Natalie's Apartment; Goldens Start School; Luke's Accident

Laurie appreciated the loan of my Dad's vehicle while she was in town helping Natalie get her apartment all set up.

When she returned the vehicle to us, she was in tears. The night before she had stayed up late with Natalie on their last night together and had a very tearful farewell. Laurie promised Natalie she wouldn't try to see her at her cosmetology school that morning because she didn't want Natalie going in to her school crying.

Instead, Laurie came here crying. It was so tender having her share her feelings and experiences of getting her oldest child settled and then telling her good-bye and flying 1,000 miles away. 

I could relate so much as my heart broke each time I told one of our children good-bye--when they were going on missions and/or going off to college.

I was glad Laurie had us to talk to about it before she went to the airport. We wished we had more time to be with her, but she was at our home at the beginning of her trip and that was when we were on our vacation. 

The good thing is Jacob has already planned to bring their whole family to Utah next month to go to a BYU football game and they will see Natalie again then. That helps to make parting less painful when there is a set date to see each other again.

Natalie's roommates weren't going to be there until at least the weekend or beyond, so we made plans to go see her on Saturday after she was finished with school for the day. She goes to school Tuesday through Saturday.

We had the rest of her stuff to give to her and we wanted to see her apartment. We also wanted to take her to dinner. We were looking forward to having a nice dinner together and when we asked Natalie where she wanted to go, we were both shocked when she said Chick-fil-A. WHAT??!!??

Of course that is Glen's favorite restaurant (although he, too, was expecting a nicer restaurant experience that evening...), so he and Natalie were in Chick-fil-A hog heaven! 

Glen helped get her television set up and working.

Natalie's side of the bedroom was all set up and looking cute.

She reached under her bed and pulled out Aiden--the hair model. I can see why she didn't have that guy  thing on display anywhere but out of sight in her bedroom!!

The kitchen had a little problem with the stove being so close to the wall. There are burn marks on the wall. We were afraid her apartment could catch on fire. 

Natalie reported the problem to the manager, but in the meantime, we bought her a fire extinguisher just in case...

Natalie did not know any of her future roommates. She was hoping to have Leslie sharing her room and that arrangement worked out for both of them.

It appears these two girls are hitting it off nicely. How wonderful!

After seeing all the freezer jam Laurie and Natalie made (with most of it now stored in our freezer), I got ambitious and made some jam for myself. YUM!! Sure felt accomplished that day!!

We had Sunday dinner with Rebecca's and Ben's families so we could hear all about Ben and Haley's 3-week vacation in New York with Haley's parents. The photos we had seen looked like they were having fun. 

Caroline sure missed the babies. She always waits so anxiously for Ben's family to arrive and is in her happy place with Kade and Levi around.

Glen, Levi and I had a matching color scheme going on.

We were at Rebecca's when it was time for her to go to the elementary school's open house. I loved that they all rode their bikes to the school. Fun!!

Right after the elementary school open house, she took Caroline and Brooke to the junior high school open house. Caroline is one of the young ones in her school and Brooke is part of the oldest group at that school. 

Caroline found her locker and was able to open the combination. That is always a major accomplishment for the first-time locker users.

Brooke on the first day of school--9th grade--sporting her new contact lenses.

Caroline is starting 7th grade.

Spencer is starting 5th grade.

And Madison is now in 2nd grade. 

When she got home from her first day of school, she lost her front tooth. What a momentous day for that little girl!

Abe's family has now moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. They have bought a home to live in while the home they originally bought is finishing being remodeled. 

They needed to relocate now for Abe to be able to work out of the Charlotte office and for the children to be able to start school in that area.

Klarissa was sharing with me all the hassles of figuring out school drop off and pick up and riding the bus and both options were taking forever.

They had just moved, were doing indoor house painting, and still hadn't finished unpacking when she is trying to figure things out for the school-age kids while keeping track of a toddler and taking care of an infant baby. On top of that Abe was out of town. WOW!! 

Then the conversation turned to Magnus.

There has been some excitement going on in Jacob's family. Luke had an accident. He was on a hoverboard racing Claire down a hill and fell. He broke both his wrists. SAD!!!!

There is now a cast on one arm because of breaks in two places and a splint on the other arm. Not-so-great timing as school has just begun!!!

Jacob's family did have some great news when they showed us Vala's Pumpkin Patch has opened early this year. That is such a fun family place to go in the fall. 

