A Whirlwind Week!

Boy! That week went by fast while Tiffany was home. Now she's back in Charleston already! We had A LOT of fun while she was here and got lots of good things accomplished.

On SUNDAY, March 9, Tiff, Rich and I went to church in the 8th ward. I left after Sacrament Meeting to go up to the MTC. Tiff and Rich went to Sunday School and then to Priesthood and Relief Society. I shouldn't have left Tiff to fend for herself in RS, but she got along all right. She said the ladies were a little concerned that she had postponed her wedding until December and that she wouldn't be getting married in Nauvoo, afterall; but it's okay. They'll get used to it. I had a nice time at the MTC where we said goodbye to District D: Elders Lamb, Wilson, McCollum, Calcara and Collins; and Hermanas Leach and Park. They've been a good district and are headed to Salt Lake City and San Fernando. For their musical number, they sang, "How Great Thou Art," accompanied by Sis. Leach on the flute and Elder Price on the violin. They did a good job. The missionary speakers were Elder Eakins and Hermana Crabbe. Bro. and Sis. Jackman were the other speakers and they spoke about prayer. Sis. Jackman said that we should pray and ask for help in even the little things. The Lord will help us. Bro. Jackman said that the Lord will help us in every aspect of our lives if we are obedient and ask for His help.

The Barretts came for Sunday dinner and we had bean soup. The girls LOVE beans and rice--especially Sidney. When Lindy said, "We're going to say the prayer," Sidney put her hand over her heart because she thought Lindy had said "We're going to say the pledge." The girls had lots of fun playing with Tiffany after dinner.

On MONDAY, March 10, Tiff went with me to my Club lunch at Chef's Table. She's never eaten there before, so I thought she'd enjoy it. I had a tasty steak wrap and she had a yummy steak salad which were both very good. She said my friends are funny (in a good way, I hope). After lunch we went by Goldsmith's Jewelers to drop Tiff's ring off to be sized to a 4.5. Who would have thought Tiff had such little fingers? Then we went to the White Willow Reception Center in Provo to check out the possibilities for a wedding luncheon there. It's a fun place--a neat old home in the historic part of Provo. The prices are reasonable, too. It seems like it would be a great place for Tiff & Greg to have their wedding lunch. After the White Willow, we went by the Distribution Center to pick up a few things. Then we went by a couple of white dress places just to see what was out there. We weren't really thinking that we would find THE dress; but at White Elegance, we found the perfect dress. It's meant to be a temple dress, but it is so lovely it can be a temple/wedding dress. If we were to have one made, it would look exactly like this dress. So we got it. It just needs to be altered a little to fit perfectly (sleeves and hem adjusted). With a burgandy sash, it should be just perfect.

After dinner we went over to the T's in Springville for FHE. Tiffany showed us her presentation she did for the RS birthday party in Charleston. It was very good. I think Grandpa T. was quite impressed with Tiff's sweet historical and audio/visual skills. Grandma Cathy had baked a delicious cherry pie for dessert, which we all enjoyed.

On TUESDAY, Mar 11, we went to Excel Eye Center for Tiff's yearly exam. While there we somehow fell into a black hole. Glenn Beck would say a "worm" hole. Anyway, at 9:30, when we checked in, they had to redo all of Tiff's personal information because of a new computer system. That took until 10:00. Once that was done, we sat down and waited, and waited and waited to be called back to see the doctor. All these people who had come in after us were going back, but no one called for Tiffany. We wondered what was up. Plus there were all these people in there trying to get their records updated and waiting to see the doctors. There was such a crush at the reception area it was impossible to talk to anyone. When Tiff was able to ask someone why we hadn't been called back, the lady just said, "Oh, Dr. Parsons is backed up today." Finally, 11:15, when we'd been there almost two hours, I went to the one head lady and told her that we better reschedule our appointment for May because we couldn't wait any longer. That made her go in search of Tiffany's chart, which no one could seem to locate. Finally, it was found somewhere where it shouldn't have been and they called Tiff back to see the doctor. Once we were back there it didn't take long at all. The doctor said her eyes look fine and she doesn't even need new glasses. So that was good news. After the checkup, we sped away from there to make our 12:00 appointment with our friend Yevon Romney for a belated birthday lunch with her at Brick Oven. That was fun. We shared a 14" barbecue chicken pizza. Very tasty!

