50s Blues

Nancy’s surprise birthday present worked out wonderfully. We drove to SLC for a Boy Scout art show/reception that was held in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building downtown. Derek and Amanda went with us. (We later dropped them off at the airport. They flew from SLC to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and then got on cruise ship to the Bahamas. Derek earned the trip as a bonus for his summer job.)

The art show featured original paintings by Norman Rockwell and Joseph Csatari. We arrived at 5:30 and found out that the First Presidency came at 4:15 and visited with the early birds. I felt like one of the foolish virgins who arrived late for the wedding feast. After the reception we went upstairs to the Legacy Theater and watched the "Joseph Smith, the Prophet" movie. It was excellent and we all felt the Spirit testifying that Joseph Smith is a prophet.

The next day (Friday) Nancy wanted to return to Idaho but I convinced her to spend another day in Utah. She had the great idea of going up to Park City. We had not been there in years and we spent a wonderful day together. It was a beautiful fall day and we had great fun riding the Alpine Slide and the Alpine Coaster—we laughed our heads off. We drove back to Salt Lake and had a birthday dinner at Benihana’s with Nancy’s parents. I tried to get Nancy to stay up and watch the BYU vs. Utah State football game with me but she is old now and the busy day had worn her out and she went to bed early.

I stayed up reading until her birthday presents arrived. My brother Doug had been out of town on a business trip and flew in at about 11:PM. Stacey was there to pick him up and they waited for Clarke and Bethany to arrive at about 11:30. They all came to the Davises together. I took Benjamin and slipped him into bed with Nancy and started quietly singing “Happy Birthday.” She woke up from a dead sleep and at first she was startled and confused but then she saw Clarke and realized what was going on. Then she started to cry—good tears. It was a sweet reunion and Benjamin is perfect.

After things settled down (~1:AM) Doug and Stacey took Clarke and Bethany to a hotel downtown and then went home. (A thousand Thank Yous! You guys are always there for us.) The next morning we watched Conference with the Davises and then Mom Davis served us a nice lunch. We then drove up to Idaho Falls—listening to Conference on the way. We arrived home and Dan and Sarah were there to meet us. The two Farrer cousins got to meet each other and we all compared babies. Wyatt is bigger, Benjamin is quieter, and they are both unbelievably cute!

We spent Sunday watching Conference and holding babies. Bethany’s brother and his family came over for dinner and we had a houseful. It was a great weekend. On Monday morning I drove Clarke and Bethany back down to Salt Lake to catch their flight back to Houston. That night I picked up Derek and Amanda at the airport and drove them home. It made for a nineteen-hour day—most of it driving. They had a great time on their cruise and came back with lots of great photos and sunburns. You’ll have to check out their blog for more details.

Having our kids together and meeting Benjamin helped Nancy get over the 50s Blues.