September 2019 Part 1: Pres. Nelson's Birthday Celebration

A friend of mine is in The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square [Formally known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir]. (Well, technically she's not anymore, but in September 2019 she still was in the choir. This is why you should blog right after things happen, but hey, I'm still getting points for catching up, right?) In the beginning of September, she texted me, "Do you want tickets to go to Pres. Nelson's birthday party tomorrow night?" I responded with an enthusiastic "YES!" We got a sitter (or maybe Cal watched them?) and then headed into Salt Lake City the next day for the event. We found parking really close to Temple Square and wandered through the gates. 

We grabbed a somewhat decent dinner at the Nauvoo Cafe in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building--along with a gagillion other people going to the celebration--and then we headed across the street to the Conference Center. We got seats practically in the front row, on the main floor but clear over on the right hand side of the stage/rostrum. It wasn't the best angle for viewing, but we were really close, so we didn't care. 

This proved to be a good decision since we were sitting on the side of the Conference Center where all the VIPs enter the theater to take their seats, so we had a front row seat to the parade of dignitaries and apostles. We saw former Presidential nominee, Mitt Romney walk right in front of us. 

Here's Elder M. Russell Ballard (Acting President of the Quorum of the Twelve), Sheri Dew (CEO of Deseret Book and former counselor in the General Relief Society Presidency), and President Eyring and President Oaks.)

Here's Elder Quentin L. Cook. 

This is a terrible picture of me, and a terrible picture of Elder Holland, but this is the face I made when I saw him. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland is one of my favorite Apostles. 

Here's Elder David Bednar (apostle), President Dallin Oaks (president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles and 1st Counselor in the First Presidency of our Church), and President Henry B. Eyring (Second Counselor in the First Presidency). 

And finally, President Russell M. Nelson, the President of our Church and Prophet of the Lord. Also, the birthday boy. They all sat in the next section over from us. 

The music and celebration were amazing. The Choir was on point, as usual. They also showed different videos where they interviewed people that know/are close to President Nelson. They interviewed his family, former colleagues, and Church leaders. It was really cool to learn more about him. He's had an incredible 95 years of life! We also got to hear performances for Donny Osmond, Nathan Pacheco, GENTRI, Jenny Oaks Baker & Family Four, The Bonner Family, and of course amazing Orchestra at Temple Square. 

After it was all over, we were right there when the First Presidency gathered and waved to us. 

We made our way out of the Conference Center with the crowds of people and then wandered back to our car, quickly snapping a picture before entering the lot where we parked. 

 It was an incredible night, and I'm so glad Lani reached out to us with tickets. 

Since we're on the subject of President Nelson, I wanted to share a few things. First, I actually met him once. I was a missionary serving just outside of Mobile, Alabama, and then Elder Nelson came to our stake conference. I remember telling our investigators about him coming. One of them got wide-eyed and said, "An apostle is coming here?! To Mobile?" He was so excited, but by the time President Nelson arrived, this investigator wasn't interested in the gospel anymore. We took another one of our investigators to conference and then escorted her up to the stand to meet Elder Nelson. She said that when he shook her hand, she could feel power coursing all through her from him, and she testified, "I know he's a man of God." When he shook my hand, his blue eyes seemed to pierce me right to my soul and he said, "You're going to be busy." His eyes were full of warmth, compassion, and power. 

He became our prophet in 2018, and I have had a witness from the Spirit that he is truly called of God to be our prophet today. I've been amazed by his energy, his faith, and his dedication to serving the Lord. I thank Thee, O God, for this prophet! 

August 2019, Part 5: The In-between

You faithful bloggers know the drill. We did some of 

Saluting, military-role-playing, and Lego-gun making. 

And Lego plane making:

We accessorized: 

We finally got this collage back up on the wall after we moved the piano downstairs. 

We went to the dentist. 

and enjoyed watching things on in-ceiling screens. 

One of us got a root canal. 

This one goes without saying, but we:

A dear blanket was repaired. Here's the before: 

We all loved having Uncle Cal around. 

We enjoyed playing in the water.

We slept. 

We snuggled:

One of us got to be a second shooter at a wedding...and got paid for it!

And while that was happening, the rest of us went to see this:

We visited Nana and Papa and worked on our musical skills. 

We flew airplanes

We built things. 

We were silly. 

We got haircuts. 

We climbed walls. 

We had Sunday dinners. 

And we had Grandma Linville's squash pie because the grocery store shopper picked us up a butternut squash instead of a spaghetti squash. 

We...snuggled in blankets in our underwear. 

One of us did a couple of styled shoots. We all met new people. 

We got our first flat tire on our van. Long story short, it ended up needing to be towed and all the tires needed to be replaced. Apparently the ones that came with our van weren't very good. 

We finished the last of the storage shelving:

Our bathroom started showing more progress. We finally got our quartz in...It was such a nightmare though! 

And we replaced all of our upstairs bathroom tops with quartz and painted the vanities. 

And through it all, we had a faithful dog witnessing everything!