This is going to be a monster post, I'm afraid, since I have 3 weeks to cover, including our trip to Utah. I can't remember a lot of things that happened now, though, so maybe it won't be as long as I think. Here we go!
Friday, July 9: I wrote the last post that afternoon. In the evening, I made a bunch of photo coasters because I wanted to give some to Jessie, to Jared, and to Tanner for their birthdays and I thought it would be easier to take them with me to Utah than to mail them. I made a set of four coasters for each of them and another set for us. Jessie's set had photos of their wedding and for Jared and Tanner I did photos of the restoration sites in New York. The set I made for us also had photos of restoration sites...I used different ones than I used for the first set of coasters that I made. They all turned out pretty nice:
While I was working on these, I watched the Hill Cumorah Pageant devotional and the presentation of Pageant that followed. (Kind of appropriate!) I started watching kind of late, so I didn't see the entire devotional but I watched the rest of it later while I was in Utah. The whole thing was really good! I'm really grateful that we got to live in that area, that I got to attend Pageant 4 times, and that Tanner and Jared both got to participate on the work crew. These were wonderful experiences for all of us and Pageant has a special place in our hearts.
Saturday July 10: I don't remember what we did this day, but I'm sure we were busy! Frank and I went by to see Wanda and to take her some things she needed. We did most of the packing for our trip. That's all I can remember, but I know I was busy all day.
Sunday July 11: I had a short class presidency meeting before church (we weren't going to be able to meet again for 3 weeks so that's why we met again so soon). This was our first Sunday to meet in our YW class with all the girls and the YW president and I...a few families did not start attending in person until then. So we had a nice big class, but 3 of the girls moved while I was in Utah so our class is small again. I don't remember what else happened that day. It was probably a nice calm Sunday!
Monday July 12: We left for Utah! Our flight left at 2:00 pm so we left for the airport around 11:00. We had a nonstop flight and the trip was (thankfully) uneventful and went by pretty fast. Scott picked us up at the airport and of course it was great to see him! Mom had a nice dinner ready for us when we arrived, as usual. That evening we had a nice visit with Mom, all our boys and daughters in law, and Amy (and some of her kids? I can't remember now).
Tuesday July 13: We did some shopping...got some garments at the distrubution center and got a few treats for our Bryce Canyon road trip. (Scott took us.) Ben & Dee arrived that afternoon from Texas; they stayed at Mom's too so we got to see them and visit with them a lot during our trip, which was really nice. That evening we met Tanner and Darlee at BYU campus to walk around & see things and to spend some more time with them. It was a lot of fun! Frank and I always enjoy visiting our old college stomping grounds...so many memories for us! We walked around a lot in the HFAC because it will be torn down soon. We also visited the Eyring Science Center to do the fun experiments and enjoy the exhibits they have there, went in the "new" Joseph Smith building (it was built around the time Frank graduated so neither of us had classes there) to visit the little "Sacred Grove" courtyard, and we had to go to the creamery to get ice cream cones, of course! It's always interesting to see the things that haven't changed and to notice all the new things. It was a beautiful summer evening...a little warm, but no humidity which makes a huge difference for me.
Inside the HFAC on one of the balconies...Seth took the photo so it's blurry!
This is the Madsen recital hall in the HFAC...I had to go in there because I used to have practice here every week when I was in the BYU Children's Chorus. Plus I went to more than one recital / performance / play here over the years.
I had to take a photo of these stairs because when I was in BYU Children's Chorus, we stood on these stairs and sang a song during a big Easter concert (along with a couple of other BYU choirs).
One of the entrances to the Madsen Recital Hall.
And this is one of the entrances to the de Jong Concert Hall. I went to many concerts and plays here, too, and sang here more than once in concerts and choir festivals.
I'm really quite sad that they are tearing this building down, but I do understand why...it's a huge maze of a building and very old!
Had to make a stop at this side of the SWKT, because this is where Frank and I had our first kiss!
Displays and experiments at the Eyring Science Center. Seth really enjoyed this part!
