Like I mentioned earlier, Matt and the boys went back to Moab on Easter Sunday. I stayed in Morgan with the girls for another week. I had a reunion to attend with my freshmen roommates from BYU on April 28-29 during BYU's Women's Conference and I didn't want to drive the 5 hours home on Sunday just to drive back on Wednesday. So I stayed with the ladies and we had a mini-vacation. On Mon and Wed, we helped Becca get her house ready to sell. On Tuesday I worked on editing and reviewing Joseph and Alex's school yearbook(I'm on the committee and our deadline was April 29) while the girls made one of their famous messes in Grandma's living room with legos, "pretties" and nearly an entire bag of Starburst jellybeans! On Thursday and Friday, my dad, Becca, my mom and other assorted family members watched the girls and Matt held down the fort in Moab with the boys (with amazing friends watching them for 5 days after school for us until Matt got finished with work each day!). I spent two wonderful days in Provo catching up with friends from 20+ years ago. I also had the opportunity to meet with one of my former Russian professors, Dr. Kelly, and our admin assistant, AnnMarie. It was so much fun to see them.
My kids always ask why I talk to my friends so much. I tell them "Moms don't have play dates, they talk to their friends. It's like a play date for moms when we get to talk." I had a great two day play date!
Kali and I at the Marriott Center for the opening session of Women's Conference.
Kali and I were roommates freshman year (1990-1991). We've stayed in close contact since then, but haven't seen each other since spring of 2007. Here's 9 kids between us and lots of moves later!
Lisa, Donna and Liisa
Thursday evening I was able to meet with some of my friends from Idaho. They have an evening of service where you can go do projects. It was so great to see them and attend the concert that evening with them.
I even got to have a sleep over!
Jen, my friend, since kindergarten, lives not far from Provo and let me stay at her house. It's always so good to see Jen and we won't even talk about how many years we've known each other...She sent me on my way with a bag full of wonderful clothes for the girls that her daughters have outgrown.
Liisa, Tricia, Emily and Christy
On the way to our big reunion, we stopped by to visit Tricia, a roommate from sophomore year. She is Emily and Christy's cousin. It was amazing that we dropped by and her house was spotless, she looked amazing and she was just taking hot cookies out of the oven AND she has two little boys at home and was watching a friend's son!
The Blind Blonds Reunited
Stephanie, Emily, Christy(Emily's sister), Kali and Liisa (missing Alison, Jen and Marian)
Fall of 1990 six blonds met on BYU campus in on-campus housing...Young Hall 246! We were all blond and all blind (every one of us had glasses or contacts). Stephanie left us at end of the first semester to move home and prepare for her March wedding and Marian moved in (blond, but not blind if I remember correctly). It was so much fun to get together again. I hadn't seen Stephanie since 1991and Emily since 1992. We had a great time catching up, re-living moments in time and learning from each other. There are a lot of kids between us ranging from a daughter who just completed her first year at BYU to Caroline! What a spread. What joy it was to be re-united with my friends and find them all at such great places in their lives!
After our reunion attending the closing session of the conference, I was able to meet with my friend Kerry from North Carolina (I had just met her the previous Friday for the first time in 10 or so years) and have dinner and attend the Carl Bloch exhibit at the BYU Museum of Art with her and Emily and Christy. It was an amazing exhibit and a perfect way to end my vacation--doing something I love that I'd never do with my kids. It was so much fun to have the Ipad to take on the tour and listen to the commentary and see the altar pieces in their churches in Scandinavia.
While at Women's Conference, I also ran into four friends from North Carolina, Cheryl Sebright and her daugther Catherine, Sherrie Eisenhower and Pat, a great friend from grad school days who I probably last saw in 1998. It is so much fun to be with old friends and celebrate the fun we had and talk about the fun we are now having and how our challenges have changed and our paradigms have shifted.
I did attend some amazing classes at the conference, but I'll have to write more about those later!
Great photos Liisa!
ReplyDeleteNice that others aren't quite as blonde as they were 20 years ago either. WILL make the next one!