Story #15

Once upon a time it was the first year
of a brand new millennium (also known as the year 2000) and a very fine year for the fine family of these 40 stories.

It was the year the youngest member of this fine family
(also known as Hayley) read all four of the Harry Potter books that had been written at that time--not just once, but twice, including the 700-page fourth book! She turned 12 years old in the fall and got her ears pierced, started the 6th grade and still liked to be "talked" into bed at night by her fine father.

It was the year the next member of this fine family
(also known as Tom) turned 16 years old and got a job as a bagger at Dicks' Market just a few days later. Not long after that he got his braces off, got his driver's license and went on his first date to a Sadie Hawkins' Dance all in the same week!

It was the year the member in the middle of this fine family
(also known as Betsy) graduated from high school, went on a three-week European tour and began college at Southern Utah University with a four-year-full tuition scholarship and 40 college credits before she even got there!

It was the year the first daughter of this fine family
(also known as Emily) gave her fine father and happy mother a gift and an announcement one Sunday in September also known as Grandparents' Day!

It was the year the father of this fine family
was released as Young Men's President after he started a three-year Executive Masters of Public Administration program at the BYU-Salt Lake Center. It was also the year he lost a lot of money in the Stock Market, but that wasn't so fine.

And it was the year--in fact the very first day of the year--that the family member known as Shelly became officially engaged to J.P. which meant it was the year that the mother of this fine family had to do a lot of shopping and wedding planning in between her usual planning of all kinds of real and made-up holiday celebrations.

The very best day of this very fine year
was probably the sunny Saturday of May 13 when Shelly married J.P. in the Salt Lake Temple exactly 24 years after her very fine parents got married in the very same place. And believe it or not, they are all living happily ever after!

Happy 16th Anniversary Shelly and J.P.
Love, from your fine 40th Anniversary parents
(also known as Grandpa and Grandma)