Dearest Family,
HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JOHN TODAY - I HOPE
YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY!!! It's funny the things we remember about
certain special days and I know I have mentioned this in other letters.
The thing I remember the most about the day I had to go to the hospital
for John's birth was that I had to get there in a hurry and we couldn't
find Bob & Roy. They had "camped out" in our backyard in Little Rock
with Bruce Aston & his brother and had decided to "explore" in the
middle of the night. We finally found them in the neighborhood and left
Ann & Jean in charge - as it turned out, John wasn't born until the next
day - Ha!!! He was the "darling" of our wonderful neighborhood because
I was SO old - John will be 38 today and I am 78 - WOW!!! That is
really not all that uncommon now - many women are giving birth in their
40's. It is fun to access my pictures on the picture project and see
how much John has been involved in EVERYTHING we have done in the last
38 years - WHAT WOULD WE HAVE DONE WITHOUT HIM????
I am writing my letter early today because
my "computer" room gets mighty hot in the late afternoon and it is cool
this morning. I see no sense in using my central air conditioner when I
spend so much time downstairs where it is almost too cold. I wish I
could figure out a way to get more heat into the downstairs in the
Winter time. I had the "furnace man" come yesterday to check my air
conditioner and I will have to get a new furnace probably this year and
I wanted to get one like I had in Orem that had a thermostat downstairs
and it worked SO well. They can't put that kind in unless they tear out
alot of sheet rock and I surely don't want that. The space heaters
haven't been too effective down there.
This last week has been a WONDERFUL week for
me. Emily came to visit on Friday and I have seen so much more of her
than I thought I would and it has been SO special to have my
granddaughters with me ALOT. Emily is such a joy to have and she helped
me one morning that I won't soon forget. I got up early to go to
Brigham City on Monday, Memorial Day, to decorate the graves of my
parents, Bob, Lela and little Christopher and I left Emily & Katie
asleep. I got home about 9 a.m. and Emily and I cut LOTS of grapes and
celery into small pieces for the chicken salad we were making for
Staci's bridal shower at the Weinerts. Katie also helped when she
awakened. They went swimming for a little while before they went to
Katies - I'm always happy when my grand children use the swimming pool
here. Many of the condo owners have their families using the pool often
but mine don't.
The shower for Staci was just GREAT and I
loved meeting her Mom and Grandmother - they are lovely people and her
grandmother and I have alot in common and she's related to the Bushmans
and so am I so maybe we are related in some way. Jeannie and the girls
had decorated the entrance to the Weinert's home so beautifully with a
picture of Staci as a bride on a little pink frame and "tull" on the
stairway. Jeannie also had a darling cake made with Staci's picture on
top. Claire had made a "quilt top" for Staci and Michael that we all
helped to tie and it was very, very beautiful - Claire is SO talented.
It was also SO good to see Annie and LeeAnna again and get caught up on
news of Susanna & Baby Caroline Ann - they didn't bring Jackson because
he goes to bed really early. Staci is a very gracious and sweet young
woman and we are all THRILLED she is going to be in our family.
I keep thinking about Laura and I was SO
happy to receive an e-mail from her last night - she is in New York
staying with her friend's family and she is "LOVING IT". Jeannie and
Sarah are also in New York for a little vacation (I believe they will
come home tonight) - Laura said she hopes to be able to see them. They
were all excited about having tickets to go to the new L.D.S. temple in
Manhatten for the open house before it is dedicated.
CONGRATULATIONS TO BRETT - he graduated with
high honors from Davis High School on Friday and I was SO proud of him.
I decided to leave my condo early so I could be sure to find the "Dee
Center" and get there early enough to get a good seat. I had excellent
seats and saved three of them (that was all I could save) BUT I never
could find the rest of the family. I was in the row of seats right next
to where Brett was seated and I kept waving to him but he couldn't see
me. I hope the picture I took of him as he received his diploma turns
out. Claire takes such good pictures and I'm sure she will have one. I
hurried out to the West of the Dee Center where the parents were
supposed to greet their graduates but I could never find anyone. There
were MANY, MANY people there. I found Carolyn, Claire's sister, and she
told me she had just seen Bob so I hurried to that spot but he was
gone. It took me at least an hour to get out of the parking lot and
then I went to their home for a "THAI" dinner and I loved being there
with Brett, Jimmy, Katie and Emily. JImmy had come on Thursday so he
could go to Guatemala on Saturday with Bob & Brett.
