Wednesday, April 29, 2009

On the Road Again!

Westridge Academy Gala Fundraiser for teenagers out of control!

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After a nice long stint at home and just after we hosted the Westridge Academy Dinner that Lenna and crew worked so hard to make a success, we're back on the road!

On my birthday we took off for Fort Worth for a YPO speech.

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We had a fabulous hotel suite looking over the city building in Fort Worth which was a spectacular view!

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Our hosts were the only the second members of the church we've met on our YPO rounds and they were a delightful couple with six little girls, mostly homeschooled!  They inspired us to do better and be better with missionary work!

Next we went on to Washington D.C. where we stayed with our fun friends the Archibalds and had a chance to be hang out with their son Anthony who has just been accepted at the Harvard Business School and is darling wife Kristin, who is due with their first baby in about three weeks. 

We drove all over the D.C. area and visited the brand new Museum of American Indians on the Mall, which was fabulous!

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If you look hard you'll see the spires of the capitol in the background.

Next we had a wonderful group of people at the Temple Visitor's Center where we spoke for our dear friends Bob and Mary Rich from our ward who were just called to run the Visitor's Center there.

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The musical number was by a little boy who used to play with Shawni when he was two years old when we lived in Virginia...Justin Hart and his wife Heather. Their voices are simply spectacular!

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We had such an amazing experience seeing old friends and greeting people who knew everyone of our children from some place or other!  Lots of Pothier's friends were there since they had lived here almost as long as we did and many who were following Shawni's blog! That was an evening to remember!

Now we're in Toronto!  We are having so much fun with Chris and Hedy and their missionaries!  Last night we had a huge crowd for a parenting seminar and then met with all the bishops and the stake presidency for an hour after the meeting!  It was so fun to see a cute girl, Yura, run up to us afterward and tell us that she had been in Jerusalem with Eli and Julie!  The Stake Presidency member who conducted (back row, far left) also told me he had been listening to the Cricket and Seagull Fireside Chat that Shawni and I did with Steven Kapp Perry a couple of weeks ago on a podcast.  What a small world we have with the Internet!

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Easter Excitement!

I can't believe that I haven't posted anything about our exciting Easter adventures!  We had so much fun with Tal and Anita!  That girl is amazing...and so is Tal!  They headed up to see Grandma in the hospital the morning after they got here.

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While they were gone, we had a college roommate reunion at Baliwood that was SO fun! Some of us hadn't seen each other for forty years!  How could that be possible? 

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A great time was had by all! 

Like a whirlwind, Tal and Anita arrived back and the next day we took off for St. George where Saren had a carefully planned agenda that created a weekend we'll never forget!  Ulie and Eli were with us and as always, the Loosli kids keep St. George visits exciting!

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A morning hike with the girls was fun and L-O-N-G!  We just couldn't quit talking long enough to turn around!  We were mighty cold by the time we got back to the van..especially Julie!

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The Dragon Hike!

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What a place!  Simply spectacular!

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What a fun Easter Egg hunt we had at the pool!  The only things missing: Jonah and Aja, Aniston, Camden and Elsie!  We sure missed those guys!

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Hercules joined us for the party! 

We drove back to Baliwood on Saturday night and had a huge blowout in Dad's car on the way to church in SL the next morning.  Thank goodness Eli was able to get us to the side of the road and Tal and Eli were there to change the tire.  Dad was returning our rented van and missed all the excitement!

It was so fun to have Tal back in the ward for Easter Sunday and introduce Anita to our ward family.  It was truly a weekend to remember! 

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Missionary Reunion!

In preparation for our missionary reunion this summer, we had a little reunion last night at Baliwood!  It was so fun to see so many great friends, all grown up.  Some are still parents of little kids but most are empty nesters and have kids who have been on missions themselves and are parents themselves. That makes our missionaries grandparents!  Unbelievable!  I didn't think to take pictures until most had gone home but here are some of our choice missionaries!

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Elder Hawks and four of his five children!

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Three of our outstanding sisters, two of which are coming to England and helping us organize the reunion there!

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The Chadburns!  Two brothers married two sisters. Both brothers were in our mission but one was attending an out-of-state funeral.  The couple on the left have 10 children and the family on the right have seven!

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The wonderful Barkers who will also be in England!

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The Nielsens who have TWELVE children and ten grandchildren.  Since they have only (?) five left at home, she is working fervently on genealogy because she is a convert and has so many people to find! 

Despite the fact that it snowed ALL day and is still snowing as I write (winter has NOT lost it's icy grip) we got about forty people in and out of here with only one accident (mine). I slid into the renter's truck while trying to pass in the driveway with not enough space SHUCKS!

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Poor little pansies!  Frank Johnson says they'll survive!

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