Five Day Summer Vacation- Day 2

First thing Friday morning, I went to visit the doctor. He wanted to know about my plans for school and what I'd be studying and where I was attending. About 15 minutes into the appointment, I mentioned that maybe we should talk about some of my joints. He didn't tell me to "take your medicine or quit complaining." But I did tell him that I'm still not regular about taking my Enbrel and Methotrexate, but that I've been better and that I'll be extra careful about taking them correctly when I get up to school. I also requested that he write new scripts, so I can pick my nearby pharmacy when I get to Boise. When he was done, I counted them to make sure we'd gotten everything. Yep. Eight. Which I suppose is less than some but more than most.

For lunch I met Michelle (and Stella), Natalie, and Stephanie (and Charlie and Garrison) at Red Robin. I can't believe how much all the kids have grown since the last time I'd seen them which looking back was actually in 2009, so I guess maybe it's not so crazy. However, we did have a crazy table with all the kids and all the catching up going on. A couple of times Stella would try to get her mom's attention by putting her hand on Michelle's cheek to turn to look at her. It was pretty cute, so I tried to get a picture. Then Stella took some pictures using my camera. I figured she probably should finish her lunch, so I told her she could take our group picture outside when we were all done. It's not the most flattering picture, but it has all of us Ricks roomies.

Mom and Dad entered the MTC on Monday, but they have evenings off so I arranged to meet them for dinner and a visit to the Millers. I got done with my errands a little early, so I drove to our designated meeting spot (near the University Mall sign). I found a little shade, pulled my pillow out from the backseat, snuggled up next to my suitcase in the front seat, and with the car (and the air conditioning) running closed my eyes. I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew I had to wake up to answer my phone. It's a good thing I was early because so were Mom and Dad. They had spotted a Spaghetti Factory for dinner and Mom and I split Chicken Penne with marinara sauce. I was a pretty hit and miss on remembering to pull out my camera during the weekend, but I did remember to ask the waitress to take our picture. Because I was in front of a window, she suggested I sit over by Mom, so I snuggled up to her for a pretty cute picture. 

 

After dinner we went to visit Aunt Nila and Uncle Ted. Uncle Ted didn't look so good and was very pale. He couldn't vocalize, but he was very aware of what was going on around him. Dad took his hand and said hello then told him a little joke, and it made Uncle Ted smile. When I held his hand and told him hello, he held on real tight and maintained eye contact. It was a very sweet moment, so I shared about how much I appreciated being able to live with them when I went to BYU. One of my special memories was learning about prayer through their example. We had prayers every night, and they were really good about mentioning people by name and asking for blessings specific to their needs. I learned that prayers are important to communicate to our Heavenly Father, and He is as interested in what we have to say as we are interested in sharing it with Him. Then Dad and Aunt Nila talked a long time about football and sports. They did a lot of name dropping; it's so funny. I love it when Aunt Nila tells a story and circles and circles and circles and circles and then goes back to her original topic. How she remembers where she started, I don't know because I can't ever do it, but I love it when she does that. Terri and one of her kids and a couple of Deb's kids came by to say hello. It was nice to see everyone and we had a nice visit. When we said goodbye Mom and Dad told Uncle Ted, "We'll see you when we'll see you," and I thought that was very fitting.

Friday was a pretty long day with waking up at Michelle's, the doctor, lunch with my Rick's roommates, a drive to Provo, dinner with Mom and Dad, a visit to the Millers, and a drive down to Santaquin to Katie's house. I told Katie that I had to get to bed early that night. And then we proceeded to visit until eleven :). It was worth it though! We talked about my move to Boise and our families and their new house. They recently moved into a great house on the edge of town. Of course, I loved that because I'm from a small town myself and lived right on the border of town and the country. Katie and Jared's Madilyn is a friendly little girl. She'd tell me, "Hi! Hi! Mom, say hi." They were super great to their first house guest, and I can't wait for my next visit!