Onion Pie (almost)

 Oh hi kid,

Your mom and I are watching a show on Amazon called David, about the David and Goliath story. It’s okay, your brothers don’t approve. 

This week was kind of a repeat of last week. I had three rejections for jobs and applied for two or three times that many. I will not give up. I think of how long it took me to find your mom. It was worth it.

The news of Alex Jensen’s hiring for the Utes basketball program is official and exciting. It comes with a big increase in NIL money for the team. It also comes with the possibility of Andre Miller following him as an assistant coach. Those names may not be super meaningful to you, but for us old guys, those guys are legends from the 1997 finals team. I LOVE that team. All the local and former Utah players are very positive about this. BYU fans think we are copying them because their coach, Kevin Young, is a former NBA assistant coach. But so was Larry Kryscoviack, so I guess they copied us. We went to the last game of the season at the Huntsman Center against West Virginia, we lost. We have no consistency and it’s frustrating basketball to watch, I’m looking forward to next year. We played last night at BYU, we didn’t have the channel, but as I followed it on line we were in it for a while, but faded in the second half. The conference tournament is this week, we play UFC in the first round. They are the team we lost to the day before they fired coach Smith. I think we can beat them, I just have no confidence that they will, which sorta summarizes my feelings for the team. Even if they start from nothing next season, it will be more fun than the last several. I hope you guys get to see decent Utah basketball before too long.

Thursday afternoon I got a call from aunt Stella from the emergency room. She was in a lot of pain and was afraid something from her surgery had come undone. After dinner I asked your brothers to come with me to give her a blessing. She has a really great neighbor who was there with her. Ben did the anointing and I gave the blessing. I blessed her that she would get better without additional surgery amongst other things. It was so great to be there with your brothers by my side. I’m so grateful for you boys and your willingness to wield the priesthood. I’m so proud of you.

Saturday was a really good day. Mom and I got up to go shopping. After, we went to aunt Stella’s. We visited for a while, then mom helped her get cleaned up and wash her sheets. I cleaned the kitchen for her. Then uncle Temmy had me drive him to Marco’s to get a pizza. He got us a combo and it was really good. I really love my aunt and uncle and hope I have them for a while longer. The results from her x-ray were positive, no damage. The doctor told her that she was in such serious pain because she wasn’t taking her pain meds. 

We came home because mom was waiting for her Walmart order. Ben’s oil light change was on, so I decided to change the oil on his car. I don’t know why, but I really enjoy servicing cars. I got the oil changed, checked the air filter (it’s a really big one, I wish the one on my 4Runner was that big), rotated the tires, and took it for a test drive. It’s a good running little car. This will probably be the last time I service it for him. He’s going to buy it from me then it’s his to worry about. That thought kinda makes me sad. 

After, we went over to grandmas to check her little car. The Big O store by her house wants to charge her $2,300 for some basic service. Brakes and belts. I looked everything over and her brakes are low, but not emergency low. Her belts look good, but the idler pulley is starting to squeal. I think I can fix it for a tenth of what they want to charge her, maybe less. I’ll start working on it when it warms up a little more. With how little she drives it, it will be okay for a year. After I got it put it back together she took us to Cafe Rio for dinner. We went to the one by her house and I kept thinking of going there with you guys when you were really little. She took us for shakes after that at Iceberg. It is so fun to be with her. She has a way of making everything feel alright. I love her so much.

I’m getting into the bad habit of sleeping late on Sundays, and it was especially late this morning with the time change. Church was good. Brother Blackham gave a really good talk. Ethan Smith from your Priests quorum gave the Elders Quorum lesson. It was a good lesson and he did a great job.

Mom had been making this roast for tacos since yesterday, we were going to have it for dinner yesterday until grandma offered to take us to dinner. I did a bad thing with Ben today after dinner. He had this crazy idea for an onion pie. He made the filling and crust, he was pretty excited about it. We had the typical discussion at dinner with your brothers teasing me about the foods I like. Then my big mouth teased Ben about his pie, so he got mad and won’t finish it. He’s still mad at me. I feel bad. 

I think we’re all feeling pressure from our trials and opportunities right now. It not an excuse, but it is a reality. Mom told me that Ben is planning on heading to Connecticut early August. That makes me sad. It’s similar to leaving on a mission. Even a good challenge is a challenge, and can be scary. I’m really going to miss that kid and I hope we get to have some fun before he goes. 

This Saturday, assuming good weather, I’m going on a Jeep ride with the Jeep guys I sometimes hangout with. I hope your brothers come with me. The weekend after we’re loosely planning a Moab trip, maybe to elephant hill. We’ll see how that all goes.

Well my boy, that’s the end of this letter. We’ll chat tomorrow. Remember that I love you so very much.

Pops