July 25, 1994 Orem, Utah
Dearest John & Julianna; 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 JIMMY TODAY!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO RON ON SATURDAY!!! I went up to the Woolleys on Saturday to take Ron a little birthday greeting and the children and Ann were "all ready" for his birthday party but Ron was enroute from a trip. It was cute to see all his gifts on their counter along with a "carrot cake" (his favorite) and they were all hoping he would be home soon. He came just as I was leaving. Jimmy was over yesterday for a few minutes (their ward was having their Primary Pioneer Parade and they like to use some of our Western costumes) and he was excited because he was going to have a "sleep over" on the night of his birthday (tonight). I'm so glad my grandchildren all have "young" parents - Ha!!!
We had a WONDERFUL time at Lake Powell in spite of a few little mishaps. It seems like I have "bombed out" with food on every trip we have taken to Lake Powell - I am just not smart enough to plan what everyone likes. This year I was going to "WOW EVERYONE" with a chicken dinner from Kentucky Fried Chicken. I REALLY planned well and the manager at the KFC here worked so nicely with me. I ordered 40 pieces of chicken and 2 whole chickens and he cooked them as late as he could on Friday night with enough time to chill them so they would be cold but nice and freshly cooked. I picked them up at 10 p.m. on Friday night along with macaroni salad and those delicious biscuits. I tell you all this to set the stage for what happened when we got to Lake Powell.
John & Julianna came over about 10:30 Friday night to get everything packed. The had REALLY planned wonderful meals - they had marinated steak & chicken to make Fajitas (sp.?) and then frozen it - then they had all kinds of sliced meats from Smiths with the trimmings to make "Subways" - then they had dozens of bagels from Bachmans and cream cheese.
Saturday morning John & Julianna stopped at Smiths and got dry ice and then they came over here and they were here by 5 o'clock. They packed all the perishables in the ice chests with either dry ice or ice - I wanted the chicken eaten when we first got to Lake Powell so we just put that in the ice.
We left Orem at 5:30 a.m. and arrived at Lake Powell at 9:30 a.m. Ron and John communicated on their cellular phones and Ron met us at the boat dock and we got all our "stuff" loaded on the boat and took off for the houseboat. We hadn't gone very far when the motor "conked out" and John & Ron decided that we needed to go back to the dock and load the boat on the trailer and take it to the garage to see what was the matter.
We went to the garage with the boat but the man said he wouldn't be able to look at it until late that evening. We had to make a decision and after much deliberation we decided to drive into the desert in back of the lake, leave the cars and then with the help of a map try to walk to where the houseboat was docked. I don't believe I will ever forget that I don't believe anyone else will either. We walked and we walked and we walked and John & Ron kept checking the map to try to decide if we were going in the right direction. We decided later that we had walked about 5 miles in 106 degree temperature. John went ahead and he got to the houseboat first - in the meantime we stopped at another houseboat and asked for a ride to see if we could find ours. If we had waited about one more minute John would have come and found us on a Sea-Doo.
Bob was out looking for us on the other Sea-Doo - he had gone to the boat dock and was as worried as he can get. Ron wanted me to stay at the boat dock in case that happened but I wanted to go with the others and really we thought we would be able to get there before anyone was seriously worried.
They checked in with the garage and they reported that they couldn't fix the boat for three or four days. SO - the next morning, on Sunday, they moved the houseboat to a little landing place close to the dock. They went to get the cars (Bob & Claires and Jeans were parked close by) - then they went to the desert to get the other cars and then they went to the garage and unloaded our food into the cars and then back to the houseboat. John & Juliannas' food was just perfect but I worried SO much about serving chicken that had only been in a little ice for about twenty-four hours that I served it reluctantly and what wasn't eaten was thrown away. I also threw away watermelon and cantaloupe - my brisket wasn't eaten either so I brought it home and refroze it but I won't let anyone but myself eat it. THAT'S THE STORY OF MY FOOD!!!
Bob & Claire left to go home right soon after we got the things put into the houseboat so we didn't get to be with them very much - Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. The Sea-Doos were really life savers - they could even ski water skiers and in many ways we didn't even miss the ski boat. The children are older each year and that makes it easier and especially when they could drive the Sea-Doos and skiers by themselves. Rick arranged for the Sea-Doos and we missed having him with us. Little Sarah had a broken arm and Claire had a broken foot but they were real troopers and we didn't notice their ailments.
We came home on Tuesday afternoon - I believe everyone was ready to come home even though we had all had a great time. It was SO hot. John was anxious to get home to prepare to go to Florida where he will be all this week at a trade show - Ann had appointments of some kind and Jean was anxious to get the Sea-Doos home before it got dark. The houseboat had also been knocked off its buoy so that had to be fixed.
I shouldn't start another page because I have written all the news I know.
Today is a legal holiday in Utah - July 24th, the day the Mormon Pioneers arrived in the Utah Valley. The post office is closed so my letter will be a day late this week. I had planned to watch the big Salt Lake parade on television this morning but I started to weed the flower gardens on the hill and just couldn't stop - I can't believe all the weeds forever and ever. My little Primary friend came over along with two of her friends and I know they expected me to stop and do something with them but I didn't so they didn't stay very long.
I'm waiting for the garage people to come and fix the garage door opener. I was a little late yesterday morning going to the PEC meeting at church and since I had the spiritual thought I really panicked when the door wouldn't go up. I was surprised to find out that I could lift it open - it shuts with the "thing" but it won't go up and makes a horrible noise.
Roy & Patrice - I hope you're doing good. I was happy to read in Patrice's last letter that your air conditioner works really good. I check the temperatures and compare Little Rocks and Salt Lakes and we have had hotter weather than you have - but our humidity is much lower, thank goodness. I'll bet Emily & Timothy spend a lot of time either inside or in a little pool - I remember those days!!!
I am SO proud of you Jeannie - you have actually planned a Lynn Mellor Family Reunion that is agreeable to everyone. I am looking forward to seeing the Sun Valley that is so appealing to you and I know we will have a wonderful time. It sounds like the kind of vacation that is simple and good for just relaxing and playing with the children. When I talked to Jeannie, she said, "You watch - it will probably be stormy while we're there - but it never has been before". That is something that absolutely cannot be controlled so we don't worry about it.
Barji and Susanna spent this last weekend up in Bear Lake in Cache Valley. They each went with their individual friends and probably won't even see each other but I thought it was SO funny for them to both be there at the same time.
I believe that's all the news. I love each one of you so very much. PLEASE BE VERY CAREFUL IN EVERYTHING YOU DO. Let me know how I can help you.