Dearest Family,
WOW - I have had a busy but fun week. Chris
& Wayne came on Monday and they have a HUGE motor home - Chris kept
calling me on her cell phone so I could direct her the best way to
come. Really that wasn't necessary because she is VERY good at
following maps but I did go to the former K-Mart parking lot so I could
direct them easier to get to my condo. It was kinda' funny to see that
big motor home with "little" Wayne in the driver's seat - he could
hardly see over the steering wheel but he seems to manage just fine. He
did show me where he had torn off the side of the motor home when he got
too close to a toll road place and he had repaired it and painted the
wheel of the extra tire that rides on the back - he was VERY proud of
what he had done.
We just visited and looked at the picture
project on Monday night - they were amazed at how vivid the pictures are
on the computer screen and I have LOTS of pictures of trips we had taken
together. That was ALOT of fun. They had pictures of their family to
show me and I LOVED seeing them, especially those of their daughter
Linda and her home and family. Linda & Kens' home is just HUGE and very
beautiful and Linda & Ricks' home is beautiful too - they live about two
blocks from each other in a town close to Dallas and they get together
every Sunday for dinner. Do you all remember Linda & Kens' daughter,
Jaime? She spent so much time with us during Linda's divorce and her
marriage to Ken. She is beautiful and has a little baby girl whom they
call "The Princess" and she is darling - they live close to Linda &
Ken. They call that Linda "Suzie" and it makes it much easier because
Rick's wife's name is also Linda. Rick was married to "Ann" before he
divorced and married Linda Green and he and Ann have a son named Scott.
Wayne & Chris are VERY close to Scott and he loves the same things Wayne
does, like hunting and fishing. Scott was married this Summer and wants
to live in Missoula, Montana so Wayne & Chris plan to spend part of next
Summer in Montana helping him build his home. Linda had a daughter,
Kristen, before she married Rick and she just graduated from Florida
Univesity and she and Jennifer, Linda & Kens' daughter are VERY close
and ALSO very over-weight. This sounds like a "soap opera" doesn't it -
Ha!!!
Tuesday we went on a little car trip to
Monte Cristo - it is East in Ogden Canyon. We did some sight seeing on
the way - we stopped in Huntsville and saw President David O. McKay's
home and then to the Monastery where I bought some peanut butter and
orange marmalade for them to take home. That was very interesting for
them. The leaves in Monte Cristo were mostly gone but we did go to the
"Causey Dam" and Wayne was interested in that. We got home on Tuesday
afternoon and had dinner and then Wayne made gumbo for all of you.
Chris is not in very good health - she had a knee replacement several
years ago and she says her leg gets stiff when she sits too long so she
has a difficult time walking. I think they missed not being able to go
to Scofield.
Wayne just loves having Roy & Patrice and
their children visit them in Alabama - Wayne says that being with Roy is
just like being with Lynn and everytime I showed a picture of Jesse he
pointed to him and said "Now that's a boy" and when I said I wished both
Timothy and Jesse would be a little mischievious when they visited me he
couldn't believe it. I must be doing something wrong!!!
Cissy & Charles called while the Smiths were
here - they were in Draper visiting Steve and Perrianne (sp.?) for
conference. Two of Steve's sons had come so they came too. It's funny
but they were going to Springville to buy some burial plots - I laughed
but they were dead serious. They said they had decided they wanted to
be buried in Utah so someone "might" put a posie on their graves once in
awhile and they knew they wouldn't go clear to Arkansas to do that.
Cissy has had a bout with breast cancer and has had a lumpectomy but she
won't have any further treatment because she is on dialysis. We are
going to try to get together this week.
The Smiths left on Wednesday morning - they
remind me of what it would be like to be a gypsy. They have always
enjoyed traveling and camping and I have "outgrown" that. I went to our
Relief Society Enrichment Night Wednesday night and it was very cleverly
done. It was patterned after a "Murder Mystery Game" - they served
dinner and people were seated 8 to a table and were given "clues" to try
to figure out "who done it"!!! They brought in the "Gadianton robbers"
from the Book of Mormon so it had a spiritual theme and it really was
fun.
We found out today in our Sacrament Meeting
that our Stake will be divided at our Stake Conference on November 2nd
and we will meet in the Salt Lake Tabernacle - that will be VERY
interesting!!! I'm glad our Relief Society President lives in our condo
area so she won't be divided from us - she is so GOOD. I know things
will really be shaken up and it kinda' reminds me of when we lived in
Little Rock and the Wiggins were divided into a different ward and
threatened to leave the church - they were very angry and of course Lynn
got the brunt of it. They mellowed through the years and we all
survived.
