October 9, 2000 Farmington, Utah

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MARY ANN ON TUESDAY - I REALLY can't believe you are 18 years old Mary Ann - old enough to vote and EVERYTHING. I know you had a fabulous birthday party over the weekend - she took 8 of her friends to the Marriott Hotel for a "sleepover" - they walked to the Olive Garden for dinner Friday night and Saturday morning they walked to the Mall in their pajamas to get "cinnabons" - you'll never forget your 18th birthday party.

We had such a WONDERFUL family get together yesterday - HATS OFF TO THE WEINERTS!!! We all met at their home about noon - between conference sessions - and enjoyed a delicious dinner. I am always impressed when so many of us can sit at tables to eat - at my condo we are lucky to find a place to sit - Ha!!! The weather couldn't have been better so they had their tables on their patio all set up as well as in their dining room. I have NEVER seen so much chili - Jeannie had asked me if I had a large "pot" and I never did get back to her to offer her what I had - she used the large pot she usually uses and also her HUGE canning pan. I LOVE their chili and also the toppings of onions, sour cream and shredded mozzarella cheese - it was heavenly. I have also NEVER seen so many bread sticks and they were also delicious - I'll have to find out what recipe she used. It is funny - when Jeannie and I talked about her dinner she said she was hungry for stuffed mushrooms and asked if I had a recipe. I found my recipe but I didn't want to take it to her when I realized she had so many other things to do - as it turned out we both made stuffed mushrooms - hers were MUCH better than mine and I felt bad that I had taken some. To top off their dinner they had six different kinds of pies from Marie Callender - my favorite - pecan - was the best I have ever eaten. It was SO fun to be with the newlyweds - Susanna and Steve and see how happy they are - their schools are going good and Steve is gaining weight - GOOD FOR YOU!!!

I can just hear each one of you saying - "Wow, food is surely important to Grandma B" - I guess it is!!! I should put the emphasis of our get together on just being together and listening to our church leaders. I REALLY enjoyed conference and I thought all the speakers touched on the important issues of today - probably more so than in other conferences. I am constantly amazed at the ability of President Hinckley - he is truly an inspired leader!!! I couldn't help but notice how my grandchildren are very attentive and reverent to the conference - it used to be that we had to use all kinds of tactics to keep them awake and listening - Ha!!!

I was SO proud of ANNIE they just returned from Nauvoo and they turned their trip into a GREAT genealogy experience. They got material from their computer before they went and of course I was especially pleased because they found relatives of MINE who had lived in Nauvoo and were leaders. Bob asked me for some information a while back and in order to find it I have been "cleaning out" my genealogy box and separating the material I have of my lines from the Mellor's lines. I have been very negligent in doing genealogy and as a result the Mellors material far exceeds that of the Forrests and Rhodes. They brought souvenir "bricks" from Nauvoo and also soap from the "Red Brick Store" - the first store the saints had there - something to share with all of us.

JOHN is sad and so are all of us. He has done everything possible to have his dogs well taken care of while he is traveling and I have been SO proud of him because I know that shows such good character. He has had a neighbor couple take care of them and he has paid them a lot of money each month. The lady has taken her little baby boy over to play with Tar and Mokie and they have grown to love the dogs. John told her to NEVER open the garage door because they would run out - there is a gate separating the two homes and it was so easy for her to go through that gate but one day last week she opened the garage door and Tar ran out and they can't find him. John has made "flyers" with a notice of a reward on it and he has posted it in places around the neighborhood and every time the phone rings I hope it is John telling me he has found him. I remember when John picked Tar up at the airport when he was just six weeks old and brought him home - I have many pictures of that day. John found him on the internet and paid for him before he even was able to get him - he is from champion lineage. Julianna wants to get Mokie in December and that will be sad too. John has been comforting Mokie because she has been with Tar since she was born. I think they will find him.

