Time Out for Women...

How I enjoy Time Out for Women. It comes every other year to Cincinnati. Well, it is really in Covington, Kentucky which is right across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. People know Cincinnati. It is like saying the Cincinnati Airport. It is really in Kentucky. But, people know Cincinnati. The alternate year it is held in Indianapolis. I don't go to that one. 

This is the first year since before the pandemic that there was an 'in-person' Time Out for Women (TOFW). I was able to enjoy the on-line version during the pandemic. Happy to be back in person. 

This year's theme was Glorious Light. It was the 20th anniversary of TOFW. 

I drove up Friday, September 23rd, so that I arrived about 6pm. The doors would open for seating at 6:10pm. There would be a line to get in. Parking had gone from $10 a day to $20 a day. Ugh!! I arrived safely and on time. I went into the lobby of the Convention Center and picked up my arm band and my new tote bag. This is a biggy for every TOFW. They have a different style tote bag each year that you get with your registration. There is a logo imprinted with the theme for that year. The ladies all treasure their tote bag. The doors opened at 6:10 and I was fortunate enough to get a seat on the second row of the right side of the seating. There are big screens on either side of the stage so no one misses the view no matter where you sit. 

At 7pm the program began with the emcee welcoming everyone. She gives the things we need to know for the evening. How to register for the drawing of door prizes. How to participate in the Menti surveys. Who the vendors are. Etc., etc., etc.

She shared these pictures (and some others) of homes in Poland. It seems their homes would get dark spots on them in the kitchen area where the soot would stay. To cover that, the families would paint beautiful things on the walls to cover the dark spots. This eventually spread to the rest of the inside and the outside of the homes. The object lesson was to visually see that light covers the dark spaces. 

A couple of quotes she shared that I really liked were:

• Wherever you are, be there.
• As the world speaks less of Jesus Christ, let us speak more of Him. ~~ Neil Anderson

Then, all the presenters came to the stage and they each answered questions so we could get to know them a bit. Left to right: Melinda Brown, Jody Moore, Barbara Morgan Gardner, Reyna Aburto, Mary Ellen Edmunds and the emcee. I really should have captured her name! Ugh!

Friday evening was from 7pm to 9pm. The last hour we were entertained by Nathan Pacheco. His bio had this to say: "Nathan Pacheco is an award-winning classically trained tenor who expresses his love of languages by writing lyrics in Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. Nathan has a passion for uplifting people through his music." He is married with three children. His very first number was a song sung by Andrea Bocelli. I love hearing Andrea Bocelli sing and Nathan sounded exactly like him. My attention was caught. Nathan started by telling us that his favorite place to perform is in a room full of women. He was sincere, not flattering us. We would be very well entertained by him. He put on the screen the chorus to two of the songs he performed and the audience stood and sang the chorus with him. There was clapping to the music. There were hands in the air and swaying. The room was full of fun and energy. 

My favorite quotes from Nathan's speaking were these:

• If you are having struggles—sing about it.
• Come as you are but don’t expect to stay as you are. ~~ Jeffrey R. Holland
• Earth has no sorrow that heaven cannot heal.

Nathan Pacheco looks a lot like Tim Daly to me. He wants to get the part of P. T. Barnum in the Greatest Showman on Broadway some day. 

I would drive home Friday night and return Saturday morning.

Saturday, September 24th, I was on the road at 7:30am to arrive about 9am at the Convention Center. Doors opened at 9:10am and, amazingly, I got the same seat I had on Friday. Yeah me!! Our emcee welcomed us and gave out more door prizes and started the Menti surveys again. She introduced the Lightkeeper's Manifesto by showing a picture of women who kept the lighthouses running while their husbands were in World War II. We would fill this out throughout the day. There are four blanks to fill in. We would have a Menti question for each one of the blanks to help us get ideas. There was a video clip to go with each question that supported that idea. It helped to connect that entire days presentations.

