Dearest Family,
Jeannie has perfected the "Cafe Rio" specialty
and invited me to come join her family for dinner tonight - it was SO
good!!! Ricky wasn't there because he had gone to Oregon with one of his
friends for a few days - I believe Utah State students have some kind of a
vacation from school. Boyd, Barji and Preston were there and it was fun to
see Boyd again - they are leaving for Cal. in the morning for a couple
weeks. David & Mary Ann were there and they are having fun planning a
little vacation while the University of Utah is on vacation - they make such
a cute couple. Sarah was there and she talked about not having to be a
cheerleader anymore - the high school basket ball championship games were
all last week and the "Davis Darts" did well but they didn't win in the
final games. Rick had had a LONG day at church but got home in time for
dinner.
Ron - I am SO sorry to learn about your
toothache and jaw surgery and I hope SO much that you are better by now.
His toothache started when they got to Detroit where he was to receive an
award for his professional paper - Ann said she didn't think he was even
coherent when he accepted the award. The antibiotic didn't help him very
much and he went to the dentist right soon after coming home and then had
surgery to relieve the pressure. Ann said she had never seen him so sick
that he would miss two days of work - THAT'S SICK FOR RON!!! I'm also
concerned about Jessie and I hope she has had help with her eye problem.
Annie sent me some pictures they had taken recently of Ron's father and his
wife, Kay. They make a nice looking couple and I'm glad Russell is
happier. Some of the pictures were of Jimmy's friends decorating his room
for Valentine's Day - FUN!!! Ann, Susanna, Steve and Jackson went with
Ron's ward on a hike one day and that picture is SO cute of little
Jackson!!!
Claire and Bob - thank you SO much for your
invitation to go to Logan yesterday for a dance program at a school in
Smithfield with Katie's dancing group. I LOVE the pictures and Katie is
"quite the dancer" - I want to hear you explain her costume and makeup,
etc.- evidently it was a Michael Jackson theme with all his posters, etc.
The pictures make me dizzy when I see Katie swing her head back and forth.
Michael is in Texas visiting the Merrifields during his Spring break and
Laura is in St. George with friends. John had written that he would come see
me sometime this weekend and I hated to leave in case he came - he must have
had things come up because he hasn't been here.
I'm SO glad that some of us were able to attend
Jeff Pack's wedding reception last Wednesday. I still can't believe that
Bob, Jean, Barji & Preston, Sarah, John and I were all free at the same
time. We all met in Draper at Cafe Rio for dinner and then we went to the
reception and it was just beautiful - a very elegant reception place!!! I
have never seen Paula look so pretty - she had a beautiful suit on and Mel
looked good too. Their daughters were all bridesmaids dressed in black
dresses that Laura Pack had made. I'm SO proud of that family!!! It was
fun to visit with Nancy and her son and his wife - he is anxiously waiting
to hear where he will do his residency for pediatrics - he graduates from
the University of Utah Med School in the Spring and they have three little
children. They said that Ramona and Shirley had been there but we missed
them. I was proud of the Lynn Mellor family and I know Lynn would be
pleased that we would support Keith's family. Annie would have been with us
if she hadn't been out of town - she had sent them a gift earlier in the
week.
The basketball championship games have been fun
to hear about and congratulations to Timpview High School for winning in
their region - they were playing against Box Elder so I had mixed feelings
but they won easily. Annie had written that Jimmy was driving some of his
friends to Ogden where the games were being played - that's always a worry
but Jim is a very sensible young man.
My Home Teachers came by to visit this afternoon
after church. One of them travels all over the world in his business and we
talked about the prospective war with Iraq and the feelings he hears from
the places where he goes. He said the sentiment is very much against
President Bush and that makes me very sad. He had just come from Thailand
and he brought me an "elephant keyring" - very thoughtful!!!
Bob just came by to visit - I appreciate him so
very much. My faithful Cuisinart all of a sudden just stopped so I had put
it out in the garage to give to D.I. and when Bob saw it he asked if he
could take it home to "work on it". When I came home from Star Valley he
had put it in my kitchen and it was all fixed - I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT!!! He
said all it needed was a new bowl. I'm really not very smart.
Russell - they had the new Mission President
assignments in the Church News this morning and I noticed that Madagascar,
Antananarivo will get a new one in July - I also noticed that your neighbor
Roger Galland will go to Nebraska. Montana Billings will get a new one this
year too and it would have been fun for him to go there. I hope you will
always keep in touch with your President & Sister Hill - that means SO much
to the Mission Presidents and their wives.
I'm thinking that Timothy and Jesse will soon be
starting soccer - Emily, will you be going into any sports activity?
We are having Springlike weather - we're all
worried about the lack of snow and I guess water will be rationed this
Summer but they say there will still be boating in Lake Powell and fishing
places so LIFE IS GOOD!!!
I LOVE EACH ONE OF YOU SO VERY, VERY MUCH.
PLEASE BE SO VERY, VERY CAREFUL IN EVERYTHING YOU DO. Grandma B
XXXXXXXXXXXOOOOOOOOWritten on March
13, 2003
Dearest Family,
I know you have all heard by now about the
SAFE return of Elizabeth Smart and I am SO overjoyed I couldn't sleep all
night. I had gone to lunch with Patt and Margaret yesterday afternoon and
then Margaret knew of a store in Bountiful that sold orthopedic shoes and
she knew I wanted to find some good temple shoes so we went there to
shop. I found some really good shoes with lots of support and then we
went next door to "The White House" which is a small community women's
clothing store.
We dispersed to shop and all of a sudden Patt
came up to tell me the clerks were listening to a radio and they had just
broadcast the news of finding Elizabeth. There was pandemonium in the
store and we wanted to get home as soon as possible to watch it unfold on
television. As soon as I got home I called Roy and Patrice thinking they
wouldn't know about it but Patrice answered the phone and said, "Barbara,
they've found Elizabeth Smart" - she had heard about it at a soccer game
with Timothy. Then I called Chris Jordin and she hadn't heard yet.
I have watched all the news and I'm amazed
that people wouldn't be more aware of how peculiar her abductors looked.
I think the photos that amateur photographer took of them in Liberty Park
showed them looking like Muslims and maybe people were worried about
offending them in some way. The weirdest thing is that she spent a week
in a room that was within a block of the Salt Lake Police Station - right
under the noses of police officers. I have worried that the L.D.S.
church would be involved and this morning on Good Morning America they did
mention it and I hope it doesn't go any further than that - evidently
Immanuel joined the church. I'M SO HAPPY ELIZABETH IS HOME AND IS
APPARENTLY WELL.
Another thing I worried about all night is a
telephone call I had from Elaine Miller - Lynn's sister. She left a very
sad message and wanted me to call her back but the number she gave me is
out of service - she was crying so hard I had a difficult time
understanding her. I called Annie last night and she is going to try to
find out if anything is wrong with the family. My first thought was of
Ramona because she is about 88 or 89. I'll let you know if I learn
anything.
HAVE A HAPPY, HAPPY DAY - I LOVE YOU -
Grandma B XXXXXXXXXXXXXOOOOOOOOOO