Dearest Family, August 5, 1998

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO PAPA TODAY - he would have been 78 years old and I'm sure he is still so very, very proud of his family - HE LOVED YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!

BOB - Thank you SO very much for your letter telling me about your plans for your “family backpacking trip”. I told my roommates about that and they all said “Does Claire like those kinds of things?” I told them she was always a good sport to do things like that with the family. Bob wrote that it was definitely a “Dad's Vacation”. I am SO anxious to hear all about it. I just loved the map of “Weminuche” - it looks to me like that is fairly close to where Papa went elk hunting “The Bookcliffs” - is it? I LOVE to hear about those kinds of family vacations - we used to do that so much, remember??? I can't believe all the camping you have done this past month Bob - boy scout camp and helping the girls camp with their canoes - I imagine you are tired of it!!!

JEANNIE AND BARJI - Thank you SO very much for your sweet letters. I am very, very happy that you had a good time in Thailand and I am especially happy that you didn't get sick. I keep thinking of Ricky being with Barji's friend Boyd and Susanna's friend Ryan - WHAT A BOND!!! Thank you for telling me all about your friends and all you are doing. BARJI - GOING TO TOKYO IN 1999 - WOW - that is surely something to look forward to and plan for. Jeannie - you will collapse after today but it will be a good collapse and you will have plenty to keep you busy.

RON - Thank you SO very much for your letter telling me about “the girls” safe arrival in Salt Lake. You were mighty kind to do that when your home computer is broken - I didn't know you could break computers - Ha!!! Annie has so many things to do with girls camp, etc. etc., - I will be happy to hear from her when she gets home in a week or so.

PATRICE - What a thrill to hear from you today - a WONDERFUL and long letter. I am SO happy you are going to be able to get out of the Arkansas heat for a little while - 9000 feet should be plenty cool. (They left for Colorado this afternoon). I loved hearing about your travel plans - we made that trip SO many times I used to say we could do it with our eyes closed. It will be so much better for you with a television and ear phones, etc. You said you would be the driver - both you and Claire are the drivers in your families. I think it is SO great that you can do that without getting lost - Papa didn't trust me after he drove almost to Oklahoma and then I took the wheel and made a wrong turn and when he woke up we were almost back to Little Rock - do any of you remember that? Your church camp in Oklahoma sounded like a lot of fun and I know Suzie and Emily had fun together - I am jealous!!!

I wrote a quick note to Ricky this morning because this is his MTC day and now I find that I have time to write a letter to all of you. It is raining a monsoon rain again right now - I had planned to walk to the Phloenchit Center to get my pictures but it was raining too hard when we came home and it doesn't look like it is going to stop any time soon. I am anxious to get my pictures because then I can relive “the girls” trip. CLAIRE - I AM LOVING MY CAMERA - I keep thinking I will find my other one but so far I haven't. THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!

I HAVE BEEN SO BUSY SINCE THE GIRLS LEFT!!! The last time I wrote was the afternoon after they left and I had just barely finished my letter when the doorbell rang and it was Somjit and Lamchuan (the girls met Somjit) - they wanted to take us shopping for groceries so they could cook for us again. SO we went shopping and got lots of vegetables and other things they needed and we came home and Anan and Lek came (the girls met them too). We watched them cook and then we had the most delicious Thai dinner - I'm taking notes so maybe I will be able to cook Thai food - Ha!!! Anan and Lek stayed for SO long and I was just about asleep as I was talking to them.

The next day was Sunday and we had our monthly teacher's seminar after our sacrament meeting. It was a long meeting so they went to get MacDonald hamburgers for everyone. I didn't learn anything new except that one of the couples serving with us has been sent to Nepal, India - I KNOW I won't be sent out of the country. We all presented something that has been successful for us in our teaching and it was a good meeting. Many of the couples are already packed to go home and they are anxious - the Governor is going to have a farewell dinner for all of us on September 23rd and a welcoming dinner for the new volunteers on October 16th - Janet and Darlene have decided to go home on October 10th. I imagine I will be moved by then so it won't matter to me. President Goodman wants to have dinner with everyone too so the next few months are going to be social ones - it will be fun.