Another fun activity is golfing--for Glen and Nani that is. Nani has been trying her skill with golfing and Glen wanted in on the fun. After playing 9 holes at the Rose Park Golf Course, we went to dinner at Cubby's.

Glen went to dinner and to an Ogden Raptors baseball game one evening with five of his childhood buddies. 

While he was gone, I was sitting outside reading a book and enjoying the beautiful evening when Rebecca surprised me. 

I was excited to have someone to talk to when she informed me she had just been to a meeting at the junior high school and was on her way to book group and was stopping by for just a second to use the bathroom. HA! 

In my yearning for someone to talk to, I felt very happy when my friend Diane walked across the street so we could visit until it got dark. 

As Glen was having a wonderful evening outside, I was also having my own kind of wonderful evening outside as well.

Friday evening date night was dinner at Maddox with Glen's sisters--Maurine and Ray and Barbara and Rich. 

While we were waiting for Rich and Barbara to arrive, in walked their daughter Jennifer and her daughter Makaylee. They were waiting for Jennifer's husband Jon and Makaylee's boyfriend Noah to arrive.

It was a fun little reunion for all of us and especially great to see the surprised look on Barbara and Rich's faces when they saw some of their family there at the exact same time we were there. So fun to visit together for a few minutes with them as we don't see them very often.

We had an early dinner at Maddox for two reasons.

1. To beat the horrible northbound rush hour traffic.
2. To get back to Bountiful in time for the last free concert in the park.

Boy was it worth it when we watched Jan serenading Bill during one of the songs. She and LaVona were feeling the music and got up and danced a few times. Those women live life with gusto!

These were the friends who were able to attend the concert: Lane and LaVona Lewis; Bill and Jan Evans; us; and Diane and Grant Stewart. 

We attended a wedding reception of one of our missionaries--Kaylene Overson and her new husband Adam Washburn.

We also recently had dinner with another of our missionaries--Annalisa Jones who recently got engaged to Dirk Broadhead.

Today we had a missionary reunion planning zoom call with three other missionaries. We will soon be gathering together and it will be interesting to see how many of our missionaries will be able to attend.

Quotes of the Week

 Are you willing to let God be the most important influence in your life? Will you allow His voice to take priority over any other? Are you willing to let whatever He needs you to do take precedence over every other ambition?

--Russell M. Nelson

As you come to know and love Him even more deeply, your words will flow more comfortably, as they do when you speak of one of your children or of a dear friend. Those listening to  you will feel less like debating or dismissing you and more like learning from you.

--Neal A. Andersen

Brothers and sisters, would  you be willing to be an instrument in the Lord's hands? To be an emissary, sent from God, from this side of the veil, for someone He is worried about? He needs you. They need you.

--Carlos Godoy

Quotes of the Week

 Wile it can seem dark and scary to not know what lies ahead, prophets long ago saw our day... and knew this time would be an age of light and wonderment such as the world has never before experienced. 

--M. Russell Ballard

The help we can receive from the Lord in our goals and righteous pursuits is unlimited, and He supports us in any good and righteous endeavor.

-- Ulisses Soares

I promise that if we are willing to serve, the Lord will give us opportunities to be ministering angels. He knows who needs angelic help, and He will put them in our path. The Lord puts those who need angelic help in our path daily.

--Carlos Godoy

Trae and Marissa Jordan's Rooftop Wedding; Sunday With Dahlquists

One of our mission assistants was marrying a girl from Olathe, Kansas, and we were invited to their Kansas City wedding celebration.

It was a rooftop wedding ceremony with the luncheon following in this indoor space.

The weather was so absolutely divine for the middle of August in that part of the country. The storm that had just passed through the area had cooled things down and the humidity was very tolerable. 

There were less than 30 people at the wedding ceremony. After the ring exchange and the kiss, Marissa and Trae boogied down the aisle. Then each row of people took turns boogieing down the aisle. 

We had been asked ahead of time to be prepared to boogie. When it came time to boogie, with the video camera going, I deemed that to be my least favorite part of the whole wedding experience. HA!! (Spoken from an extreme non-dancer!!)

After the luncheon, we took turns stepping outside to get photos taken with the bride and groom.

Marissa's wedding bouquet was one of the biggest I have ever seen.

Kyle Lundquist (another one of our mission assistants) was one of the groomsmen. 

