From Canada to the Caribbean to San Antonio

 

Wow, have we had a great couple of weeks! Dad left for a Senior Tennis Tournament last week, then on to the Philanthropic Forum in California. While he was gone Eli, Julie and I spent about a thousand hours getting wedding invitations ready to drop in the post box! They are so fun and creative. Eli, of course, took the picture himself!

Dad and I then met me in Winnipeg, Canada where we gave an EO morning seminar and headed for the airport to catch up with Saren, Shawni and Saydi in Tampa for a cruise down the Western Caribbean on a Book of Mormon tour. Even though Saren’s flight from Las Vegas was so slow that she missed her connection and had to stay in Charlotte, NC overnight, we all ended up together and had the BEST time! It was absolutely heaven to be with those women who are my best friends and fabulous mothers! We talked incessantly and caught up on all those years we haven’t been able to talk with kids underfoot! Although Dad and I had to take a little time to prepare speeches that we don’t usually give: “Great parents in the Book of Mormon” and “Great Marriages in the Book of Mormon”, we loved having so much time to reminisce, remember, re-invent and reconsider lots of great things. It was so fun to have the girls in the discussions with us. They always add so much! There were lots of wonderful people on board including a couple from Montpelier, Idaho and many people that we enjoyed getting to know!

We couldn’t get into Cayman because of the high waves so we went on to Cozemel where we saw some great Mesoamerican ruins and did some diving and snorkeling. Our next stop was Belize where we walked through the real downtown where tourist seldom go and had so much fun talking to families and playing with the school kids who loved having their pictures taken since we could show them the pictures afterward! We met a young mother who was 28 with four children including two year old identical twin girls whose husband had died last year. We were so excited to be able to talk to her for a while and slip her a little money on our way out.

Dad, Shawni and I had to leave for the airport as Saydi and Saren headed back for the boat and some more adventures which they’ll have to tell you about. Shawni really had to get home and Dad and I were due to meet Noah and Tal in San Antonio for an EO “Texas Roundup” and to see The Alamo! It was SOOO fun to see Noah and Tal’s presentation which added so much to ours! It was fun and funny and moving! Plus they did a lot of the work for us as we picked up where they left off and added the in-depth family stuff! FUN WEEK!

(This is the Alamo! Forgot to take pics of Tal and Noah. Shoot! )

We can never thank you husbands, kids, families, brothers, in-laws, friends and neighbors for helping with the kids in their absences! Kristi got double duty as she took care of Charlie and Hazel and then spent the weekend alone with McKay while Noah joined us in San Antonio. Kudos Kristi!!! Sorry we had so much fun without you all!

We’re on a plane home, which has been sitting in Dallas for an hour waiting for a defective part to be replaced. We have 48 hours to get about a thousand little things ready for the wedding before we fly off to San Diego to “meet the family” , go through the temple with Julie and enjoy a ward shower. It will be so fun to meet a lot of Julie’s family and ward members. We’ll get home on Friday night and the next morning we will be our ward shower. The lovely people in our ward will have gotten us through six of those fun events! We sure love that girl! She and Eli are so perfect for each other!` Eli’s might to have to learn how to be an lark instead of an owl but that will be good for him!

I have been working on Eli’s book all weekend and feeling a little melancholy that all those crazy days are gone. I forgot how often he ate chemicals, cologne and selsun blue! It will be fun to share a little bit of it with you when you come. What a great kid! I am SO blessed to be his mother!

We look forward to seeing most of you in less than two weeks! This is going to be so fun! Plus, it’s going to be so nice to spread out a little and have a little more room with another house!

Sure love you!