May 8, 2000 Farmington, Utah

Today has started out funny - I hope I get something accomplished before the day is over - Ha!!! We have had quite a bit of rain so I decided I would go outside and do a little weeding - I got already in my jeans and all my gardening tools and IT STARTED TO RAIN just as I got on the patio. SO I came back inside and changed clothes to go to "Curves" and then I decided to write my letter first so I could have it copied at "Bowman's" which is right by where I exercise. I must get to Curves before 10 a.m. so I will hurry with this letter and I hope it stops raining by the time I get back. The "Brownings" who owned this condo before I did took great pride in their flower gardens and they are coming to visit this weekend and I am panicked about the weeds. I have done quite a bit of weeding but right now they are filled again. They will stay with Margaret and she keeps telling me that Jack Browning would love to weed but that would be humiliating to me. They come for the "DeLonne Anderson" golf tournament which benefits Utah State and Margaret is worried sick that it will rain.

I have had such a fun week and I hope you all have to. The time goes SO fast for me - I guess that is old age because it didn't used to be this way. I have heard from each one of you and that always makes me very happy. Susanna called me on Saturday and she was SO excited - she has been accepted into the University of Utah nurse's program for the Fall Semester and she and Steve have exciting plans too. She is in a dilemma because she won't know about the BYU nursing program for another month and I believe that would work out better for her. She has moved back home and Jessie is home from Utah State so their family is all together again - it was SO fun to talk to Jessie too. She said, "It's SO funny for all of us to be home together again". I THINK IT IS WONDERFUL!!!

I had a message from Jeannie this morning and Barji is also home and their family is having fun together - it won't be long before Ricky will be home with them. Jeannie said that Barji's bedroom looked SO cute and then I realized that this is the first time she has really "settled into" her new home - FUN, FUN, FUN!!! Jeannie and Rick have been working hard getting their yard all planted - I'm anxious to see it.

I had dinner with the Bob Mellor family last night - a DELICIOUS pasta dinner with a "low calorie" sauce and a "fat sauce" and fabulous breadsticks!!! I LOVED talking to Michael about his mission - it will be WONDERFUL for all of us to learn about Italy during the next two years. He is working at a garden nursery this summer and it is hard work but he is "hanging in there". Laura and Katie played their piano selections for me and I continue to be AMAZED at how well they play - they will have recitals soon. I saw their pictures of "The Mall of America" trip and they had such a good time and I LOVED hearing about it. I also saw Laura' s prom pictures - WHAT A BEAUTIFUL YOUNG WOMAN SHE IS!!! They are all going to San Francisco this weekend - Bob has some professional meetings there so he is taking his family with him.

I had WONDERFUL letters from TIMOTHY AND JESSE!!! I treasure those handwritten letters and will save them because e-mail is the way of the future - I will also save the letter I received from EMILY awhile ago. I have saved many of the handwritten letters I have received from my family through the years and now I wish I had saved ALL of them. PATRICE - thank you for your e-mail letter - I LOVE THOSE TOO!!!

I talked to John last night and he is doing GREAT!!!. He told me a little more about his triathlon which will be on May 20th and now I will worry about him having a heart attack half way through. This is what he must do in order to finish it: 1st - swim in the cold Yuba lake for one mile; 2nd he must ride his mountain bike on a hard mountain trail for 20 miles and then; 3rd he must run for six miles. I can't imagine being in such good condition and I AM PROUD of you John!!! He said he may go to New York this week sometime.

I was SO happy on Saturday to have Bob, Laura and Brett come to my home all prepared to work - I couldn't believe it. They built the most WONDERFUL shelves for me in my storage room downstairs. I LOVE the shelves and they will help me so much to get organized but the thing I LOVED the very most was the happy way they worked. Bob kinda' supervised but Laura and Brett did all the work and I can't believe how much they have learned - I told them by the time they are a little older they will be able to build their own homes. I have always been impressed with how much Michael has learned to do things like this and now Brett and Laura are impressing me. I'M PROUD OF YOU AND THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!!! They were excited as they left my home because they were going rappelling - I absolutely hate that sort of thing but they love it. I worried about Laura and Brett getting hurt and then when I was with them yesterday I learned that Bob was the one who got hurt - his fingers and arms were all scraped up. He is usually so careful with his hands but he said he didn't wear his gloves and he fell - I really believe he was hurt more than he would admit.

Margaret arranged for all of us to have our windows professionally cleaned. You know me - I like to do that sort of thing myself but I went along with everyone else. I am THRILLED - my windows look so much better than they ever have here - they were able to get all the hard spots off!!!

I had a sad note from Thailand this morning. One of the men volunteer teachers died suddenly Saturday night. He was a favorite of mine and he had celebrated his 72nd birthday with his wife at a dinner that night and then as they were preparing to go to bed he collapsed and died suddenly. They were supposed to return to the USA about a month ago but extended their missions to help out until other teachers could get there - his name is Dale Cramm and his wife Helen will come home immediately. I am SO sad!!!