Visitors Galore

 

  The week started off well with a great visit from Wayne and Libby Clarke.  It was so good to be able to sit and talk with them about things at home and their plans for their year in China.  We were able to take them on a tour of the fort and then have a nice lunch that our directors put on for the missionaries with the left-overs from Cove Fort Days.  Libby told us that the Harts had stopped by the fort twice to visit with us and we managed to miss them both times -- thanks for trying.


   
Wednesday brought us not only Curtis but also Cory and his family. 

Curtis had flown in for a week's vacation visiting his siblings and parents.  The three of us met Cory's family in Meadow and drove out to the hot springs there.  There was lightening and thunder in the hills to the west so Cory wouldn't let his kids get in and swim in the pools, but we cheated by putting in our feet.  It was the first time that we saw someone actually swimming and diving in the pool.  By the time we got them all fed, they were all ready for bed and an early start the next day on their way to Texas.

Curtis drove us to Bryce Canyon on Thursday.  He had never been there before and we thought that it would be the most memorable of the parks to visit.  We hiked down into the floor of the canyon along the Queen's Garden and Navajo Loop Trails.  Going down is really quite pleasant, but the hike up, especially on the Navajo Trail, can be a killer.  We were very happy that we'd gotten an early start that morning and were not hiking in the heat of the day.  Stephen was a good sport and hiked with us the entire way.  We then drove over to see Kodachrome State Park.  It was about half an hour away and I'm not sure that I would go there again.  We did a quick hike while we were there to the Shakespeare Arch.  I think Curtis must have forgotten that he was hiking with his mom because we literally ran back to the car where Stephen was waiting.
     We had to say goodbye to Curtis on Friday afternoon and get back to our day jobs as missionaries. After a full day of sharing the fort and the gospel, we celebrated a successful turnout for Cove Fort Days (3965 people in two days) by having a social that evening to commemorate everyone's "unbirthday".  The best part was the making of the homemade ice cream in the bags and eating everything that was from the Cove Fort garden.

     One of the best tours for me this week was with a couple from San Remo, Italy.  They were members of the church and were traveling to many of the sites in Utah.  He did not speak English but was very busy snapping pictures with his iPad while his wife translated for us.  I enjoyed talking to them about their expectations of the opening of the temple in Rome.

     Ashley called last night to say that she and Kevin's picture were in the Fresno Bee yesterday (Sunday).  Be sure to check them out on page two of the Business Section.
      Shirley Kirk sent me a picture she snapped of Andrew at Relief Society this week.  Thanks for keeping us up-to-date with things at home.
   
     We are so blessed to enjoy your friendship.