Dearest Family,
HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO RICKY ON SATURDAY,
THE 16TH!!! Ricky will be 26 years old and I can just hear Lynn saying
"they come any better looking than that kid" - Ha!!! He surely isn't a
kid anymore but he surely is good looking "inside and out"!!! He is
such a "gentleman" and I LOVE that!!! I hope you have a WONDERFUL
BIRTHDAY RICKY!!!
HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JACKSON ON SATURDAY
TOO!!! Jackson will be 3 years old and I think that's the magical age
when you can depend on them to "not run out in the street, watch your
little baby sister, etc., etc." He is a simply "beautiful" little boy
and I'll be glad when he likes me better AND he will - Ha!!!
This has been "Lake Powell Week" and there
is no way I will be able to remember all the WONDERFUL things we did and
the FUN we had!!! I AM SO GLAD I WAS ABLE TO GO and I appreciate SO
much Bob & Claire taking me and Rick & Jeannie bringing me home. I
REALLY enjoyed every minute of it. I want to say though that we missed
those members of our family who couldn't be with us; Emily, Laura,
Brett, Mary Ann, David, and Gracie. Katie wasn't there while I was
there but she came that night.
I want to start my letter by thanking
Patrice for her sweet letter that was sent from Tucamcari, New Mexico
and was on my computer this morning - they stopped there last night,
Saturday. Rick, Jean & I left right after they did from Lake Powell1 and
we had a six hour drive and they had two days!!!! They were hoping to
get home sometime today - they had seen lightning storms and LOTS of
rain but they avoided most of it. The hurricane in Florida is bringing
storms to the South and I hope they don't run into bad ones today.
I'm going to write my letter according to
families at Lake Powell - starting with the oldest of my children and
going to the youngest.
WOOLLEYS - They were LUCKY DUCKS!!! They
had their entire family with them and that made it fun not only for them
but for all of us too. Annie wanted a family picture because it would
be the only time they would all be together before Jimmy leaves for his
mission in Brazil - except for a very brief time at Jimmy's farewell in
August. Thinking about all Annie had to do to get ready for Lake Powell
and then for her to spend time and energy to organize the "right"
clothes for all of them to wear for the picture is just amazing. Claire
took the picture and as she was doing all she had to do, I had to ask
myself "What would we do without Claire?" Bob used Ron's camera and
took pictures too so they will have many to choose from. Claire was
able to show the pictures on her computer right soon after they were
taken and they were all BEAUTIFUL!!! That will be a special memory for
all of us as we see it framed and on the Woolley's wall. I had to laugh
as I talked to Annie the night before the picture was taken and she was
SO worried about their children looking just right and I'm not kidding
when I say her hair looked like it had been combed with the egg beater -
BUT she "cleaned up pretty good" - Ha!!! Russell is SO tanned, muscled,
strong and good looking that it's almost scary. Jimmy hasn't lost any
inches but he has gained LOTS of smiles and happiness in his features
and I can tell he is excited about his mission. Lee Anna looks SO much
like Susanna that I have a hard time telling them apart - she gets more
beautiful each time I see her. Jessie & Jared are the "perfect couple"
- they even look alike. It was fun talking to them and learning of
their planned trip to TURKEY - they are saving their money so they can
take this "dream trip" and explore some of the fascinating places they
are studying about before they start school. They will go to school at
the University of Utah - Jared in law school and Jessie will teach
"Business Writing" there also. Jared has even been mowing lawns to earn
extra money for their trip to Turkey.
I just can't do anything but have a special
paragraph for Susanna, Steve, Jackson and Caroline. I could write an
entire book about "good examples of parenting" - I "TAKE MY HAT OFF" to
Susanna & Steve. Jackson & Caroline were overwhelmed with everything at
Lake Powell and they didn't want anyone to take care of them except
their parents. I had planned to hold Caroline and teach her some finger
plays and do the same for Jackson - WELL, THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN - Ha!!!!