The first presenter for this day was Laurel Christensen Day. Laurel is the president of Deseret Book which is the sponsor and developer of TOFW. I have heard Laurel before and she is a great speaker. Her talk was entitled "The Truth about Light". She had done some study of light and how it works to prepare her for her presentation. She gave three truths about light. First, the Light of Christ is like a wave, it can bend around corners so that you can receive light. She likened this to Faith. Second, the Light of Christ carries energy. This she likened to Hope. Third, the Light of Christ can impact all matter. She said the Light of Love answers all weighty matters in the world. She gave an example and encouraged us to ask someone "What do you need me to pray for you right now?" Powerful!! Laurel shared an experience when her father was dying of cancer. He was in great pain. He looked at her and said, "This is so hard." It reminded me of my mother having Alzheimer's. She had visited us in Sadieville and Papa was putting her in his car to take her back to the nursing home. She really didn't know or speak of anything at this stage of Alzheimer's. Yet, as she got in that car and I stood at the window for a final hug, my mother looked up at me and as clearly as she ever spoke, said, "This is so hard." I hugged my mother and looked in her eyes and said, "Mom, you can do hard things." Then she was back into her Alzheimer's. It was one of the most tender moments for me helping my mother through that awful illness. Laurel set a great beginning to this day by focusing on the Light of Christ as it relates to Faith, Hope and Love.

The musical group for this day was the Bonner Family. Debra and Harry Bonner had eight children, four boys and four girls. Harry actually was born and raised in Cincinnati, so this was coming home for him. All these children participate with this family group. For our TOFW, Debra, Harry, two of their sons and one granddaughter would perform throughout the day. They were great.

We had a twenty-minute break. Then Mary Ellen Edmunds spoke. This wonderful lady is a favorite of mine. I first heard her speak after we moved to Kentucky. I took my mother with me and we listened to her speak at a Bi-Stake Women's Conference. I was smitten with her great since of humor and sincere heart. Later, Claude and I took a cruise around the Hawaiian Islands. Mary Ellen was on that tour and three nights she spoke to our tour group. It was wonderful. Mary Ellen or MEE is also known for her colorful socks. So, I looked forward to hearing her again. The title of her talk was "Light the Way Home--Shine On! Shine On!" These are a few of my favorite quotes from her words:

• Darkness cannot exist in the presence of light.
• When I light someone else’s light with my light, it does not diminish my light any.
• We don’t shine so others can see us. We shine so others can see Him.
• The increasing darkness that accompanies tribulation makes the light of Christ shine brighter. ~~ Russell M. Nelson
• Mary Ellen sang an Indonesian Lullaby. She served a mission there. The words tell us of the love of a mother for her child. She doesn’t keep track of it. She just gives without hope of return.

Then the Bonner Family performed again.

The next speaker was Reyna Aburto. Reyna has served on the Primary General Board and as a counselor in the Relief Society General Presidency. She is originally from Nicaragua. The titled of her talk was "Why Are We Weeping and Whom Are We Seeking?" I was most taken with seeing her in slacks. We always see the general auxiliary presidencies in dresses. She used light switches, clouds and light in her presentation. 

We were given a 75-minute lunch break. I quickly bought a sandwich and soda at the catered lunch in the Convention Center. Then I quickly walked through the vendors and only purchased a t-shirt. Then back to my seat to read more in my book. 

After lunch, our next speaker was Barbara Morgan Gardner. Her talk was entitled "Living in the Light of Christ". Barbara is an associate professor of religion at BYU. She served as the chaplain at Harvard and MIT. She shared a sweet story of marrying her husband. He asked her when they were dating what nationality she would want to marry other than himself. She wondered why he would ask such a question. Barbara suggested he answer that question for her first. He said he would marry a Brazilian. She replied she would marry a Samoan. After years of trying everything possible to have a baby or adopt or IVF, they had no luck at all. Then a woman contacted her and said she had been following her story and she felt that they were the couple to parent her two grandchildren. It turns out these two little girls were half Brazilian and half Samoan. Barbara and her husband were able to adopt these two little sisters and now they are a very happy family of four. Cool story. 

Barbara shared her study of Joan of Arc. She shared the pattern that Joan of Arc followed when she was 14 years of age and had a vision of what she was to do with her life. Her pattern was ponder, fast, pray, be committed to act and be worthy (pure). Barbara compared this to the same pattern of 14-year old Joseph Smith. As she was going to be burned at the stake, Joan of Arc said, "I am not afraid. I was born to do this." My favorite quote by Barbara was "We do not have enough light until we are like the Savior (more light). Gain more light and share it."

We then all watched a video about the third question to fill in our third blank on our Lightkeeper’s Manifesto. The quote I saved from this was "We need an ongoing, daily infusion of light."

The Bonner family treated us to their rendition of "Come, Come Ye Saints". This is a beloved LDS Hymn. Beautifully done by the Bonner family.

Jody Moore spoke next. The title of her talk was "Aligning with Grace by Thinking on Purpose". Jody has her own coaching practice and her husband left his job as a healthcare administrator to work with her. Jody began by speaking of the Savior's Atonement and how it has a dual function. The Atonement 'saving power' which is repentance and resurrection to salvation. It also has a 'strengthening power' which is grace. Jody related that to thinking on purpose. She gave three phases of thinking on purpose.