Tuesday evening Steven came home for dinner so we could eat with Tiff before we went to the MTC for the devotional. While we were gone, she was able to get some miscellaneous things done around here. The speaker at the devotional was Elder Spencer V. Jones, of the Seventy, whom we have never heard before. His talk was about the plan of salvation, with emphasis on the missionaries' objective of putting people on the path that will eventually lead them to the celestial kingdom and life with our Father in Heaven. Afterward, we met with District E, which had just had one of their district members leave to go home that morning. They were feeling emotional about that, so it was good that Steven could be there with them that evening to help them feel better about everything. The three new zone leaders are in this district: Elders Thatcher, Rowley, and Urrutia. (They replaced Elders Lamb and Wilson who were leaving for the mission field Wednesday morning.)

On WEDNESDAY, March 12, I went with Tiff out to Camp Floyd so she could check with Mark Trotter about her upcoming internship there. We left here at 9:15 a.m. and it took us about 45 minutes to get out there, just in time for her 10:00 appointment. When she met with Mark, it was a little disappointing because he told her he would only be able to pay her for four months instead of the six months which he had told her earlier. He said she could volunteer for the final two months, but that didn't sound too good because she would have to drive all the way out there for two months and not get paid, even for gas. Bummer. So we were kind of down in the mouth about that, until Tiffany decided that maybe it could work if she did her internship there at Camp Floyd from June to October, then get married in October instead of December, and then go with Greg to Illinois where she could finish her internship for the last two months. I had a similar idea, so it turned out we were thinking along the same lines. Tiff called Greg to see what he thought about the plan, and he thought it sounded good. So we felt better about things after that.

On our way home from Camp Floyd, we stopped at Thanksgiving Point to check out the wedding luncheon possibilities there, since we were in the neighborhood. The facility fee is not bad ($100 for two hours including linens, servers, etc.) but the food is waaaaaaaay expensive. It made White Willow look all that much better.

That evening, while Steven was at the MTC greeting 8 new elders, Tiff and I met Greg's mom at Bajio in PG. She treated us to dinner, so that was nice. We had a good visit with her and enjoyed our shrimp tacos. She about had a heart attack when Tiff said there was a change in the wedding plans and she noticed that Tiff was not wearing her ring. When Tiff saw her panicked expression, Tiff assurred her that everything was fine, the ring was at the jewelers getting sized but there had just been a change in the date. Pam was much relieved. She thought the new plans sounded good. She told us her new plan was to leave here on Saturday to join her husband in Arizona and start a new job there. Good luck to her!

On THURSDAY, March 13, Tiff went with Steven in to BYU so she could spend some time at the library. I met her at 1:00 at the Wilkenson Center. While there we decided to go to BYU Catering to check on the possibilites of a wedding luncheon there in the Skyroom. We thought we might as well while we were there. The girl that helped us seemed a little spacey and couldn't really give us definite answers to our questions. I think they're in the midst of changing some of their prices and policies. All in all it sounded pretty good, but I thought White Willow still sounded better. We wouldn't want to have it there in the Skyroom if Oct. 18 is homecoming weekend; and the date of homecoming hasn't been set yet, so the Skyroom is a question. My vote is for White Willow.

After meeting with catering, we went down off campus and enjoyed an authentic J Dog and all the taste and ambience that goes with that. Eat your hearts out, Sarah and Joel! (j/k) The reason we went there is because they love J Dogs so much, and rightfully so.

That afternoon, after dropping Rich off in AF, Tiff and I drove around AF and PG taking pictures of old homes for her Mormon architecture paper, then we went to the Holy Cow boutique, which was a lot of fun. We saw the lady who checked us in at Excel Eye Center and she was embarrassed when she saw us, but we told her no hard feelings. She didn't know what happened to Tiff's papers after they left her hands, so it wasn't her fault.

Just when we thought our day couldn't get any better, we went over to the Barretts for dinner where Steven joined us. What fun we had, and what delicious food! Lindy fixed some of her tasty squash and potatoes on spinach with buckwheat crepes. Yum! Yum! For dessert, she had fixed a wonderful coconut cream pie, which had a layer of chocolate pudding, and was topped with coconut marshmellows. Talk about delicious! The little girls enjoyed fixing food down in the playroom. Sidney can even join in on the preparation and serving of such food now that she can walk and bring the food over from the stove to the "customer."

