Post Office Disaster

I went back to the post office today to mail the package to Riitta and Matti. I didn't get over there until about 1:00. That was a big mistake, not going in the morning. But the line wasn't too bad--it was only to the end of the counter with about 8 people in front of me. There were three clerks working (and two empty stations) so I thought it should move pretty fast. Well, I stood in line for 15 minutes and only one person in the line moved up to one of the stations. By this time, the line behind me had gotten quite long. The two other clerks were still helping the same people they were when I came in. I heard one of the ladies being helped say to a person in line whom she knew that she had been there for four hours with something like 76 boxes. Scary. The clerk kept bringing these boxes out to her which the lady would open with a knife and take some stuff out, re-arrange the things in the box, and then seal it back up three or four times with tape. Then the clerk would fill out information for each box. This kept repeating for awhile, and then I realized it wasn't going to end any time soon. At the other station the same person was still there along with the one person who had moved up to the third station. So I got out of there fast. I thought I'd just go back and it would have to be better. So I went back about 3:30, and there were only two clerks this time and about 10 people in line. I thought maybe I'd take a chance and the line might move pretty fast. But after about 10 minutes when not one person had moved ahead in the line I got out of there again, telling myself that I'd come back in the morning, and try for first thing in the morning and maybe I'll be able to mail the package. We'll see.

Our home teachers, Bro. Sanders and his son, Talmadge, came visiting tonight and gave us a message about Elder Oaks' conference talk of "Good, Better Best." Before they came, Steven, Rich, and I enjoyed a nice evening walk at the track. It was a cool, brisk evening--rather nice for a walk, actually. The weather's supposed to change tomorrow, though. I hate to see the nice weather end.

Steven got a call tonight after he'd gone to bed from Elder Carter, one of the zone leaders. This is the second night in a row for such a call. More problems with District B--one of the new districts (from two weeks ago when two new districts, totalling 19 elders, came in). We met with District B on Tuesday night and they all seemed to be doing pretty well to me. I guess two of the three elders who had transferred to an intermediate branch had decided they wanted to come back, plus another elder was wanting to go home. Steven was probably having a foreshadowing about the new missionaries when he was wondering "how are the new missionaries doing?" in his sleep before they even arrived.

A Busy Day

Today I made a couple of trips to the post office to try to mail some things before the Christmas rush. It was pretty busy there, but nothing like it will be in December. I tried mailing a package to Riitta and Matti in Finland, but the postal clerk was afraid it would get crushed (it was kind of a flimsy box), so she went and found me a box in the back which I brought home to repack and I'll go back tomorrow to mail it. (That was nice of her. I was wondering if it was too flimsy and she assured me that it was.)

Next it was off to Curves and then a walk at the track. I got home just in time to get dinner ready so we could eat and then head over to the Provo Temple. The Mt. Timpanogo Temple is closed for cleaning, so Richard was home and was able to go with us to Provo. We saw a lot of Sunset Heights Stake people there. Shirley Robins was there, and I had seen her earlier in the day at the post office. Leslie Hillstrom was also there, and I had seen her earlier in the day at the track. That's funny that we all ended up in the same temple session. We also saw a girl who looked familiar to Steven. I sat by her during the session and she said we looked familiar to her, too. So as we visited later, we found out that she was in the BYU 100th ward in Provo when Steven was in the bishopric about 10 years ago. Her name is Nicole Jensen, and she has recently returned to the Provo area after living in Boston and Washington state.

I sent Tiff an e-mail today and told her that what she made her Christmas tree out of was "duct" tape and not "duck" tape. Then when I talked to her on the phone later, she said it really was "duck" tape. My bad. That's a cute idea for a tree.

