On the road again

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On Tuesday, we put off leaving as long as we could in the morning. We had great visit with the Gees, more than worth the treacherous drive north.

We travelled from Logan to Vernal, UT. Vernal's not on the way to anything. It's not really close to anything. And, apart from the big dinosaur in the city center holding an Easter egg basket and wearing a set of floppy bunny ears, there's really not that much to see here. However, back in the early stages of planning, Vernal, Utah ranked somewhere above the Smithsonian on our list of places to see as we zoomed back and forth across the country. Vernal is where Julie's mom was raised, so there was a family history component to the visit, but it is also where our good friends the Picards live. Julie and I got to know the Picards while we were in Moscow, ID. They were one of those mentoring families that was a few years ahead of us and really showed us what our family could be like down the road. Being around them was always a hopeful experience. Whenever I felt overwhelmed by by what the future held for our little family, looking at the Picards made it seemed something to look forward to.

We hadn't seen them since we left Moscow, and in that time they've had another child, sent two of their kids off on missions and made several moves around the country, and, despite the changes in both our families, within seconds of walking through their front door, it was as if we had never been apart. They're still a family that shows us what there is to look forward to and the stresses of my children as missionaries and teenagers seem less intimidating.

James pretty much assumes that if there are kids in the house he must be related to them somehow, so he took to them like family, Elizabeth got on famously with Miranda and Lucy and, once we broke out the Nerf guns, D.J. and Liam became fast friends (nothing brings people together like little soft foam bullets).

Now, it would have been great to see Sara and E.J., but with them on missions it meant Julie and I got to take a break from the air mattress. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Pajamas, Puzzles and Papa Murphy's Pizza

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This is where the day started, and this is where it ended.

I did not get out of my pajamas today. It was a conscious decision and I don't regret it a single bit. After getting in so late, it was nice not to feel the pressure of going anywhere or doing anything. It ended up being a day of games. Pam had given me a neat puzzle of a folk painting of Logan. Now I am not a puzzle person, but it was pretty hard not to get sucked in by all those little pieces looking to belong (Lucy wants the world to know that she was largely responsible for the pumpkin patch in the southeast corner of the puzzle).

After the puzzle, there was pizza and American Idol. It was the Lennon/McCartney songbook night which I thought was a good thing, but most of these kids were too young to know what they were thinking about, and never have I thought that "Hey Jude" has been missing bagpipes.

After the kids were sent off to bed at something approximating a bed time, we stayed up visiting with Pam and Steve and Becca. They all seem to be doing very well and once we found the rhythm of the conversation it was hard to resist the momentum.

Temples, Toys and Shakespearean Parmesan Chicken

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Monday, Day 15. After a protracted departure from the Lambert household (tears were shed), we spent the day in Salt Lake touring Temple Square with the kids. We too in the visitor's center and the Church Art and History Museum. There was a nice pace to the events and we capped things off with the Joseph Smith film playing in the legacy theater. Watching the movie was a little surreal after having visited so many of the places depicted. I'm not always the biggest fan of the church produced films, but I did like the actor who portrayed the prophet even if all of the clothes were a little too clean. It was a powerful film and accomplished quite a bit in its relatively short running time. Although I have to admit that the actor who portrayed Hyrum looked so much like Josh Groban that I kept expecting him to break out into song.

"What do you know about the Mormons?"

After Temple Square we took a short detour down to the Gateway mall to get something to eat and so that I could play with the iPad at the Apple store (It really is as cool as people are saying). Julie wasn't as taken with the little wonder as I was, but that might have had something to do with the fact that she was trying to reign in a wandering James at the time.

We joined Julie's good friend Jill and her husband Will Shakespeare for dinner. Obviously, I'm tempted to play on the whole idea of dining with William Shakespeare, but I can't think of a way to do it in a way that isn't kind of obvious and simplistic. It was a lot of fun to catch up with Jill and I really enjoyed getting to know her husband who struck me as both literate and practical with a shared appreciation for all gadgets Apple.

