February 3, 2002 Farmington, Utah

HAPPY SUPER BOWL DAY I am watching the game and I hope those of you who are interested are also watching it. It is the second quarter I think and the Rams are ahead - it would be an upset if they win according to the sports papers. I know absolutely nothing about either team but there is always a lot of "hype" about the super bowl so I'm watching it - Ha!!!

I wish you could see the snow and icicles hanging outside my window in my family room - the weather this year has reminded me of our days in Montana where we would go out and knock the icicles off the balcony. I read in the paper the other day that we don't need any more snow for the Olympics and that's good. There is also A LOT of hype about the Olympics - many roads in Salt Lake are closed and many business owners are upset but most people are excited about having people from all over the world in our State. The security is unbelievable and we're all hoping nothing serious will happen. I keep thinking the Roy Mellor Family should be here to witness all the events on television but I guess they can do that in Little Rock. I have many friends who are volunteering at certain venues and it's fun to hear about their experiences.

This has been an exciting and fun week for me. Last Monday some friends in the condos planned to go to the "Rock Loft" for lunch to celebrate one of the ladies' birthdays. WELL - it snowed really hard all night Sunday night and it was still snowing when we were supposed to leave. I offered to make chili and fix lunch here but they all wanted to go out. The Rock Loft is a little craft and picture framing place that also has a little restaurant next to it but it is up in the hills of Kaysville just East from where I live. One of my condo friends has a new 7 passenger van so she offered to drive and I still laugh when I think about 7 old ladies crammed in a van as we started up the little hill in our area. We couldn't even get half way up so we turned around and went to a Chinese restaurant that is next to the Smith's grocery store - we really could have walked. I learned later that the husband of the lady who tried to drive us was quite upset but he wasn't home when we left. I know I would NEVER have tried that!!!

Don and Cheryl came on Wednesday and we went to lunch at the Thai 5-Star restaurant in Roy to celebrate Don's and my birthdays. I was SO happy because Bob dropped in while they were here and we all had such a good visit. Don feels good and he has an excellent appetite but he has difficulty walking - I worried about him because all the walks are icy. Cheryl is always so much fun to be with and she is taking such good care of Don. She is VERY pretty and has lots of interests and that's good.

Friday night I went to Logan with my condo friends for the "Glen Miller Program" put on at Utah State. The Sunburst dancers did such a good job but not as good as when Barji danced with them. I thought about Barji all night and I am SO happy that I was able to see her perform in it. I saved the program for you Barji. The program was centered around the events from the depression days, World War 2 up until the present time. I'm sure all the older generations watching it caught on to the songs and narrations but I'm not sure the younger generations did. We ended up with two extra tickets because a couple decided at the last minute that they couldn't go. I called Jeannie and she called Mary Ann and I was thrilled because she could come to it and she brought a date - Mark McGowan from Salt Lake. I was SO impressed with both of them and they were such good sports. The Sunburst Singers sang songs like "Madam, could you spare a dime?" from the depression days and I looked at Mary Ann and asked if she understood where that song came from - she looked like I do when I watch something like Star Wars - Ha!!!

The Bountiful Temple is closed for cleaning for two weeks so I was VERY happy that I didn't have to get up at 3:30 on Saturday morning - in fact, I slept until 9 o'clock. It is still very dark outside until late in the morning so I don't have any incentive to get up early. I will be glad when it gets warmer so I can exercise by walking - it's just too cold now. I can't believe that Mary Ann is still running in the cold weather - I believe she told me she starts about 6 a.m. and runs anywhere from 10 to 15 miles. She fixed dinner and treats for Ricky's friends today so they could watch the Super Bowl together.

Russell - I'm glad your letters are coming with some regularity now and I'm thrilled that your scriptures have arrived. I wish your larger packages from home would get to you - I LOVED your description of the "Hell-bound Malagasy" who may have stolen them I thought about being in Thailand when you described how Bro. Golden had to have a translator for his talk and it lost some of its meaning - we had to have translators in Bangkok too and from the reaction of the audience I always wondered if they translated our talks correctly. I hope your friend, David Reay, will be able to take you a package from home when he arrives in your mission. That's unusual for two members of your ward to be serving in Madagascar, isn't it? I hope you will get a flashlight and carry it with you when you go out at night.

Michael - It sounds like you REALLY like Modena and I can't help but think how fortunate you are to be able to serve in different areas and see the difference in the members - WOW - 100 in your meetings in Modena and 3 in your meetings in Carrara. I also think it is GREAT that you get to serve with companions from other parts of the United States - our neighbors in Phoenix were from Kentucky and we loved them. I LOVE the South!!! I laughed when I read that one of your investigators is from Peru and his name is Alessandro - that is definitely an Italian name!!! Do you remember that very large red brick home just West from where John's home is in Orem? They were from Italy and the young boy's name is Alessandro Noble. Good luck with your African family.

Many thanks to John for his phone call one morning last week. It was fun to tell him about his business friend, John Wright. Our Governor gave his State of the State address last Monday night and he honored John Wright for his development of a technological instrument that permits doctors to see very close when they do surgeries. The Wright's youngest daughter was born with a tumor on her brain and this instrument (glasses, I believe) helped the surgeon remove it without damaging the brain. There was a wonderful picture of the Governor with Natalie Wright wearing 3-D glasses that appeared in the Utah papers the next day. When John called me he said he was walking to work in his shirt sleeves AND it was bitter cold here.

Barji - thank you SO much for your message from Florida. I hope you will soak up all the sunshine and warm weather you can. I think it is great that you can stay with Boyd's cousin, Joseph and his family. I think about you and Susanna and hope you're both feeling LOTS better by now. I'm learning how to make "receiving blankets".

I forgot to end my letter properly last week so I am going to end before I get sidetracked into doing something else. I couldn't believe it when Annie wrote and told me she only received one page of my letter and when I investigated I discovered that was all I wrote. I believe the Patriots must have scored while I was writing to you - the score is now 14 - 3. I want the Rams to win just because they are the underdogs - Ha!!!