July 7, 2002 Farmington, Utah

I guess the news for this week is the "Milky Way Saga" at Lake Powell. Everytime I go outside I say a little prayer of THANKS that I am in a comfortable home away from the terrific heat and trauma of the houseboat BUT then I realize there are many blessings that come from being old - Ha!!! I remember how much fun trips like Lake Powell were when I was younger and I admire SO VERY MUCH the young people in my family who are willing to "go the extra mile" to provide opportunities to be together as families!!!

I don't have all the details but this is what I know. The Woolleys and Weinerts went to Lake Powell last Tuesday planning to be on the houseboat for their scheduled week. As it turned out, one of the motors on the houseboat (The Milky Way) konked out and the boat had to be taken out of the water for repairs so they had to stay in a rented trailer. It is wonderful that the Woolleys have a good skiing boat but I understand they broke some motor blades on it because of shallow water.

Roy, Patrice, Emily, Timothy and Jesse arrived from Little Rock on Thursday planning to go to Lake Powell on Friday with the Bobs. We had a fun time together with the Bobs that night watching fireworks and eating a spaghetti dinner and making ice cream. They didn't know at that point whether or not the houseboat would be functional so they couldn't pack or shop or anything and that was SO frustrating. Friday morning Annie called from Lake Powell saying they had a launching time of 3 p.m. so the trip was ON. The Bobs and the Roys scurried around getting packed and I took Timothy and Jesse to find a park where they could get some exercise before their long road trip. THAT WAS SO FUNNY!!! I haven't had young grandchildren around who would enjoy a park for a long, long time and when I went to the place where I thought there was a park, all I found was a fishing pond, picnic tables and a jogging trail. I could tell just from looking at Timothy that he was worried about being with a person who didn't know what she was doing and I didn't blame him. We did find a cute little park at a school in Centerville but by then it was getting close to the time we needed to get back home so we didn't stay very long. Since then, I have learned of more parks closer to where I live.

I believe Ann and Jean are coming home today but I'm not sure. Bob said he could stay until Tuesday so if everything is going okay with the houseboat maybe the Bobs, the Roys, Ron and some of their children will stay until then. I can just imagine how difficult it has been for Jean with one of her feet still in a cast from surgery but I hope SO much they have had a GREAT time. I was thrilled to learn that all of the Bob Mellor family would be together - that is very special after Michael being gone for two years.

John - thank you for your message. I am looking forward to seeing you while the Roys are here. I'm planning for the family dinner on Thursday night and I hope everyone will be able to come. Bob thinks it is dumb for me to plan a "business meeting" but if it is important to me then it is important - Ha!!! I don't really have anything different to report but maybe some of you will have some questions. I KNOW YOU ARE ALL MORE COMFORTABLE IN A LARGER HOME BUT I MUST ADMIT THAT I TAKE OFFENSE WHEN YOU WANT TO HAVE OUR GET TOGETHERS IN OTHER PLACES ALL THE TIME.

The FOURTH OF JULY was an absolutely beautiful day and I LOVED it. I went to the parade and found a good spot just West of Davis High School and it was right where it started and the Davis High School Marching Band led the parade. I was SO proud to see Brett in the drum line - he has perfect posture and does an excellent job. He was on the opposite side from where I was so I couldn't get a picture of him. I didn't know for sure that Katie was going to be in it so I left to come home right after the band passed and I was disappointed to learn later that she was with her cheerleading group but I didn't get to see her - NEXT YEAR!!! I came home to wait for the Roys and then Bob came over a little later - he put a new battery in the 4-wheeler and it is registered now so Roy took Timothy and Jesse for a very little ride down to the end of my street. It would be fun if they were going to be here long enough to go to the farm or West Canyon and have a good ride!!! I just LOVE having the Roys here - Timothy and Jesse are so PERFECTLY MANNERED AND I AM VERY PROUD OF THEM. Emily is the same way but I don't see much of her - she and Katie have been together all the time.

The Boy Scout troop in my ward put flags in front of the houses where people had signed up and the morning of the Fourth when I went outside I got a lump in my throat to see it flying so beautifully. I ended up having three flags in the front of my condo. I LOVE our country as I know all of you do and patriotism is so important to all of us and especially after the September 11th tragedy.

I must tell you about going to a party last night in Provo. The Mother of my friend, Barbara Sondrup, celebrated her 90th birthday at a dinner at the Riverside Country Club and it was very, very nice. She has three daughters and they have been planning this for a long time. Barbara told me they sent out about 150 invitations and I believe they all came. I went with Linda Smithers and we had such a good time. They served dinner and we could choose between chicken and beef - I chose beef and it was a filet mignon and just delicious. Linda chose chicken and it was in some kind of pastry and she said it was good too. They had a program put on by Helena's grandchildren and I have never seen such a varied program. They cleared out the middle of the Country Club and one of her granddaughters did a fantastic tap dance and another granddaughter and her husband performed a ballroom dance in full costume and it was SO special. They also had vocal soloists, a violin ensemble and many toasts. Helena was there with her 6th boyfriend since her husband died and Barbara laughed when she told us they were all relieved because this one is younger than Helena - the last 5 have all died of old age. Her husband has been gone for 9 years and she has had 6 boyrfirends. They were all going to Park City today to continue celebrating until the middle of next week. They involved all the people there in line dancing and other kinds of dancing and when I got home last night about midnight I was exhausted. Helena had a part on the program also - she recited many poems and then sang and danced. She really is remarkable!!! Barbara is quite serious with a man she knows in Georgia but she didn't want him to come last night to compete with her mother - I think that's very thoughtful.

Now I must tell you about Linda. She has been trying to find a husband on the internet and she has gone with several men who have responded to her messages but she thinks she has finally found someone who might "fill the bill" - Ha!!! He is living in Mesa and has been here several times and is coming again next week. He is a retired engineer and has enough money to take care of her so she won't have to work. She also found a retired physician but that didn't work out. I simply cannot describe my feelings about all of this - I just can't relate!!! One of her close friends from when she lived in Las Vegas just got married to a man she met on the internet and we went to see them last night after the party and I'll have to admit they are a very happy couple. He is a professor at BYU and has taught civil engineering for 35 years and he knows Ron - in fact they are on the same High Council for one of the BYU Stakes. His last name is Merritt - I have forgotten his first name He fixed watermelon for us last night and we stayed and visited with them for a little while then I had Linda go see where the Woolleys live. I knew Ann and Ron weren't home so I didn't go in and besides I am taking care of ReRun and he had been in Margaret's bathroom for almost 8 hours and I needed to get home.

I believe you all might remember that I bought a "Liahona" carved from the olive wood in Jerusalem from "Jimmy" who was selling olive wood articles at the Mellor Motel in Lehi. I couldn't bring it home when I bought it because they only had one and Jimmy wanted to have it on display. We stopped in Lehi last night to pick it up and I put it in the back of Linda's car and forgot to get it when she let me out last night. SO I still don't have the Liahona - I'll go to Linda's soon and pick it up.

Russell - I LOVED your last letter. You are a VERY SPECIAL MISSIONARY and we're all SO proud of you. I am surprised to hear that you have only taught the lessons to black people. The black people who converted to the church in Little Rock were very, very special people and most are still active. Have you had alot of news about the Nauvoo Temple Dedications? Our testimony meeting this morning was entirely about President Hinckley and his endurance in taking part in these dedications - he is MARVELOUS!!!