October 7, 1996

Dearest John & Julianna; Roy, Patrice, Emily, Timothy & Jesse; Bob, Claire, Michael, Laura, Brett & Katie; Rick, Jean, Ricky, Barbara Jean, Mary Ann & Sarah; Ron, Ann, Susanna, Jessie, Russell, Lee Anna & Jimmy:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MARY ANN ON THURSDAY. YOU WILL BE 14 YEARS OLD AND YOU ARE SUCH A LOVELY YOUNG WOMAN. I believe you will be the tallest girl in our family - 5'5'' already. Did you know that John Kennedy Jr.'s new bride is 6' - Ha!!!

Patrice, I was SO excited to come to the computer and find your e-mail message that you had written about an hour ago - I check it quite often so it is always wonderful to have a message!!! I am happy that my coming to Little Rock is okay with you - I can't believe Emily and Timothy will have some free time from school while I am there - we will have lots of fun together. I believe that will be during the Presidential election too won't it??? Little Rock will be alive because right now I believe Bill Clinton will win re-election. Your picnic last night sounded like so much fun - I love hot dogs and I'm sure your Mom loved being with you. That is a wonderful place for the children to play and I know it is beautiful scenery. Is that the place we went when I was with you but there were some "funny" looking people there so we didn't stay? The new restaurant sounds fun - we'll have to go there even if I don't plan anything with friends.

We had such a fun time last night also. Our church General Conference was held in Salt Lake this weekend so it was televised and we didn't have to attend meetings. Yesterday morning Ann called to invite me to come to their home to watch the afternoon session - she said it was an impromptu thing and we were to bring treats if we had any and we were supposed to eat dinner before we got there because she wasn't serving dinner - I love things like that and it sounds so much like Ann doesn't it? She said she was inviting everyone but she didn't think Bob and his family would come because they had been down this way on Friday and Saturday to go to the cabin to winterize it. We knew that John was in Maryland but she hoped Julianna would come. Jeannie had said they would come for sure. As it turned out - Bob and his family did come but Julianna wasn't feeling well so she didn't come. We had such a WONDERFUL time together and the conference session was good.

We decided in the afternoon to take a "care package" of treats over for Julianna. We all worried about just "dropping in" on her but she was so gracious and showed us their home and their little dogs. Their home is just beautiful and you can surely see the artistic hand of Julianna as she is decorating it. JULIANNA LOVES CRAFTS AND SHE IS GOOD AT THEM. They still have a lot of unpacking to do but I LOVE THEIR HOME. Their backyard opens up towards the mountains and it gives their whole place such a feeling of openness. Oscar and Sasha have a marvelous place to romp and grow in and they are beautiful dogs!!! Just the "ladies" went through their home - Bob, Rick and Ron came just as we were leaving and they didn't feel like imposing on Julianna again.

I love being with my grandchildren - they enjoy each other SO much and have fun together. Barji, Susanna and Jessie have all been to formal dances at their schools lately so we had a fashion show of their dresses - they can all wear each others dresses and it was so much fun to watch them model them. I can never remember being as thin as they are and they are BEAUTIFUL young women.

I had a WONDERFUL time with Bob and Claires' children last week. I picked them up at the airport on Sunday night. Everything went just perfectly but the plane was about ten minutes late and when we got to their home we had four messages from Claire - she was REALLY worried because we weren't there yet. The children were SO good and helped me a lot. Jeannie came over the first day I was there and we visited for a little while - their family had just come home from Sun Valley on Sunday night so she had a lot to do but it was fun to be with her because I hadn't seen her for a long time. We made plans to go to lunch the next day and she also was able to make an appointment with the lady who does her hair to cut my hair that day. That was such a fun day together. Jeannie also took me to their home so I could see their new bedroom set and to visit with Sarah who was ill and staying home from school. The next day, Wednesday, I went to lunch with Ellen Mae and my friends I went to Palm Springs with and we had such a good visit. I just played and played while I was in Layton and now I am trying to lose the weight I gained.

I watched Brett play soccer - he is a really good little player and is on an undefeated team. I went to Claires' Relief Society Home Making Meeting with Laura and Katie and we made wooden Christmas trees that are darling. Michael is so much fun to be around and never "puts me down" when I do dumb things. He is so respectful and tries to help me whenever I am with him. It is really a vacation for me to be with them and I come home determined to keep my house cleaner. I will never be able to understand how people can keep their bathrooms so neat - I have so many things on my counter and there is just one of me!!!

I was SO happy on Thursday when a member of the new temple presidency called me to see if I would work in the temple. I had an appointment with him on Friday morning and all the way to American Fork I kept trying to get my courage up to ask to work on Saturday evenings. The Provo temple doesn't stay open on Saturday evenings but I knew the American Fork one would and that is the perfect time for me to work - I definitely didn't want the early morning shift. WELL - I sat down and he said, "Sister Mellor would it be possible for you to take the Saturday evening shift?" I about fell off my chair. He asked if I would work another day also but I said I would just like to try one day right now. I felt SO good all day Friday because I felt like I would be more free now than I have been for a long, long time. It didn't last long because Saturday morning, early, the Bishop called and said he wanted to come bring me a ticket for the temple dedication. I was thrilled because the ticket is for the inside of the temple - many people will have to watch the dedication from other church buildings close by the temple. BUT THEN - he asked if I would be the "compassionate service leader in Relief Society". WHAT COULD I SAY??? I will be happy to do it but sometimes it involves a lot of time - arranging food for all the funerals and illnesses.

We are having gorgeous weather. I believe I may "tackle" the storage shed this afternoon. I really don't know what to do with some of the things that are in it. I will probably put the things I have questions about in the garage and when Bob and John are here I can ask them if they are worth saving or should go to D.I. My house really needs a thorough cleaning and I keep waiting for bad weather but so far we haven't had any.

Bob. John, Rick and Michael had a good time at the cabin. John has found a good fly fishing place on the river there by the dam. He likes to go and take his little dogs because they love the water and he loves to fish. They hadn't planned to come home until Sunday but when they found that the Priesthood broadcast wasn't being held at the little church in Scofield they decided to come home on Saturday. They went to the broadcast at my church building in Orem. I'm glad the cabin is winterized - our weather has been so unpredictable. One night late I just about drove up there to turn the heat on in the cabin to try to keep it from freezing the pipes - it was a good thing I could call Byrd and he talked me out of it.

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