"Week" explained

Well, you might wonder why I put "week" in quotes in my last post.

It's because we drove to Utah (14 hours) on Saturday, June 27th, and returned home to Seattle (another 14 hours) on Friday, July 3rd. So, it wasn't really a week afterall. All the children saw fit to point out the fact that "Grammie's Week" couldn't be over since it hadn't been a week yet! Well, they were right, but everyone wanted to be home with their spouse for the 4th of July holiday. We did jam pack a LOT of fun into the 5 days we had together...here's a brief run down - photos yet to come (when I get them from Angela, I didn't even take a camera...why bother when Angela's there and you know her photos are going to be 1000 times better than anything you could attempt anyway?)

Sunday: We arrived at 3am and hit the hay. It took me a while to settle down since I was driving. My brother, Ben, waited up for me and helped me get all the kiddos in - THANK YOU BEN!!! My friend, Heather, with whom I caravanned, talked to me on the phone until I was about 30 minutes out...THANK YOU HEATHER! And thanks to everyone who offered to chat with me in the wee hours to keep me awake. I nursed a diet coke from Boise to Ogden and that seemed to do the trick. I hope my baby isn't any worse for wear. :)

Church was at 11am. Choir practice was at 10:30am. We made it for choir (my mom's the conductor) and we sang a beautiful rendition of "Let the Mountains Shout for Joy". My Dad was one of the speakers, and he gave a profound sermon on a couple of sections in the Doctrine & Covenants. I always enjoy hearing my dad speak. He is very polished, for one, and has deep insights from his extensive scripture study that I enjoy learning. I wish I could hear him expound on the scriptures more often. My mom taught the Sunday School lesson and it was fabulous, and I learned even more. The Relief Society teacher took a jab at one of my comments and I felt like walking out (my sisters agreed that her attack was out of place), but I didn't. I dutifully sat through the rest of the lesson. Oh, well, 2 out of 3 isn't bad, eh?

Our afternoon was lazy and relaxing. While I didn't take a nap, I enjoyed the company immensely. Heidi was there, my Grandma Noble, David, Jackie, and Jaxon, in addition to all the "live-ins" for Grammie's week - which included: Darin (he left on Monday morning), Missy, Nathan, Benjamin, Gilbert Clay; Angela, Alex, Johnathan, Zachary Webb; Emily Adams; Joy, Kenneth, Daniel, Caitlin Layton; Teva, Kid, Shelby, and a cat whose name I never learned. Teva, Kid, and Shelby are dogs. Teva stayed with my folks when David & Jackie moved out, and Kid is their long time pal. Shelby is Angela's dog who came up from Vegas.

Angela had bought some beads in Hawaii, and Heidi did an AMAZING job making necklaces for Angela out of them. I brought the tools, but all I did was cut wire and crimp the clasps on - Heidi did all the work - and they turned out lovely.

Sunday evening came to a close with a Family Home Evening on Priesthood blessings. David had asked my dad to give him a blessing, so Dad gave a lesson on blessings and the priesthood and the importance of being worthy to give blessings to all his grandsons who were gathered there before he gave the blessing. Both the lesson and the blessing were beautiful. It made me want to ask him for one, too, but the kids had had enough.

Monday: We got up and going and headed to the Bean Museum at BYU. The kids loved all the animals on display and we even caught a demonstration of some sort so they got to see a lizard, snake, turtle, etc. We headed over to the CougarEat for lunch, then to the Bookstore for BYU trinkets. After that we went to Grandaddy's office and he had a BYU pencil for each grandchild. We wrapped up our BYU stay with a stop at the Museum of Art which had an "I SPY" display that was quite amazing. We then headed to Grandma Noble's house (she lives with my uncle & aunt in Lindon) for swimming, snacks and popsicles. My cousin was there with her kiddos and it was so great to sit and visit while the children swam. The sun was hot, and the water was fun. They had all been looking forward to swimming.

Tuesday: We went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. Before the Church dedicates their temples, they are open to the general public. We got to tour the temple together, and that was a special experience. Then we headed to the Kennecot Copper Mine: the largest man-made excavation in the WORLD. It is very impressive and we enjoyed seeing it, and visiting the visitor center and watching a short video about it. It runs 24/7/365 and mines quite a bit of copper, gold, silver, and another metal that I could never figure out how to say, much less spell. :) We went back to my folks' for lunch and swimming and later that evening I snuck out with Daniel, Caitlin and Emily to see one of my dearest friends, Shari and her family. We had a nice visit and it was good to see her newest addition, Peyton. What a cutie pie!!

Wednesday: We went to Lagoon. Are we crazy or what? The kids had a great time, and the adults were hot, but we were glad we went. We almost shut down the park...we didn't leave until 9:15pm. Wowee did we make great memories that day!

Thursday: Since we knew we were all traveling on Friday, we had planned Thursday to be a "down" day of swimming, doing laundry and just hanging out together at the house. I, however, got an idea in my head that changed all of that for me. My parents have an amazing "circle" in front of their house with a fountain in the center. The fountain is taller than I am. Every year they spend a mint on annuals (flowers) to go around the fountain that they put in in the spring, and dig out in the fall. Last summer Elise & I talked them into investing some money into bulbs that would come back year after year and reduce their work load a little and give some variety to the "circle". Well, most of the bulbs had bloomed and most of the circle was just dirt. After having looked at that all week, I couldn't help myself. I talked to Missy and we went to Wal-Mart and got a bunch of perenials and mulch and some jasmine bushes to spice up the place. We did it as a surprise, and it worked. My mom cried when we showed her our "proposed" layout (asking for feedback before we actually planted anything). Well, needless to say it wasn't a "restful" day, but I wish I had a before and after photo. I know Angela took an "after" shot...I'll see if I can get my hands on it. I think it turned out pretty well, and I know my parents were pleased. Now, hopefully between the bulbs and perenials, that area will beautify their home for many years to come - during the spring, summer and fall. A big THANK YOU goes to Shauna for being willing to spend our precious little time together planting flowers with me. Talk about a true friend. Thanks!

I guess that about sums it up. We had a fabulous time. I do have to insert here that I think it's a raw deal that EVERYONE arrived at their homes hours before I did...even my sister in Connecticut. It is a long drive (not as long as it was when we were in Texas), but it was well worth it.