Sunday Spaghetti

Last night we had spaghetti for Sunday dinner, along with "Kevin beans" and bread. I think it's one of the favorite dinners for Camden and Riley. They love all three of those things. Sidney enjoys chowing down on her own food. After dinner the girls watched Charlie Brown Christmas with Richard, then we had some apple crisp (from Cracker Barrel fried apples and crust mix) for dessert. The Cool Whip on top was the best part of that for the little girls. (The apple crisp is almost too sweet with those fried apples. It would probably be best just to use regular apples.) The rest of the evening was spent just playing around and drawing. Camden drew a picture of a scary girl with a green face and sharp teeth and wanted me to look at it in the dark. So we went downstairs where there wasn't much light and looked at the picture. She said, "Isn't that freaky Grandma?" It was a fun evening. (We surely have a lot of fun, don't we?)

Yesterday at the MTC I went to Relief Society with the eight sisters in the branch. Instead of a speaker, it was a testimony meeting for the sisters. There were four microphones where they could line up and give their testimony when it came their turn. The sisters bore some wonderful testimonies. Two were going to Thailand and one was going to Finland, so I thought that was neat. This was the last Sunday for Sisters Perry, Tupou, Huffaker, and Wieben. We'll miss them. They've been good sisters to have in the branch. Sister Kofford now replaces Sister Perry as the new coordinating sister. So after Relief Society I went to the new coordinating sisters meeting with her. One of the sisters in there was also going to Thailand, so I saw three sisters going to Thailand in one day. After that meeting I went to district meeting for District A with Steven. They are the departing district, leaving this Tuesday and Wednesday. Four of the elders in that district have had a some rocky moments, but they've been able to hang in there and make it through. Steven gave them his great departure lesson about the three things the Prophet Zenos said that good missionaries need to do (work diligently, work with the Lord, and be obedient). If they will do that, then they will experience the joy that Zenos talks about, along with the fruits of their labors. For the closing song they sang the Spanish hymn #88, "Placentero nos es trabahar," which talks about saying goodbye but we'll meet again after our work is done. They sang the same hymn for their departure musical number in Sacrament Meeting, and they did a good job. The missionary speakers were Elder Fish and Sister Funk, and Sister and Brother Ahlander gave the branch presidency talks. They all spoke about the Book of Mormon. A special treat was the attendance of Sister Bankhead at Sacrament Meeting. She is recovering from her cancer surgery of a few weeks ago, and will find out this week what course of action the doctors want for her cancer treatment.

When we got back from South Carolina we found out that Elder Mott (who had had surgery on his broken ankle) was released to go home to recover rather than recover at the MTC.

Well, it looks like another nice (but chilly) fall day out there today. I'm planning to go to Curves and then get some things done around here to catch up from our trip. This is Richard's second week off from work, so he'll be here at home this week enjoying his time off.

What a Fun Trip!

We got back from our trip to South Carolina last night. On Monday, we left Salt Lake at 10:30 a.m. and flew to Cincinnati, then on to Greenville/Spartanburg. When we arrived at 6:30 that evening, Joel, Sarah, Eliza, and Tiffany were there to greet us. (Tiffany had arrived there from Illinois two days before, and we were happy to see her. Steven and Rich hadn't seen her since the end of May when she came home from Mississippi for the Mormon History Conference.) From the airport, we went to Sarah and Joel's house, which took about 45 minutes. What a wonderful home they have! We couldn't believe it, it's so nice. And in such a quiet, beautiful country setting. Sarah and Joel had worked out a good sleeping arrangement for all of us--Steven and me on the futon in the study, Tiff in the sleeping bag on the floor in the study, and Richard on the couch in the living room. That seemed to work pretty well for all of us. Eliza didn't know quite what to think about all the new faces around all of a sudden. But she started smiling for all of us before too long. She is SO cute and has such a big, happy smile. Sarah said she just started pulling herself up and standing in the last few days, so that's all she wanted to do while we were there.

