While we were gone and Idaho

While we were gone Andrew, Freddy,  Noah, Daniel, Laney and Zanna were at home. They had a great time and kept the house really clean. They played lots of games, did tons of puzzles, played Five Hunting Hounds (a hide and seek sort of game) and went swimming at the hotel the Bakers are staying at until they move.

They did about 10 puzzles, the dining room table was covered!

Zanna spent Friday night and Saturday with Sam and Vivi. She had a great time. They fed her well, played with her and went to some super fancy model homes. She loved it!

Rich and I left straight from the MTC to Idaho to see Josh, Leigh and Baby Sammy! They are such a cute little family. I love to see them interact with each other. They take great care of each other and are so loving and silly.

Sammy is a doll!!! I never get tired of holding him or cuddling him and neither does Grandpa. He is such a happy baby, but he makes hilarious faces, especially when you try to get pictures. He looks upset or afraid, but he wasn't. He was just in between smiles. He's still learning. hahaha

He makes such funny faces!!!

He loved holding Grandpa's fingers while we rode around in the car.

We at dinner the first night at Big Judd's. They have amazing burgers, and they are huge! Josh had fun with the fry sauce and ketchup.

Happy boys!

After dinner, we all went shopping at WinCo. Papa had a great time pushing Sammy around the store.

Thursday, we went to the BYU-I campus. Dad and Josh worked for a couple of hours in his garden. He is taking a gardening class, and had a few things to plant, thin and weed. They worked together for a couple of hours. 

Leigh, Sammy and I stayed in the shade and talked. It was lovely!

We visited the jungle room in the agriculture building.

Then we went to lunch at The Hickory for delicious bbq sandwiches. And cute little potatoes. 

This one was extra cute. hahaha

After nap time, Sammy was bright eyed and super smiley!

I tried to capture some of those smiles on camera, and caught a bunch of his funny faces.

And a little smile

For dinner, we had ice cream at Reed's Dairy Farm. It was pretty yummy!

Josh shared some of his homemade pork jerky with us. It is DELICIOUS!

After ice cream, we looked at the farm animals.

They were pretty cute, but Sammy was still cuter.

I just wanted a picture with the calf. He wanted to eat my hair.

We spent a lot of time in the backseat with this cutie. It was wonderful!

We spent the days with Josh, Leigh and Sammy, but we slept at the Comeau's house. They were so kind to put us up for a few days. We enjoyed visiting with them in the mornings and evenings and we came and went.

Luc gave Rich a tour of the yard, the chickens and ducks. They talked tons about work and programming, and such, as well.

I didn't get a picture with Laura this time, but I sure love all the Comeau ladies. It is a delight to spend time with them.

Ruth, Steph and Sophia

After saying our goodbyes to the Comeaus, we went to Josh and Leigh's for a last hug before leaving for home. We enjoyed every minute with our Idaho cuties! We miss them bunches and bunches.

We were going to stop at Ken and Karman's in St. George for the night, but we decided to just drive the whole way. We missed the kids and we also wanted to get home so we could attend Tommy Lundquist's endowment the next day. The kids were all happily surprised to have us home at 1 am, and yes, they were all still awake and watching a movie.


It was sweet to join Tommy and his parents at the temple for his endowment. He has been such good friend to our kids. I have enjoyed having Tommy in MCO with us as well. We love him and all of his family!

Tom, Tommy and Wendi

Utah with Alger Nővér (Sister Alger)

After all the goodbyes, we hopped in the car and were off to Richfield, Utah for the night. We always take our missionaries to a temple of their choice on the way to the MTC. Sara chose the Manti temple for two reasons. 1. Her Alger grandparents, great grandparents, etc, were sealed in the Manti temple. 2. The art is AMAZING!!!

Journaling while on the road.

We drove through Flagstaff, Page, Kanab and Panguitch on our way to Richfield. The scenery is gorgeous. I love the desert!

Sara and I napped along the way, trying to make up for the super late night packing and having fun.

