Four Great Visits Up North

Roger's sister, Chyrrl, and her husband, Glynn, have long looked forward to serving an LDS mission 

and were thrilled when they got a call to serve in historic Nauvoo, Illinois.

Glynn will be a teamster with the horses 

and Chyrrl will rotate as a guide in the restored homes and Visitors' Center.

They will perform at night in the stage presentations in full pioneer dress.

They are so excited, well, except for Glynn not being too thrilled about the singing and dancing part 

that he will have to do in the shows!

Before heading to the MTC, they spoke in Sacrament meeting in their ward on February 26.

Of course, Roger and I wanted to see them before they go and hear them speak, 

so we headed up north on Thursday morning to a winter wonderland.

Because we were up north, it was a good chance to spend a little time with Patty and Hal, 

so we stayed overnight with them in their beautiful home in Elkridge. 

Patty prepared the yummiest homemade soup and sandwich supper, and we visited the night away. 

Next day, she prepared a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs and English muffins, 

we visited some more, then we ate at one of their favorite bakery/sandwich spots for lunch 

before we headed further north.

We surely do love those two and treasure the time when we can be together!

The only pic we took is this one of the pillow arrangement on our bed, 

which is what we routinely do whenever we stay with someone so that 

when we change the sheets and make the bed, 

we will do it right!

Luckily, the roads cooperated on our northward trek. The mountains looked beautiful!

When we arrived in Ogden, Roger dropped me off at Jessica's to get my hair done, 

then Roger and Grandma picked me up after and we took her for a salad and a slice at Pizzaria, 

which has the best pizza in town. 

We love staying with Roger's mom; she always makes us feel so welcome!

  We stayed up late catching up on the news of all of Roger's relatives. 

Grandma is amazing how at 92 she can keep track of all of those names 

(over 90 great-grandkids and a couple of great-greats) 

and what's going on with them!

On Saturday we had lunch at her favorite place, Chuck A Rama, ran some errands 

and spent a pleasant afternoon and evening reading and visiting.
Such a cute mother and son!

 Chyrrl and Glynn came over and we, with Mindy's help on the phone and her tech savvy, 

helped Chyrrl set up a website where she can blog about their mission. 

Oh, and I have to mention there was a lot of cheering and shouting when we watched BYU's basketball team 

beat Gonzaga, ranked #1 in the country!

The "farewell" in Sacrament meeting the next morning at 9 was bursting with friends, neighbors and family 

who heard lovely violin music (played by grandchildren and accompanied by their daughter, Sheila) 

and heartfelt talks by Chyrrl and Glynn.

The delicious meal after church fed throngs of well-wishers,

 including Chyrrl's work force and doctors at the hospital 

where she worked for over 50 years, 

their inner-city mission missionary friends they served with, 

and their many relatives and friends.

We loved visiting with family and seeing some old friends.

Roger and I then headed to Salt Lake to Rick's home where Jodie prepared an amazing meal for us 

and Mindy, Jeff and kids, who drove up from Highland.

 I have to say here that Jodie is such a good chef 

who makes the most delicious orange rolls and the most amazing homemade chocolate cake!

We got to chat and catch up with the Linds, and after they left, 

we had a Family Home Evening 

with Rick and Jodie's wonderful family and then stayed up talking with Rick and Jodie.

What an amazing and heart-warming Sunday it was!

Again, the only pic we have of this special day is of the pillows on our bed! (Sigh!)

One last super visit was with our dear friend, Karleen, who met us for lunch at Market Street Grill in SLC.

We had had a lunch date at Christmastime when we were up north, 

but it got cancelled 

because Karleen came down with the flu. 

So we had lots of catching up to do! 

We exchanged our Christmas gifts 

and she gave me a lovely necklace for my birthday.

We drove home through a blizzard and a near white out, but were grateful we made it home safely. 

As we reviewed our wonderful visits on the long drive home. we surmised 

that we are very lucky indeed to be blessed with such loving family and friends! 

AND in our next loved-ones home visits, we will take pics besides of the pillows!