3 Phases of Thinking on Purpose

1. Awareness Phase: Thoughts create our feelings
2. Release Phase: Feelings are healthy. Positive & Negative. Our Heavenly parents gave us feelings to navigate the world. Our default brain wants us to be right.
3. Redirect Phase: You are allowed any thought you want. “Worry is not preventative. Fear only lives in the future.” Our trials today are mental and emotional trials.

The final speaker was Melinda W. Brown. Melinda is back in college working on some type of divinity degree. Her talk was titled "Heaven Begins Here". Here are some of my favorite quotes from Melinda's talk:

• Opposition in all things isn’t a punishment, it is a teaching tool. 
• The covenant path is a public trail.
• We all have burdens to bear and burdens to share. ~~ Linda K. Burton
• Covenants are both treasure and tool.
• Friendship is eternal, heavenly and divine.
• Learn to see with heavenly vision.
• Looking isn’t always the same as seeing. 
• We are not asked to love perfectly. We are asked to love authentically.
• She sees striving as a beautiful equation: Struggling + Trying + Surviving = Striving
• Everyone has light to share. We need theirs. They need ours.

The Bonner Family would perform one more time. 

All the presenters came back on stage for a Q&A session. The audience had been given an opportunity to provide questions. There were all types of questions from serious doctrinal type questions to asking Mary Ellen Edmunds where she gets her socks! 

This was a very 'cup filling' time for me. I enjoyed each presenter and took something away from each of them. The music is always great. I am grateful I am in a position to take this time to 'fill my cup'.

Home Alone...

That's right. I was left alone from Tuesday, September 20th, about 10am until Friday, September 23rd, about 3pm. Claude went to Owensboro, Kentucky to participate in Kentucky League of Cities Annual Conference. I must confess, after he left, I experienced a feeling of aloneness. We don't spend much time apart anymore. I am used to having Claude close except for maybe a few hours at the time. At first, that 'aloneness' did not feel good. I was surprised at that feeling. This home is half the size of the house in Sadieville and the neighbors are all a lot closer. However, I still felt very alone.

After a bit, I started to remember that I could do things at my own pace and what I wanted for a few days. It felt good to do that. Usually Claude and I compare what our desires are to accomplish in any given day. Then we mesh those two schedules. Maybe one of us will not do something so they can help the other get something done they really want to accomplish. Maybe we'll just decided to both accomplish things at our respective laptops. Whatever the decision, it is always one that fits both of our vision of how our day should be filled and meshes our schedules. Now...I was free to do only what I wanted to do at the pace I wanted to do it. Suddenly, I was back where I usually was when Claude traveled for work. I knew I had so many days and how did I want to fill them. It felt good again.

I would leave the house Tuesday afternoon as my iron quite working on Monday and Walmart would be where I would get another iron. I also purchased a salad mix and some peaches. I picked up dinner from Panera. The rest of the time I was home.

Wednesday, September 21st, was a stay home all day kinda day. My meal of the day would be my salad and a peach. 

Thursday, September 22nd, I would venture out again. I had to finalize something at the bank regarding Papa's finances. I chose to have my meal-of-the-day at Arby's. Then I went to Bon Worth to do a little shopping. Purchased a blouse and some capri pants. The rest of the day I was at home.

My big project this week was to finish the Christmas gifts for our great grandmonsters. They will each get a turtle crocheted by great Gramma. Raelyn's is purple, Emelia's is pink, Nelson's is blue and Joel's is coral. My thumb is swollen from pulling that yarn to stitch all the pieces together. It took most of the day Thursday to finish them up. Tuesday and Wednesday were used to finish crocheting the flippers, tails and heads. I am happy with the outcome and hope these little ones enjoy their turtles. I am a turtle-loving lady!

In the evenings, I enjoyed watching some of my favorite DVD's. Tuesday evening, I watched all three Dan Brown novel movies. Thursday evening, I watched DVD's of John Denver performing (2) and the Statler Brothers final concert. 

These turned out to be good days for me. You always appreciate the ones you love when you get back together after a separation, like a business trip. It was great to have Claude hurry home on Friday so we had time to go to dinner together before I left for my Friday and Saturday at Time Out for Women (see next Blog entry). I found myself again being very grateful for our little home in Georgetown. It is perfect for Claude and me at this time in our lives. Just the right amount of space and very safe. I feel good about how I spent my time. It was refreshing!

