It has been quite a week!!

It has really been an amazing week.

To begin we dropped Russell off at the MTC on Wednesday August 13th. We said our goodbyes the night before and in the morning prior to arriving. That was smart! It was pretty much exactly as I remembered it when we left Ron and Ken there over 25 years ago! We sat in the chapel with many other families watched a movie, sang called to serve, had a closing prayer, then missionaries went through one door and parents go through another and that's it!! I didn't get emotional, but like I said we had said our goodbyes privately and it was pretty hard to let go then. Russell will be a great missionary. He has a testimony that will be fed and nurtured while he is out in the field. He is such a hard worker, and I know that will be a huge blessing to him over the next two years. He is eager to do the Lords work and I am so happy that he wants to be a part of this great work. Our whole family will miss him, but we are also eager to support him by being good missionaries and sending him lots of encouraging mail!!

Wednesday night Mark and I took my brother Trevor and his wife Jeannie and my sister Suzanne out to eat. They recommended Stone Ground and it was great. Mark being the food snob that he is was most impressed, so you can trust that it was a good meal!! It was fun to see Trevor, Jeannie and Suzanne.

We did manage to sneak a bit of shopping in at Gateway, but it was so hot (35+) and we were both so emotionally drained, that it didn't have the same appeal as it usually does. We did manage to find a few sweet items at anthropologie!! We also ventured over to a fabulous home decorating store called Tai Pan. I could have spent a ton of time and money if I had been in the Yukon and not trying to shove things into an all ready full suitcase. Next trip to Utah will definitely be a road trip!!

We got out to the airport at about 3:00 Thursday afternoon. Our flight was suppose to leave at 4:45. We returned our rental car and went to check in only to discover that our flight had been cancelled and that we had been rescheduled to fly out at 8:00 p.m. So with no rental car we had a 5 hour wait. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. We ate supper and slept and wrote another letter to Russ. I was so tired that i slept most of the way home. Maryn and Julie came out and picked us up, we got home by about 11:30.

Friday we got up and packed everyone (except Maryn) up and headed down to Grandma and Grandpa D's house. We took our time getting there and stopped at Fort McLeod to pick up my race package. We had a short visit with G and G, then we all went to bed early. Saturday morning Mark and I got up at about 6:30, I ate breakfast then we drove to Fort Mcleod where I did my first olympic distance triathlon!! My heat started at 9:00, which was a blessing, because 3 hours later when I finished it was 33 degrees!! The race went well, my actual time was 3:16. My swim was slower than usual, but I kind of took it easy there hoping to have something left at the end. The run was by far the hardest. I was so hot and out of gas. I am happy to be done and feel good about how it went. I am motivated to do another one, and will do more training in preparation for it. We drove home right after the race, as Mark needed to get back to be ready for meetings on Sunday. i was so glad that my family came to watch me, It was great to have a cheering section, and I don't know how I would have done the drive by myself. G and G Lowry also came out to cheer me on. Thanks Mom and Dad!! Your support really meant a lot!

So, after a whirl wind of a week I am sitting here reading over my post thinking how blessed I have been to have these awesome experiences. I have a son on a mission, a wonderful family and a healthy body. I couldn't ask for more. Until next time...