We stayed later than we had initially intended, but it was so good to visit with the Shakespeares that it was hard to leave (or maybe it was just difficult extricating ourselves from their ginormous bean bad chair). We left Salt Lake at about eight thirty anticipating a leisurely hour and a half drive back up to Logan, but alas there was more of that pesky white stuff, known in some corners of the world as snow. In fact, there were great quantities of the stuff. We passed two major accidents and the mountain pass at Brigham City was closed. In total, the drive took us about four hours from start to finish, but even four hours is starting to feel leisurely.

A Case of Many, Many Mormons: General Conference Weekend

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There was snow on the ground...again. The problem with having already blogged about the Julie’s counsel to not bring my hat and gloves is that I can’t really revisit it on the Internet the way I do every morning when I look out onto a snow covered setting and say to her, “Boy, I sure am glad I didn’t use up that valuable space in our van for a hat and pair of gloves.” You’d think she’d be getting tired of the same comment again and again, but she loves it She still laughs as if I’ve only told the joke once instead of a half-dozen times. But once you put it on the Internet, it just feels unoriginal and repetitive.

We drove from Logan to Salt Lake early Saturday morning. We had tickets everyone to go to general conference, but the tickets said ages eight and up. We were tempted to try to sneak Miranda into the meeting but were worried someone would give a talk on integrity. So Miranda and James and I wandered temple square for a couple of hours after finding a parking spot. Temple Square is kind of like a little Disney World for Mormons. There are movies, museums, dioramas and lots of smiling people. The two of them were easily entertained. Lucy and Liam came out of the morning session excited and enthused. There’s just something about joining in with some twenty five thousand other saints and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to sing “Guide Us O Thou Great Jehovah” that’s pretty neat.

We spent the afternoon with Matt and Liz Lambert and Rozanne Hall (Roger was around, somewhere). It was great to catch up and we ended up talking through the afternoon session (fortunately I do have some time to catch up on the road east).

Liam and I attended Priesthood session. I really can’t describe what it was like to be there with him, so I won’t even try.

Saturday night we stayed up much too late visiting which obviously had an impact on the following day.

For those of you who might have missed a talk or two, the church has a great new website for navigating conference talks right here: https://beta.lds.org/general-conference?locale=eng

Sunday afternoon, we were able to visit Anadel and her family. We were worried we might miss them, but they invited us for lunch and our kids were able to spend some time with the last of their cousins on the Nelson side.

Sunday was another late night of conversing. Our kids were getting along so well with Liz and Matt’s that we almost forgot we were in the same house (and consequently forgot to put them to bed at a reasonable hour).

Though the trip has been both spiritually and emotionally energizing, these constant late nights and long days are taking their toll. I feel like I’m blah-gging instead of blogging.

Days 11-12--Once Upon an Air Mattress

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On Thursday morning Liam and I went to the temple to do baptisms first thing in the morning. It was an interesting experience getting into line with a few dozen young women from the university. There was a level of efficiency to everything that would have made my father a little envious. It was a great experience for both of us and a great start to the day. Later in the afternoon we went out for frozen yogurt. Now, before we left, I asked Julie if I should bring a pair of gloves just in case it got a little cold. I think the problem was that we were packing during honest to goodness spring sunshine in Nova Scotia (a rare event that time of year). "Nah, you won't need any of that stuff. , and, believing that of the two climates, a southern/westerly clime would be the more temperate of the two, I took her word for it.

We packed up after supper and were off to Jeannette's that night. Jeff and Jennifer were there and fun and games ensued late into the night. The crowd was sustained by nachos and Jed and Jeannette's year supply of condensed aged cheese sauce.

I abstained.

On Friday, we were up not quite as early as we wanted, but still managed to run some errands and get on the road. We had great visits with the Nelsons and the Dennings, which made it a little difficult to leave. However, I'm sure they're grateful to have a little more routine in our absence.