Watching History...

Monday, August 19th, the funeral for Queen Elizabeth the second was held this day. Queen Elizabeth passed away August 8th at the age of 96. I am fascinated by the Royal family. This was also a bit of history. She reigned as Queen for 70 years. She was the longest reigning British Monarch. I wanted to view this funeral but it started in the wee small hours of the morning Eastern Standard Time. I found the news station and DVR'd it so I could watch it when I awoke. I have gleaned some pictures from the media that are parts of the funeral day that I appreciated.

The funeral was held at Westminster Abbey. 

The funeral procession would walk from Westminster Abbey to Wellington Arch. The Queen's children, King Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward would walk behind the coffin. Behind them would be Prince William and Prince Harry.

The Queen's casket was drawn on a cannon carriage. It was pulled by 142 member of the Royal Navy. This is a tradition that began with the funeral of Queen Victoria. Her casket was pulled by a horse that was a bit too frisky. It started to slip. Quickly rope and soldiers were brought and the carriage was pulled by the military. From this point forward, this is how it is done. There are ropes in front pulling and ropes behind keeping things steady.

At Wellington Arch, the Queen's casket would be transferred to the State Hearse, which the Queen had a hand in designing. Then the State Hearse with other security vehicles would drive from Wellington Arch to Windsor Castle. All the way the roads were lined with people wanting a last glimpse of their Queen.

The Committal Service was held at St. George's Chapel on the grounds of Windsor Castle. 

At the end of this service, the casket was lowered into the underground burial chamber as the Dean of Windsor read the Psalm. 

The services were beautiful. Many facets were according to protocol and tradition. Many touches were added by the Royal family to personalize their feelings for their Mother and Grandmother. Here are a few things that caught my attention.

Prince William and Kate brought their two oldest children, Prince George, age 9, and Princess Charlotte, age 7. These two little ones behaved so well. Charlotte wore a broach on her coat that Queen Elizabeth had given her of a horse shoe. Princess Kate wore a necklace that had been worn by Princess Diana. All these tiny details were the family's way of remembering and including family. 

On the casket was a floral arrangement which King Charles had designed to be environmentally friendly. This simply means it had no floral foam holding it together. It was made of flowers from plants that were from the Queen's wedding and other important moments in her life. On the floral arrangement was a card visibly displayed. This card was handwritten by King Charles and said, "In loving and devoted memory. Charles R." The 'R' is for Rex which is Latin for King. This handwritten card is also a tradition. 

When the funeral procession arrived at Windsor Castle, the Queen's much loved pets were there for a final good bye. The horse is named Emma. The corgi's were much loved by the Queen.

Queen Elizabeth loved Balmoral and had a Piper play outside her window every morning. In a tribute to her love of bagpipes, there was a Piper for each of the services. The Funeral Service had a Piper that played "Sleep, Dearie, Sleep" from a place above the main level. The Committal Service had a Piper who played as the coffin was lowered into the ground of St. George's Chapel. He also played from an upper level in the Chapel. As he played he very slowly walked away down a hall and out of sight. The sound diminished as he did that which was very touching as the Queen's casket lowered into the ground. These were both very touching. I enjoy bagpipes.

I confess, I spent my entire day in Sandiland curled up in my winged chair watching this bit of history. It was moving, tender, and respectful. I feel good about my choice to watch this history as it happened. 

Amazing Trip...

Claude reached the time for his high school reunion. It has been 55 years since he graduated. They have a reunion every five years. Claude has only missed one of his reunions. I decided I would tag along on this trip so I could visit my sister. We plotted a travel and visit family day on Wednesday. Two full days of visiting family and attending reunion. And a final day to travel home. 

Wednesday, September 14th, we were up at 4:45am. Alarms were set for 5am but we woke up before them. This let us get on the road a little quicker than we planned. But, we would rather be early than rushing while being late. We had no traffic issues. Got a parking spot in the Value Lot and the shuttle was right there to take us to the terminal quickly. The slowest part was checking in. 

I printed boarding passes the day before and realized, after printing them, that Claude's said TSA PreCheck and mine did not. Ugh. This happened once before. That time I had to go through the normal security check-in. TSA PreCheck allows you to get through without taking shoes off. The line is a lot shorter. I called Delta and asked if they could fix this so I could print a new boarding pass for me with TSA PreCheck on it. I was told that I would have to get the agent at bag check-in to fix this when I got to the airport. It really went fairly quickly at the airport. I had the proper boarding pass and we thought we had the situation fixed for check-in for our return flight on Saturday. 