On Tuesday morning, Joel and Sarah made some delicious white chocolate bread pudding for breakfast. Yum! Then we got ready for our day's adventure. First, we drove to Clemson's Outdoor Lab, a beautiful nature camp area, and walked around there for awhile. It was a gorgeous fall day to be out in the woods. From there we went to Pendleton, a quaint little town with lots of cute shops and places to explore. In the middle of the town square is Farmers' Hall, where we had a delicious lunch. Sarah told us that is was upstairs in Farmers' Hall where John C. Calhoun, and others, hatched their plan for secession. From Pendleton, we went to Clemson to see the campus. Joel, Sarah, Tiff, Rich, and I took a tour of Fort Hill while Steven walked around outside with Eliza. We loved seeing Fort Hill, which was the home of John C. Calhoun and later his daughter and her husband, Thomas Clemson. It was Thomas Clemson who deeded the land to the state for a university. It's a beautiful setting for a university. After Fort Hill, we skulked around the bookstore for awhile, then went for ice cream at the campus creamery, but it was closed! From there we took a drive past the football stadium and the Calhoun family cemetery, which are right there next to each other on campus. Then we went to Campus Drive where we checked out Clemson gear in some of the stores. By that time we were ready to go home for some dinner--Sarah and Joel fixed some delicious chicken fetticinni alfredo. Then we watched Transformers, which Richard had brought along, before heading to bed.

On Wednesday, we headed off on another adventure. We decided against going to the Biltmore, which would have cost $180 for four of us to get into (Joel and Sarah have annual passes). It would have been fun to see; but, instead, we went to the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site in Flat Rock, North Carolina. We really enjoyed the tour and seeing how the Sandburgs lived in that old antebellum house, Connemara, located on 240 acres in the North Carolina woods. It was interesting to see their simple yet productive lifestyle. Carl Sandburg was 67 when they moved there, but he continued to write and produced 1/3 of his total writings while living there. His wife operated a goat farm (which is still there today) and raised champion goats. At the home and farm it was very much the way it was on the day he passed away there in 1967. From there we drove to Hendersonville, another quaint town with a cute, historic Main Street. We had lunch there at Mike's on Main, a fun sandwich shop in the old drug store and soda fountain. A few stores away was a bakery where we got cookies for dessert. Then it was a beautiful drive back to Sarah and Joel's through the Blue Ridge mountains, which were so colorful with all the fall leaves. Back at home Joel fixed some cheese pizza and meat pizza, which was just right because we were still kind of full from our late lunch.

Thursday was Happy Thanksgiving day! It was a nice day to relax around home and get ready for our Thanksgiving dinner. We woke up to some cloudiness and rain, which made the woods out back look all misty. That was fun to see. To start the day, I went with Sarah and Joel to the annual flicker ball game which their department has every Thanksgiving. We got there about half-time, which was just enough time for Sarah and Joel to get out there and play a bit. They both played well, and Sarah even injured herself somewhat in a dramatic slide in the mud. She wore her gold and maroon striped socks, which I think took the prize for the funniest-looking socks. Especially with her light green capris. While we were at the game, Steven, Tiff, and Rich kept Eliza entertained there at home. The rest of the day was spent fixing and eating a delicious Thanksgiving feast, which Joel and Sarah prepared while the rest of us kind of relaxed. I remember nodding off to sleep there on the couch (during the Lucy marathon), and the next thing I knew, Voila! It was time to eat. We had yummy turkey breast with a brown sugar glaze, mashed potatoes and gravy, yam souffle, corn, and rolls. Richard made gumdrop turkeys for decorations. The meal was wonderful! Then we went for a walk around the neighborhood and looked at all the cute houses in Sarah and Joel's neighborhood. Later, we had room for dessert: either pumpkin cheesecake, pecan pie, apple pie, or all of the above. It was all so good! Then we watched Home Alone before going to bed. What a fun, enjoyable day!

