Friday, December 4, 1998

Dear Steven, Grandmother, Granddaddy, Grandy, and Pappy,

Thank you all for my birthday presents, cards, and calls. Steven, I'm sorry I wasn't here to receive your call, but I appreciate the message. I almost forgot it was my birthday since we celebrated on Sunday. We had pizza on Tuesday because Michael and David were tired of all that home cooking.

Steve made it to the airport on Monday morning in pouring rain. His plane took off almost on time, and he landed in England on Tuesday morning. His meetings went well, and he returned on Thursday by noon. He stopped by work on his way home, thinking he would stay an hour, but he ended up staying most of the afternoon. He was VERY tired by last night. I hope it was worth it.

Michael and David had busy weeks at school, in part because of wrestling every afternoon. They are developing very good organizational skills in order to get everything done. Wednesday was a particularly busy day for me because I substituted at the junior high in an eighth grade core class. As soon as I was through, I went to the high school to pick up Michael and a group of wrestlers to take them to a tournament in San Jose. I stayed for about an hour and then returned to pick up David from his practice. He came home and did his homework really fast, packed his backpack for this weekend's scout trip, ate dinner, and went to the church for a pack check at 7:00. Afterwards, we went back to San Jose to see the last of the tournament and then bring the boys back home. Michael got a third place medal, and every boy on his team received a medal. They were very pleased. Michael was extremely tired because he had four matches. He won three and lost one. Two of his wins were pins, and the one he lost was by only one point.

I spent a lot of time this week working on our Christmas address list and Steven's Court of Honor invitations. I hope to get everything mailed soon. (Famous last words) Steven, I did talk to Julio from Space Camp, and he said that he would be honored to attend your Court of Honor. He said that he would like to present you with a space camp jumpsuit. (I know that is just what you want….At least you would have a ready-made Halloween costume!) We also received the first three letters of congratulation--from President Ford, President Carter, and President and Mrs. Clinton. I reserved the banner from the scout office, and I got four names and addresses of district people from Mr. Grace to add to the invitation list. Doug Mueller and Chris Boucher both confirmed that they will participate in the ceremony, but I have not talked to Scott Lipton or Chris Lum. Have you heard from them, or shall I ask them again on Monday night? Things are coming along well, I think.

Tomorrow Michael and David are going with the scouts by train to Sacramento. They will hike to a scout campground about two miles from the station to set up camp. They plan to tour the train museum, Old Town, and the capitol, and take an historic hiking tour during their two days there. They will return by train around 9:00 p.m. Sunday. The forecast is for rain on Sunday, but I'm hoping that the front will swing wide or be late or something. Steve will referee soccer all day tomorrow, and we will help decorate the church Christmas tree late tomorrow afternoon. I am going to an all-girl party tomorrow night at a friend's house. I am hoping that we can put up our decorations on Sunday. A LOT of houses in our neighborhood are already decorated. I couldn't believe how many lights were up by the Sunday night after Thanksgiving.

David has a day off from school on Monday for teacher in-service, so he can wait until then to do his homework. He is going to his first junior high dance tonight. I hope he will enjoy it as much as Steven and Michael did. Michael is going out to eat and then to a movie (Pleasantville) tonight. A new friend, Julia, invited him to the winter formal. She is a sophomore in the band and is one of the group that he has been socializing with. Unfortunately, the dance is on the Monday that we fly to San Angelo, so he will have to miss it. We'll have to consider that next year when we make our plans.

Steven, I hope you are not affected by the TA strike at the UC's. I guess you have turned in your last assignments and are now studying for exams. Good luck!

We'll talk to you on Sunday.

Love,

David's last game of the season - November 1998.