That afternoon, we took a quick hop down to Logan (after driving across the country, 2 1/2 hours feels like crossing the street) to see Becca Gee perform in Once Upon a Mattress. It was a great show and, despite its slumberly nature and my great fatigue, I managed to stay awake through the entire production. It was a lot of fun.

We didn't get much time with the Gees, but we'll be back by and by. They're definitely worth backtracking for.

An unrecognizable nostalgia

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The days are running into one another in the way that only vacation days can.

We started the day off with a visit to the temple this morning. It’s easy to forget about the majesty and power of some of the big temples. Not that I don’t love the Halifax temple, but it is a different experience. I only got lost twice.

Later, we were able to take Madison Pilling and Crystal Kearley out for lunch. The kids got real kick out of visiting, and it was fun hear about their experiences. Madison said that going together was just like being back in Nova Scotia, only there's nowhere in Nova Scotia to get Mexican food as good as what we had at Ramirez's. Yum!

Bob and Kathy took us out form more Mexican food at Bajio's. Man, I could eat that stuff morning, noon and night.

We got to tour the campus a bit which was practically unrecognizable. It's grown so much that it feels like a different school. I guess you really can't go back, but you can buy a t-shirt to prove you've been.

Sometimes I confuse my fondness for my past experiences at Ricks with a desire to relive those experiences. As we’ve walked around campus and as we visited with Crystal and Madison, I’ve come to better understand the distinction. I had a great experience here some fifteen years ago. How could I not have? It was the place where I met and courted my wife. But as I look at these young couples strolling starry-eyed through the temple parking lot, do I have any desire to go back and do it all over? Absolutely not. Once was good, and the memories are more than I need.

Days 7, 8 and 9—Has it really been three days since I last bought gas?

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When I exhale, it genuinely feels as if all of the air is leaving my lungs. I don’t know if I’ve gotten a chance to genuinely exhale since I’ve left. It’s as if I’ve held on to a small pocket of air down at the bottom of my lung in case of emergency. It’s feels good to get all that residual carbon dioxide out once and for all.

On Sunday, we had a wonderful visit with Julie’s sister Jeanette and her family, and later in the evening, her brother Jeff came over with her family. I am always amazed at how quickly we can fall into familiar patterns and rhythms with good friends and family regardless of how much time has passed since we last saw one another. Sincere relationships I believe are marked by how well they endure over time and distance. I am not particularly good at maintaining contact with people that are dear to me (alas, facebook has not solved that problem for me); however, the friendships I have formed throughout my travels have been genuine, and instead of awkwardness, it has been a real joy to reconnect with some of these people.

When visiting cousins on the Nelson side, it’s best to approach any field of battle well armed. We will not be caught unprepared.

On Monday we entered Rexburg. For the most part, the drive along the highway was familiar, but the changes that have taken place here really started to come into focus when we saw the temple, I knew intellectually that the town had grown, and that the campus had expanded. But to see the changes has been more overwhelming than I would have expected. I have to admit that in spite of some of the added conveniences, I miss the intimacy of a smaller town. Julie says that my disdain for progress is a sign of me getting old. I’d like to disagree with her, but she’s probably right. I just know that it’s hard to feel nostalgia for a place you barely recognize anymore.

Monday night we celebrated Kathy’s birthday with a family talent show. There’s a lot of musical talent in this family, and it can be a little intimidating when your talents don’t lend themselves so much to performance, but it was great to hear some of the kids sing.

Tuesday was spent at Jeff’s house. It was raining and hailing, but none of the kids seemed to notice. That afternoon, we nice visit with the Comeaus who seem to be thriving in Rexburg even if they can’t get anyone to pronounce their name correctly. On Tuesday night we had a great visit from Shauna Samuelson.

Bob and Kathy have been great hosts and the kids have really enjoyed connecting with their grandparents. There’s lots for the kids to see and do in the house, and they’ve been too long away from a piano.

It’s cold here, but I don’t notice it that much.