We are so thrilled that Daniel was recognized as the MVP of the JV swim team! It was a surprise for all of us and we are so proud of him. His coach said she was always impressed when Daniel would volunteer to do the butterfly stroke for a warm-up. She said no one ever asks to do that, lol! Great job, Daniel!
We spent the morning getting ready for our trip and packing. We made the flight just fine and it was pretty uneventful. It was great to meet Audrey, finally. She is awesome and she and Nathaniel seem very happy together. There was a lot of traffic so we went straight to dinner at P.F. Chang’s. It was delicious! Then, we went to Sweet Tooth Fairy so I could get my favorite cookie. Audrey got one too that was made with M&Ms instead of chocolate chips and she loved the frosting. We stayed at the Best Western Plus University Inn on Freedom Boulevard.
Nathaniel and Audrey picked us up on Saturday morning around
8:20 AM and we went to meet Audrey's parents. They were very nice and seem to
really like Nathaniel. Karen was telling me how she knew pretty quickly that
Nathaniel was special to Audrey because she normally doesn’t warm up to people
that quickly. Anyway, it was nice to talk to them and get to know them. We left a
little before 11 AM and went to the hotel. Emily met us there. Audrey had some things to do on her laptop for work. Then, we all walked
together to the stadium. They had some tailgating activities going on and
Michael and Nathaniel got a hotdog at J Dawgs. Then we went in and found our
seats. Then, Michael went and bought some drinks and Cougar tails (18-inch-long
doughnut with maple frosting) and Emily got a pizza for herself. Audrey and
weren’t hungry, but we did have some of the Cougar tail. It was a good
game, but BYU easily won 59 to 14.
After the game, we walked back to the hotel. Nathaniel really wanted a break so Michael and I took a nap and the three of them went back to the apartments. They were going to pick us up at 6:15 PM but they were running about 10 minutes late. There was a lot of traffic at the mall but we made it in time to Tucano's and they seated us right away. We had a blessing and then we were going to go to the buffet and then Nathaniel said he had something to tell us. It turns out, while we were napping, he was proposing to Audrey! That's why they were running late. Apparently, the ring had been delivered to his apartment and was there when they got there. He wanted to surprise her next week, but the ring came early so they went over to Provo City Center Temple and he proposed. They even asked Emily to come with them so she could take pictures, so that was awesome!
The food at Tucano’s was amazing. We stuffed ourselves with the buffet and all the meats and even got dessert.
Audrey was excited to tell her parents about the proposal tomorrow,
and I suggested maybe they should go see them tonight. We drove over to the apartments and parked and we did a FaceTime call with the boys because Nathaniel
wanted to tell his brothers himself. They were pretty happy for him. Daniel
admitted he already knew because he overheard me on the phone. Andrew
clapped. Jonny made his goofy smile and gave a thumbs up. We joked that he has
been asking for another sister. We said our goodbyes to Audrey and Nathaniel
and told Audrey, “Welcome to the family!” We went to Emily‘s apartment so
Michael could see her room and then we went to the Wilkinson Center to go
bowling. We played two games and it was really fun. After
that, Emily drove us back to our hotel. We’re pretty exhausted. It was almost
11 PM by the time we got back to our room, but luckily it was daylight savings so
we got an extra hour of sleep.
We got up and packed and Emily picked us up at the hotel at 9 AM. We drove to Joe and Brandie‘s house in Taylorsville. They have a great house. It was so great to see them and meet baby Veronica. She is adorable! We had so much fun holding her. She was such a little angel. We had a nice talk with them and stayed and visited for almost two hours. Delilah was shy at first, but by the time we left she seemed sad. This was Brandie’s second C-section but she looked great and seems to be feeling well.
Emily drove us to the airport. The plane landed early and we
were home by around 4 PM. Daniel had stayed home from church today because he
threw up yesterday, poor kid. He didn’t have any other symptoms, thankfully,
and was feeling better. Andrew and Jonathan went to church. Apparently, Andrew
bore his testimony. Of course, he chose to do it on the one week we were out of
town. Oh well, I’m proud of him.
It was a wonderful weekend! Congratulations, Nathaniel and Audrey!
Daniel had fun going to the Homecoming Dance with his friends tonight. He and Andrew went to the tailgating event, carnival, and Homecoming game last night. Their high school won! Andrew wasn't interested in going to the dance, but Daniel went and had a great time!
After three years of renovations, the Mesa Temple and grounds are finished and we were able to go to the open house today. It was beautiful! We loved seeing the new Visitor's Center across the street, as well. They don't have room for the Christus statue in the new location, but this smaller one is beautiful. We feel so blessed that we were able to go today! We were able to show the boys the room we were married in, even though they have changed it and it's no longer a sealing room. I remember it vividly. I am so blessed to be sealed to Michael for time and all eternity!
We are so proud of Daniel for how well he did on swim team this year! He had been taking lessons for a while and they definitely paid off. There were two JV teams, and he made the higher one. We have enjoyed attending his meets and watching him continue to improve.
Great job, Daniel!
As much as I wish Michael and I could finally have an anniversary trip, we just have to be patient. For now, we decided to have a 24-hour date in Scottsdale and we had a great time! We stayed at The Scottsdale Resort at McCormick Ranch. It was beautiful! I especially loved the courtyard area by our room with the pretty lights. We went to a fabulous dinner at El Chorro, which had been on my list of restaurants to try for a while. The weather was so nice yesterday evening! We were seated in the dining room, but our table was right near the large French doors and when they opened them, it was like being on the patio so we had the best of both worlds. They had the nicest outdoor seating I have ever seen. Next time, we'll have to request a table outside. Normally, I prefer to sit inside, but that's how nice this place was. Anyway, after dinner we went to see the new James Bond movie. It was really good! This morning, we got up and ready and checked out of the resort. We decided to try our luck at Butters Pancakes and Café one more time. Miraculously, the wait was only about 20 minutes! We had tried eating there on two previous occasions and the wait was always at least an hour. When we sat down, I thought, "I hope this place is good after all this effort." And it was! The food was exceptional. We spent the rest of the afternoon shopping. I bought a couple of skirts at Tennis Cabana, Michael got some new shoes at New Balance, we went to Great Harvest Bread Company (I love that store in Provo and I didn't even realize until recently that they have a location in Tempe), and looked at an outdoor furniture store. Finally, we picked up Michael's car (which had been in the shop all week) and headed home. We had a wonderful time!
The resort
Michael and I had a great time at the Air Supply concert tonight! It was at the Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale. We were surprised at how good they sounded and they played all their greatest hits. We have a knack for sitting next to the loudest, most obnoxious people, but we didn't mind as much this time and we had so much fun!
