Tiffani and I decided to take a trip to visit mom. Her girls were going to be in Africa and I was ready for a mom break. We decided not to tell her so it would be a surprise. The timing ended up being good because mom had a really bad day and ended up in the hospital a couple days before we got there.
I flew to Vegas to meet up with Tiff and drive to Provo, Tiff told me to fly in a day earlier so that I could go to a real Vegas wedding. A member of the Church owns this wedding chapel! We found out that Jess Cornwell - who played football for Grandad - baptized the man who owns it. Such a small world!
Sort of gives off temple vibes.
Before heading to Utah, we went to a taco place - Tacos el Gordo. Oh my heavens - it was amazing! They were the best tacos I've had outside of Mexico.
Check those out! They even double the tortillas like street tacos in Mexico.
Paletas - made from fresh fruit, also like in Mexico.
The menu!
Tacos al pastor - they have a hunk of pork with pineapple at the top that drizzles down over the meat. Amazing!
After the tacos we drove straight to Utah. Dad knew we were coming, but Mom didn't. She was so surprised! Her reaction made the whole trip worth it.
We went to church together on Sunday.
I'm so grateful for my mother and sister.
Clark and Dianne had us over for dinner. It was delicious and it was so good to be with family.
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| Jonny, Riley, Dianne, Grandad, Clark, Tiff, Sleeping Grammy |
While we were there we got a call from Shanelle saying that a huge limb had come down on her roof. We headed over there to help.
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| Kolton, Parker, Riley, Asher, Jonny |
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| Me, Kolton, Parker, Jonny, Asher, Riley |
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| Parker's adorable dog, Gus |
On Monday, Clark stopped by to check on his bees on his way to be a support counselor at FSY in Ephraim.
I love my parents backyard and garden.
Monday,Mom and I hung up laundry. Notice the BYU clothesline poles.
That night we drove by the Provo Temple construction site and then went to the BYU Creamery for ice cream (everyone, but me) and a mint chocolate brownie (me). We were surprised to learn that the creamery sells cheese curds. And it's way cheaper than in Beaver! We'll skip Beaver from now on.
Tuesday morning we went to the Orem Temple. What a blessing to go together.
I got bucked out of that hammock and skinned my elbow.
We went to Cafe Rio for dinner and I was so excited to run into Dalton Allen - one of our favorite missionaries. I didn't see him at first, but he came up and said hi. What a wonderful surprise! It was especially good to see that he is still faithful in the gospel and making good choices.
Our final day was Wednesday. Grammy joined me and Tiff for a trip to BYU. We went to the bookstore first so Tiff could buy Beth Bailey a cancer mug. Afterwards we went to the creamery for more cheese curds.
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| Giving Beth the mug after getting home. |
We went to In-and-Out for a final dinner.
It was so good to have some time together, but it was also hard to say goodbye. It was especially hard for mom. She is struggling with her dementia and hates losing her memory.
We got to Vegas Wednesday night and on Thursday, Tiff had meniscus surgery. It's her 8th surgery in a year. This surgery was more painful than her last knee surgery because they found a lot of loose cartilage.
I took a redeye flight out on Friday night at about 11 p.m. I flew through Chicago and arrived in Charlotte at 10 the next morning. I had originally planned to fly right into Columbia through Washington, DC, but the Vegas flight was delayed and the Washington flight was full. In the end, I could have made it to Columbia, but the Charlotte flight was the safer option. Baylie and Jalen drove to pick me up. It was the furthest Baylie had ever driven.
It was nice to have a mom break for a week, but it was also so good to be home.
