March 6, 1995 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:
We just finished our Presidency Meeting - we are planning the Relief Society Birthday Celebration which will held on March 16th. We have good plans - I hope they all work out!!! We have a dinner committee and I just learned this morning they are going to serve chicken ala king in pastry shells. You know me and "creamed things" - I will love it and it will be different from anything we have served before. They are going to have BYU make the chicken ala king and shells and then supplement it with green salads, rolls and birthday cake and ice cream. We are going to have the ward choir put on the program first, then dinner and end up with a presentation of all our teachers of their lessons. Our theme is "Showcasing Relief Society".
I had such a FUN time last week!!! Claire brought Laura and Katie down to stay with me on Wednesday night and they stayed until Bob picked them up on Saturday afternoon. They wanted to invite Lee Anna to come on Friday night so I had three beautiful little granddaughters with me and it was REALLY fun to have them here. They just played and played and I loved watching their creativity. They played "hotel" from early Saturday morning until I made them stop that afternoon. I took some cute pictures and I hope they turn out.
I had such a funny experience with little Katie. The three girls wanted to all sleep together and the only bed large enough was my bed. I decided they would just laugh and play all night and not get any sleep so I took a firm stand and TOLD them where they could sleep. I said that Laura and Lee Anna could sleep in my bed and Katie and I would sleep in the twin beds. WELL - I thought maybe Katie would cry and beg but she just stiffened her little back and marched out of the room and went to her bedroom. I was ready for bed so I followed her and she got out her suitcase and my first thought was , "Oh no, she is going to pack up her things and leave". Instead she got out her journal and wrote in it - she kept looking at me and very determinedly (sp.?) wrote for a long time. I told Bob he had to promise to tell me what she wrote.
The funny thing was that we had a wind storm come up in the night and Laura got out of the "big" bed and came in to sleep with Katie in one of the twin beds and I didn't even hear her. They were just darling and absolutely no trouble - Laura even made cookies all by herself one day. That is really the only way I can get to know my grandchildren - to have them by myself in my own home. The down side to that is they also get to know me. I hope they will come often. We went to the Earth Science Museum at BYU to see the dinosaur relics - it was much smaller than I expected and Ann said I should have taken them to the Bean Museum where they have lots of animals. I'll do that next time. They also helped me pass out lots of things for Relief Society - we walked all over our Ward.
Bob and Brett went to the farm and flew airplanes for a little while before they came to pick up the girls. Laura and Katie are "off track" so they don't have school for a couple weeks but Michael and Brett are in different schools so they have to go to school. It was GREAT to visit with Bob too.
Jeannie, Ricky, Barji, Mary Ann & Sarah came down to spend the afternoon with me yesterday and we had such a fun time. Rick wasn't feeling well so he stayed home to rest. Barji played the piano solo she had played for judges in Salt Lake on Saturday and she did such a good job. Ricky played the guitar and he is enjoying that SO much - he has stopped piano lessons and he says he likes the guitar MUCH BETTER. RICKY HAS MADE THE TENNIS TEAM. Congratulations Ricky - you are very young to be so good.
We all went up to see the Woolleys for a little while yesterday. Jessie has been ill for several days and Ann was hoping she would be able to go to school today. It was fun to visit with them too. They have "The Lion King" video and that was an attraction. Lee Anna brought that over on Friday night and I watched part of it and it is so beautifully done. Laura & Katie brought the video of "The Flintstones" with them and I thought that was darling. I went to the library and got SIX videos of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy movies - they only had time to watch two of them and I believe I think they are funnier than the children do.
John came over for a little while on Saturday to check his mail. He went to the farm to visit with Bob & Brett on his way to Salt Lake for a business trip. Jeannie called him yesterday while she was here and he was on his way to Chicago - she thought maybe she could go by to see Julianna & him.
I haven't heard from the Roy Mellors this week. I sent Patrice a list of the friends I would like to see while I visit them - I have worried since I sent it because I surely don't want it to be a "Big Deal". I can hardly wait to see the children again.
President Hunter died last week. His legacy will surely be that of kindness, thoughtfulness, forgiveness and temple attendance. It is going to be interesting to see who he will choose for his counselors - I'm wondering about Boyd Packer.
Our flatbed trailer has been stolen. I am waiting for the County Sheriff to come - he said he would come by and get some pictures of it. I found five good ones and had them enlarged. That really upsets me - you couldn't see it from the road!!!
Vonnie is going to try to stay by herself. I am SO sorry for her. She is going to have a health nurse come help her.