On Friday it was time to leave for home. The week surely went by fast. Joel fixed some delicious grits (purchased at Farmers' Hall) for breakfast; we took one more walk around the neighborhood, then packed and left for the airport at 12:30 (taking along some turkey sandwiches for the road, or for the air, I guess). Little Eliza was asleep in her car seat, so she didn't even see us go. She probably wondered where we were when she woke up. Tiffany was staying for one more day. (Joel and Sarah got to make lots of trips to the airport for us!) We had a short 37-minute flight to Atlanta, then caught our flight to Salt Lake City from there. That flight was 3 hours and 44 minutes, but it was a good time to read and relax. (One thing I like about flying Delta is that they give you snacks. American and United don't give snacks. You have to buy them. So I like to fly on Delta.) When we arrived in Salt Lake the cold air was quite a shock to our systems after being in the mild South. We caught the Diamond shuttle to pick up our car. A little boy on the shuttle was talking to his mother and said something about the people on the shuttle. He said, "They look angry." His mother said, "They're not angry, just tired." It made me think we better smile, even if we're tired. It was good to get back to Orem, but we surely had a fun trip!

Today Steven, Rich and I went over to the Barretts and watched the BYU vs. Utah game with Lindy and the girls. (Nate was at the game with his dad, who his mom said had to get the doctor's permission before she would let him go.) We took Arby's for lunch and had a fun time with Lindy and the girls. Thank goodness BYU was able to pull out a win in the last minute. Tiffany called during the game to say she had made all her connections and was on the train to Mattoon; she called later to say she had made it home to Charleston safely. She was expecting Sis. Stowell to pick her up at the train station in Mattoon, but Greg picked her up instead. I'm glad we all made it back safe and sound. What a great Thanksgiving vacation we had!

It's Called "Francom-ite-ess"

Last night at the wedding dinner for Cousin Michael and his fiancee, Sarah Francom, we found out that Sarah is not really being what we thought was grumpy or mad. During the dinner speeches, they explained that it's just a family trait, which they call "Francom-ite-ess." That's where people think they don't smile and they're being mad or grumpy, but they're really not. Actually, they're happy, they just don't show it. So at the bridal shower the other day, I guess Sarah wasn't really being grumpy or mad, she was just exhibiting "Francom-ite-ess." How was I supposed to know? Last night at the dinner, however, she seemed genuinely happy and she was smiling a lot. There were a lot of family members there from both sides. The dinner was at "Granny's house," which we wondered if it was a restaurant that we hadn't heard about or something. But it was, indeed, at "Granny's" house. She's Sarah's "Granny" and that's all they call her. The dinner, prepared mostly by Aunt Tamera and friends, was delicious--pulled pork, mashed potatoes & gravy, and green beans almondine. For dessert, pumpkin pie. The highlight of the dinner for us was the French bread, served with the appetizer salad, which was all made by Granny, who is French. It was the best thing we have ever tasted! Grandpa T. and Cathy were even able to come, and Grandpa got along pretty well. He said he surely would have felt bad if he had stayed home knowing what he would have missed. Bob and Sandy were there along with Clark and Barbara and David and Tamera's family (except for Kristin who arrived late last night from Texas). So all in all, it was a very nice evening.

Yesterday Karalie called with the news that she has cancer occurrence #4. That's not good news. Just before her upcoming birthday party, too. She'll find out soon how the doctors want to approach everything. We're praying for you, Karalie.

Today Steven and I went over and played with the little girls while Lindy went to the store for a few minutes. Nate has been on a business trip to North Carolina since Thursday, and will come home tonight. So while Lindy was gone, Steven and I played with them in the playroom and enjoyed all the delicious food they prepared for us, Sidney included. There was also some dancing going on. Then we had some hogi sandwiches for lunch before playing outside for a little while. It was a lot of fun.

Now we're just doing some laundry and packing for our trip on Monday. We talked to Tiff on the phone this morning as she was headed to Chicago from Mattoon on the train. She should be in Chicago right now headed for the airport, then off to South Carolina this evening. We hope she has a good trip. We're all excited to see Sarah and Joel and Eliza this week.