I wanted a picture of the four of us California Carlsbad missionaries with the "PRESIDENT" sign on a nearby building as part of our photo because that is the title Elder Jordan and Elder Lindquist use to address Glen. 

We had three hours between the luncheon and the evening reception that we were wondering what we were going to do with ourselves. We learned Kyle was unable to stay for the evening festivities because he had to catch a plane and fly somewhere to join his family on vacation.

When we asked how he was going to get to the airport, he said he had planned to Uber there. We told him we would be his Uber--free of charge.

It was fun to spend that time visiting with him as we drove him to the airport.

We still had some time left and decided to go to a nearby restaurant for another version of Kansas City BBQ. The bride's father had suggested Slap's to us as his favorite BBQ place. 

Everywhere we went in Kansas City, there was a mask mandate, so it was nice to sit outside in the pleasant weather to eat.

We got back to the rooftop just as the 3-hour reception was beginning. The enjoyed looking at the views from the rooftop. We stayed in the outside area so we wouldn't have to wear our masks. 

It was very enjoyable talking to the relatives and friends of the wedding couple. They will be having another reception in Apple Valley, California after their honeymoon to Cancun, Mexico.

The bride and groom arrived at the reception riding scooters and left in a convertible. It had been a lovely celebration.

The next day was a free day. We decided to go to Liberty Jail. This photo was taken to help me remember how we had to wear masks everywhere we went in Kansas City. (Getting so sick of MASKS!!!!)

Inside the building, we joined in on a tour. There was a display of the reconstructed Liberty Jail showing the outside door of the jail. We are very familiar now with the double doors in a jail/prison. 

The other side was a cutaway of the jail allowing visitors a view inside. On December 1, 1838, the Prophet Joseph Smith and five other men were falsely accused of treason and imprisoned in the original Liberty Jail. 

Sidney Rigdon was released from the jail in early February 1839. The others--Joseph and Hyrum Smith, Lyman Wight, Caleb Baldwin and Alexander McRae--remained there until early April 1839.  

The Prophet Joseph Smith and the other men with him endured a lot of misery in that freezing jail. Along with the suffering, there were great revelations and answers to prayer that Joseph received while there. 

Some of the most poignant scriptural verses were penned in that prison. B.H. Roberts, an early church leader and historian said, "It was a place of meditation and prayer...Joseph Smith sought God in this rude prison and found Him. Liberty Jail was more temple than prison so long as the Prophet was there."

We drove to Richmond, Missouri to go to the Ray County Museum. It was a little creepy to walk up to it and see a figure in the upper window. There were actually several creepy mannequins on the second floor that made me happy when we left that area of the museum.

The museum has artifacts from the early 1800s up to modern day located in 50 rooms on three floors. It was built in the shape of a "Y" and covers one-third of an acre. 

The building was built in 1910 and was a totally modern building for its day with electricity and indoor plumbing. It served as the Ray County Poor Farm from 1910 to 1960 and was a private rest home from 1960 to 1971. 

There was a jail in the basement for any unruly residents. (See what I mean when I say there are creepy mannequins in the museum??!!??)

Several basement rooms were decorated with lots of farm tools and equipment. In one of the rooms the full-size horse mannequin startled me as I wasn't expecting to see a life-size animal standing there when I stepped inside that area.

Someone put a lot of work into making this quilt with each of the 50 states represented.

We were most interested in seeing the "Mormon room" that was filled with historic information and copies of the Book of Mormon. 

There were different rooms dedicated to different wars with various war memorabilia and uniforms. There were medical rooms and various other themed-rooms.

The Native American room had some interesting artwork made with Indian arrowheads.

I enjoyed looking around the schoolroom (with a couple more of the lovely mannequins).

There was a lot more we saw as we hurried through the museum. From there we went to the cemetery and saw where David Whitmer is buried.

Next stop was Independence, Missouri. The Community of Christ headquarters with temple and auditorium are located there.

Right across the street is our church's Independence Visitors' Center.  

I like the beautiful Christus statue you see when you walk in the front door. 

During the tour, we learn a little bit about life in this 1830s Latter-day Saint community that was formed in this city. 

The Lord had revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith that Independence, in Jackson County, Missouri, would become a "city of Zion," a gathering place for Saints, and a location for a future temple.

We looked at a replica of the printing press run by William W. Phelps which was used to print the Church's first newspaper. Also printed there were the revelations in the Book of Commandments which is now one of our books of scripture called The Doctrine and Covenants. 