We came home from church about 3 o'clock and Somjit and Lamchuan were here waiting for us to cook us another dinner - HONESTLY!!! They are darling and we enjoy them but we all have a lot to do and I especially needed to “catch up”. They stayed until after 9 p.m. The love to practice their English.

Monday we went to school and everyone asked about my family - they wanted to know what “The Girls” thought about Thailand, etc. We came home from school and Pook (the young woman I teach) was here waiting for me - she stayed until 5:30 when the four young University students came for their lesson. They stayed until about 8 p.m. and I just fell into bed.

Tuesday we went to school and everyone asked how “the girls” liked Ayutthaya - Helen had told them that was why I couldn't be at their school last week. Pook couldn't come for her lesson on Tuesday and I was happy - the other four students came from 5:30 until 7:30. I tried to clean my bedroom after they left - I have so much more room now after the girls and the Bobs took so much home for me.

Today - Wednesday - we were at the Chonglom school where Ann, Jean, Jessie and Barji spent time with me last week. They also asked about all of you. I was happy they didn't serve last week what they served this morning for breakfast. Last week they served cream of corn soup but today they served a HUGE bowl of boiled rice with onions, pork and other things in it. I looked at Helen and said “Well, we can't put this in our purse so we better try to eat it” - I had no sooner said that when they brought big plates of little doughnuts to put in the rice. We hurried and wrapped those in napkins and put them in our purses. We had pound cake for the break along with the most delicious huge grapes and ginger tea. An hour later they served a huge lunch - eggs that had been deep fat fried and then put in a sweet sauce, rice, ham with a special mixture on top that had been fried with lots of raw onions, and a good salad - then fruit.

Supon (the girls know her) called last night and invited Helen and me to go to the exhibit at the old Parliament building this afternoon after school. Helen called and arranged for the school van to take us and I'm so glad we went. It is in a GORGEOUS building and I have never seen such beautiful floral arrangements. THEY WERE SOLD OUT OF THE HAND CARVED ELEPHANTS!!! I promised myself that I wouldn't buy anything else so I wasn't tempted - I did buy a few very small items. There were so many women buying Thai silk that I didn't even try to get close to where they were selling it. Supon and Pong asked about my daughters and granddaughters - you were a HIT!!!

I must go and study my lesson for Relief Society this Sunday. I appreciate so very much all the information Bob sent to me and also the handout that Annie brought to me - you have saved my life. ANNIE - I LOVE the shoes you brought to me and I appreciate so very much all the t-shirts and the Jazz buttons, the magazines and everything else you brought. JEANNIE - I LOVE the crystal light and I might even share it with my roommates - Ha!!!

I had a WONDERFUL letter from Ellen Mae and Mel today too and they told me about Ricky's farewell - evidently they had saved the letter they wrote to me and the one I didn't get. They couldn't say enough nice things about all of you and of course that makes me very happy. JOHN - they REALLY like you!!!

I'm SO anxious to hear about the MTC Day!!! I LOVE YOU ALL SO VERY, VERY MUCH. PLEASE BE SO VERY, VERY CAREFUL!!! Grandma B

Dearest Family, August 5, 1998 PAPA'S BIRTHDAY

I will think all day about the Weinert Family!!! I would like to be with all of you and wrap my arms around you and give you a GREAT BIG HUG!!! MAKE IT A VERY HAPPY DAY!!! I know you will.

Helen's grandson is in the MTC going to Peru - Robert Lloyd Walker from Sacramento - maybe you will meet each other Ricky. Helen received an e-mail this morning telling about their experience and they LOVED it - he entered the MTC last week.

It is ALWAYS hard but when you know what it all means it makes it very easy. I think SO often of the “ARMY OF YOUNG PEOPLE” who are in the MTC and feel so very proud that you will be among them Ricky. I LOVE YOU VERY MUCH. Grandma B