Susanna and Steve are SO sensitive about their children "bothering"
others that they wouldn't let them cry without caring for them - they
picked up on that right away. I know both Susanna & Steve are
absolutely exhausted and I wouldn't be very surprised to learn they had
left early to go home to Arizona where they could get some rest. Next
year will be much easier for them so I hope they won't get discouraged
and stay home. I admired them SO much - not once did I see them show
anger to their children.
WEINERTS - they made the most out of a hard
time for Rick. He cut his hand bad on the windshield of his boat as he
was filling it up with gas (I'm not real clear about how that
happened). He was miserable and you could tell it by looking at his
face - Rick is always SO enthusiastic about everything and he was really
limited. It was kinda' fun for the rest of us to watch Bob & Roy do
surgery on his hand but I'm sure it was stressful for him. Roy
anestisized it and Bob took about 12 stitches so he was bandaged for the
entire time they were there and it was his right hand. Boyd & Barji
were there with little Preston and that little boy wanted to do
EVERYTHING - he loves to be in the spotlight and has many antics to keep
us all in good spirits and happy. They left little Gracie home with one
of Boyd's sisters and her husband & family - they were in touch with
them every day and she got along just fine. It was the first time I had
ever seen Ricky or Boyd with "facial hair" and I'm anxious to get my
pictures back to see them again. I enjoy hearing Ricky talk about his
"ties" with Logan - he still has many friends there and spends time with
them. Sarah brought a darling friend, Rachel Taylor, and they were
beautiful all the time - even after swimming in the lake water. We
REALLY missed Mary Ann & David - they felt like it might be too risky
for Mary Ann in her pregnancy to go "boating" and besides that she
doesn't feel very well. She will soon learn of the sex of their baby-
EXCITING!!!!
BOB MELLORS - MIchael and Staci are always
such a GREAT addition to our family get togethers. Michael is ALOT like
his Dad and can do MANY things - he has been taught well - he does a
GREAT job driving their boat so he was kept busy with water skiers,
surfers, etc., etc. MIchael has always been SO thoughtful to me and I
appreciate that more as I grow older and older - he wanted to trade beds
with me because he thought mine was too hard (I actually would like to
sleep on the floor). Bob is ALWAYS studying medical magazines while he
is at Lake Powell to keep abreast with all the new medicines &
procedures - Claire is ALWAYS taking pictures which we love!!! Laura
couldn't come because of her work schedule and I admire her for being
such a committed employee. We missed Brett and we all know why he
wasn't with us - he is liking his mission more and more all the time and
has sent some encouraging letters to Jimmy. Katie and her friend, Abby
got to Lake Powell on Saturday night and will stay until Tuesday - I was
sorry to miss them. I'm hoping they will ski 'til their hearts content.
ROY MELLOR - it was a thrill for me to be
with them after too long of a time and to learn of their many
activities. Timothy spent two weeks in Europe this Summer - he went
with his school group and they went to England, France and Spain. He
told about the Eiffel Tower and how tall it is, the French pastries in
France and the place where they have the "run of the bulls" in Spain.
Actually, Timothy is SO much like his Dad and he will only use one word
even if two would make it more interesting - Ha!!!! Patrice added some
of the things they saw - what a GREAT opportunity for him. Timothy
found my eyeglasses that I had spent hours looking for - I"m getting
blind. Jessie is going to go to Dunbar to school next year - he is
living in the Forest Heights School district but he qualified to go to
Dunbar which has more highly trained teachers and will offer him classes
he couldn't get at Forest Heights where Timothy & Emily went. Jessie is
a fabulous little water skier. Emily applied and was accepted to go to
the Governor's Summer School at Hendrix college in Conway so she wasn't
able to be with us. THAT IS A GREAT SCHOOL!!! We were all SO thrilled
to learn more about Astrology from Roy. He brought a VERY expensive and
elaborate telescope and I couldn't believe the things he showed to us
and explained to us. I believe it is connected to a computer of some
sort. I saw "Jupiter" and also a "Galaxie" but I can't remember the
name of it. He set this telescope up on the hillside next to the
houseboat and then he and Patrice "made camp" there to protect it - they
could also enjoy the sky scenes better. Patrice brought many "jewels"
(I believe Jeannie brought some too) and "how-to-do" books for making
necklaces, bracelets, etc. Patrice, Jeannie, Lee Anna, Russell, John
and others made some VERY good looking pieces with special knotting,
etc.