A mob destroyed the press, scattered the type and leveled the building where the print shop was located. The early Saints sure had to endure a lot of hateful persecution.

That evening we had dinner at Hereford House. I was on a Kansas City BBQ roll and decided to order BBQ ribs.

We enjoyed the beautiful view of the sun setting behind the city's buildings as we drove toward our hotel.

On Sunday, we went to church with our good friends Carl and Sherrie Dahlquist. Their ward meets now in Lee's Summit. After church, we drove by our old house in Blue Springs. 

We had this house built for us. When we lived there, the neighborhood was so new and there were only small trees and very little other vegetation. 

Our yard had very, very little landscaping, so I have to say I was impressed with what the future homeowners have done with the yard.

It is also painted a different color. We barely recognized it. So weird to look at it all these years later when it looks so unlike what we remember.

Carl and Sherrie lived in that same neighborhood a few streets over. We became the best of friends with Michael and Jacob being best friends and Rebecca and Kari being best friends. 

The Dahlquists moved to a different home in a different neighborhood in Blue Springs quite a few years ago.

They were so kind to feed us lunch and we enjoyed visiting all afternoon with them.

We got caught up on what their children are doing. They, like us, have five children and nineteen grandchildren. Crazy!!

It is fun to see pictures of their children all grown up with families of their own. But, this photo caught my eye because this is how I most remember Melissa, Michael, Kari, Kevin and Ryan Dahlquist.

Our hotel was at the Plaza, so later that evening, we went for a walk around the Plaza and chose this restaurant to have dinner.

We sat outside under one of the umbrellas and continued to enjoy the delightfully pleasant weather while we ate our meal.

We took a little walk over to the bridge to look at the water. Then we went to Cold Stone Creamery for an ice cream treat. It had been such a very nice day. It had been a very nice vacation. So much to love about that whole experience.

The next morning we were up and on our way back home. We passed under the arch monument once again going the opposite direction.

Glen had two conference calls that afternoon, so he was wearing a suit so he would look appropriate for the call. He had planned to just stop the car somewhere and make the call from the inside of the car.

I was not too keen on that idea. We were already spending lots and lots of time in the car. I found a library in one of the small towns we were passing by and Glen consented to go there to make his call.

Looking so official in his suit, white shirt and tie, the librarian offered him their conference room to make his calls. That was much more professional than being in a car. And much more comfortable for both of us! 

True to his word, Glen did not make us drive straight through. We stopped for the night in Cheyenne. After having driven for many hours through dry, windy, barren, sage-brushy Wyoming, I had to laugh at the advertisement for the restaurant we chose for that evening.

I was sure glad we stopped for the night. Neither one of us were too happy about how close the hotel was to a very active train track that had trains noisily clacking by very frequently, and all through the night--or so it seemed.

We made it home safe and sound. While I had the most relaxing and enjoyable time away, Glen was dealing with the Park City fire most of the time we were gone. 

Park City is his area and whenever there is a disaster of any kind, he needs to be communicating with the stake presidents in the area to assess the damage and see how he can be of help with resources to help the people. 

The route we took home went right by the Park City fire which started right next to the freeway. Thankfully, we saw no active burning and the fire did not harm any structures. The rains the past couple of days have helped immensely in finishing up the burn. 

While we were gone, Laurie and Natalie had arrived in Utah and stayed here a couple of days before relocating to Provo so Laurie could help Natalie move into her apartment. 

One of their projects to accomplish upon arrival here was make freezer jam for Natalie. They were successful in making many containers of jam and I was so happy to see they had a container for me to enjoy. It made my day!!

Natalie began her first day of cosmetology school. I love that Laurie had made the traditional first day of school sign for each of their children--including Natalie.

Laurie was so sad she wasn't able to be at home with the other four children who were having their first day of school. They all managed to get their pictures taken with their signs, so that made Laurie and me happy!

We had a little 9-year-old Newland birthday boy. It was fun to see his cute, smiling face as we sang the birthday song to him and learned what he had been doing on his birthday.

Abe was looking good after his deviated septum surgery. The photo we saw right after his surgery was not pretty! Poor guy! He was so miserable with the splints the doctor had put in his nose that he went to the doctor a few days after surgery to see if something was wrong.

Once the doctor pulled out the splints and vacuumed out his nasal passages, he felt like a new man. That was so good to hear that he was doing so much better. And then to see our handsome son smiling and happy and looking normal was a really great sight!