Thursday was a special day and brought back
a million memories. Ellen Mae, Margaret, Mary Ann Holman from Brigham
City, and I were invited to meet Ida Smith at her home in Salt Lake and
go to lunch. We went to the "New Yorker Restaurant" and we all felt
like celebrities because of the way they treat Ida and her guests. We
went back to Ida's home to visit after lunch and she took us through her
home - WOW - WHAT A GORGEOUS HOME!!! I had been there once before but
she has re-decorated since then. It's difficult for me to think of this
friend who grew up in little old Willard and who now lives like
royalty!!! She is still beautiful but she has shrunk so she comes to my
waist and is not in good health - she can only do simple things and then
only every other day so she can rest in between. She will go to her
home in Palm Springs in November - come home for Christmas - and then
back to Palm Springs until about May or June. She has a darling woman
as a companion and who takes her to all her appointments and keeps track
of things but she also has a full time housekeeper and gardener and IT
SHOWS!!! She also has a male friend who takes her many places but she
refuses to marry him.
I didn't do anything special on Friday
except to try to "catch up" and then Saturday morning I went to the
temple. I hurried home so I could go to Logan with Margaret and Patt &
Darrell Guthrie for Utah State's Homecoming. I had invited Michael,
Laura, Ricky & Sarah to meet me at the Alpha Chi house for hamburgers
before the game. Michael went fishing with his Dad, Laura went shopping
with her Mom but Ricky & Sarah met me and I hope they had a good time.
I am SO proud of my grandchildren and I don't get an opportunity to show
them off very often. The hamburger cookout at the Alpha Chi house
really started at 1:30 but we didn't get there until almost 3 because I
didn't know how soon we could make it. Ricky left his golf game in
Preston, Idaho early and I appreciate that - he brought two of his
roommates, Dan & Matt, and it was fun to visit with them. Sarah brought
her roommate and I have already forgotten her name but she was darling
too. Margaret's granddaughter, Katie Anderson, lives in the Alpha Chi
house and she took all of us on a tour of the home. Ricky was so cute
and kept saying "Grandma B, are you sure it's okay for a male to go
through the house" and I assured him it was an open house for anyone who
wanted to see it. The home is lovely and a "far cry" from the Alpha Chi
house I lived in. It was during the war and the dormitories were all
filled with military men so we lived in a fraternity house my sophomore
year - I loved in Eccles Dorm my first year. I was President my Junior
Year and it was my responsibility to fix up a large home that would be
suitable for the Alpha Chis to live in until we could build a new
house. My Father and I spent most of the Summer before my Senior year
working on that house - my Father did SO much work and it was very
livable but nothing fancy like this new one. Margaret lived in that
house for a year before the new one was finished.
We went to get Aggie ice cream after we left
the Alpha Chi house and then we drove around where the Guthries used to
live in Logan when Darrell coached at Utah State. Then we went to see
Gene and Wayne Rich - life time friends from Brigham City. We had so
much fun visiting and laughing until it was time to go to the game.
Utah State played pretty well but lost to Wyoming by about 27 points -
we left a little early to avoid the crowd. The only good football team
in Utah this year is the University of Utah.
I had to go to the temple this morning for a
training session and then hurry to get back for my church meetings. I
hope you are all having a very Happy Day - we are having PERFECT Fall
weather and I LOVE it.
The only family news is: Rick & Jean went
to Heber to stay in David's family Summer home with David and Mary Ann
to celebrate her birthday. Sarah's friend/boy just received his mission
call to Madagascar - that's such a coincidence and I hope he gets the
chance to spend some time with Russell. I am still amazed at Russell's
ability to translate Malagasy for our world wide church conference - I'M
SO PROUD OF HIM. John was able to come to a Guatemala Meeting with most
of the group involved. Boyd, Barji & Preston are in Arizona golfing and
hopefully they will be able to spend some time with Susanna, Steve &
Jackson. I haven't heard from the Roys - I hope you're doing good.
I LOVE EACH ONE OF YOU SO VERY, VERY MUCH.
PLEASE BE SO VERY, VERY CAREFUL IN EVERYTHING YOU DO.
Grandma B XXXXXOOOOO