Thursday was a FABULOUS day for me. I
worked at the temple until 11 a.m. and then picked up Emily to go to
Provo with me. It was just wonderful to be in the Woolley's home again
- I can't remember when I was there last and it was so beautiful. They
must spend many hours working in their yard because everything that is
supposed to be blooming is blooming. I wanted Emily to see as many of
her cousins as she could so I was happy that Russell was there - he &
Emily went to a Mexican restaurant and got "take out" for us and we all
had lunch together in the Woolley's kitchen. LeeAnna was working for
Ron while his secretary is on vacation but she came home to have lunch
with us. Annie got an "aquarium" for Mother's Day and she has it in
that area between her kitchen and the new "part" and WHAT AN
ATTRACTION!!! We laughed as Russell told us how many fish had died
since they got it and we remembered the time John took a fish net and
got out all of Bob & Roys' fish in their aquarium in Little Rock and
lined them up according to size - I'll never forget when Bob came home
from Priesthood meeting with his Dad to see them all dead.
Emily & I were determined to not leave the
Woolleys until little Jackson had awakened so we waited and we waited
and we waited. WHAT A JEWEL HE IS!!! He finally waked up about 3:45
with a little noise from Ann in his room. He is such a beautiful little
boy and I think he has grown ALOT since I have seen him. He is SO good
and just sat on Annie's lap until he was wide awake. He wouldn't have
anything to do with me but THAT'S OKAY - Preston doesn't either.
EMILY PLAYED SOME BEAUTIFUL FLUTE SOLOS FOR
RUSSELL, JIMMY, ANNIE AND GRANDMA B!!! WOW - is she ever good and it
thrills me so much to know my grandchildren realize the importance
of learning talents that will last a lifetime. Russell is giving guitar
lessons and I wish John would take some from him - John took alot of
lessons at one time in his life but I worry that he might forget
everything if he doesn't re-learn and practice. It was fun to meet some
of Jimmy's friends - I used to know all the Woolley childrens' friends.
They have bought a little two passenger "scooter" and Jimmy took a
friend/girl for lunch on it after LeeAnna had come home on it from Ron's
office. That would surely be a "gas saver" and with prices over $2.00 a
gallon that makes sense. Jimmy and Russell carried a large bookcase
from their downstairs to their T.V. room and I was impressed with all
that "man power".
I was worried that Emily wouldn't get to see
John because he had been traveling to California but he was back. It
took me a little while to find his office and I'm sure Emily thought I
was lost for good but she was SO sweet and patient. His private office
is just BEAUTIFUL with a great view of the mountains. I was VERY
impressed with the entire building where he works. I have been
accessing pictures of Lynn's office in Little Rock and it is amazing
that Johns is even nicer with a great staff break room.
Emily and I "undecorated" Lynn's grave.
John had taken a beautiful planter on Memorial Day so we watered that
but the other flowers were GONE so we threw them away. I was happy that
Annie had taken flowers to put on the Rhodes' graves as well. John -
I believe there is an evergreen tree in the entrance to the condos and
it is trimmed very short right straight across - not trimmed to a
point. I wonder if that would help the trees at Lynn's gravesite. John
said he doesn't think they look very good.
I will worry about Bob, JImmy & Brett in
Guatemala but I'm SO proud of them and I know they will be protected
doing such good things. I want some "worryless" pills. I am watching
the news about the death of President Ronald Reagan and also news about
the D-Day commemoration in Normandy and I appreciate the flag that was
given to Bob when he visited there and brought it home for me. That's
all the news, I think. I LOVE EACH ONE OF YOU SO VERY, VERY MUCH.
PLEASE BE SO VERY, VERY CAREFUL IN EVERYTHING YOU DO. Grandma B