Sunshine or Snow...What was I thinking???

Tuesday evening after teaching my last piano lesson, I headed up north for a whirlwind trip.  Busy, but lots of fun!

The first adventure was driving up to Provo and hitting different places with lots of snow coming down.  Sheesh!   I sure was glad we put new tires on the Silver Sonata earlier in the day.  I felt very safe on the road, but was still careful.  I got into Provo about 10:30 p.m. and met up with Nat, Erika, Kristy and Chris at the bowling alley.  This was my first time meeting Chris, and when he hugged me and said, "Good to meet you, PATTI!" I had no problem drilling him in the ribs with my knuckles!  That will teach him to listen to Nat!  *_*   It was fun being there altogether, and loved having Erika there, too!!  We finished up around midnight and headed in 4 different directions!

Wednesday morning Nat and I headed out in separate cars to SLC.  We met up with Brandon for a shooting range "date."  And I got to try-out a couple of hand guns.  It was a great way to get an idea of what I like.  Then Nat and I went over to Kristy's work where we finished signing some documents.  Then Nat headed to Mapleton, and I continued up to Clinton, to cook dinner for my parents and spend some time with them.  My mom has severe dementia, and later into the evening the "sundowners" affect came into play and she started asking why I kept calling her "mom."  In spite of it all, we had a really good time together, and Dawn joined us for dinner, too!  Great evening!

Then I drove back to SLC and spent the night with Erika's parents.  It was so fun to be with them, to talk, and just be together.  I enjoyed playing their piano and getting a little more practice in before my students' piano recital!

Thursday was spent with Kristy, and by Thursday evening we were up in Layton at the Ellisons.  Linda made a wonderful grilled chicken dinner, and Cambria, Josh and Lynlee were there for dinner, too!  Fun times!!

Friday was a difficult day with lots of emotions running rampant.  It only took about 24 hours to sort through them, deal with them, and learn from them.  Even though it was "good," sometimes I wish things could be easier!!

Saturday, Kristy and I drove to Eagle Mountain where I had a two hour piano lesson from Shane Bowles!  What an incredible learning opportunity!  Kristy ran the video and also worked on some of her computer stuff.  But at one point, she payed close attention and was nearly as shocked as I was at what I had just learned and done in about 15 minutes of time.  I composed my first 16 bar piece in that amount of time, and it sounds really cool!  I was dumbfounded!!  It was worth every penny I paid!!

After the lesson, I drove to Saratoga Springs to visit with Matt and Angie Ferrell, who used to live in Santa Clara.  I was lucky enough to catch them both home, unannounced, and we had a wonderful visit.  We have a lot more in common than we once did, with the death of our oldest sons.  It was good to share some of our thoughts, feelings, and experiences together.  Even the difficult things make us better people.  Hopefully kinder, more compassionate, and more understanding.

I made a quick stop in Mapleton, to trade Nat cars, say hi to Tony (who's fixing Nat's car for her), and then headed off to warmer climes!!  I was definitely tired of the 6' high snow banks where snowplows had piled the cold hard stuff from off the roads.  Ugh!  No place to walk safely, or without stomping through lots of snow and water!  Time to go home to St. George and bask in the sunshine!!  AND to go be with my husband!!