A VIRGINIA GOODBYE

When I think back on our limited time living in Virginia, there is one word that will come to my mind

LUCKY!

And that word doesn't just apply to our location, being so close to our Nations Capital,

which for the record I absolutely LOVED,

It also applies to our neighbors.

From day 1 we had multiple neighbors bringing us goodies and welcoming us to the neighborhood.

This hospitatility didn't end there, throughout the year we

were constantly reminded of their generosity and kindness.

This by far has been one of the nicest group of neighbors we have ever had.

AND we have had a few!

Our last weekend in VA they hosted a farewell to the Shirleys BBQ

Come to think of it, maybe the reason for the party was because they were so anxious to get rid of us.

Hmmmm……

the ladies of the "sac"

The neighbors

earlier in the month Janet and Eric had our family over dinner and suprised us with this cake and a very thoughtful gift for me.

A FAMILY FAREWELL

Although there are tons of great things about going home, there are some hard ones too and one of them is being able to see all the family and friends that we want too.

Cams parents being as sweet as they are recognized this continual problem and organized an extended family gathering for both of Cams family and any of my family in the area as well.

It was great being able to reconnect with a lot of Cams family that we haven't seen in years and to be able to see them one last time before our big adventure.Some live close by and others traveled from Utah just to come see us, We are blessed to have such a supportive and loving family.

with Cam's Granny T

My Father in Laws siblings and their spouses (missing 2 who live to too far away)

Granny T and two of her girls

my cousin Jodi and Aunt Jackie

Kirk and Manette

my nephew Derek who is going to school in Idaho

Thanks for coming Mitch!

IDAHO

There is something so special about being home especially if you are lucky enough to call Idaho home!

I was like most kids and never appreciated my quiet small townupbringing until I moved away from it and starting raising my own kids.

Don't get me wrong, my kids have had many awesome opportunities and have had a pretty enviable childhood but it doesn't diminish the fact that we always enjoy the slow pace and serene like life that awaits us while in Idaho.

Grandma and Grandpa Shirley wanted to make sure our last visit to Idaho was packed full of good memories.

They succeeded!

A gorgeous boat ride and hike at Jenny's Lake near

Jackson Hole Wyoming,

half way point hidden falls

the top "Inspiration Point"

 a day in Yellowstone National Park

lower falls at Grand Canyon Yellowstone

anda fun afternoon at Bear World.

the albino elk....super cool

feeding time for the bears

Cal driving us out...does Grandpa look nervous? 

me and my cubs

pettin' the large pot belly pig

like I said, IDAHO is great!

 

TEMPLE SQUARE

It had been awhile since our family had been to Temple Square in SLC

So we took advantage of some extra time to enjoy the beautiful sights and sounds.

We always enjoy the movies that they show in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, I am not sure how often they switch them

but since we are infrequent visitors they are always new to us. :D

The movie this time was about Joseph Smith and the restoration and my family thought it was extremely well done.

One of the things I enjoy most about parenting is getting small glimpses of my children's inner soul.

Amongst the daily chaos of life in a BOY house there are rarely moments of solitude and quite frankly I spend a lot of

time worrying if they are gaining a testimony of what is right and wrong in this world.

But this day and this movie will forever be ingrained in my heart as a tender moment,

where I saw the spirit touch the heart of a young 9 year old boy with an

overwhelming amount of gratitude and sorrow

and left him in tears while watching and pondering all the trials

and the ultimate sacrifice of life that Joseph Smith made so that the Lord's gospel

could be restored back to the earth.

A tender moment in deed that Cam and I will not soon forget.

And hopefully Mack won't either. :D

inside the conference center, that place is HUGE!!