Warne Family letter

Dear Emily, there is much to say after one is really old, about how it is nice to have been there and done that! Some things, once is enough. However, we managed to do stuff like that more than once, which is the definition of insanity. I do like your attitude about your no good awful terrible cactus adventures, however.
 My favorite camping was in motels, and even that was not all that great.
 My favorite trips have yet to come, but Saint George came close!
 My best dog stories are always about Bandit, and those are mostly good ones.
 Our worst car stories are too numerous to tell. I do sympathize with Tom and the burned out engine though. Bummer!! Cars and computers are on the love- em- hate- em list. 
 You sound like a wonderful teacher! I am sure the girls are glad to have you and so is your ward!! You have that marvelous capacity to smile, and have the energy to go forward with faith! 
 Yes, I love Sr. Beck!! She and Sheri Dew are among my favorite women!! They have it put together in a most humble and yet very intelligent way. I nominate her for President-- of the World! I also like the other counselors and they are just the right mix, which is new. They and the Church are inspired. 
 No more " Enrichment"!! It seems like that got going under Sr. Smoot. Glad to see it go. No one ever remembered the entire name anyway. Not even the RS President, in most wards! 
 I like that the RS is also tailored to each ward under the Bp. Sounds like another inspired change. I do miss RS very much, and feel like an apostate for not going. Today we could only make it to Fast Mtg. and barely that. My walking is so unsure that we may not make many meetings once  winter sets in-- or sooner. It is too dangerous. Grandpa has almost as much trouble with his knee, and walking as well. We shuffle through life now. At least we have TV and the internet and  a houseful of great books! 
 Have a better week, and suggest to the ward to camp out in Utah instead. Or you could have your mom tell you about camping with the sprinklers on! More than once too.  Love, Grandma

On Sun, Sep 27, 2009 at 4:13 PM, Emily Warne   wrote:

Hello!!

How is everyone?  I had so much to write about last week but I just didn't get around to it so this might be a bit of a long letter. 

One of the highlights of last week were the book club that I held at my house.   The book was "Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins.  It was a hit.  If you'll permit me to brag for a minute I made really, really good food that kind of tied into things in the book.  I got a lot of compliments and I had a lot of fun.  

Then Wednesday night the Mia Maids (so me and my group of girls) were in charge of Mutual and we planned a relaxation/fun night for moms and daughters.  The girls wrote out the list of things they liked about their mom and I read them throughout the night and then let the featured mom pick out a door prize (I used up every single thing I've gotten on fabulous deals through couponing as door prizes, that made me happy).  We also had the girls paint their mom's nails and they made picture frames together.  And we played games and ate snacks of course!  I was happy it went well and I was really happy when it was over.

Then the lowlights of the week....this last Friday could very well be called Tom's no good, very bad, horrible day (not to mention expensive!). It all started when I went to Tucson to visit a friend (Amanda Calder Ball).  While I was gone Tom decided to check out the campsite that he and the 11 year old Scouts would be going to that night.  He took the dog and went out there.  Well, he got most of the way there and the car died.  So he had to call a tow company, unfortunately by some lapse we didn't have tow insurance on that car so we shelled out the money for that.  While he was waiting the dumb dog got into a cactus and a police car showed up just then to ask him what the problem was.  Thankfully the police officer had some pliers and got the cactus out of the dog (while she was trying to bite him because it hurt so badly).  

                Then he got to a mechanic who said the car will never run again.  Oh boy.  So that was very, very sad and now Tom was stuck in the middle of the desert.  I was in Tucson and of no use to anyone.  So Tom had to call his poor, sweet Grandmother and ask her for a ride, which she gladly did (she did get lost once, so more to feel bad about) but it worked out.  Well, then he came home and got ready for the campout.  I was coming home from Tucson, feeling terrible that I wasn't there to help and when Tom came downstairs the dog had run away.  But he had to leave and there was nothing to be done about any of it.  And then....when he got to the campsite he realized he had forgotten the stove, griddle, and lantern.  After eating at Burger King with the boys they had to run to Wal-mart to buy a stove and griddle for breakfast the next morning.  They finally set up camp at 9:00 and went straight to bed. 

So the end to the story is that Tom's parents are generously lending us a car until we can buy another one, after my parents generously offered the Datsun to us (we have fabulous parents)! We got the dog back 2 days later at the pound-one of my neighbors saw her, turned her in to animal control, later saw my posters for her and called me.  All's well that ends well.

This week was fairly low-key and was just spent recovering from last weekend. But this past weekend we went camping at the Ward camping trip!  It was fun for the parts we were awake but it was so cold I thought we were going to die during the night!!  I brought a ton of bedding but it just wasn't enough.  Tom and Tommy ended up sleeping in the car because Tommy kept crying out every 30 seconds starting at about 1:00 in the morning, and Eliza slept on my face all night (Samantha, incidentally, seemed to sleep fine).  Then coyotes, owls, a dog from another campsite, Elk!, and the cows that were in a nearby pasture all felt the need to make noise THE ENTIRE NIGHT.  I think there are reasons that I really don't love camping.  But I did have fun sitting around the fire with all the ward members.  It had a great turn-out, about 75 people. 

I included pictures of my filthy children.  They had a blast, of course!

Then I came home, got all clean and went to the broadcast.  I just love Sister Beck.  I never felt anything towards other General Relief Society Presidents but every time she speaks I love it.  I think Sister Thompson is so funny too.  It was nice.  

Much love,

Tom, Emily, Samantha, Tommy, and Eliza