Fourth Week of January

We are entering the final month before Erika gets married and it seems like scheduling will just continue to get busier until the wedding date arrives. The wedding and preparations for it are a major priority right now but there are also other things that are going on as well—so we just feel quite busy. We have been working on the invitations to the wedding this week. We picked them up on Monday and they are just a cute as can be. The pictures that will be inserted in the invitations came on Saturday. This week we will finish addressing the envelops and stuff and they will go out at the beginning of next week. It is beginning to feel like it is really going to happen. This week is also the first bridal shower that will be held in Erika’s honor. This one is being held by the book club that Julie Bult, Jono’s mother, belongs to. Apparently the club puts on a shower for the children of the members when they become engaged. It will be a small shower, there are only twelve or so members of the club, but it looks like a nice event with a dinner. I received an invitation as well and will be attending. This group assigns out a “theme gift” to each guest. I was assigned “Compnay coming to dinner”. So I am supposed to bring a gift that Erika could use on an evening when company was coming to dinner. This worked out perfectly for me, because since Erika was in Elementary School, I have been collecting silver plate table ware, serving pieces and a silver box. I talked to her about it when she was young, but haven’t mentioned to her for years. I’m not sure she even remembers. So I will give her the silverware, and a tablecloth and eight napkins at this shower. I just wrapped it up this weekend and so I am all set to go. Friday night Paul and I hosted a dinner for some friends of ours that we knew when we were living in Frankfurt. They have a complicated living arrangement, since Marsha lives in Provo with two of their children and Mike works in Singapore. I see Marsha frequently, but it is hard to catch Mike when he is in town. He has been here since Christmas, but we just managed to get together. They came on Friday night we had a really nice evening with dinner and conversation. Mike and Marsha are one of our couple friends and we enjoy them very much—their experience is similar to ours in that they lived as a family in Europe for many years and they localized their children in the public schools and attended the local wards and learned the language. Paul and Mike have many similar interests and Marsha belongs now to one of my book clubs. They have been a couple friends for many years. It is fun to get together with old friends. Erika was just a lifesaver that night. I was in the middle of some really fussy work activities and didn't leave work until after 5:00. I still had to stop at the store to pick up a few things for dinner and I didn’t get home until about 5:55. When I got home Erika had set the dining table for me and had spiffed up the bathroom and then helped me get the appetizer tray ready and generally moved the meal along. Mike and Marsha were a little late and by the time they arrived everything was ready to go. It made me think how helpful Erika has been while she has been living at home. I appreciate all the ways that she has been helpful and this time that we have had to spend together. Sunday night, my mother hosted a family dinner at their home. Invited were my brother Stephen and his son, Steve, Paul and I, Philip, Camille, Jonathan and Andrew, Peter, Kortney and Eleanor, Erika and Jono and my brother David’s son, Crawford who is a student at BYU. We were disappointed that Jonathan and Andrew were both under the weather, Andrew had fever and so Camille stayed home with the children, but Philip came. It was the first time that we had a chance to really talk with Philip since he came back about some of the experience in Djibouti and it was very interesting and entertaining. He gave us some insight into what he is anticipating with his time in Washington D.C. and also his next assignment in Ukraine. It was just plain a fun family evening. Eleanor is becoming such a funny little person. We tended her overnight last week and it was fun to see her again this week. I just finished making the dress that she will wear at the wedding and passed it off at the dinner and we think she is just going to look darling as a “Junior Bridesmaid”. The dress is the same color scheme as the bridesmaids with a red skirt and a white top and matching jewelry. I just ordered some fleshtone tights for her so she will match all the other girls in the party. This last week was our Sundance week with our Westgate Condo in Park City. Paul and I share it with the local family members and try to slip in a couple of days ourselves. This year we gave Sunday and Monday to Peter and Courtney, Tuesday was going to be for Paul and me, Wednesday was for my parents, Thursday and Friday were for Philip and Camille and Paul and I had Saturday to Sunday morning. Even before the day arrived, it was clear that Tuesday was going to be complicated for Paul and me. In the first place, because that was the day that Philip and Camille flew in from Djibouti and we planned to see them at the airport. The plan was to go straight up to the condo. It is a busy work evening for Paul because he makes two, one hour long calls to the Philippines and Japan on that evening, but we thought that we could get to Park before it was time to place the calls. As it turned out, Camille’s mom who came to pick them up didn’t have room enough in her car for four people (two car seats) and all their luggage—so I ended up driving to their rental house in Ogden that evening while Paul went to do horses and then go home. By the time I drove to Ogden in rush hour traffic and then drove back, Paul had started his calls and we just didn’t make it to Park City. So one of the two days assigned to us went unused, but all the other days were filled with contented and happy vacationers, including Paul and me. Everyone had a great time, we have gotten reports from everyone. Paul and I arrived on Saturday about fwo o’clock. We settled in and had some lunch and then went to the relaxation area where there is a steam room, a sauna, a hot tub and a relaxation pool. It is a particularly nice area because it is adults only, so there aren't children or teens playing loudly. It is just adults relaxing and it was very relaxing and soothing for Paul and me. It is one of the things that we enjoy most about our trip to Park City.