A Quick Trip

We got outta town this past weekend. We went to Utah for several purposes. Two reasons were planned several months ago. The first was to go to the blessing of my newest niece, Samantha (Sami) Jane Eastman. She is Hebe and Carley's pretty baby.

The second reason to go to Utah was to pick up our 1/4 of a beef. We add this to our 40 pounds of chicken, and this is the most meat that I've bought at one time. We've never stocked up on this much meat. I've had a mental block about filling up my freezer ever since living in Guam where the power can go out on any day and for indefinite amounts of time. I'm getting over the fear of losing my frozen food. It has only taken 7+ years.

The third purpose in going to Utah this past weekend turned out to be the most important reason to me. I got to be with my mom. Sure, I would have visited my parents anyway, but with my mom's breast cancer diagnosis several weeks ago and her surgery last week, this trip down to Utah came at a very important time. I'm so glad I only live 5 hours away from them. At times, I wish I was even closer, but I'll take 5 hours in a car. It sure beats a 14 hour plane ride.

We asked my dad to give us a tour of the Family History Library. He is currently serving as a missionary there two days a week. We had never been inside before, and it was pretty impressive. Matt has gotten into geneology this past year, so he did a little searching for more info on an ancestor from Finland. Josh began his family history merit badge with my dad.

After the library, we met up with my big bro Erik, his wife Kimi, and two of their kids, Vanessa and David. My younger sister, Heather, came too. We ate at Hagerman's Deli right across from Temple Square. It was nice to be with them even for the short hour it was.

Snow came during lunch. And it continued during the drive back to Syracuse. It made the mountains even more beautiful. And an added bonus to our quick trip...

Seeing Jeremy and Tyler Moore. My oldest nephews, sons of Matt's sister and brother-in-law, Samantha and Ken from Virginia. Tyler just returned home from serving a mission in Guatamala. I'm so proud of him. Both are currently attending BYU. Jeremy will leave on his mission this summer. They are great guys.