A Fine, Fall Day

It looks like another beautiful fall day outside today. It's gotten a little chilly, but it's still nice weather to be outside. I don't think it's going to last, though. Today I'm scheduled to go have my mammogram at 9:00, so that should finish up all that stuff for this year, hopefully. Then, this evening, Steven and I are going to Cousin Michael's wedding dinner over in PG at "Granny's Place." Here's hoping that his fiancee, Sarah, will be happier than she was at the shower. They're getting married tomorrow in the Salt Lake Temple. We think that the dinner tonight will be the extent of our involvement.

Yesterday turned out to be a good day to get things done around here--laundry, walking, etc. I went VTing to Kelli Johnson's and found out that she is going to have to have surgery on her foot. I'll check with her today to see if she got it scheduled. After VTing I got my hair done and then I was set for the day.

Steven got along well at the MTC on Wednesday night. It turned out that there were only 19 new elders who came into the branch rather than 22. Nineteen is still a lot. Steven was able to interview all of them before the evening was over, so that was good.

Well, I'm off for my mammogram.

Funeral for a Friend

Today Steven and I went to Doug Cox's funeral. He died last Thursday after 18 months with lung cancer. Doug was asst. director of the Bean Museum for 28 years, so he and Steven have worked together for a long time in the College. We always enjoyed Doug and his wife, Ann, every year at the Bean Museum Christmas party. Doug and Ken Packer always made sure that there was plenty of good food and fun at the party. Just last year at the party Doug and Ann seemed pretty optimistic about his chances of beating the cancer, but I guess it was not meant to be. The funeral today was a very nice tribute to him and his life. Every year at the party Ann always tells us the latest happenings with their six children, so we have always felt like we know them, even though we didn't meet them until today. Their youngest son, Trevor, is on a mission in Guatemala.

After the funeral, Steven and I had lunch here at home with Richard, and then Steven went in to work. So I just did the usual things for Monday: some laundry, Curves, and a nice walk at the track. The weather was beautiful again today after being rainy and "blustery" (as Lindy described it) yesterday.

Richard gave the FHE lesson tonight on "Gratitude" in preparation for Thanksgiving which is coming up next week. We're really looking forward to our trip to South Carolina next Monday to see Sarah, Joel and Eliza, as well as Tiffany, who will be flying there on Saturday.

Another Nice Fall Day

I'm going to keep track of these nice fall days so that when it turns cold we'll remember that we did have some nice days before winter set in. It was cool enough for a jacket over at the track, but a nice day for walking. I wonder how long it will last. I'm waiting for Dad to come home. He was stopping by the MTC on his way home, but he thought he'd be here by 5:30. (It's 5:35 right now.) As soon as he gets home we're going to go to Berg Mortuary in Provo for Uncle George's viewing. Grandma called me on Tuesday, I think it was, and told me he had passed away. He's been sick for awhile I guess. So his viewing is tonight and the funeral is tomorrow at 11:00. Dad and I thought we'd go by the mortuary and visit with Aunt Lyle and the cousins and then go over to Springville. I've been wanting to try that baked apple chicken dish that they have at Cracker Barrel for fall. I hope they still have it. So we'll go to Cracker Barrel and then over to the T's for a visit before heading to AF. In addition to Uncle George's funeral tomorrow is a bridal shower at Aunt Tamera's for Cousin Michael's fiance, Sarah, at 2:30. I think I'll plan to go to that. I just remembered, I haven't told Lindy anything about it, so I must give her a call. Well, I just heard Dad pull in, so I guess we'll head out. I hope everyone's having a good day!

It's November!

Today the Halloween decorations are coming down and the Thanksgiving decorations are going up. We MUST enjoy these nice days of fall before Thanksgiving without giving into all the festivities leading up to Christmas. (Starting December 1 is fine with me.) The fall wreath is on the door and little pilgrims placed strategically around. Thanksgiving will be here before we know it. Dad, Rich and I are surely looking forward to our trip to South Carolina on the 19th and our visit with Joel, Sarah and Eliza, as well as with Tiffany who will be flying there from Illinois on the 17th. We'll miss all the Barretts, but we're sure they'll have a nice time with Grandpa and Grandma Barrett for Thanksgiving dinner.

