Yesterday we were in Boardman, Oregon to watch our grandchildren perform in a play. I'm super proud of my grandchildren. I was lying in bed at 4:00 a.m. this morning bragging about each one in my head. I recently wrote an article in which I mentioned my stellar grandfather who regularly bragged concerning his grandchildren: "And not a dumb one in the lot!" He only had 12.

I worked in the Boise Temple with Brother Vickers, from Parma, Idaho. He had 12 children and 70 grandchildren. I thought that I might eventually equal that, but we only have 56. We aren't done yet, but I don't expect to get to 70. It's fun to watch the reaction when someone asks how many grandchildren I have. When I answer, they generally stagger.

It was really fun visiting Danny in Boardman. He showed me his pigeons. I didn't know that he had pigeons. I've always wanted to have pigeons. I designed and built a pigeon loft in my head as we drove home yesterday. I think I'm going to have to get some pigeons.

I also saw my old saddle sitting in his shop. It wasn't dusty like everything else. It hasn't been ridden recently, either. It's obviously valued. As a teenager I commissioned it to be built by Severe Brothers in Pendleton. I paid $200. It was a lot of money, but I needed a good saddle. I had a 2-year-old colt that would need to be broken. I broke him. He was a good horse. His only problem was that I could never make him walk beside another horse. He always had to be in the lead. It was no fun to go riding with someone else because Lucky had to be out front. Maybe I should have tried racing him.

I gave the saddle to Danny years ago. He broke a horse, too. I can still see him in the field southwest of the house as the horse was bucking. He, of all my children, came closest to being a cowboy, so he was the right one to get the saddle. Danny asked yesterday how much I paid for it, and declared that it is "the best of the best." I asked what its current value is. He didn't know, but the friends who see it salivate. It has a number on it, and it's one of the first that Severe Brothers made. Danny thought it might be worth $16,000. That made me stagger. I said, "Merry Christmas."

Mikelle was the star of the play that we watched. It was "Beauty and the Beast." She was Belle. She came out singing! She sang multiple solos during the performance. She was beautiful, poised, and perfect in the role. I went up on stage afterwards to hug her. I had to stand waiting for several minutes because a little girl and her mother had beat me there. The little girl's eyes shone as she got to meet Belle in person, got a hug from the star, and got her picture taken with the beautiful actress.

Then I found Chance and hugged him. If it were possible, maybe he was even more amazing than Belle. The day before the first performance, the lead man injured his back, and wouldn't be able to do his part. Chance had been the lighting expert, and had been present for all the practices which had gone on for two months. The director and cast were panic stricken when they learned that there would be no one to play the part of Gaston. They went to Chance and begged him to take the part. "You're the only one who could possibly do it." He said, "OK." That was the day before the first performance. He had solos to sing, too. He did it, and did it flawlessly.

Even Ruby was in the play. She danced. I looked for her to give her a hug, too, but she had disappeared. I found her in the parking lot later. She was a brightly-beaming, smiley, perfect dancer. Sarah was involved, too. She was the expert computer operator who pressed all the right buttons at the right times to make the music play and the backdrops to appear. They did five performances. We were at the fourth. We only found out about this the day before. I'm really, really glad that we went.

I'm writing this so that David will have his daily letter. I laid in bed thinking about him, too. He bought a broken-down, not-running motorcycle. He took it completely apart, every last washer and bolt. It was strewn through the whole house. Kelly permitted this. David replaced parts that needed replacing, shined everything up. put the motorcycle back together, and it ran! He sold it for thousands of dollars. Imagine what he learned! He is now a motorcycle expert, and has possibly found his life's work. He knows way more about motorcycles and mechanical things than I will ever know.

These kids are the best of the best. The world is in desperate need of my grandchildren, every one of them. They are my contribution to the betterment of the world.

I've done a good job.