Richard and I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary in March. As we were driving together out of town, we figured out that it had been 11 years since we had a get away, just the two of us. We drove to St. George, UT and spent the night, to split up the long drive. The next morning we headed off to Provo to stay with his sweet Aunt Marilyn and Uncle Randy. We settled in and visited a bit. Marilyn and Randy are wonderful people. They are lots of fun and welcoming.
That evening we drove to Salt Lake City to go out to dinner and a play with our dear friends John and Kim. Kim's parents joined us for dinner. Her mom is loving and warm and her dad is hilarious. There was lots of great food and conversation. After dinner we went to the Hale Center to see "Zorro The Musical". I know, I know, "Zorro The Musical"? But it was so much fun and the music has been addictive. I bought the sound track when we got home and my kids love it! It was full of real fire, flamenco dancing and amazing voices. The Hale Center did a great job. We had a wonderful time and loved every minute with John and Kim.
The next morning was a beautiful one. Cool and clear weather. We went out to breakfast with Emily and Steve Craig. Emily and I have been friends since childhood. I love her! Richard and I love talking with them. We went to a very hip place in Provo for breakfast, Communal. It was delicious!
And BEAUTIFUL!
The mountains in Utah Valley are incredible. There really is something magical and fairy tale like about them. I get swept away every time I am there.
That afternoon, we went back to Salt Lake. I went out with Kim and her sisters plus a couple of their friends for my first ever pedicure. I can't believe I have lived this long and never known the joy of pedicures. You can't go wrong with massage chairs, foot and leg massages, pretty nail polish and wonderful friends. Her sister Tiffany and I talked almost the whole time. It was wonderful to spend time with her. Tiffany is an amazing lady and so inspiring, as are all the Loveridge ladies. I always feel like one of the sisters when I am with them.
We took our beautiful feet over to a yummy bakery and ate fruit tarts and cheesecakes and chocolates and fresh bread to our hearts content. We made sure to bring home a couple of goodies for Richard and John. They had spent their time at basketball practice and cleaning the church. They deserved a treat too.
We left before dinner and headed back for a quiet evening of rest. We thought we were going to go to bed early, but I introduced Richard to Downton Abbey and we spent several hours watching episodes on Netflix. It was very relaxing even though at first it felt weird and indulgent to have so much time alone to just snuggle and watch a fun show together. It was a wonderful treat!
Sunday we slept in and had a nice quiet morning. We went to church with John and Kim. They have a great ward. Sunday School especially was fabulous. They have an incredible instructor. He taught a beautiful lesson about pressing forward with a steadfastness in Christ.
We had dinner afterwards, at Kim's parents house. They had a bottle of sparkling grape juice for us as an anniversary gift and an amazing layout of desserts to celebrate; chocolate mousse pie, banana cream pie and freshly baked cinnamon rolls. The chocolate pie stole my heart! The crust was divine, with walnuts and coconut in it! Sister Loveridge is certainly a wiz in the kitchen. We felt fussed over and loved on our special day.
That evening we attended their ward fireside. The speaker was David A. Christensen, a member of the Oquirrh Mountain temple presidency. His message of love touched me deeply. He said that nothing really matters life, but love. If we have the pure love of Christ, we will be filled with joy in our lives and in our families. We will be what the Lord needs us to be and we will be able to serve and lift those in need. I felt renewed in my efforts to live a more loving and Christlike life. He was also hilarious, but sincere and inspiring. I felt God's love through his words.
We knew it was going to be a late night, since it was our last night with the Bytheways. We love being together and can hardly gather the strength to leave when we are there. John went to bed after a while, he had had a long busy day as bishop and was exhausted. Kim is the night owl. Richard stayed awake for most of the night, dozing a bit here and there. Kim is truly a sister friend. I can't help but smile when I am near her. We could talk forever about everything and nothing. Time flies when we are together. We didn't get back to Provo and in bed until about 5:30 am. (I love you Kim! Thanks for a wonderful weekend. I wish there wasn't 11 hours of driving between us.)
Monday was a day of recovery. We took it easy and watched some more Downton Abbey. We also did some 2nd hand shopping and visited my sweet friend and hairdresser, Crystal. She used to be our neighbor until about a year ago. This is the second long distance hair cut I have squeezed into a vacation in less than a year. She is so kind to fit me into her schedule when we are in town. She always makes me feel so pretty!
We went out with Randy and Marilyn to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. They are such delightful hosts. We enjoyed our steaks while laughing and having fun being together. They are both spunky and full of life. It gives me a little skip in my step just being around them.
We can't thank you both enough for allowing us to stay with you. We love you both mucho!
Tuesday we did more shopping. We got several different pieces of art, my favorite being
"Christ Walking on Water" by Julius von Klever. Aunt Marilyn gave us a couple of paintings as well. One was a giant painting that Richard's grandfather had painted of the Grand Canyon (we could barely fit it in the car) and one that his Aunt Ellen Afton painted of a forest scene. The kids think it is cool to have a piece that their great-grandfather painted.
We visited more with Marilyn and Randy that night and tried to get to bed at a decent time so we could head for home early the next morning. We also packed the car that night. It was hilarious because both of us were dreading packing up, it is always such a big job. As we finished in about 15 minutes we laughed because normally we are packing up 11 people not 2. BIG DIFFERENCE! Our early bed time didn't work out so well, we got sucked back into Downton Abbey for a couple more episodes.
The drive home went by quickly, especially because I slept for several hours. Thanks Sweetie! It is great to be in a car for so long together and be able to talk for hours and hours. We never get tired of talking about our kids or the gospel, and we had some meaningful conversations with out any interruptions. That alone made the whole trip worth while. There is nothing I love more than to spend hour after hour with my hubby. He is my heart and soul. Thank you dearest, for our dream get away together. Let's not wait another 11 years to do it again!