It has been another lovely fall day in Orem. I got my hair done today and went to Curves and walking at the track inbetween spurts of Thanksgiving decorating and laundry. It's nice when Steven can be home in the evening as he is tonight. (That's when he gets his ironing done!)

An Evening with Elder and Sister Bednar

Tonight at the MTC we got to hear from Elder and Sister Bednar! The missionaries were thrilled to be able to hear from an apostle. Two of the missionaries who are leaving tomorrow for the Dominican Republic were especially thrilled. Elder Smith said, "I was hoping and praying that I could hear an apostle speak before I left." Several of the missionaries mentioned that they appreciated hearing Elder Bednar say, "You can do this." He spoke about the Articles of Faith and how in sequence and content they explain the doctrine of the Church. He said, "The Articles of Faith can answer any religious question." He also told about receiving an e-mail today that reminded him of where he was exactly 35 years ago tonight at 7:00 p.m. He was baptising a young German man who has now been a faithful member of the Church for 35 years. The German man e-mailed Elder Bednar to remind him. Sis. Bednar spoke about the importance of missionary service and encouraged the missionaries to be "the kind of missionary your mother thinks you are." Afterwards, several of the elders mentioned that they wanted to be that kind of missionary. It was a very nice evening. I especially like hearing the comments from the missionaries afterward. Before the devotional we had dinner in the cafeteria with our friends, Rick and Yevon Romney, who are in another Spanish-speaking branch presidency. It was good to visit with them. Rick made us laugh with his funny food combinations. For example: french fries, saurkraut and turkey followed by two bowls of vegetable beef soup, a banana, ice cream bar and chocolate dessert.

Today has been a good day. I went for a nice fall walk at the track and got some things done here around home before leaving for AF and then the MTC. I'm looking forward to being with the little Barrett girls tomorrow for Halloween. Richard will be at work and Steven will be at the MTC greeting the new missionaries who come tomorrow. So I'm going to pick up a Jack-o-Lantern pizza at Papa Murphey's and take it to the Barretts for dinner. It will be fun to see the little girls in their costumes. We're looking forward to hearing about Tiff's Halloween adventures and seeing pictures of Eliza in her costume. Happy Halloween Eve everyone!

Another Beautiful Fall Day!

It was another beautiful fall day here in Orem. You couldn't ask for nicer weather. Today was my hairdo day and a day for laundry. I also went to Curves again because I won't be able to go tomorrow. (I usually go every other day.) I also had time for a nice walk at the track this afternoon. While there I saw Cheree Marcov and her two cute little boys. She said to say "hi to the girls" (she saw Richard while there at the track). On my way back from AF I stopped by Lindy's and played with the little girls while Lindy finished a big sanding project on the Barbie house which she has been trying to get to forever. The girls and I had fun in the playroom--Camden and Riley fixed lots of good food for Sidney and me. Sidney quite enjoyed all the things they gave her to "eat." Then tonight Bro. Sanders came for a home teaching visit and talked to us about conference. Now we're on our way over to AF to get Rich and to make a stop by Macey's. Tomorrow I'm heading down to St. George with Karalie so we can attend Auntie Reah's 90th birthday party on Saturday. Steven and Richard will hold the fort down here, and then I'll be back Sunday in time for dinner, which Lindy was nice enough to say she would fix. Steven's hoping that the Rockies will do better tonight than last night when they lost to the Red Sox 13-1! Adios for now.

