Bad Planning

Ashleigh and Amber scanned a stack of letters that Dad sent home to his parents while he was at college.  He often gave a report on his finances.  This one from his freshman year stood out to me.  It seems to be from the beginning of the year.  I thought it was really funny because he had such a good sense of humor about it.  He was very detailed and commented on everything he bought during the month.  This month was funny because he said, "I spent an excess of $36.  This is quite ridiculous and shows bad planning....I assure I have repented of this and put down a strict budget for November."  I also love that he mentions spending money on dates, one of which included tickets to see Saturday's Warrior.  I can't quite make out what he highlights after detailing the date, but it almost looks like the word atrocious.  If so, I wonder if that is describing the date or Saturday's Warrior.

Calvin Photo Slideshow

Where Calvin lived at BYU

We were looking through letters that dad wrote when he was at BYU and newly married.  Below are the various addresses that he resided at:

Freshman Year (1977):

Mission (1980): 

9501 Greenback Lane

Fulsom, CA 95630

Sophomore Year ( 1980/81):

R502 Deseret Towers

Provo, UT 84601

Junior Year (1981):

755 N 100 E #311D

Provo, UT 84601

Senior Year (1982):

321 N 300 E 

Provo, UT 84601

Scoutmaster

Calvin was the scoutmaster in our ward when we had 3-4 young children. It seemed to me like he was always going out to have some fun camping while I stayed home with the little ones. He was so proud of being an Eagle Scout and wanted each young boy to have that opportunity.

Tying my shoes

I was tying my shoes today and mom asked me where I learned to tie my shoes because it apparently was an odd way to do it. I don't remember learning how to tie them, but I realized I basically do it all with my right hand while the only thing I do with my left hand is hold the left loop. I guess it would make sense that Dad taught me how to tie my shoes because he probably held the left loop with his mouth while doing the rest with his right hand. I know he used his mouth to assist in the tying of my shoes at least. So, I guess the way I tie my shoes is a living legacy of him? I'll say that it is.

Playing in the Pool

I've always thought this was kind of a funny picture. Everyone is attacking Dad while Jeff is floating like a dead man in the water and I'm staring at all the weirdos. haha. It also always reminds me of how much Dad loved us and enjoyed playing with us. One of my few memories is of him playing baseball with my brothers in the backyard. I thought my dad was so cool because he could play baseball with one arm and I thought it was great how much he liked to play with us. I also remember a treehouse that we had in the backyard too. Did Dad make that, or am I making that up?

Baptism

This is one of the pictures that I was given of Dad so I wanted to post it.  I remember a few things about my baptism.  I got baptized at the chapel that was for the Jurupa 4th ward.  The zipper on the jumpsuit was broken so I wasn't completely comfortable during the meeting.  I think that a few of us siblings sang a song.  Jeff Pratt gave a talk about his baptism day and that there were fireworks because it was the 4th of July.  There was a big party at our house afterwards with aunts and uncles and cousins.  I remember before getting baptized that Dad told me that it would be a little different because he had only one hand.  Usually you hold onto the left wrist of the person who is baptizing you.  This allows you to be lowered in more easily.  Dad said that because he didn't have a left arm I would have to just plug my nose and trust that he would catch me with his right arm to lower me in.  He reassured me that he had done it plenty of times and that it would be very easy.  I trusted him and everything went very smoothly.