Monday, August 31, 2009

Passing the Book

After 3 1/2 years of serving as Relief Society President, I got released on Sunday. Of course I have mixed emotions about it because I have loved working with my presidency and have loved serving the sisters in our ward.

But, there is something I will NOT miss and that is dealing with the constant need for visiting teaching changes. These lovely visiting teaching boards, that often sat on the kitchen table and that I stared at for many hours every time there were changes to be made, are no longer in my possession.


I very happily turned them over to the new president, along with a big bag of miscellaneous stuff, the box of birthday gifts for the remainder of the year, the church keys, and the big, blue binder.


Tricia Garrett put on a happy face as I passed the book over to her following our 2 1/2 hour meeting where I attempted to tell her all she will ever need to know to step into place as the new Relief Society President.


You go, girl!!

Friday, August 28, 2009

Las Vegas Courtesy of Grover

Luck was on our side when we not only got to see Jeff and Sarah up here over the 24th of July weekend, but also last weekend as well when we stopped in Cedar City to have lunch at Winger's with them before continuing on to Las Vegas.



It was a sweltering 115 degrees when we arrived in Las Vegas at 3:07 that afternoon.


Grover Ferguson, who used to work at G&K, invited us to Vegas where he wanted to show us a good time. We had received our travel plans from him and found that we would be staying at the Mandalay Bay.


Sarah wanted us to take pictures of the beautiful suite that was provided for our stay the two nights we were there. Upon entering the room, there was a huge, full-length mirror on one wall and an etched-glass window looking into the bathroom on the other wall.


Glen lost no time in finding a game to watch on the big, flat-screen T.V. mounted on the wall across from the bed.



We definitely hadn't brought enough clothes to fill up one, much less both, of the closets. In fact, we had inadvertently left behind our garment bag with Glen's suit and dress shirts in them, so we really had not much of anything to hang in the closets.


The bathroom was well equipped with an over-sized jazucci, shower, flat-screen T.V. between the two sinks and even a phone in the throne room.




Along the curtained, window wall, there was a sitting area and a dining area.




And here was our view of Vegas from the window.


This is the only time during our trip that I saw Glen pull out his wallet to spend our money (except to buy gas and to buy us a slush drink at Sonic the next day--and that was during happy hour which meant that we got those drinks at half price).

I couldn't believe my good fortune when Glen consented to taking me to the Wynn for a buffet dinner that evening. I've been wanting to go back ever since Chris and I ate the most delicious, over-priced brunch ever one year that we were in Vegas over my birthday weekend. Glen can now see a little bit better why I raved so much about that dining experience as he, too, admitted it was pretty good food.


Included in our trip packet were two complimentary tickets to see Blue Man Group. It was a very good, entertaining, fun show.




On the drive back to our hotel, it had cooled down a bit. At 10:11 p.m., it was 102 degrees.


The next morning, the plan was for Grover and his wife Sue to meet us at the hotel for breakfast. We assumed we'd eat there, but instead, we jumped into Grover's vehicle and he drove us out to their neighborhood where we ate breakfast at the country club. Good thing we didn't wear blue jeans as they are not allowed in the clubhouse.


Okay--here's my third and final temperature photo. Glen kept laughing at me taking all the photos of the car's dashboard. That day the temperature had dropped and it was a blessed 91 degrees at 2:45 in the afternoon. Normally I don't like the temperature at all when it's in the 90's, but compared to the day before, the 91 almost felt pleasant!


That evening we hooked back up with Grover and Sue for dinner. They took us to Prime Steakhouse at the Bellagio--a very expensive, swanky restaurant--and it's a good thing jackets were not required since Glen's was back at home in the forgotten garment bag. And good thing Glen had put his dress shoes and long pants in the suitcase so he had something presentable to wear that evening.


Our heart-felt thanks go out to the Fergusons for treating us to such a nice, relaxing weekend and for giving us a taste of the lifestyle of the rich and famous.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Sarah and Jeff Vacation Here

When we got back from the golf tournament in Wyoming, we could tell Sarah and Jeff had arrived. We saw that Sarah had found an old engagement photo of herself and Jeff and had posted it front and center on the refrigerator--to remind us that the world revolves around her--at least while she's in town.


They had spent that Saturday at Lagoon and were hungry when they got home.


After dinner we played some Rook and they were the winners.


On Sunday, Dallas and Rebecca brought their family up for dinner.


Brooke loved running around the house in her bright, red shoes, playing cars and jumping off the cabinet.





We all had our enjoyable moments with Caroline.



And Sarah even got her to smile.



So cute!!

Monday, August 24, 2009

Golf Tournament in Wyoming

Thayne, Wyoming, was the place where Glen got invited to participate in the Maverik Golf Tournament (Team 4A) held over the 24th of July weekend.


The poor man got a huge cut on his leg from a jagged, broken, wooden table top. Good thing it happened after he was finished golfing, because it was pretty sore and bloody for quite a while. During dinner, the golfers were awarded prizes and Glen won 2 tickets to an upcoming Jazz game which made him very happy and helped ease the pain of his injury.


There was one prize there that I did NOT want Glen to get and that was a motorized drink cooler. Fortunately, he did not win that prize, but he did offer to help the guy who won it get it back to San Francisco for him since he had flown in and didn't quite know how he could get the prize home on the plane. So, not only did we have the unwanted Budweiser gift sitting in the back seat of our car, but we also had a Miller Lite golf bag back there to go along with it.



Glen invited me to go with him since he was spending the night. We stayed at the Hi Country Inn located nearby in the small town of Afton, Wyoming, population 1818.



We ate breakfast at The Homestead and then drove around taking pictures of some of the interesting things in the quaint, little town of Afton.








It's very beautiful country up there and we had a great time taking it all in.