On to pick up the rental car. Claude said he wanted a sporty car. I checked all the websites and found a Mustang for the same price as the medium-sized cars. Perfect. However, it seems Budget only had one agent at the counter and the line had several people in it. We had no time commitments, so waiting was not an issue. As we waited, the line simply got longer. Finally another agent came back from lunch and the line moved a bit more quickly. We did the paperwork and were out to find our car. 

Claude was very happy with our Mustang. This is a car we will never own. Having one for four days would be great fun for us. We checked it over and then climbed in. May I just add here that sporty cars all seem to require you to slide into a low seat under a steering wheel. As one gets older, that is harder to accomplish. Claude was also parked very close to the car on his side. He finally got himself inside the car. Then...he turned the car on. On My Heavens! That car rumbled like thunder. Claude and I drive cars that are quiet. When we rode the Goldwing, it was quiet. Not used to the noise and we just looked at each other. I asked, "Is that us making that noise?" Claude grinned and said, "Yes." This was going to be a fun four days. 

Our first stop was to have lunch. We did not eat any breakfast and only had water and a cookie on the plane. Time to fill our personal tanks. We found Kneaders and each had a really good sandwich. I ordered ham and cheese. The cashier asked what kind of bread. I looked at their offerings and quickly said, "Rye!" She smiled and said, "That is an interesting combination. I wouldn't have thought of that." Clearly she has not spent much time in the east. 

We were now full and time to press on in that Mustang in a northerly direction. There was rain this day. It didn't have a huge impact on us. However, I enjoyed how the clouds hug the mountains of the Wasatch range.

We decided to stop at the Bothwell Cemetery first and make sure everyone was where they were supposed to be. Bonnie and Evan are buried here. These are Claude's parents. Cordell and Julie have their gravesites here. Cordell has not passed but Julie has graduated to the next life. Cordell is Claude's brother. Krys was the first of us to occupy a spot in the family area. Krys is the son of Tami Myer's, Claude's sister. Payden is the son of Becky, Julie and Cordell's daughter. The final picture is Claude standing on our plots with his arm out over my spot. 

We then drove up the highway and right passed Bonnie's home. Claude' mother passed away in January. Usually, we would have spent our time there and family would have dropped in as they could to visit. This home has now been sold to Wyatt, Tami's grandson. It felt a little odd to not stop and go in to this family home. We would first stop at Tami's home and visit with her. Her hubby, Bill, was out hunting elk. After Tami, we drove over the canal to visit with Joann and John. Joann is Claude's sister. Both of these visits were so good. It was lovely to just sit and catch up with each other. 

As we drove to our hotel in Brigham City, I was able to get this picture of Little Mountain. 

We checked into our Holiday Inn Express where they had upgraded us to a suite. How kind of them. We had a nice room for this night and the next. 

Claude had already picked out our dinner spot. We would dine at Maddox. This was a favorite of his family. We got there before the rush. Even on a Wednesday evening, they had a lot of people waiting for a table as we left and more coming in the door. This is a place known for its steaks and homemade rolls. They serve you a basket with six homemade yeast rolls and two pieces of cornbread. With that they also give you a paper cup with whipped butter and another paper cup with whipped raspberry butter. I promise you I could have dined on homemade rolls and raspberry butter and nothing else and been a very happy girl. Yum!! I have a weak spot for chicken fried steak. This night I tried that only the steak was bison. Very good.

Back to the hotel for a good nights rest.

Thursday, September 15th, we slept in. There is a two hour time difference. We were trying to adjust to that. Then we joined Claude's sister at the IFA parking lot in Ogden. This was a bit of nostalgia for Lynette. When Bonnie would have a doctor's appointment, she would drive to Ogden and park in this lot as it was just off I-15. Then Lynette would meet her there and drive her to wherever she needed to go. We hopped in Lynette's truck with her and Brian, her son, and off we went for a ride up Ogden Canyon. Lynette had a fun spot for us to have lunch together. 

Taggert's Grill was a fun place that we had never eaten at before. Lynette alerted us to their concern about rattlesnakes there. Signs were up telling us to be careful. There was also a family of peacocks. I learned from Lynette that the peacocks will attack a rattlesnake. This is why they are on the front of the Taggert's Grill menu. We ate on what would be the patio. However, they have put up glass walls all around so the snakes don't come into the facility. I had something new to me. It was spiced apple, ham and cheese wrap using a homemade tortilla. It was served with honey mustard. It was absolutely delicious. Taggert's is also known for its homemade desserts. They are elegant. Claude picked out one for us to share. He thought it was a chocolate cake with cherries on the top. He was a little disappointed that it was a heavy chocolate cheesecake. It was delicious. Claude is not as big a sweet lover as me. Brian helped to finish it off for us. 