A Most Beautiful Day for a Walk

I think Sidney and I had the best walk ever this morning. It was such a gorgeous day! While Lindy was doing pre-school, I got Sidney bundled up in her warm gear and we took off for a walk. It actually wasn't cold, just kind of cool with a slight breeze. The sun was shining and the sky was bright blue without a cloud in sight. Then with the fall leaves and the cool, crisp air it was a perfect fall day for a walk. Sidney was enjoying it and just relaxing in her stroller. Then she went to sleep, she was so cozy. We ended up walking for an hour and a half! It was so fun!She woke up when Camden arrived home on the school bus. Riley had a good day at pre-school. Lindy said she was the best student in the class. So what a fun fall day! I just got back from Curves and now it's time to run to AF then to Macey's for a minute. I'm looking forward to a nice evening here with Steven home. He's glad that the World Series starts tonight and he can be here to watch it. He's rooting for Colorado.

An Evening at the "Empty Sea"

Steven and I had a nice evening at the "Empty Sea" (MTC) last night. We had beef soup and mandarin chicken salad for dinner (pretty good, actually) and visited with Bro. and Sis. Rampton while we ate (he used to be one of Steven's counselors in the branch presidency). Then we went to the devotional where Sis. Cheryl C. Lant, Primary general president, was the featured speaker. Her husband, Pres. John Lant (president of Branch 3 at the MTC), also spoke. He spoke about how we should not only read the Book of Mormon, but we should know the Book of Mormon. He told of a missionary in their branch who was having trouble with the language and Pres. Lant asked him if he had read the Book of Mormon. The elder said he hadn't. So Pres. Lant challenged him to read the Book of Mormon, which he did. And it changed his life. Pres. Lant said the Holy Ghost descended upon him; he became more obedient, the language came more easily--he was a changed missionary. He said, "The Book of Mormon will change your heart." Sis. Lant spoke to the missionaries about using the scriptures in their teaching. She said, "The scriptures give validity and authority to what you are teaching." She also encouraged the missionaries to involve the children of the families they are teaching because children can receive a witness to the truth for themselves. She reminded them that many times, children will lead the way for their families.

After the devotional, Dad and I met with the elders in District C in their district meeting to hear their testimonies and their thoughts about the devotional. Elder Pulu told about how when he was a young boy he didn't talk very much. He stuttered and couldn't use very many words. Then his mother gave him a Book of Mormon and asked him to read it. He didn't want to at first; but he did, eventually, and it helped him be able to speak better. I like being in the district meetings and feeling the spirit that is there with the missionaries. I left a bit early to go to American Fork, so I didn't get to hear from all of them.

I had a fun time over at Nate and Lindy's in the afternoon with Riley and Sidney while Camden and Lindy went to the dentist. Camden had on her red polka dot skirt and looked so cute. Sidney was asleep and Riley was at her friend's house but came home before too long. We read Halloween stories and played a matching card game until Sidney woke up. Sidney always acts surprised to see Gramma when she wakes up, but she was so cute and we had fun until Lindy and Camden came home. Camden had three cavities. Oh. Oh.

Well, it's about time to head over to Lindy's to help with Sidney while she has Riley's pre-school this morning. Maybe Sid and I will go for a walk if it's not too cold. That's always fun. Then this afternoon I'll go to Curves before heading to AF with Rich. Steven isn't getting new missionaries tonight so he gets to be home this evening. That will be nice.

I hope things go well for Tiffany's presentation in her Museum class today and that Sarah and Joel and Eliza have a nice day in South Carolina

Gramma Tries Something New

Today I thought I'd like to try something new--create a blog! I said to myself, "If the girls can do it, so can I." (But maybe not as well.) I'll have to find out from them how to put pictures on and things like that. Activities for today include: Send Steven off to work, read everyone's blogs, have breakfast, go to the store, get other things done (laundry, walking etc.), go to Lindy's to stay with Riley and Sid while Lindy and Camden visit the dentist, go to American Fork with Richard, meet Steven at the MTC, have dinner, listen to the speaker at the devotional (who will it be?), meet with the missionaries in district meeting, pick Rich up in AF, home again. Sounds like it should be a pretty good day. Actually, Tuesday is one of my favorite days.