BYU!

 After such a cool spring we are not having a HOT summer! Wednesday I went to the gym and picked up groceries and then came home to shower and finish packing up. I left for the airport and it was all nice and sunny but around Bowie there was a crazy thunderstorm that shook my car and freaked me out. It was a stressful drive but I made it in time (after running through the food court and down to the gate because I made it through security when boarding started). Then we sat on the plane for 45 min waiting for luggage. But I still thankfully made my connection in Denver by getting off the plane first, walking straight to my gate while talking to Josh and then boarding my second plane. I picked up my bag and my car and drove to Cindy's house where we stayed up talking for a bit.

Thursday Cindy and I went for a walk and ran some errands and talked and then she left to take Abbey to a soccer tournament in Boise and I decided to go get myself some TCBY. Cindy worked at one near my dance studio when I was in middle school and I used to go there all of the time with friends in high school. The one near her is the only one I know of now and so I got myself a big bowl of white chocolate mousse and filled it with crushed Oreos and it was so delicious. Then I went to Deseret Book and then I went to the Taylorsville temple (I am very bad at selfies and it was so bright!) and I ended up doing two sessions. It was so amazing to only be 15 min away and also be totally free; nobody was waiting for me or wondering where I was so I could just do what I wanted and not be on a schedule. Afterwards I stopped by my aunt's house to say hi and visit for a bit and then I went and got myself Cafe Rio and headed back to Cindy's house to eat it by myself because my nephews were out. 

 

 

Friday I went to visit with my friend, Jen. She and I were super close in high school, though she was two years older than me. She was in my stake and lived about 25 min away (which at the time felt SO far away) and I haven't seen her in 20 years. The minute she opened the door we just started laughing and we talked for four hours and it was like no time had passed. It was so fun and wonderful to catch up and meet her husband and kids and I'm so glad we reconnected. Then I drove down to Provo and went to our first apartment after we were married and reminisced about young married life and then I drove around the MTC and reminisced about missionary life and then back to my old apartment where I met Carrie and lived for the year and a half between study abroad and my mission. 25 years later and it looks exactly the same. Then I went to the bookstore and walked around campus some and then I went to the library to charge my phone and then to the creamery on 9th for some mint brownies and chocolate milk and then I drove to the RB to change and watch Lily's dance performance. She was in a contemporary dance camp all week and it was a good experience in so many ways. Her performance was fun and I loved seeing my girl dance on a BYU stage and hope to see it again someday! Afterwards we got her stuff and drove back to Cindy's to sleep and then we left super early Saturday morning to fly home. 

 

Lily's forte is ballet but the ballet camp was before our school got out so this one was not her strength, But she enjoyed meeting so many members of the dance faculty and so many cool girls and she loved being in a dorm and said the food was good. She had a great spiritual and social experience and got to try some new things like hip hop. She was disappointed to be in a lower group for jazz and contemporary but she took it in stride and did her best and tried not to be frustrated when it was easy for her. I was very proud of how she took it all in and made the most of her opportunities. When she performed she had a big smile on her face and danced with such joy that it made me so happy and I totally started crying. I'm glad we were able to send her and that it all worked out. She also got her SAT scores while out there and they are now good enough for BYU so let's hope it all comes together and she gets in! 

 

 

 

Josh was not here when we got home Saturday because he was up in Suitland doing some stake business and the other kids were just hanging out so Lily and I both crashed; she slept for two hours and I slept for one and then I made dinner and we had a nice evening as a family. Sunday Josh was gone all day except for the hour and a half he was here for dinner but the kids and I had a relaxing day after church and choir and Lily went to a camp meeting. Brandon and I played some games and the other kids read and it was a nice, quiet day. Yesterday Brandon went off to summer arts camp and had a good time playing trombone, doing a percussion thing and some musical theater stuff. He just got home and told me there was no camp tomorrow because the AC went out at the school so that's a bummer when it is 100 degrees. There goes one of my two days where I was going to be kid-less, because the others all leave for YM/YW camp in the morning. So the other kids have been packing and practicing the piano and I took the girls shopping for shorts this afternoon and taught some piano lessons. We are loving summer so far!