End of April The BIG month of April 2011
I feel that so much has happened, that I can’t possibly write it all.But I will give it a go.
The trip and the wedding
Mark and Jonathan and I travelled with Rosemary (Mark’s mother) to Utah to attend William’s wedding to Jessica Prisbrey on 6th April 2011. We left on 28th March, though William had gone about two weeks ahead of us.Our flights to the US were desirably uneventful, and it was fun to meet up with Rosemary in Auckland. I don’t sleep well on a plane, so I was happy to be able to watch a whole lot of TV programmes and movies. We were grateful to be met by David at SLC airport, and be taken to the Ellises’ house in Orem, where we stayed for two weeks, and used their car. This made our trip much more affordable and enjoyable. And Greg and Melissa Ellis, who inhabit the basement apartment were really helpful and friendly too. Just wonderful, it was.We went for a swim one day at the local pool, where I really enjoyed having some moisture in the air. The air in Utah is VERY dry – you can dry jeans in less than a day while they hang in a cupboard! I attended a tech conference for a couple of days in Riverton, while Mark, Rosemary and Jonathan explored Temple Square, and visited the Walkers. We also went to see the big hole in the ground – the Kennecott mine, and the propaganda display adjacent. I discovered Kohls at the end of winter and had fun buying clothes there on two occasions.
Mark and Jonathan and I travelled with Rosemary (Mark’s mother) to Utah to attend William’s wedding to Jessica Prisbrey on 6th April 2011. We left on 28th March, though William had gone about two weeks ahead of us.Our flights to the US were desirably uneventful, and it was fun to meet up with Rosemary in Auckland. I don’t sleep well on a plane, so I was happy to be able to watch a whole lot of TV programmes and movies. We were grateful to be met by David at SLC airport, and be taken to the Ellises’ house in Orem, where we stayed for two weeks, and used their car. This made our trip much more affordable and enjoyable. And Greg and Melissa Ellis, who inhabit the basement apartment were really helpful and friendly too. Just wonderful, it was.We went for a swim one day at the local pool, where I really enjoyed having some moisture in the air. The air in Utah is VERY dry – you can dry jeans in less than a day while they hang in a cupboard! I attended a tech conference for a couple of days in Riverton, while Mark, Rosemary and Jonathan explored Temple Square, and visited the Walkers. We also went to see the big hole in the ground – the Kennecott mine, and the propaganda display adjacent. I discovered Kohls at the end of winter and had fun buying clothes there on two occasions.
Chuck E. Cheese
A highlight, if 
not The Highlight of the trip for Jonathan had to be our visit to Chuck E. Cheese’s. This is a children’s party restaurant. Jonathan had heard about it on Youtube, I think, and was very keen to go. So we went on Friday night on the way back from getting our tickets to General Conference. Rosemary, Mark, Jonathan and I looked a trifle out of place. We ordered pizza and chicken wings, which were surprisingly nice, and watched a person in a mouse suit entertain a group of children for their birthday. Jonathan was so excited about it, it was a total pleasure to have him there. We played on some of the machines, and then headed out the door, when we were lucky enough to meet up with Chuck E himself (person in mouse suit) and Jonathan got a photo with him. It was an interesting piece of American culture for us, and extremely exciting for Jonathan.
not The Highlight of the trip for Jonathan had to be our visit to Chuck E. Cheese’s. This is a children’s party restaurant. Jonathan had heard about it on Youtube, I think, and was very keen to go. So we went on Friday night on the way back from getting our tickets to General Conference. Rosemary, Mark, Jonathan and I looked a trifle out of place. We ordered pizza and chicken wings, which were surprisingly nice, and watched a person in a mouse suit entertain a group of children for their birthday. Jonathan was so excited about it, it was a total pleasure to have him there. We played on some of the machines, and then headed out the door, when we were lucky enough to meet up with Chuck E himself (person in mouse suit) and Jonathan got a photo with him. It was an interesting piece of American culture for us, and extremely exciting for Jonathan.General Conference Mark, Jonathan, Rosemary and I went to General Conference for the two Saturday General sessions. It was very nice to be there, and great to take Jonathan. Jonathan has been reluctant to sustain people in church in the past. (Put up his hand at the appropriate time). However I told him he should do it then, so he did. I found it all (the sustaining) rather moving and spiritual. A bit later in the session Jonathan was dozing a bit and a person spoke about sustaining our leaders. Up shot Jonathan’s hand! I pulled it down, letting him know it wasn’t the right time. Very sweet.
