Pre-Mission Vacation (2011)

     In June 2011 Jay and I were caught in a great whirlwind. We managed a wedding, a two-week trip to Isle of Man and Norway, and preliminary applications online for a Church mission.

     I have just found the entry for that time in a journal and would like to share our experiences with anyone interested. I enjoyed reminiscing, maybe some of you might, too.

     28 June 2011. Hooray! Roger and Suzanne were sealed in the Manti Temple on Friday morning. around 11:00. Most of our family was there, and many of Suzanne´s large family, too. We stayed overnight in a house rented out during the pageant. It was a victorian house filled with antique or classic furniture and knick-knacks. It was very nice. Post marriage luncheon was pulled pork sandwihes and Jello salads provided by Suzanne´s family. Then we went to the church in Ephraim for the reception. The food was good. There were two chocolate fountains. The kids ate most of it. Jay´s cousin Beverly Karren Winters and her husband Carl invited Jay, Louise and me to spend the night. We were very tired so accepted their offer. Finding their home was HARD!! They live in Pleasant View. Pleasant it might be, but it is on one of many dirt roads way up in the mountain. We searched for a couple of hours, stopping for directions at numerous homes. Finally at ten minutes to eleven, we found it. It´s a beautiful log home. Power is provided by solar panels. It is REALLY out in the ¨boonies¨! We left the next day, picked up Esther and Adele in Provo (Lori and Bennett had a motel room there.) We didnt know there was supposed to be a family lunch at 1:00. We didnt get home till three. We unloaded the pick-up and rushed over to Lynette´s to help set up for the openhouse. Lisa came with the lasagna and salad around 5:30 or six. We were busy making chicken salad croissant sandwiches and cutting up fruit for the chocolate fountains. A lot of people came, it was a nice party. We were exhausted. I had to teach Primary and play the organ the next morning, and I sang in the choir.
  Monday we cleaned and packed for our trip to Isle of Man and Norway. We had Family Home Evening that went on to around ten. Tuesday we left at 7:00 to take Louise to the airport and then checked in for our flight to Atlanta. Our flight was uneventful, with the usual snack:drinks and choice of cookie, peanuts or crackers. We watched Big Momma. The plane was late and we had just an hour to find the gate for Amsterdam. It wasnt very far. Jay went to the bathroom while I checked in with boarding pass and airport. Then I went to the bathroom. I saw Jay at the boarding door, which I thought was unusual because he needs to be together to be safe. So I boarded and found our seats, but he wasnt there. I thought maybe he was seated somewhere else, but I didnt see him anywhere on the plane. I walked back up to the desk and there he was, sweating and worried. His nervousness has made him blind and deaf. We settled I and relaxed. Dinner was served: fish or chicken. We both chose fish. It was strange: the fish was all mixed up in mashed potatoes.
     A young Bangladeshi man sat next to me. He wanted to chat. He asked if I had grandchildren. I told him 25 and then explained that we have nine children. It took him a moment to digest that. He muttered to himself, "Nine children." He asked if I was Catholic. I smiled and said, "No, I am Mormon." He then wanted to talk about my beliefs and we conversed pleasantly for about 15 minutes. He was a little familiar with our beliefs, he explained that he had a friend long ago who was LDS.  His father is Christian, his mother is Muslim. Then he wanted to sleep.
     Sleep was difficult for me. Jay and I are too big for airline seats so if one folds one´s arms the other isnt awakened by another's movements. Hah!  The woman in front of me reclined her seat as soon as we took off so there was very little room for me to wiggle at all. In the middle of the night I got up and noticed that her two seat companions were gone and she was stretched out across all three seats, asleep. I was kind of irked. I raised the reclined backs so Jay and I had a little more room. Later, after people were beginning to stir, I was sleeping with my head up against the seat in front. I felt the seat trying to recline so I kept pressure against it till she quit trying. (sweet revenge). Breakfast wasnt very good. Oh, well...

Continued on the next installment......