JOHN MELLOR - what would we do without John
and his exuberance for life??? He is SO much fun to be around
(sometimes I think the rest of us take life too seriously). He made the
best "French Toast" I have ever eaten (he had Bob's help) and he
organized his famous "watermelon football" and that was a highlight of
our trip to Lake Powell. I wanted to play so they let me be a "goalie"
(I think that is for soccer) and I can still hear Bob yelling "don't
hurt the girls". It was SO much fun - the "W's" against the "M's". I
kept score and I think the Mellors won until Grandma B decided to quit
and then the Woolleys and Weinerts won - Ha!!!! Rachel was really the
hero on the Mellor team - she is a VERY good player. John also taught
me there is more than one flavor of flour tortillas - he brought tomato
tortillas and a green tortilla that I didn't find out the flavor and
Timothy taught me how to fold them so they're not so messy when they're
eaten. We saw John's "Hummer" parked in a "no parking" zone when we
walked past the cars after we left the boat ramp on our way coming home
- I believe Michael's car was parked there too. I have worried about
that because the citation said it was a "towing area". We told John and
I hope he took the time to move it. John told us about the children in
his neighborhood loving his donkey and riding it.
The Woolleys purchased a "paddle boat" and
it was a HIT!!!! Everyone loved riding in it - Annie & Patrice took me
for a long ride in it and it was like it was motorized - I didn't do any
of the pedaling and I know it was tiring for them but they didn't
complain. Steve, Susanna, Jackson & Caroline were riding in it when I
left and they were so happy - that was a GREAT investment in our Lake
Powell vacation.
The Roys brought a Kayak and that was
another GREAT investment - Steve took Jackson for a two hour ride all
over the area where the houseboat was - Susanna was about to send out
"the posse" to look for them. I'm still wondering how the Roy
Mellors managed to bring all their "stuff" from Arkansas - they brought
ALOT of things.
EVERYONE contributed except Grandma B - all
of you think I am ANCIENT. My big problem was the fact that I wore my
sandals instead of some better shoes. I NEVER wear sandals and I have
no idea why I thought they would be good at Lake Powell - they made me
SO awkward!!!! OH WELL!!!
The food was "out of this world" - you all
did "yourselves proud". I ate and ate and ate and enjoyed every
morsel. I hope you didn't starve after we left - the refrigerator was
left off for overnight so Claire had to throw some of the things like
mayonnaise, etc. in the garbage.
The only bad experience we had (except for
Rick and his hand getting cut) was that Annie found a snake in the cabin
of the houseboat the morning she went down to fix breakfast. She said
it was very little so we were all thinking it was a little water snake.
Sarah and Rachel went out in that same area and found another snake -
they killed it and found it was a baby rattle snake. Jeannie showed me
a rather large round piece of metal or board they have on the ropes of
their houseboat to prevent "creatures" from climbing on the ropes from
the anchors to get onto the houseboat - THAT WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA!!!!
Someone said the poison from the baby rattler is more deadly than the
larger snakes. I could tell Steve was VERY concerned and I don't blame
him. There are thousands of people who camp out on the beaches at Lake
Powell and I have NEVER heard of any problems with snakes so I'm sure it
is VERY rare.
I'm concerned for Steve's family enduring
"Dennis The Menace" in Florida - it sounds like this hurricane could be
even worse than Hurricane Ivan that did so much damage a year ago.
Chris & Wayne sold their home just in time didn't they?
THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR A PERFECTLY
WONDERFUL TIME AT LAKE POWELL. I LOVE EACH ONE OF YOU SO VERY, VERY
MUCH. PLEASE BE SO VERY, VERY CAREFUL IN EVERYTHING YOU DO. Grandma B
XXXXXOOOOO