We were lucky, as it was a clear day, if not totally warm. The excitement in the afternoon was losing Rosemary. She walked a little ahead of us to the car and failed to turn at the right place and we lost her. Mark and Jonathan went ahead to wait at the car, and I went back to the Conference Center. After about 30 minutes, when I was starting to wonder what to do next I spotted her talking to a man outside the building. Yay! It was rather funny really. Mark, meanwhile had met up with Wendy nee Forrest, who was there from out of state. She told us what hotel they were in, and we all went to see her and Janet at the hotel. So nice and fun to see them.Then we had a gastronomic highlight, eating at Rodizzios at Trolley Square. It is a fun restaurant with lots of different kinds of meats, and wonderful salad bar. Waiters wander around with meat on skewers, and offer you as much as you like.
The next day, Sunday, was magical. In the night it had snowed and there was a good 30mm covering the ground. It makes me think of the hymn “The Wintry Day descending”. It has the lines “Pale through the gloom the early morning snow wraps in a shroud the silent earth below, as though t’were nature’s hand had spread the pall, a symbol of forgiveness unto all.” Fresh snow makes everything look beautiful. Mark and Rosemary and I went for a very slow walk around the block taking photos of it all.
We watched General Conference on television, which I liked too. In the evening we had nineteen for dinner – Our 5, Chaddertons (5), David’s family (6), Rosemary, Nathan and Vernice. I enjoyed catering for it.
Then the following day we had a quiet day at home and eventually met up with the others for a game of bowling at BYU.
Tuesday we made scones and travelled down to Manti for the wedding. We met up with our homestay daughter, Michelle, who lives in Ephraim, as does her sister Cynthia. We had dinner together, and then went back to help Jessica and William get the chapel ready for the next day.
Manti wedding
Tuesday we made scones and travelled down to Manti for the wedding. We met up with our homestay daughter, Michelle, who lives in Ephraim, as does her sister Cynthia. We had dinner together, and then went back to help Jessica and William get the chapel ready for the next day.
Manti wedding
Then Wednesday was the big day. William stayed in the motel with us for his last night as a single man and we got up early to be at the temple at 7:30am. Jessica arrived soon after and we went in. It was pretty cold outside. For me it was really nice that we all wore our white temple clothes for the ceremony. All Mark’s family except for Janet and Ray were there, which was a nice moment. (Though it would have been even
nicer with them there as well.) Our friends, the Harkers, came, and of course Jessica’s family was there. It was such a friendly , warm atmosphere and so simple. After the sealing, we had photos outside the temple, then went down to the chapel for the reception/brunch. We had pancakes and turkey bacon, and I had made savoury scones. Again it was simple, but lovely. Everyone looked good, and David and Olivia took some wonderful photos. I think the best part was that the two families could each get to know a bit more about the other. William and Jessica seemed very happy and well suited. Well done to both of them.In the afternoon we went to the temple for an endowment session, a lovely peaceful way to end the day.
The San Raphael Swell
We decided to take in some scenery on the way back the next day. We found some binocular symbols on the map not too far to the southeast, so decided there might be something worth seeing there. It wasn’t snowing, and we had the day, so we set off nice and early towards Green River, via the San Rafael Swell. And swell it was! The scenery was magnificent. We stopped on the way there in a little town called Salina, where we found people were really helpful and friendly. The San Rafael swell is a geological feature where the earth has buckled up and with the erosion you can see the varied layers of rock. We had a few photo stops.
Jonathan was as patient as ever. I think he was reliving his Chuck E. Cheese adventure in his head. I made his favourite dinner when we got back, to thank him. It was so good being so close to a Target store. I tried to buy wiener schnitzel, which they didn’t have, but I got these round beef things that were just excellent for cordon bleu. (ham and cheese between them.)
