Are We There Yet?

It always sounds so fun and easy in the planning stages; reality is often long, boring and tiring. After traveling to Memphis three weeks ago, and Aberdeen, SD, two weeks ago, Joanna and I headed out a week ago for Provo. Our objective was threefold: pick up Janet for a summer at home, let Joanna visit all her friends in Provo, and attend a neice's wedding in the Rexburg Temple. By the time we got home last night, we were incredibly sick of traveling.

There is nowhere in the world like Provo. While we were there, we were able to go to the Provo Temple, to visit with family, and to enjoy some time on the BYU campus. On the way up to Rexburg, we stopped in Salt Lake and ate at Tucano's, courtesy of our friend Andy. The Rexburg Temple is beautiful and it was fun to visit with more family.

Check in next week for the latest installment of our travels. We're not done yet! In fact, we're starting to feel like the traveling gnome. "Where in the world are Margaret and Joanna?"

For Easter, Rene and I and Joanna, Emily and Preston drove 8 hours to Aberdeen, South Dakota to visit my mom. We were also able to see my sister Susan and her family. Although the drive is sort of boring, it's always worth it to be with family. My mom cooked so much good food! We all attended stake conference on Sunday before grabbing a bite to eat and heading home. It was a broadcast stake conference involving 61 stakes and 1 district. It was very good and we enjoyed discussing it as we drove home, thanks to Preston's great notes. All in all, it was a very happy weekend. (Grandma looks pretty good with her eyes closed, too!)

She's baaack!

A week ago, we had the joy and pleasure of going to the airport to pick Joanna up after her mission. It has pleased us to see how she has grown and how her mission has blessed her. It will be fun to have her around for a little bit while she figures out the next step in her life. (By the way, we took her coat to the airport with us because we knew she'd be cold after coming from Destin, Florida.)

After a day at home to unpack and get organized, she and I hopped in the car to go to Memphis to help with brand new baby Macey. I don't think we did that much to help; Ben and Shannon are doing a great job with her. But we could provide some moral support and it's always such a joy to meet a new grandchild. We'll get to see both Afton and Macey in three more weeks when we go down to Ben's graduation. Woohoo!