Rainy Day and Monday - Revisited

We are getting old.  SK and I slept in and still craved sleep.  We got up and moved through our day in slow motion.  Laundry needed to be done, unpacking, cleaning and shopping too. 

Most of the morning it rained.  Is there anything as lovely as rain?  The gentle tapping on the panes of the open windows (they open on a diagonal) as well as the steady downpour bouncing a variety of sounds off the different surfaces outside combine in a delightful harmony of soothing sounds.

When the rain ceased, we walked to a nearby grocery store to pick up a few things, and to pick up a package from home.  We were excited to get a book that Melissa and Lia have been working on... a history of my father.  Actually it is a chapter in his book, but what a chapter.  They have labored for some time on the research and editing, and the book is a treasure.  It is a hard-cover book from Shutterfly and tells of a pivotal point in his life.  He was a teen and in trouble.  A kindly principal took him under his wing and awakened a love of poetry and literature in him that absolutely changed the course of his life.

It is a beautiful book....one that will long be treasured by each family they gave a copy to.  I am so grateful that they invested the time to put it together. 

We didn't have much time to look through it before we had to leave for the center, so I was very grateful to get home to slowly peruse its contents.  It made me very happy.

At the center, a few young people came early.  By the time we started family home evening, we had 25 or so....which is a good number normally, but especially during the summer vacation time.  We had 2 visitors from America (one of them had served here on a mission 3 years ago) and a young woman from China whom the missionaries just found today.  She seemed to enjoy being there.

Among other things, we watched the wonderful Danish Viking video that our YSAs put together for Festinord.  It is hilarious.  One of the Vikings also did the editing and special effects.  Simon is very good at those things.  I am sad that this week he will be leaving for London, where he is hoping to get some work with a musical group.  I hope he succeeds for his sake, but we will miss him here.  He is a great young man.

After the video and the message, they played Fruit Basket and had a grand time.  Then they assembled for a strawberry trifle....2 really loud and rousing games of CRUD and then they left to go to a pool party for Simon.  We thanked them for the invitation to join them, but politely declined, and then cleaned up and came home.

Fruit Basket can be pretty lively!

Alex was there tonight and we all said goodbye....we will miss him too.  I know he will be an outstanding missionary, but we hope we will see him again.  He said he and his brother would come to Arizona on a road trip....that would be so fun!

A few more pictures from Festinord ....Look at these YSAs....are they beautiful or what!

The pretty young woman in black just received her mission call to Australia, and she will be a great missionary.

This dynamic young woman has been called to the Colorado North Mission.  She is so fun and so full of energy and enthusiasm.

Alex will be leaving this week for his mission in South Africa, and Phillip his brother just returned from a mission in England.

These young women found a very comfortable spot to relax.

Yes...that is SK.....couldn't find a game of CRUD.