Friday was the day for Mark and me to spend together. We took Rosemary to the Walkers’, then went shopping, mainly at Kohls and Barnes and Noble, had lunch at Chilis and went the Church History Museum. We had a great time there, and could easily spend a whole lot more time there, looking at the real artefacts. I particularly liked the documents written in Joseph Smith’s own hand, such as the city plan. It made it so much more real. That evening we were able to eat out with the Harkers, our friends who had lived for a year in Christchurch. It was good to be able to talk about Christchurch and the university and the challenges facing us, and their lovely little grandson, who also has challenges.
Mark and I went to the Carl Bloch exhibition at BYU. We didn’t have tickets, but got there early and some nice people gave us some spares. It was well worth it. Beautiful paintings, excellently presented and curated with a really interesting iPad app to go with it. We were very lucky to be there.
William and Jessica joined us on Saturday evening to stay at the Ellis house. We had such a nice time with them. The next day we all went to church in David’s ward. – All nine adult Petttys. I think the ward enjoyed having so many Pettys, and it was lovely to see the girls there too.
It was a busy holiday, but lots of fun, and wonderful to spend so much time with Laurie and David and the girls, to share the house with the Chaddertons, and have some nice time with Nathan and Vernice and Janet. And of course to be able to have Rosemary with us. I feel as if we have a better idea of who everyone is, particularly Olivia, Jane, Kate and Anna. Jonathan loves to travel, which is really interesting considering how much he likes routine and his own place. It was good for all of us. And of course all the family got to meet Jessica, who is our newest Petty. I feel sure she will fit in just fine!
We bought so much stuff that we weren’t sure we would fit it all in, now that we are restricted to one bag each of 23kg, and 7kg carry on. Miraculously we did! It seems strange to take bathroom scales on holiday, but they are invaluable for making the most of our luggage allowance. I think we were within 1 kg in every bag.
Coming Home
Our trip home went fine. LAX is pretty useless compared with San Francisco, Denver, Singapore or other big airports. But we made it through and got home safely. We said goodbye to Rosemary at Auckland airport, then found our own flight was cancelled and we had to walk to the domestic terminal after all. It was just so good to be back at sealevel, with damp and smelly air.
Generally it is so good to be home. It is still pretty dire after the earthquake. Some of the roads have been smoothed out, but you still have to be very careful driving. The sewerage system is holding together, and the power system is only occasionally failing in parts of the city. The water is now chlorinated, but at last we can drink from the tap, and wash vegetables and bush our teeth without boiling the water.
Work is a real challenge. It is easy to get distracted and feel disconnected when I’m working at home. I couldn’t decide whether to go to the graduation celebration but went in the end and I’m really glad I did as there were very few staff there. I always like dressing up in my regalia, and this was a once in a lifetime to have the ceremony in a very large tent on the sports grounds, having processed through the beautiful gardens of the Staff Club. In a couple of months there will be a building for us, but it will be Open Plan, with 16 sharing one room, whereas we are used to individual offices. I think many people may choose to continue to work from home. It will be over a year before our building is habitable again.
The Saturday after we got home we had a ward activity in Rangiora. The branch there hosted us for a dinner, which was truly wonderful. It was so good to meet with them and other members of our ward without having to do anything. A real bonus came when there was a very big aftershock in the city while we were all out at Rangiora (about 20km away). Very few of us even felt it, yet it was the largest aftershock since February 22. What a blessing that was!
I got asked to give a talk, entitled, “I believe in Christ.” I won’t be able to do it, as we are going away that weekend. But it was interesting to think about what it means to believe in Christ and what difference it makes. Something to ponder.
Good Friday is a public holiday in New Zealand and I decided to spend it doing nothing. I was pretty successful. On the Sunday I taught Sunday School about Jesus healing the man who was born blind. I got Jonathan to talk a bit about what is tricky when you are blind, and he also read from his Braillenote. It went really well, and it was nice for people to see him as capable, which he is.
The highlight at the end of the month was watching the Breakers win the Australian National Basketball League. We visited my mother to watch it as she has Sky Sport, and watched the Royal Wedding in the time-outs.
Then we made ready the caravan for Jessica and William, who had spent a week in Chicago, making a movie for the website, That Guy with The Glasses.
Thanks everyone for being there for the big day.
