My Very First . . . and other stories from Utah

I am finally back from my trip to Utah, where I spent all of last week enjoying the company of my parents, spending time with three of my daughters and my granddaughter, and visiting with good friends.

It was a great week!

Although it didn’t start off so great.

(not the actual officer who pulled me over)

Just after crossing from Arizona into Utah I got pulled over for speeding. Now I know that for many people (family members included) this isn’t a big deal but for me it was HUGE!! I have never been pulled over for speeding before—in my entire life!! Not that I haven’t sped, I just have never been caught doing it. And although I thought it was a little unfair (I was just passing a car and would have slowed down after passing it) and I explained that to the officer, he didn’t care. He wrote me out my very first ticket anyway. So I told him he was going on my blog and he suggested I might want to join his Facebook fan page as well. Ha ha.

But from then on it was a great trip.

First off we went to visit my sister to spend time with her and her cute family. She has one son who just got off a mission and another who left last Wednesday. I was so glad to see them both!! Aren’t they so cute!!

(Can you guess which just got off the mission and which just left?)

The next day we went to visit Kristen’s classroom. She is teaching third grade this year in the Nebo School District. It was so much fun to see her room. And it was even more fun to hear all her stories each day after school during the week. One of my favorites was when some kids brought her flowers after recess. When Kristen asked them where they got the flowers they said “Across the street in someone’s yard.” Kristen joked that her next writing assignment would be to have the kids write apology letters.

We also were able to get Kathryn settled into her new apartment and meet one of her roommates. That was fun but leaving her there was sad for me. I have loved having Kathryn home with me this past summer and I am going to miss her a lot now that she is back at school.

Camille also flew in from Colorado to spend the week with us. I loved having her there as well. I am pretty sure life doesn’t get any better than sitting around the table at night visiting with your children. Although I missed those who weren’t there, I loved being with my three daughters who were. They are all so hilarious when they are together that I can’t stop laughing.

Another highlight of my trip was my mother’s birthday party. Thanks to my sister Terri, we were all able to get together to eat very yummy food and celebrate another year of life. I think my mom looks great--which is pretty amazing considering all she has been through the past two years. (And I would tell you she is turning 75 but she would be mad at me for it. :-)



I also loved visiting with my sisters and going to lunch with my sister Becky (on the left) for her birthday as well. Becky is one of my most favorite people. She is also someone who will never be rich because she is always using her resources to help others. She is truly one of the most creative and generous people I know. I love that she is my sister.

(This was taken at Terri's house, unfortunately Terri isn't in the picture.)

And to top off the week, I got to spend time with my very good friend from high school, Jaye Lynn and her husband Mark. I have known Jaye Lynn since I was 14 and I met Mark (who is the men's track coach at BYU) a year later. I was with Jaye Lynn the first time she met Mark and doubled with them on their first date.

There is something very sweet about spending time with people who have known you almost your entire life. Camille went with me to their house because she also knows them well as she worked as Mark’s secretary in the track office for four years while in college. It was so much fun to reminisce and get updates on mutual friends. I loved every second of being there. Because of my husband’s church calling and situations where we live now, I always feel I have to be constantly on guard. I have to always watch what I say and how I behave.

Consequently there are very few people who I feel really know me. But there in that family room, I didn’t have to be guarded at all. I could just be me.

It was fun. It was liberating. It was wonderful.

And the entire week was definitely one that brought great . . . joy to my journey.