We stopped in Panguitch for dinner. We found a little place called Tandoori Taqueria, an Indian / Mexican fusion restaurant. They serve tacos with fragrant Indian spices and flavors. They had a garden out front where they grew their own produce and herbs. It was delicious! Their hot sauce had so many layers of flavors. It was hot from the chipotle peppers, but the liquid was the brine from their picked vegetables. It added such wonderful flavoring!

We ate outside in the cool evening air!

We kept the windows down for a little while; it was so lovely outside!

Sara and I talked and enjoyed just being together, soaking in our time together.

We had a slow lazy morning, with a nice hot breakfast at our hotel. Then we packed up and headed to the Manti temple. It was a beautiful drive.

The Manti temple looks like a fortress. The stone work is awesome and massive. It is hard to believe that the pioneers built such an amazing structure.

Minerva Teichert was the artist that created all the murals there. This picture does not even come close. This room felt like you were in a storybook garden.

The world room has figures from all throughout history in the murals.

These aren't great pictures, but they were all I could find online. You can't take pictures in the temple. These are from a time the temple was closed for restorations.

The sealing room next to the Celestial room is breathtaking!

We took some pictures on the front steps, like Grandma and Grandpa Alger, and Great Grandma and Grandpa Alger.

It was super windy, so it was hard to get a picture where my hair was not in my face. We had some good laughs.

 Here is a picture of Great Grandma Rose Ellen and Great Grandpa Afton Dee Alger on the front steps in 1962.

Here they are with their brand new daughter in law, Maxine Blake Alger.

And the adorable newly weds, Keith DeRay and Maxine Blake Alger.

It really does feel like a fortress as you climb these stairs. It is a huge wall. They had just had the final Manti pageant a couple of days before we arrived. They use this wall for Samuel the Lamanite to stand on as he calls the people unto repentance and teaches the gospel of Jesus Christ.

When we finished at the temple we drove to Provo. Along the way, one of the tires started feeling weird, so Dad dropped Sara and I off at the Deseret Industries, for a little second hand shopping, while he took the car to Discount Tire. The tire was beginning to separate, so we replaced it. Everything else looked good.

We found several cute sweaters for Sara's mission. Then we went and got Thai food for dinner. We love Spicy Thai on University Avenue. We have been there several times while visiting in Provo.

Sara hanging with the Thai elephant

After dinner we went to Deseret Book and a few missionary stores to get a few last minute items. Then we went to Frame Works at University Mall. We LOVE to go to Frame Works and look at all the new paintings from our favorite artist, Howard Lyon, Yongsung Kim, etc. It was fun to have Dad their with us. He loves art too!

We grabbed a few yummy things from Trader Joe's and then went to Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Randy's. They are always so sweet to let us stay with them. We visited for a while and then Dad, Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Randy all went to bed. Sara and I were waiting up for some laundry to finish. We washed her new sweaters from DI. Then we talked and talked as we tried to settle down for the night. We were in the basement bedroom together, our last night before she reported to the MTC. It was hard to stop talking. We finally fell asleep in the wee hours of the morning. I sure love my Sara girl. She will leave a big hole, for sure.

The next morning, Wednesday, June 26th, we finished up packing and sorting out the things she only brought for the trip there, but didn't want on her mission. Then we ate Palak Paneer and  Naan, Indian food we bought the night before at Trader Joe's. It is one of our favorites! It's a spicy spinach and cheese dish.

A couple last minute pictures of my Sara Bara. It was a beautiful morning!

We said our goodbyes to Marilyn and Randy. They are the kindest people and so much fun to be with. They have been like another set of grandparents for our kids in a lot of ways.

We always take some pictures before dropping of our missionaries. It is such a quick drive thru kind of drop off, that you can't really get a tender moment for goodbyes.

We sure love her and are so so so so proud of her. She is an incredible example of Christlike love and service. I am excited to hear everything that happens in the next 18 months.

Here we are at the drop off. She was ready and eager.

Our final goodbyes!

See you in December of 2020 Sister Alger! We love you!!!!!