Love
Nicola, Mark and Jonathan
Friday was the day for Mark and me to spend together. We took Rosemary to the Walkers’, then went shopping, mainly at Kohls and Barnes and Noble, had lunch at Chilis and went the Church History Museum. We had a great time there, and could easily spend a whole lot more time there, looking at the real artefacts. I particularly liked the documents written in Joseph Smith’s own hand, such as the city plan. It made it so much more real. That evening we were able to eat out with the Harkers, our friends who had lived for a year in Christchurch. It was good to be able to talk about Christchurch and the university and the challenges facing us, and their lovely little grandson, who also has challenges.
Mark and I went to the Carl Bloch exhibition at BYU. We didn’t have tickets, but got there early and some nice people gave us some spares. It was well worth it. Beautiful paintings, excellently presented and curated with a really interesting iPad app to go with it. We were very lucky to be there.
William and Jessica joined us on Saturday evening to stay at the Ellis house. We had such a nice time with them. The next day we all went to church in David’s ward. – All nine adult Petttys. I think the ward enjoyed having so many Pettys, and it was lovely to see the girls there too.
It was a busy holiday, but lots of fun, and wonderful to spend so much time with Laurie and David and the girls, to share the house with the Chaddertons, and have some nice time with Nathan and Vernice and Janet. And of course to be able to have Rosemary with us. I feel as if we have a better idea of who everyone is, particularly Olivia, Jane, Kate and Anna. Jonathan loves to travel, which is really interesting considering how much he likes routine and his own place. It was good for all of us. And of course all the family got to meet Jessica, who is our newest Petty. I feel sure she will fit in just fine!
We bought so much stuff that we weren’t sure we would fit it all in, now that we are restricted to one bag each of 23kg, and 7kg carry on. Miraculously we did! It seems strange to take bathroom scales on holiday, but they are invaluable for making the most of our luggage allowance. I think we were within 1 kg in every bag.
Coming Home
Our trip home went fine. LAX is pretty useless compared with San Francisco, Denver, Singapore or other big airports. But we made it through and got home safely. We said goodbye to Rosemary at Auckland airport, then found our own flight was cancelled and we had to walk to the domestic terminal after all. It was just so good to be back at sealevel, with damp and smelly air.
Generally it is so good to be home. It is still pretty dire after the earthquake. Some of the roads have been smoothed out, but you still have to be very careful driving. The sewerage system is holding together, and the power system is only occasionally failing in parts of the city. The water is now chlorinated, but at last we can drink from the tap, and wash vegetables and bush our teeth without boiling the water.
Work is a real challenge. It is easy to get distracted and feel disconnected when I’m working at home. I couldn’t decide whether to go to the graduation celebration but went in the end and I’m really glad I did as there were very few staff there. I always like dressing up in my regalia, and this was a once in a lifetime to have the ceremony in a very large tent on the sports grounds, having processed through the beautiful gardens of the Staff Club. In a couple of months there will be a building for us, but it will be Open Plan, with 16 sharing one room, whereas we are used to individual offices. I think many people may choose to continue to work from home. It will be over a year before our building is habitable again.
The Saturday after we got home we had a ward activity in Rangiora. The branch there hosted us for a dinner, which was truly wonderful. It was so good to meet with them and other members of our ward without having to do anything. A real bonus came when there was a very big aftershock in the city while we were all out at Rangiora (about 20km away). Very few of us even felt it, yet it was the largest aftershock since February 22. What a blessing that was!
I got asked to give a talk, entitled, “I believe in Christ.” I won’t be able to do it, as we are going away that weekend. But it was interesting to think about what it means to believe in Christ and what difference it makes. Something to ponder.
Good Friday is a public holiday in New Zealand and I decided to spend it doing nothing. I was pretty successful. On the Sunday I taught Sunday School about Jesus healing the man who was born blind. I got Jonathan to talk a bit about what is tricky when you are blind, and he also read from his Braillenote. It went really well, and it was nice for people to see him as capable, which he is.
The highlight at the end of the month was watching the Breakers win the Australian National Basketball League. We visited my mother to watch it as she has Sky Sport, and watched the Royal Wedding in the time-outs.
Then we made ready the caravan for Jessica and William, who had spent a week in Chicago, making a movie for the website, That Guy with The Glasses.
Thanks everyone for being there for the big day.
Love
Nicola, Mark and Jonathan
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