Little courtyard in the JSB:
Walking to the Creamery (Wilkinson Center on our left, Crabtree Building on our right):
Carillon Bell Tower:
Tanner wading through the creek near the bell tower:
Wednesday, July 14: We left pretty early for our Bryce Canyon road trip. I rode with Amy, Jeremy, and Tanner in Amy's car most of the way. Frank and Seth road with Scott in his car and Jared & Jessie met us when we got there. (Darlee had to work so she couldn't come; we missed her!) First we had lunch at an inn / grocery store:
Then we drove into the park. As the guide suggested, we drove to the end of the 18 mile road and then worked our way back to the entrance of the park, stopping at scenic overlooks along the way. A storm was coming in and it actually got cool enough that some of us put on sweatshirts, but all the views were amazing and we had a great time together.
We all laughed about this sign. Umm...it's July! Not sure when winter ends!
We saw quite a bit of evidence of past forest fires...this is the only photo I got, though.
An attempt to get a "selfie" with this large crow.
When it started raining in earnest, we decided our sight seeing was done for the day. We had a great time; my only complaint is that part way through the day my right eye started burning & itching and watering. It got so bad that I could barely open it and so uncomfortable that I just wanted to go lie down somewhere with a wet cloth on it. I finally got to do that after dinner.
We picked up the key to the condo we had rented for the night, dumped all our stuff at the condo, and then went to have dinner at a buffet place back at the inn. (I failed to take any photos of the condo, but it was pretty nice, with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.) There really were very few places to eat at Bryce! No fast food places to speak of and only a couple of restaurants. The buffet was fairly expensive, but the food was good.
After dinner we went back to the condo and got settled in for the night. We played some games with jack box (games that you can play with a group, using your phones) and visited. Jared & Jessie weren't spending the night so they left around 10:00 for the drive home.
Thursday July 15: We wanted to go on a hike into the canyon, so we decided to do that first so it wouldn't be too hot. Overall, the weather was beautiful for our trip...mostly in the 80s with low humidity...but we knew it might get a little warm hiking. We went to sunrise point and hiked the Queen's Garden trail. It was beautiful!! We didn't hike all the way to the end, but we did go a fair distance. Frank didn't go as far...he rolled his ankle at work the week before our trip (I think I forgot to mention that when it happened) and his ankle started to really bother him not far into the hike so he decided to go back. The rest of us continued on and had a fun time.
There's a chipmunk in this photo if you look closely.
Scott trying to entice the chipmunk to come closer with a cashew.
Still trying...he was successful, eventually!
The chipmunk again.
On our way back up the trail now:
After we met Frank back at our cars, he told us he had rolled his ankle again while hiking back up by himself. He was limping a bit. Jeremy had an ankle brace with him so he loaned that to Frank and he was able to get around although of course his ankle hurt. We drove to the Visitor's Center next. I had to get a photo of this sign along the way:
At the Visitor's Center, we got souvenirs at the gift shop and some of us watched a 30 minute film about Bryce Canyon. Then we got this photo before we got in the cars to head home:
We found a Subway on our way out of town so we stopped there for lunch. Otherwise, we didn't need to make many stops and the trip home went smoothly. Another storm coming in:
My eye started bothering me again on the drive home and it was pretty uncomfortable all evening. When we got back to Mom's house we had dinner. Frank and I originally had planned to attend a wedding reception for a son of one of Frank's friends that he grew up with, but Frank's ankle was hurting and my eye was hurting and we were both tired so we didn't go. We were sorry to miss it...would have been fun to see a few NC friends!
Friday, July 16: This was Frank's last day in Utah. We went back to BYU because we wanted to visit the BYU bookstore and it was closed when we were there Tuesday evening. Frank got a couple of BYU shirts and I got one; we also got some BYU mint brownies and some Kara's mint truffles (I wanted to bring something back to share with the YW which is why I got the truffles). We stopped for lunch at Los Hermanos afterwards and also went to the store to get a few items for dinner. That evening, we met a lot of family at Nunn's Park in Provo Canyon for dinner. Erick & Liz as well as Erin & her family were visiting so we got to see all of them, as well as Anna's family, Giovanni from Shellie's family, some of Amy's family, and some of Tim's family. Tanner & Darlee came too. The weather was quite nice and we had a yummy chicken dinner with salads and fruit and dessert, and enjoyed visiting with everyone. I didn't get to talk to everyone as much as I would have liked since there were so many of us, but I'm grateful I got to see as many people as I did.