It was good to be with Bob and Claire again - it seems to me like they have been gone for a long, long time. Bob enjoyed his trip to Mexico and he will be leaving again in a couple weeks to go to Guatemala where they will start humanitarian work for the poor people there. It will be safer than going to Mexico. Claire brought a recorder so we could all say a few words to Michael. They shared some of his letters with all of us and we laughed and laughed and I know it is funny to us to hear of some of his experiences but not very funny to him - Ha!!! WE ARE PROUD OF YOU MICHAEL!!! We know he will be a GREAT missionary. When I think of him and conference I am reminded of the times I sat in Lopburi where it was SO hot and I listened to the conference talks in Thai and of course I couldn't understand one thing. I'm betting that Michael probably listened to them in Italian and I wish Bob could send them to him on the computer like he did for me in Thailand - the young missionaries aren't permitted to have computers.

PATRICE - Thank you SO much for your letters - I copied them and took them to our get-together yesterday for everyone to read - we always talk about you and have mentioned that we haven't heard from you for awhile. Your campouts sound like so much fun and I hope the burn free restrictions will be lifted soon - it's a good thing you could cook your hotdogs in your van. You have so many wonderful places close by to go for picnics and we LOVED them when we lived there. I am SO proud of Emily and Timothy for their educational achievements in their schools and I'm glad Jesse has such a good teacher. I am VERY impressed with their schools and their teachers. Thank you for your "nursery ideas" - I will try the sliced apples and honey one soon - can you believe my apple tree in my backyard has produced MANY apples. We can make ghosts and that sounds like fun - I will try all of your ideas and if you have any more send them to me!!! There are about fifteen in the nursery and they range in ages from 18 months to 3 years old - they go into Primary at three.

I had a funny experience on Saturday night. I LOVE baked garlic and I bought some of that elephant garlic at the store but I couldn't find my clay garlic cooker so I put a piece in a little plastic bowl, covered it with olive oil and then put waxed paper over it and put it in the microwave for five minutes. I ran upstairs for something and all of a sudden I smelled smoke so I ran to the kitchen and found the microwave "burned out". To make a long story short, John came over yesterday and took my microwave out of the kitchen and I will dispose of it someway - I don't believe even D.I. will take it. I was going to get another one but I remembered that I brought one here when I moved from Orem - I had bought a new one just before going to Thailand to replace a built-in one in my home there and when John and Julianna remodeled their home they didn't want it. It's funny how we get used to using something that wasn't even available when I was young - Ha!!!

I have had a fun and busy week. Margaret invited me to go to a Rotarian Luncheon with her at the Marriott in Salt Lake last Tuesday - it was a special one to honor a lady who just retired from being their secretary after thirty years. It was very, very nice and it is fun to see how much Margaret and her husband are admired and loved. I went to Slaterville on Thursday to a Thailand missionary get together and it also was very, very nice. A former volunteer teacher lives there and she had lunch for all of us - some from the second group who had just returned and they had worked with many teachers I had taught and it was WONDERFUL to hear about them. Then on Friday I went to Provo with Virginia to attend another reunion of Thailand missionaries - it was held at the Institute right behind where John lives on the UVSC campus. My former Mission President, Michael Goodman, has lost too much weight and I didn't even recognize him. It was fun to see a lot of the young and old missionaries - it was potluck and many brought HOT Thai food and I LOVED it.

I have had a lot of problems with my left eye - started early in the Summer but I was sure it was a cataract so I wanted to wait until after the weddings before going to the doctor. He is so busy that when I called I had to wait three weeks for my appointment and my eye was driving me crazy - I put eye drops in it and cold packs, etc. Well - when I went to the doctor on Friday he told me that I have lost the muscle on my eyelid and it is turning inward instead of outward and my eyelashes are going into my eye. He is going to do a little surgery on Thursday that will make it turn outward and I can hardly wait. I am disappointed because Margaret has invited me to go to her home in Star Valley this week and I won't be able to go. The doctor says it is a very simple surgery and he just does it in his office.

Our weather is gorgeous but it is going to turn Winter this week so I am going to work in my flower gardens today and cut the roses down, pull weeds and make it look better than it does now. I LOVE YOU ALL SO VERY, VERY MUCH - PLEASE BE SO VERY, VERY CAREFUL IN EVERYTHING YOU DO. Grandma B XXXXXXXXXXXXXOOOOOOOOO