Have a Great Two Years Alex

I can't believe how busy I'm getting. It is frustrating because my blog postings are getting farther and farther apart and today when I went online to finally update my life it took me an hour just to catch up on every one else's lives. I really wish the world would slow down a bit but then what fun would that be. Live has been truly exciting and I've so much to talk about. Where do I start. I guess I'll start with last Saturday.

In the morning Sarah had to write her ACT test so we got a late start. As normal, our actual time of departure was several hours later than what we had hoped for. That was OK though because between Mom, Sarah, Alex and myself we had plenty of drivers and we finally pulled into Brandon's house at 4:30 in the morning with out any remarkable incidents. You may be wondering why we pulled into Brandon's house. Brandon has in internships this summer with the Church. This required that he find a place to live for the summer.

As it happened, our good friends the Sanchez's have decided to move to Mexico for the summer and their house was going to be empty. They made Brandon and his family an offer they couldn't refuse and so Brandon has a house for a very good price and the Sanchez's have someone in their house plus they aren't paying double rent for the summer. Everyone is quite happy. We're happy too because we have a place to stay with lots of bedrooms. After pulling in at 4:30 it was really tough getting up for church at 8:30. Other than a brief snooze during Priesthood meeting I stayed awake for most of the meetings.

When the kids were in town for Alex's farewell we all went to the Mormon Battalion visitors center. In the opening part of the tour there are a bunch of pictures on the wall that talk to you. Alycia and Trevor swore that the lead woman on the wall was someone in their ward. Before Sacrament meeting Alycia saw the woman from the picture and told her about our visit to the Mormon Battalion. She told her that the woman looked just like her. The woman responded, that might be because it was me. I got to meet the woman from the picture on the wall. It was a bit weird though because the woman on the wall looks about twenty years older than the real woman.

We had planned a barbecue on Monday for Alex's Utah friends but Greg called and told me that he had to work Monday. We invited Greg and his family to Sunday dinner. I wasn't sure how I was going to make it because I really wanted a nap but it was so much fun having them there. He invited all of his kids to come but only Damon, Robert and his girl friend Michelle, Byron & his wife Shelly and new baby were able to get there. I am so upset though because I was having so much fun that I completely forgot to take any pictures. Sarah did ask me to take a picture of her and Uncle Greg so I did get one picture of Greg but I didn't get any of Gaylia, Damon, Robert and Michelle.

Monday we bought some last minute stuff for Alex to take with him and we got the stuff for the barbecue. We were going to have it in a park in Salt Lake City but in the end we decided it would be much safer (weather wise) and easier to have it at the house.

For lunch we decided to eat at the BYU Creamery. We love that place. It was great when I attended BYU and it is still great. I lived off their milk. As we were pulling into the Creamery parking lot Lisa says. We should stop in and say hi to Elder Elkington and Sister Morgan. They

were both missionaries who served in our

ward at different times. We loved them both and were thrilled to hear they got married. They manage the Heritage Apartments which border the Creamery. We decided we probably didn't have time for a visit but as we were getting out of the van we heard, "Brother and Sister Leavitt!!". It was great to see them and their new baby. His name is Jackson after his mother whose name is Jacquie. The barbecue was a ton of fun. We drove in and picked up Aunt Nola for the barbecue and it was great to see Alex get to know her a bit better. Once again, I was having so much fun that I didn't get any pictures of her. Brandon also invited his neighbours across the back yard. He was a Gallup from Cardston - Dan & Suzanne. I actually went to school with his sister Paula Gallup. What a small world. He also has Cahoon's in his family so he is related to Aunt Nola. We also invited some of our Rosemary friends that have moved to Utah. Sadly they all couldn't come but Luetta (Baxter) her husband Doug & girls showed up. It is always great to see old friends!

Tuesday Morning we stopped at the U of U to take care of some stuff for Alex and then it was off to the temple. The Salt Lake City Temple is very unique and it was great to attend a session there. We also met up with a friend of Alex's name Harrison. He came with Alex to our place during spring break. We used Brandon's parking pass to park under the Conference Center and we were going to get the grand tour of Brandon's work but we ran out of time. We did get to eat in the cafeteria. I'm really hoping for the tour on our next trip up but we'll have to see. That promises to be a very rushed trip as well. After the temple we met up with Sarah and Marie who were

passing time in the malls and then we dropped Marie off at her home and met her parents. It was great to meet them and it was a ton of fun having Marie with us for the few days we were there. We then headed off to Alex's Stake Presidents house for him to get set apart as a missionary. His Stake President lived in this beautiful tree lined cul-de-sac in a large brick home. His name is President Rees and he was a wonderful man. He gave Alex a beautiful blessing. Alycia and Trevor showed up as well so 2/3 of the family was there to share in this experience. We really missed Ben and Kira. It is tough when the family gets spread from Mexico City to Calgary.

After the "Setting Apart" Alycia headed off to her late night class and the rest of us headed for dinner at the Chuck A Rama. What a great place. I ate way too much. That is always a problem for me at these all you can eat places.

All day long I'd been watching this bright white cumulus clouds form behind the mountains.

They just got bigger and bigger all day long until finally after the Chuck A Rama they almost exploded in this amazing formation. The picture doesn't do it just but perhaps you can get an idea.

We brought Alycia back to the house with us and then it was Wednesday, the big day. We had lunch at the Brick Oven and then it was off to the MTC. What a bunch of mixed emotions. You're glad to see them go on a mission but it is tough to think that you won't see them again for two years. It will be a wonderful experience for him. He will certainly come home a man. Alycia and Sarah were crying their eyes out but Mom and I did well.

Alex fell right between Alycia and Sarah so it was only natural that they would be the closest to him. They've shared many wonderful

experiences together.

Thursday morning we left Sarah with Brandon because she will be attending EFY next week and Mom and I hit the road south. The last picture was taken on our way out. It is a view of Utah Lake from the Sanchez's little community. They are on the foot of the mountain and they have a pretty nice view of the valley.

I'm sorry for the long discourse but it was a pretty full week. If you'd like to stay in touch will Alex's adventures in Chile Lisa is keeping a blog where she will be posted excerpts from his

letters home. You can follow it here.