Saturday, July 17: Frank flew back to Maryland. Scott drove him to the airport but I went along for the ride. I don't remember what else I did that day except that evening I went to a concert that Jessie (Ben's Jessie, not Jared's wife) was singing in. She's in a group called the Ensign Singers. The theme of the concert was reflections on prayer and the songs were all beautiful. This group is quite talented! I went to the concert with Tim & Rachelle and Ben & Dee. When we got back to Mom's house, a lot of the older cousins were there having a cousin party but they were just finishing up as we got there.
Scott with Everest
Seth with the stuffed rattlesnake he got at Bryce Canyon
After concert photos
Sunday, July 18: We went to church with Mom. That evening, Tim and some of his kids came to visit (Rachelle wasn't feeling well). Shellie and Amy came over too, and so did Jared & Jessie. We played a game that Jared & Jessie got me for my birthday called Monopoly Deal.
Monday, July 19: I kept busy with a variety of things. Ben and I visited Dad's grave and took some flowers Mom cut from her garden. I also worked on sewing a skirt (Mom helped me) and went to the store to do some clothes shopping. (I wanted to visit a store that is in Utah but not in Maryland.) I also cleaned the downstairs bathroom because Scott's standard of clean and my standard of clean are two different things! 😅
Originally, we were planning to go up the canyon with Tim's family that night but unfortunately Rachelle still wasn't feeling well and they had some other conflicts come up. I didn't get to see them again before coming home which I was sorry about, but I am glad I got to see them at all.
Tuesday, July 20: I don't remember much about this day but I think I finished sewing the skirt and I also went to Amy's house for a little while to visit with her. I mostly just relaxed on the second half of the trip because the first half was pretty busy and exhausting!
Wednesday, July 21: I went to Amy's house again so that I could visit with her and my high school friend Paula. It was fun to get caught up with Paula a bit and to visit for a few hours. That evening Jared & Jessie and Tanner & Darlee came over for a last visit since Seth and I were flying home the next day. I always hate saying goodbye but we really enjoyed getting to see all of them!
Visiting with the kids...Tanner was telling a funny story from his mission and Darlee was playing with Everest:
Thursday, July 22: Amy came over to visit for a little while in the morning. Scott took Seth and I to the airport. Once again, our flight left at 2:00 and we had a nonstop flight that was uneventful and went by fast. I do have a complaint about the new Salt Lake City airport though (besides the fact that it is a LONG walk from security to the gates). When we got to our gate in B concourse, we discovered that there were only 2 restaurants, one of which was a sit down place, and both of them had long lines. So we didn't have time to get any lunch! (By that time, there was not enough time to walk all the way back to the other part of the airport, even if we had been willing to do that.) We had to settle for buying a few snacks at a convenience store. I was able to get a ham & cheese sandwich there, but that was literally the only kind of sandwich they had, and it was pretty dry and tasteless. So here are my suggestions to correct this problem: a) add some more restaurants to that part of the airport, especially some quick serve ones or b) have a lot more "grab and go" sandwich / healthy food options at the convenience stores (besides just crackers & candy) or c) at the very least, if they don't do either of the other two things, put a sign up in the main part of the airport letting people know that there are very few food options in the other concourse so it would be wise to buy food immediately, before making the 10-15 minute walk to your gate! Okay, you can tell I was pretty grumpy about that. I was hungry, what can I say?! It was nice to have Frank meet us at the airport because we missed him! And he brought us a pizza too! We got home safely and got unpacked, and it is always nice to get back to my own home even though I miss all the family I leave behind in Utah.
Friday, July 23: I was mostly trying to get caught up on things this day. I woke up late, of course, because I was still on Utah time and we kept staying up late while we were in Utah too. We've been working on getting back on a normal sleep schedule since we got back. I don't remember exactly what I did that day except that I didn't get as much done as I wanted to do. I think I got a grocery list made and maybe worked on the budget (can't remember if I did the budget on Friday or Saturday, just that it took a long time!) We probably also did laundry.
Hang in there, I have finally made it to week 3!
Saturday, July 24: Frank and I went to the store to get groceries. I got some things done for YW, including preparing the lesson for the next day because I was teaching. I weeded the garden and Seth mowed the lawn. I mostly got caught up on all the other things that needed to be done after being gone for a week and a half.