Lynette drove us back to Ogden on back roads. Lovely drive. When we got to the IFA parking lot, Lynette suggested some roads we might want to take that Mustang out on for the afternoon. She really thought we should put it through its paces. We said goodbye after the really good visit with Lynette and Brian and headed up the road to Hardware Ranch. I took pictures of the fault line along the Wasatch Front. I am always fascinated by this stretch mark on the mountain. 

Hardware Ranch WMA is an open area up in the mountains. The elk come down to feed in the meadow. There is a big parking area where you can come and take a wagon ride out among the elk as they feed. Claude's family came here when he was a child. They would also use this canyon area to camp or picnic in as a family. Very nostalgic for Claude to be here and remember his childhood. He commented that he was only now truly aware of how much it took his parents to do those outings with six children. 

Next we drove to Logan, Utah. 

We would stop at the Logan Temple and I would walk the grounds to take pictures. This is where Claude and I were married and sealed for time and all eternity. I have wanted to take some pictures of the temple. We were married 52 years ago. The temple has been renovated and an annex has been added. We would have entered and exited through the east doors. It was so pleasant to walk those ground and see it through the lens of a camera. I took a couple of pictures of the view from the west end of the temple looking out across the valley. 

We still had daylight left. We decided to drive up Logan Canyon to Bear Lake.

Bear Lake is known for having the best raspberry shakes. We drove through Garden City and all the places were closed that might have had a raspberry shake. It was the end of the tourist season and it was now 6pm. We turned around to head back to Logan. As we got to the last gas station, I saw a sign that said 'Raspberry Shakes'. Claude quickly turned in and I went in to purchase two raspberry shakes. It was so cool watching him make these shakes. The cup they are served in had an extender placed on it that makes the cup about three inches taller. The kid then scooped out ice cream and packed it tight filling the cup and to the top of the extended portion. Then he blended that all up so it was soft. Next he add two big scoops of a raspberry mixture. Back to the blender to blend that in with the softened ice cream. Then he carefully pulls the extender off the cup and twists it as he pulls it off to give you the curlicue on the top. You must eat these with a spoon as they are very thick. Yummy!!

Back over the mountain to Logan we drove.

When we arrived at our hotel in Brigham City, it was dark. We got out of the car and then noticed that the Mustang had a surprise for us. There is a white image by each of the doors. It was the Mustang logo shining on the ground. How cool is that?

This day Katelyn posted these pictures of Joel and Emelia. Be still my heart!

Friday, September 16th, we would check out of the Holiday Inn and head to Bountiful, Utah. My sister, Junie, and her hubby, Steve, live there. We would have a really good lunch made by Junie at their home. Claude would visit until about 2pm. Then he headed back to Brigham City for his high school reunion. I stayed with Junie and we drove to Farmington to visit with Kim, her daughter. Hunter, Kim's son was there as well. Junie and I grabbed a soda and went back to her house to work on a puzzle for the remainder of the day. I was able to visit briefly with Steve, Junie's son. Claude returned when the reunion was over. We spent the night with Junie and Steve. Good visit with them. 

Saturday, September 17th, Saturday morning we were up very early and out the door by 7am. Off to the Salt Lake Airport for our flight back home. Everything was on time. We arrived at the Cincinnati ten minutes ahead of schedule. We stopped at Chipotle's for dinner. Then on to our home in Georgetown.

Junie gave me a sign for our flower beds. I put it in the back yard. It has turtles on it!! Simply lovely. 

We unpacked and settled in for the night. This was a great trip. We saw all the family we could visit with and we had time to ourselves in the fun Mustang. We both felt really good about this adventure. There is something really good about being home after a trip. You love the travel and it helps you appreciate your own home even more after the trip. 

Sunday, September 18th, has been such a good Sunday. We had great talks in Sacrament Meeting. I always love Primary. Claude picked Fazoli's for lunch. He took a nap. I labeled pictures from our trip. I went to the church and facilitated our Emotional Resilience Self-Reliance course. Claude had a Stake Priesthood Meeting in the evening. I was able to get the wash done and a start on my Blog. Now it is really Monday morning at 3:11am. I can't sleep. So, I am finishing my Blog. 

I feel richly blessed.