Fun weekend with Mom

Sunday dawned crisp, bright and beautiful and we headed to the MTC to attend our branch meetings. Mom wanted to attend while she was in town and see what goes on there. It brought back fond memories of her training at the MTC with David when they served their mission over 10 years ago. We went to sacrament meeting, Relief Society and then had lunch in the cafeteria. There is always such a great spirit at the MTC and it is amazing to see how well it is run and what goes on there.

We headed home to make a Heggie raisin pie before heading north to meet Lee and hand off Mom to her so she could continue the next leg of her journey while she is in Utah for 10 days. It was so nice to have Mom with us for a few days. She hadn't been able to visit us for over a year and we loved spending time with her. She is an amazing mother and I love her so much. She went off to spend time with her other kids and we'll see her again for Thanksgiving.

After dropping her off, we went to the 1st annual R..... cousin pie baking contest. Rick has 40 + or - cousins on his dad's side of the family. They are accomplished and wonderful people. One of the cousins invited everyone over to her home with their families for dessert and visiting. There must have been 60 people there and they were gracious hosts to welcome us all in to their mansion house. Six of the eight original R..... children were in attendance. Vern and his siblings are all in their late 70s and early 80s, and they are the most delightful people. Two of them are in wheelchairs suffering from MD, but they carry on with grace and humor. They all shared some Thanksgiving memories that had us all laughing. It was a wonderful evening and it was fun to see many of Rick's cousins, many of whom I haven't seen for years. We stopped off to visit Dave and Courtney on our way home. It was a wonderful day!

Saturday on the way home from the adventure with the Twilight fans, we stopped and did some Christmas shopping at a mall. It was so fun to have Sydney with us for the day. I love that girl! We talked about memories with Mom and had such a nice visit while driving.




Rick and I had a fun weekend with Mom. She flew in on Friday pm. We picked her up and headed to a Dr. appointment that Rick had in the city. While he was at the Dr. we chatted and got all caught up on what is happening. While Rick went to the basketball game with his dad that evening, we went to dinner at Zupas and then to see HSM3 with Sydney. It was a fun girls night out. Mom got to see Syd and Adam's home and it was fun to have the tour and see what they have done with the place. Syd is so creative and can make something out of almost anything!

On Saturday we headed up North to hook up with the other Twilight enthusiasts in the family and to have lunch at Costa Vida before watching the movie together. It was a theater that had reserved seating, so it was nice to go in 10 minutes before the movie started and just find our seats, without standing in line forever. Thanks to Lindsey for getting us all tickets! It was fun to attend a move that was enjoyed by girls ages 13-82. We've all read the books and we really have been looking forward to seeing the movie. Janet and Tina got the prize for traveling the furthest that day to participate in a very fun girls outing. In honor of the day, Mom gave us all matching watches to remember our outing, each other and the fun time we had spending the afternoon together. That was so sweet and generous of her! She enjoyed being in attendance with daughters, granddaughters and even one great-granddaughter! After the movie we headed to Target for a little shopping and ran into our cousin Sharon and her husband Mike. It was great to chat with them. I must admit that I called her Diane. She looks a lot like her sister.

I enjoyed the movie. I wouldn't mind seeing it again. The books wouldn't be considered great literature and the movie wasn't the greatest of all time, but it was entertaining. Nothing more, nothing less - just good entertainment. It was fun to share it my Mom, sisters and nieces.