January 1996: by Bjorn

Hi ho, 

Becky and I knew that if we didn't get a family letter in this time around we would really be in trouble.

Congratulations to Bishop Boyd Young and his family! It doesn'tsurprise us at all that the Lord chose you. Heck he's got to whip you into shape and humble you somehow. Just kidding. We're
very happy for you, and we wish we could have been there with the rest of the family to show our  love and support.

The holidays were wonderful! It was a joy to spend time with most of you, and at least to talk on the phone with the rest of you. Time spent with family is always a rejuvenating time for us, and that along with the beautiful Spirit of Christ that comes with the season made for a joyous first Christmas for Becky and I that will always be remembered and cherished. 

We decided to open our gifts to each other on the Saturday before Christmas because of the call from my home in Bountiful to Elder Brian Pendleton in Uruguay on Christmas Eve that we didn't want to miss. It was a great addition to the traditional Christmas Eve things we do at my home. My brother was a little miffed when my sister Catherine told him that she is engaged and will be married on February 24. He responded by saying, "I'm going to kill you!" I thought it was a fairly decent response since this will only be the third wedding he will have missed of his brothers and sister. Not to mention the fact that my brother Mark and his wife Jana are expecting a baby on July 28, and therefore there will be a few new faces for Brian to get used to when he returns home in July 1997.

Getting back to the gift opening...it was such a joy for me to shop for Becky and try to get her things that she would like, and having the whole excitement of the season turn me into a little kid giggling as I sat there wrapping her gifts. Then taking turns opening gifts that morning and being amazed at Becky's generosity and great gift giving ability. Santa was definitely good to us. And that was just our gifts to each other. We were even more amazed and humbled by the gifts we received as we visited Bountiful and then Rexburg. You are all wonderful and we thank you very much. Some memories of our time in Rexburg include learning the Name Game, Mikayla and her "Pocky Pollet," Jessie and her late night singing session that had us all laughing so hard that our stomachs were sore and tears were running down our faces, singing around the piano, getting dizzy as we watched Jenny beat us all at Nerts, hanging out with Matt, and learning that Boyd had just been called to be a Bishop.

LINK: Jessie singing

I really enjoyed my birthday too. You all really didn't have to do anything for me, but you won't catch me complaining at all. I thought one party in Rexburg was enough, but my family spoiled me on my birthday, and even now as I write this letter, Becky is preparing a delicious late birthday party roast dinner for when Steve and Barbie come down later today and join us Provo-ites for the monthly get-together. Wow! three Christmases and three birthdays. I'm a pretty lucky guy. Being 25 is about the same as being 24 or 23, though I imagine that when I start getting clear up around 30, I'll start slowing down a bit and probably won't be able to do some things as well like play ping pong. Or maybe by that time I'll be so wise and filled with compassion that I'll let my younger in-laws beat me at games like that so they can feel good about themselves for at least a little while.

Well I hope everyone is over the sicknesses that were going around. I had my fun little 48 hour run-in with something that required me to stay close to the bathroom the majority of the time. It was nice to get reacquainted with solids again. 

Last weekend when everyone else was in California we had a get together with Alann and Annette, Mark and Jana, and Catherine and Ryan.  It was crazy fun. We played the name game-or whatever it's called when you get four girls or guys in a row.  I think Alan and Annette spent most of the night just trying to get used to the Pendleton family homor. My brother Mark is the ring-leader, and when he gets going watch out!

On friday Becky and I went out to dinner at the Skyroom restaurant on campus. Becky had won the free dinner there at my work Christmas party. The food was delicious. It was a buffet of just about everything you could want. My favorite was the stuffed past a and barbecued ribs. Becky's was the chicken and the fruit and/or custard filled crepes for dessert. We rolled out of there quite satisfied.

Becky has started up school again and seems to be enjoying it so far. She has just two C.S. classes and then she's taking clogging and aerobics and a family history class. She's also the T.A. for a C.S. class where she's required to read and grade a lot of papers. So don't be surprised if after Becky proof-reads this letter there are several marks on it telling me where I should or shouldn't have put a comma or something.

On Tuesday and Wednesday I'll be up in Salt Lake at a Production Management Seminar that is supposed to teach me how to be a better supervisor at work. I hope its not just a bunch of stuffy people in suits and ties. I'l let you know if it ends up being worth the money BYU forked out to send me. Don't get me wrong, I'm looking forward to it and I hope to learn a lot, its just that BYU is run a bit differently than most other businesses. I just got my new PowerMac 8500 on friday. You don't have to be excited by that news, but it sure makes me happy-its one of the best computers a graphic designer can get. Now I'll have my own e-mail address too, so we can take advantage of that.

We hope you all enjoy the tapes. If you happened to get a shaky recording, it's the tape recorder's fault, and if you want we can send you another one that is recorded on a better machine. Just
let us know.

We love you all and hope you are well and happy, and are able to keep at least two of your New Years resolutions. Maybe next month Becky and I will share with you details about our main resolutions for the year.

Love, Bjorn and Becky

August 1995: By Bjorn

13 August, 1995

Hey ya'll,

All my friends and everyone in the ward keep on asking me if I'm nervous. Other than being a little scatter-brained lately trying to make sure that everything gets done and works out perfectly really don't feel that nervous or stressed. To me, and I'm pretty sure Becky feels the same way, its just a natural course of events. Of course I never get nervous to speak in public until right before I stand up. Either way, any nervousness that exists in me is good nervousness -  you know - keeps me on my toes.

My greatest accomplishment this week, of a temporal nature, was getting the piano into the apartment.  Alan and I had to each use a big pipe wrench with a three foot long piece of pipe slid over each handle to give us better leverage so we could crank the bars loose on the railing on the steps in front of the door. That's the only way the piano would fit in. Then I called a bunch of guys from the ward to help lift it in. When it was finally in and it was all over with; my body was drained of energy but I couldn't stop smiling. To me a piano and the music it brings into a home are what make a home complete. I look forward to the years ahead as Becky and I will be able to share that gift of music with each other and with our children. 

Boyd and his family stayed at the house last night and at first I think we were all a little hesitant, but after a bit we all started warming up to each other and I was grateful for the kids who made it easy for me to relax and be myself. I'm excited to have us all be together and for both families to get to know one another better.

It's hard to believe that everything is so close now. All Becky and I really have to do is pick up her dress and the tuxedos. We've got the rings, the license, the recommends, the Temple, the monkey suits, the families, a continually growing love for each other, great honeymoon plans, and a wonderful home to come back to when the whirlwind is over. Am I forgetting anything?

I must thank you all again for all your help and support in getting everything ready-especially Mom and Dad Young for all the time and effort and money and love they have given. Becky and I very amazed at the generosity of so many people.

Any time I am around anyone in Becky's family I have the strong impression of how privileged I am to be associated with such noble souls. It's humbling and motivating. My love and respect for Becky grows stronger and deeper each day. I'm so much happier whenever we're together. Or maybe I'm just happy cause I finally found someone as weird and goofy as me. It has been nice to be at the house when she comes home from class and be able to greet her, and it's nice also to have her there when I come in the house. One of the simple, yet profound joys of life.

I keep on thinking that I'll get to the temple and will have forgotten something extremely important. You ought to ask Becky about some of the dreams she's had lately.

I guess these will all be hand delivered this time. So we'll see you when we see you.

Love, Bjorn & Becky