June 30, 2002 Farmington, Utah

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BARJI TODAY!!! Barji will be 22 years old today - that seems SO young to me but I remember those days and I know it seems old to Barji - Ha!!! I visited with Barji and Sarah for a few minutes one day last week and it was fun to see the two of them together and think of how much fun they are going to have caring for Boyd and Barjis' new little baby in a few weeks. Barji looks SO pregnant and SO good - she misses Boyd who is in Tennessee I think. She keeps busy with her school work - I don't know how much longer she has with that but I know it takes A LOT of work!!!

I think about Susanna whose due date is coming mighty soon. She will be a real "pro" when it comes to taking care of newborns after her experience in nursing - I was absolutely terrified of my first baby and didn't take my eyes off Annie for the first year of her life fearing that she would stop breathing. I believe Susanna will soon be finished with her internship and that will be wonderful!!!

Russell - did you get transferred? Your letter sounded like you didn't want to so I hope you are still in Mamelodi. I went to a temple Summer party on Saturday night and the entertainment was given by some Tongan members and I thought of you. I imagine the dances in South Africa are similar to the Tongan dances and music - is that right? There were six young women who danced and they were very graceful which kinda' surprised me because they are not tiny like the Thai women. Some of the Tongan men danced along with the women and WOW do they ever have rhythm and they are very large. I hope you get to play your guitar and learn some of the South African music. I know the Woolleys have missed you on their family reunion in Boise, Idaho this past weekend.

Michael - my temple friend, Elsa Lyndsey, was very excited because you had a date with her granddaughter last night. She told me that this granddaughter is soon leaving to go to the MTC to prepare for her mission to Venezuela so this was probably her last date and I hope you had fun. Elsa is such a lovely woman and is so thin you could blow her away - she just returned from a mission to Georgia and is a widow of about 3-4 years.

Brett - all you needed on your car was a BIG ribbon!!! Claire e-mailed me a picture of Brett's car after some admirer had totally wrapped it in plastic wrap. I have never seen that done before but I like it better than all the "toilet papering" that some young people do to express their admiration. I hope it doesn't take the finish off your car when you remove it - it is SO hot I worry that it might adhere to your car for forever.

Mary Ann and David - thank you SO much for your wonderful visit last night - I LOVED IT!!! I had just come home from the temple party and my house was HOT so we went downstairs and just talked and talked. Mary Ann has promised me that she will eat some homemade ice cream so I am going to make her some. I bought an electric ice cream maker because I don't think you can have a fourth of July without homemade ice cream and I am too lazy to "handcrank" it. David and I laughed and agreed about the very funny eating habits of my family - I think he will be fun to feed - Ha!!!

Emily, Timothy and Jesse - I'm anxious for your visit and I hope you have a fun airplane ride to Utah. When you get close to landing in Salt Lake look to the North and see if you can see me out waving to you because I will do that. I think of all the many trips you have made to Utah and each one becomes easier because you are getting older - I'm SO proud and appreciative of all the times you have come and I know traveling is not easy.

There are many parades and firework displays being planned for the FOURTH but they have surely stopped a lot of the selling of fireworks to ordinary people - professionals are still able to put on displays but with the drought here in the West they are asking everyone to be extra careful. There is a fire in the Uintah Mountain area now that is hard to control but it sounds like the city of Show Low in Arizona is going to be saved and that is good news. I can't imagine what it would be like to be evacuated and not know if your home would be burned to the ground when you returned. I believe there were 400 homes destroyed in Arizona.

Claire - I hope you have a fun family reunion this week at the BYU place (I have forgotten what it is called). That sounds like such a good place to have a reunion and maybe the Mellor family should look into that some time. It would surely be a lot easier than hiking 3 miles to Martin's Cove but I guess we have to do that at least once. Annie, Jeannie and I will have fun just being together for the Mellor reunion and also being with some of Lynn's family - it has been about three years since I have seen any of them. Ann and I will take turns pushing Jean in a handcart if they don't have motorized carts - Ha!!! Her feet are healing but hiking three miles isn't exactly what the doctor ordered. We'll take lots of pictures to share with all of you.

John - I'm SO happy you, Laura and Bren are going to be here for our family get-together on the 11th. I think it would be a good idea to have another family "business meeting" with all of my children here and since you are my family representative I would like you to plan it and be in charge. I goofed so badly at the last one and I surely don't want to repeat that - I'm just not good at things like that. I don't really have enough money to make a big deal of it but I'd surely like to make sure everything is in order even though I expect to live to be 100. Bob and John have suggested that I get another attorney since Mr. Wilkinson lives in Provo and I believe he has lost interest in my affairs. Bob told me that he has a good one he could recommend so we should discuss that. I REALLY don't want to change anything because Daddy and I planned the will and everything together and it's important to me that it stay that way even though the will is revocable. Maybe you could all have some questions in mind to bring up at our meeting.

I have had a busy but fun week. I went to a party at Ellen Mae and Mels' home last Monday night with our OLD High School friends and I always enjoy those SO much. We are all getting older and we laugh at each other as we shout now in order to make each other hear - Ha!!! Mel Thayne is even more deaf than I am. He has written his life story and his wife, Emma Lou, read us the preface to it that she has written - she is so talented. His story is over 400 pages long - WOW!!!

I served in the temple on Tuesday morning to take the place of a worker who had substituted for me during May. The Tuesday sessions are not nearly as busy as they are on Saturdays so it was an easy day. I went to the Roger's Theatre in Centerville on Thursday to see the play "The Civil War" and it was an excellent musical. Friday I went to Willard and then Helen Jane drove us to Logan to go to the viewing for Ellen Mae's niece who was killed last week. The mother of the woman who was killed is a sister to Ellen Mae and she and her husband will be such a source of support for that family - three young women and a teenage son. They were all in bandages and casts but the Father has recovered well. It was good to visit with the family but also very sad. Helen Jane and I went to dinner in Logan so I didn't get home until midnight and 3:30 came mighty early on Saturday morning.

The Temple party on Saturday night was very, very nice. They held it in a church bowery and I have never seen such a big and nice bowery - a fireplace and everything!!! They served chicken and salmon, lots of different salads and strawberry shortcake. The Tongan members are delightful and full of fun - they really put on a show!!! This is the first temple party I have attended because I don't like to go alone to things like that and the sister who goes with me each Saturday said it was the first church social activity she has attended for ten years.

The television and newspaper coverage of the dedication of the temple is Nauvoo has been so special. I'm sure most of my Utah family members have attended the television coverage of the actual dedications but I decided to not get a ticket. They have said there were more people wanting tickets than were available and since I have been to so many dedications and other spiritual things I felt I should save my ticket for others who have not had all those experiences. President Hinckley has surely given some important messages concerning the Governor of Missouri who was responsible for the Saints persecution - he and his family suffered many terrible hardships after the Saints were driven from his state. Lessons to be learned!!!