Bob and Claire called last night and Claire is planning to come help us "put the chicken salad" together on Friday evening. I will have everything that I can ready but it will still take us quite awhile. The Weinerts will also come Friday evening and the Roy Mellors will be here so we will have a lot of help. Maybe if everything works out the way we want it to we can open up a catering service - Ha!!! IT IS WONDERFUL TO HAVE YOU ALL SO WILLING TO HELP - I'm afraid I would be going bananas without your support!!! Jeannie will bring the strawberries to fix and also the lemons, and maraschino cherries to cut.
John came home from Europe last night. He is really tired and that jet lag is something that just takes time to recuperate from. He is moving his things into their apartment today - he said he didn't have to go into work and that's good. He said the tulips in Holland were just magnificent - he likened it to the wheat fields we have here in Utah only instead of wheat there were fields of tulips. He slept on the train three nights and he said that was quite an experience. I think John is SUPER THIN - I guess all my boys were never meant to be very heavy. He looks like he has lost at least fifty pounds. Julianna came over while he was gone and she brought some of her friends and they moved a lot of things into their apartment like their bed and John's big futon. Julianna's Mom will come on Wednesday and stay with her
Mary Ann - I am SO sorry I couldn't come to your fireside last night. I would have just loved to come but we had our Regional Conference here yesterday at the Marriott Center and I was gone from 9 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. I had to plan for my Relief Society Meeting here this morning and I had a lot of phone calls to make and I simply couldn't "get my act together" in time to come. Your Mother said it was wonderful and your song was SO good. Please invite me again and try to give me a little more notice because those things come first in my life!!!
Ann & Ron laugh at me when I call the men who came to take out my trees, Laotians. They are from the Tonga and they are built quite different from the Laotians. They came on Tuesday and cut down 8 trees and I have had many people tell me they like my yard better without the trees. It has really opened up the yard. I won't be able to tell for quite awhile if it has solved the bug problem but it can't help but make a big difference. I had my yard sprayed for bugs just a couple days before it turned really cold and it has been cold since so it may be that they are just in hibernation but they are gone. I have called the college to see if they will cut down their trees that border my yard because they are female trees too - they said they would cut them down but they haven't done it yet.
I have never seen men work as hard as those Tongans did. They would load each other with big logs on their shoulders and then they would carry some - it was raining and very cold when they finished and I worried about them. I kept trying to get them to quit but they wouldn't.
I didn't handle the business part of the deal very well and I feel bad about it. When they came I told them that my son-in- law wanted the wood and when they finished Ron came over and directed them how to get to their home and hired them to deliver it to him. WELL - they ended up charging him $150 for it so in actuality he bought the wood and could have ordered it from anyone. I just hope it is good wood.
Our church has a cancer clinic for women in the different stakes around town. I wanted to set a good example for the sisters in our ward so I went to the one in our stake last week. They did a good job I thought. My blood pressure is 128 over 68 and they said that was okay. I talked to my sister-in-law, Judy Forrest, on Saturday and when I asked how Dee was, she said he was SO happy because he has been able to control his blood pressure - she said he had gotten it down to 165 over 85. If mine is okay his must be high. I worry about Dee because he has congestive heart failure - he is going to retire this Summer and that will help. He and Don have my Mother's genes.
Roy & Patrice - I hope you won't have any problems getting things arranged to come out. When I think about all you have to do to make the trip it makes me tired. I have your rooms ready and I know the children will have fun and SO WILL I!!!