Our Trip Back

We really had fun playing that that night. Duncan finally got up to the third place so he didn't have to give one or two of his best cards away. Since we were to be ready to leave the house by 7:00am the next morning we told the children and Téa goodbye before going to bed. Richard did get up and see us off for which I'm glad because he went down with Ephraim the night before and we didn't get to tell him goodbye then.

It is soooo rewarding as a parent to visit our children and their children in their homes and see how they are teaching their children the gospel and how to walk uprightly before the Lord. I am so thankful we can have that experience. We have experienced it in each of our children's homes. They and their sweethearts are all doing such a good job doing that.

On Monday afternoon Sam & Marta Moore from Scotsdale came to visit us. Sam is my cousin once removed (or in other words my mother's cousin). It had been years and years since I had seen him. I had never met his wife. He is eight or nine months younger than I am. Right in between my sister Bonnie who is sixteen months younger than I am. It was sooo good to see them. I hadn't known that he had been in the Airforce or served in Vietnam. I told him that I always pictured him as I knew him as a young child or teenager. I wouldn't have known him if I'd passed him on the street. Probably he not me either. They were there for two hours and 15 mintues. He brought me some pictures of my family and his family in some of our get togethers. As I was walking out with them to the car, I told them of Elena's reaction to the crucifixion of Jesus. Marta told me that she teaches the Nursery in Primary in their ward and the last week when she was giving the Easter lesson, she mentioned that Jesus was dead. And one three year old boy piped up and said, "Jesus died?" When I told my husband that he said, "They must not have been taught very well." I said, "On the contrary, it is because they have been taught that he and Elena reacted that way. We are always refering to Jesus Christ as the living Christ and to his being alive. In their young minds they aren't able to figure out that He had to die before He could be resurrectied. " I just found that very interesting.

We were picked up by the Super Shuttle there at Richard & Téa's by 7:05am and got to the airport in time to stand in line for an hour to check our luggage before going to the gate,. Because Marta had told me that we could go online and get our boarding pass withing 24 hours of boarding, I was in the aisle A. Karl couldn't get his because he was listed as a senior and they wouldn't give him his without checking to make sure he was over 65. I've decided that since we paid the exact same price for our seats, I wouldn't put him in as a senior next time and we can get both of our boarding passes online. Anyway because I was in aisle A he was able to board with me and we were able to sit together on the back back to SLC.

I forgot to mention that because I was sooo tired the first night we were at Richard's that I didn't unpack my large suitcase until the next morning. Téa had arranged for space and hangers so we could hang up our extra clothes. I had everything I needed for the night in my small carry-on so I didn't even open up my big one until morning. I was glad. I found a piece of paper stating that they had searched my luggage right on top. They had opened my tumbler that had my whey protein drink in it and not put the lid back on securely if at all, and there was 3/4 of it scattered all over my clothes! We had to take everything out and brush it off then shake it off outside. At first I wondered if I would have to wash all of them before I could wear them. But they brushed off nicely. I was really discusted with them tho' I can understand that they randomly check luggage and I can understand why they looked to see what kind of powder that was in there. But I don't understand why they didn't make sure that the lid was back on securely. After we got back to the SLC Airport at 11:50am, I walked up to a security guard and asked him how I could register a complaint. He asked what it was in reference to so I told him what happened. He graciously got me a card with their pubic relations officer's e-mail address on it and told me to e-mail him and explain what happened. I still need to do that.

The shuttle for IF arrived at 1:30 to bring us back here. We arrived at the Fairfield Inn at 5:00 sharp. It is a pleasant way to travel and we couldn't have bought gas and parked the car at the airport for what we paid for for the shuttle for both of us. We will use that again.

Bob Hart met us at the Inn and brought us back home. I had told a woman on the shuttle in Phoenix that we would probably be going back to winter. I didn't realize how right I was until we got home. They had gotten seven inches of snow the day before (Bob measured it on top of his car in the driveway.) and there was still snow from that storm that morning. Altho' most of it had melted by the time we got home, there was still snow over 3/4 of our back yard when we got home.

Karl could tell by Tuesday night that he was coming down with a bad cold. I couldn't tell until Thurday morning. Even then, I wouldn't have traded our experiences of the last week for not getting sick. (We could both understand better why Ephraim and Elena seemed so miserable.) I am so glad that we went.