Dearest Family,
HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO RUSSELL ON
THURSDAY, MAY 5TH!!! He will be 23 years old and is busy in college at
UVSC with almost a 4.0 grade point average - GOOD FOR YOU RUSSELL!!! I
hope you have a VERY special birthday with a BIG birthday cake.
CONGRATULATIONS TO MICHAEL AND STACI ON
THEIR COLLEGE GRADUATION FROM UTAH STATE THIS COMING SATURDAY - I'M
SO PROUD OF YOU!!!
CONGRATULATIONS TO JESSIE TOO - I believe he
will be graduating from Forest Park Elementary School in Little Rock
soon. He has been their student body president this year so it will be
special for him. It makes me sad that I won't be walking to that school
with him and his friends anymore - I have just loved that experience and
that is a WONDERFUL school!!! TIME MARCHES ON!!!
CONGRATULATIONS TO LAURA TOO - she finished
the bicycle marathon last week in Salt Lake. I didn't know she was
going to be in it until Bob told me after it was over - there was ALOT
of news in papers about the marathons in Salt Lake and people came from
all over the country to participate. GOOD FOR YOU LAURA!!!
I wanted to go to the Tanner Clinic Open
House last Wednesday but I couldn't find anyone to go with me. The
clinic has added 60,000 square feet in addition to their original place
and they surely did need it. They have also enlarged their parking
places and that will be a big help - it has been almost impossible to
get a parking place over there. I was mostly interested in Bob's new
office and I'm sure I will get to see that sometime.
It was fun to have Jeannie and Bob & Claire
come over last Sunday to visit. Jeannie told me about Sarah and her new
job and I wish I had listened more carefully to know exactly what she is
doing - I believe she is the cheerleading and dance coach at the
Bountiful Junior High for the Summer. I can't think of a better job for
Sarah and they are mighty lucky to have her!!! Bob and Claire had just
returned from California where they visited Steve and his wife & family
- Claire's brother. Steve has just completed a big remodeling job on
their home and it sounds VERY beautiful with a beautiful view - Claire
sent me a picture of it on the internet but I can't access it. Katie
took two of her Utah friends and they had fun with Katie's
California cousins too.
Annie - THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! She planned
a trip for us to go to the "Tulip Festival" at Thanksgiving Point in
Lehi on Thursday and I can honestly say I have never seen anything like
that before. Our family visited the Bellingrath Gardens in Alabama when
we lived in Little Rock and that was fabulous and the gardens at
Thanksgiving Point are every bit as fabulous and I didn't even know they
existed. I have passed that place many, many times and have read about
the things they were doing there but I had no idea it would be that
elaborate. We walked on the paths along the most beautiful tulips and
daffodils I have ever seen - there is a large water pond with water
lilies - a magnificent water fall and of course the lawns are just
manicured. They have benches along the way and I want to go back on a
warm day and just sit and enjoy the scenery. We had lunch at the
"sandwich shop" and LOVED the lemon bars and other things.
We met at the Lehi Cemetery and took the
burlap rope from the trees on Lynn's gravesite. We went to the city
hall and got a "plat" of my cemetery lot - Cheryl had asked me to
exchange one of my lots for one of theirs so she and Don could be buried
together and I will be happy to do that. The only problem is the lot I
would need to give them has my name above it on the "marker" and Cheryl
doesn't want to do that. We'll have to work something out - if I had
known that I would have had Lynn buried on the lot to the South of where
he is. We also drove by the "farm" and checked to see if the tree
Cheryl said was pushed over on her lot was dead or alive - I couldn't
tell but Ann & Jean said it was dead. The farms look SO good - we have
had so much rain and everything is green and healthy looking. The cows
are all up in West Canyon for the Summer.
Jeannie & I stopped at John's home in
Highland on our way to Lehi. I noticed there had been some "digging" in
his backyard and he called me later that night and told me he is having
some cement poured there so he can have a place to wash his horses -
WHAT A FUN HOBBY HE HAS!!! There is a very large "cutter horse" place
West in Farmington and quite close to where Barji & Boyd live and John
told me he knows the man who owns that. I'm SO glad to have this extra
experience in my life - I didn't even know what a Cutter horse was a few
years ago. I still don't know very much.
Then we went to the Lehi Roller Mills and
bought some of their delicious bread - Jeannie also bought some flour.
It had started to rain VERY hard by that time and the traffic was such
that we would be right in the middle of it so we went to McDonalds and
got a hot fudge sundae and visited at the cemetery until we felt the
traffic would be lighter. I was happy Jeannie was driving because it
just poured down - we didn't get home until about 7 p.m. and IT WAS A
WONDERFUL DAY!!!
Jeannie is planning a wedding shower for the
daughter of one of her friends this next week. We laughed when she told
us that her friend gave her the guest list and she has invited 140
people - WOW!!! This is a friend from Korea (I think?) and she is such
a darling little woman and her daughter looks just like her. The
Weinert's home is a perfect place for a shower like that and they will
serve strawberry shortcake.
Many of you don't remember Karen & Earl
Hatch who were our friends in Little Rock. Their daughter is my
neighbor here in Farmington and they came to visit her. I talked to
Karen and she said their son, Willie always asks about "Johnny".
Willie and his wife have a baby with difficult health problems and they
live in Salt Lake. Ann Cobb called me one morning last week to tell me
she had been with another Little Rock friend of ours - Jean Starnes.
Jean was a very interesting person - she was a chain smoker and lived
way out West of Little Rock and her property became quite valuable. She
is a neighbor to the Cobb's daughter in Houston. I sent her an e-mail
but she hasn't answered it yet. Evidently she is in very poor health
and is on oxygen and lives with a family member. Ann said she doesn't
smoke anymore. Her son, Gil was handicapped from an automobile accident
and Lynn spent many hours trying to help him.
Claire took Brett and some of his friends
"Wake Boarding" at Willard Bay last week. I'm anxious to hear if they
just about froze to death in 40 degree water. That will surely be a
GREAT memory for Brett as he serves in HOT Brazil. Claire has also been
busy with showers for her friends. I'm proud of my family when they
help other people the way you all do. Annie spent all day on Friday at
the Women's Conference doing humanitarian work - members are busy making
book bags to be sent to Asia for their schools.
I stopped in yesterday afternoon to see Mary
Ann & Davids' new home - they were just moving in. THEY HAVE A VERY
LOVELY HOME AND IT IS JUST PERFECT FOR THEM!!! It is actually a few
years old but it looks brand new - I have never seen such a clean home
to move into. I'M THRILLED FOR THEM!!!
John was in Phoenix last week for a work
conference. He told me where he stayed but I have forgotten - I believe
it had "horse" in its name because I asked him if he were at a horse
conference. Anyway, he said it was beautiful in Phoenix and that made
me think about Susanna, Steve, Jackson & Caroline and I know they are
enjoying their yard and little wading pool at this time of the year. I
LOVED the e-mail Jessie forwarded to me about the survival test to see
if the person could qualify to be called a Mother - THAT WAS SO TRUE!!!
That makes me think about Mother's Day - I don't want you to forget me
but I DEFINETLY don't want any gifts. We have so many MARVELOUS Mothers
in our family and I'm SO VERY PROUD OF EACH ONE OF YOU!!! Bob & John
will be in Guatemala and I'm VERY proud they would miss important things
like graduations to help others.
I believe that's all the news. I LOVE EACH
ONE OF YOU SO VERY, VERY MUCH. PLEASE BE SO VERY, VERY CAREFUL IN
EVERYTHING YOU DO.
Grandma B XXXXXOOOOO