A couple of weeks before Dallin returned from his mission, Brandon got 20 tickets for the Ogden Temple Open House and all of the family, except the Texas clan, made plans to get together the weekend of September 6th.
We had so many fun family gatherings (some even with the Texas clan here!!) from the time Dallin got home. It was hard to say good-bye to everyone, but there was still more "excitement" to come with the Kirchhausen clan's Lake Powell "shipwrecked" experience and blessings of protection, then Cayman's baby blessing the following weekend and most of the family coming back down for that. And then the following week was to be the Ogden Temple trip.
Rod and I were doing good to keep everything straight and be where we were supposed to be when we were supposed to be there!! I was supposed to pick up Rod at school RIGHT AFTER SCHOOL WAS OUT, to avoid the onslaught of students leaving the parking lot. The only problem was that I had spent too much time in town running errands, and I only had about an hour to get myself packed, a lunch/dinner packed for our drive and to be down at the school on time.
As I was packing my make-up I had a strong impression come to me: "Text Anna and invite her and Bridger to come to the Ogden Temple Open House." My first reaction was, "Uhhh, I don't THINK so...she would never want to come with us..." But the impression came again, a bit stronger. So, inwardly I said, "Fine! I will." But I got carried away in my rush of packing and I totally forgot about the impression.
With about 10 minutes left, I was quickly throwing some peanut butter sandwiches together. I only had the peanut butter on when I got another impression: "TEXT ANNA, NOW!" I sort of threw my hands in the air and said, "Fine!!" And I texted Anna, not sure at all that it would be received well. But at least I "listened..." I was very surprised to receive a quick text back from Anna saying she would check with Bridger when she got home from school and would let me know. And "thanks for thinking of us." I was amazed!!
Long story short, Anna and Bridger went with our mostly-whole family to the Open House and had a wonderful experience there. Afterwards, we went back to Brandon's and Tannya's for sandwiches, then we all went to Hogel Zoo in Salt Lake City. I got to drive with Anna and Bridger and Kristy, which gave Anna and I a good chance to talk. I think it was very therapeutic for both of us. And we all really enjoyed the zoo together, too!!
I am SO grateful that I was "brave enough" to listen to the promptings I received even though I was ready to discount them! And I am VERY glad to have had this special weekend with Anna and Bridger and the rest of our family!!
There was lots of COUSIN time and mostly good sharing!! Bath time and grandpa and grandma time are always sweet perks!!
Going to Nikki's soccer game was a definite highlight on Saturday morning!! How can something SO cute be so determined?!?! *_*
Rushed home to change, and then it was off to the Ogden Temple Open House
After lunch, we headed to the ZOO!!! I wonder why I enjoy the Zoo SO much more now as a grandma than I ever did as a mom!?!?!
Grandma got in BIG trouble from Dezmond when I quckly put him on the lion after our Merry-Go-Round ride for a picture...he did NOT like it at all and was SOOOO mad at his grandma!! But then his daddy rescued him and all was well! Whew!! *_* (Poor lion!)
It's a good thing kisses fix all kinds of problems. . .
On Sunday we went to visit my mom and dad in Clinton. Had a nice time getting my mom cleaned up with a hair and makeup job. Made an audio recording at the same time of some of the stuff my mom and I were able to talk about. She did some singing, too!!
Then we headed to Primary Children's Hospital to visit Danielle Whittaker, her mom (Julie Williams), Seth, Lindsey, and 2-month-old baby Reed who was hospitalized for a cancerous growth and would be undergoing surgery (which went extremely well on the following Tuesday!)
Lindsey and Set enjoyed the Halloween socks they got after the Sacrament Meeting held at the hospital. Rod and I were so impressed at everything provided for those needing/wanting to attend their meetings but were rather tied to the hospital.
After the hospital, we headed over to Anna's in Riverton for another visit. Then we headed down to Provo, saw Dallin and Erika for a minute, then we were off on the last leg of our journey. Loved the cloudy skies, beautiful sunset, and each other's company!! A great weekend!!