Sunday, July 25: This turned out to be a pretty busy Sunday. The YW president was out of town so I went to ward council in her place. Frank usually goes to ward council too so we "attended" together. (It was done via Zoom). I was asked to give the closing prayer in Sacrament Meeting and I taught the lesson in my YW class. There were only 5 girls there but it was nice to see those girls! A ton of people in our ward were out of town...numbers were noticeably sparse in our meetings. That evening there was a stake camp fireside for the YW. Only one girl from our ward was able to go, and I was the only leader from our ward there. I didn't particularly want to go out somewhere that evening, but the fireside turned out to be really nice. They showed a slide show with photos from all the wards' camps and then had a girl and a leader from each ward share testimony. (I ended up sharing my testimony because I was the only leader there from our ward...the other counselor was supposed to do it, but she didn't make it so I filled in.) It went pretty long, but as I said...it was nice.
Monday, July 26: This day was quite busy because Seth had an orthodontist appointment in the morning and shortly before we left, I got a text from the RS president asking if I could help serve at a luncheon at the stake center. The luncheon was for a group of doctors and nurses from a group called "Mission of Mercy"...they do a free medical / dental clinic once or twice a month at our stake center and the wards take turns providing the lunch. Another family in our ward had prepared the lunch, but decided last minute that they would need some help serving it. So I did that...in the end, I don't think they really needed my help but I enjoyed visiting with them and a few other members of my ward and stake who were there to help with the clinic, as well as meeting all these awesome nurses and doctors who donate their time to such a great cause.
On Monday Frank and I also started a new diet. It's a diet that is supposed to help your body with insulin resistance, so we decided to try this to see if it helps Frank. He talked to our doctor about it, and he gave him the go ahead to try it. I decided to do it with Frank since eating healthier is always a good idea. This diet means that we eat mostly meat and vegetables with small amount of carbs like whole wheat bread, brown rice, and quinoa...no processed foods...and the meat is chicken, shrimp, and salmon (no red meat or pork). All the portions are measured too. I can download meal plans each week (includes all 3 meals each day) and even a shopping list so you would think that would make it easy, but it's been kind of stressful getting the hang of it. For one thing, the shopping list is for 1 person (not 2) and for another the list is for one week at a time and I shop twice a week so that I will have fresh produce. So figuring out how to break that all down into what I need to buy each time I shop has been time consuming. Besides that, I need to figure out other things for Seth to eat since he won't eat most of the stuff we are eating. And also...lunch is a cooked meal every day so I am cooking a lot more. On the good side...so far the food has been quite good, most things are pretty quick and easy to make, it feels good to be eating healthy, and the food is quite filling so I usually don't get hungry in between meals. Hopefully it will get more intuitive as we continue.
Sample meal (as I said, very filling!):
Tuesday, July 27: Frank had to work overnight on Monday night...a true overnight; he didn't get home until around 7:00 am. He only had a few hours of sleep before he was up and solving problems. At least he worked from home that day.
Seth and I had a combined YM / YW activity that night. First we made a couple of desserts to be used at a funeral luncheon on Saturday. (Sadly, the adult son of a couple in our ward passed away last week.) Then we played some competitive games involving chocolate. It was pretty fun.
Making desserts:
Pudding eating contest:
Dropping chocolate chips into partner's mouth (the boy/girl teams are siblings):
Throwing chocolate chips into your partner's mouth:
Getting an oreo from your forehead into your mouth (without using your hands):
Finished desserts:
Wednesday, July 28: I went both grocery shopping and clothes shopping. We had a pretty decent rainstorm that evening which trapped me in my car (I was returning from the store) until Frank sent Seth out to the car with an umbrella!
Thursday, July 29: I had a YW presidency meeting in the afternoon. We had another decent rainstorm this afternoon. I took Seth to Dunkin Donuts because he has a gift card to spend there. I listened to the first half of this week's Follow Him podcast, and it was amazing!!
This might sound like I wasn't very busy this week, but actually I was really busy all week...mostly cooking, I think! Plus I also did all the cleaning, laundry, etc. and I have been exercising every day. Seth has been allowed only 2 hours of screen time per day so he's been adjusting to that and he's been a little bored. I played a game of Battleship with him yesterday but mostly I've been too busy to keep him occupied. He's having to come up with new ways to entertain himself. I've been reading here and there when I can...I'm currently reading David Copperfield for book chat. It has 900 pages and I'm in the 300s, so I have a long way to go. It's quite good, though.
I've been writing this post on Thursday and now it's time for bed so I will go ahead and publish this post and include whatever we do tomorrow in next week's post.
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