On FRIDAY, March 14, we ran over to Target to check things out there. Tiffany had been wanting to go over there since she misses Target so much in Illinois. She's lucky to live almost next door to Wal-Mart, but it's just not the same as Target. She did stuff around home while I ran Rich over to AF. Then we went in to BYU to pick up some papers from the library; then to Goldsmith's to pick up the ring (which fit perfectly); then to Shirley's to pick up w/w rolls for dinner, but they were out of the w/w rolls, so we picked up w/w bread instead. We made it home just in time to get the spaghetti cooking before the Barretts arrived for dinner. We wanted to have one more dinner with them before Tiffany left, plus the girls wanted to see Tiff's ring (without the sizer on the back) and the wedding dress. They liked both the ring and the dress. Camden said the dress just needs a sash that's burgandy with pink polka dots. She also said in a tired voice, "We're sure talking a lot about weddings." (When Camden grows tired of wedding talk, then you know it's time to stop.)

On SATURDAY, March 15, we got up bright and early to get Tiff to the airport to catch her 8:45 a.m. flight to Chicago. We got up to the airport without incident and got her checked in and moving through Security. Then we headed home. By noon (our time) she was already in Chicago, catching the train to Union Station where she met up with Aly for lunch and the train ride to Mattoon where Greg met them and took them to Charleston. We're glad she made it back safely and that we could have such a fun time while she was here. I can't believe how fast the week went by, though. Two months from today, I'll fly to St. Louis where she and Greg will pick me up (after the Cardinals game), and then I'll drive home with her to Utah. Sounds like another fun adventure is in store.

Going for an Actual Walk

Steven didn't feel well during the night last night and still felt crummy when he woke up this morning, so he didn't go to work. He stayed home and rested and felt pretty well by afternoon. So this afternoon we went for an actual walk because it was actually pretty nice outside--not too cold or stormy or anything like that. We decided to walk down to the old neighborhood. It made us glad we don't live down that way anymore. Coming back up 4th South we stopped by Carolyn Mock's to see if she was home and she was. We visited with her for a few minutes before she had to go visiting teaching. It was nice to see her. She seems happy. She's dating Sid James who used to be in Dad's college before he retired. He was also married to Grandma F's first cousin, Dawn, who died a few years ago. So we've known him for a long time. Carolyn said to tell Tiffany that she has the rock Tiff painted there at the cabin along with that cool picture of the distant storm which Tiff took from the front porch of the cabin.

Earlier today I went for my annual eye exam from Dr. Parsons. Everything checked out A-OK! At my exam a year ago he was a little worried about glaucoma, so I had the glaucoma test today and I passed! He said everything looks normal. That was good to hear. After the eye exam, I went to the Art Museum at BYU to meet up with the club friends. We had a tour of the Minerva Tiechart exhibit and then ate lunch in the cafe. I had the turkey harvest croissant sandwich (a regular on the menu) which has cinnamon cream cheese and apple slices on it. It was quite delicious.

Steven gave the lesson tonight for FHE. He talked about Pres. Monson and his life leading up to becoming President of the Church. He is such an amazing man! He never served a mission because he joined the Navy during the ward. Then after the war he went to school. At age 22 he was called to be a bishop. (He once said he was the youngest bishop of this dispensation; but when Uncle Russell heard that, he corrected Elder Monson, telling him that Leo Sanford Taylor [Dad's grandpa] had been called as a bishop at age 19 in Red Mesa, Colorado. So that is no longer said about Pres. Monson.) He was called into a stake presidency at age 27, as a mission president at age 32, and as an apostle at age 36. What makes him so amazing is that with the heavy responsibility he's had all these years, he has still found time to personally minister to people in so many ways.

Last evening the Barretts came for Sunday dinner (minus Nate who was home teaching, or "visiting teaching" as Riley said). We had chili and cornbread. Lindy brought a delicious salad that had mandarin oranges in it with lost of tasty greens. The girls sure love their salad! They were good chili and cornbread eaters, too. For dessert we had cherry pie and ice cream since we missed having it last week and we were only two days past George Washington's birthday anyway. We'll take any excuse for cherry pie. The girls liked hearing the story about George and the cherry tree and never telling a lie. Riley seemed to be recovered from her tearful trauma in sacrament meeting. We had her tell Grampa what her idea was for her mom's talk--that she could get help from Gramma if she got nervous. We told her that was a great idea and she was smart for thinking of it. Cute little thing. Really, who knew that she was hearing what Lindy said? Anyway, we had a fun evening. The girls watched Star Wars with Rich for a little while while Sidney played with Grampa. Camden talked to Tiff on the phone when she called. Riley chose not to because she was busy with her pie; but later, when we were singing "Happy Family," she sang out really loud, "WE LOVE TIFFY YESSIREE." She and Camden can't wait for Tiff to come home on March 7 so that they can have another sleepover.