Our days in Utah were filled with reconnecting with friends and family.
We met Mark's Uncle Sheldon and Aunt June at the Golden Corral in Orem for lunch on Monday, December 3. Uncle Sheldon and Aunt June live in Provo, right above Brigham Young University. We have had great memories over the years of being in their home and feeling of their wonderful spirits!
Our second buffet on Monday was dinner with Kelvyn and Laurie…our wonderful SLC friends. We ate at "The Roof" on the top floor of the Joseph Smith Building…overlooking Temple Square.
We had a great view of the the Salt Lake Temple, Temple Square and the Utah State Capitol. We especially enjoyed having our Melissa join us for an hour between her studies at the UofU.
Kathleen and Andrea also joined us for dinner…the food was great…and conversation even better!
Our birthday dinner celebration for Melissa…shared with special family and friends.
After dinner we walked around the new City Creek Center…
….a great indoor/outdoor mall with beautiful landscaping, and great Christmas decorations!
I found out that one of my favorite Utah stores is located here…the Flagship Deseret Book Store. No time for shopping as the stores were all closed…but we still enjoyed walking around.
City Creek Center is directly across the street from Temple Square.
The next morning, Tuesday, we visited with Mark's Uncle Don and Aunt Veda, and their daughter Dawnette in Salt Lake City. Unfortunately, we don't have a picture….but it was great to renew our family ties with them also.
On Tuesday evening we returned to the City Creek Mall and met some dear friends that we met in Poland…the Trenerowski's! We met this sweet young couple at church in Warsaw while they lived and worked there for about 6 months. They now live in Salt Lake City and are expecting their first baby in February.
What great fun to reconnect with Katie and Michał….I miss and love this beautiful couple! I can't wait to hear their happy news when their baby girl arrives.
On Wednesday we met up with more family…mostly cousins of Melissa and Jamie…and a few special friends too. Ryan, Alan (Lindsay's fiance), Lindsay, Spencer and Nicole Mark, me, and Melissa!
We ate at GoodWood Barbecue in Orem. We hadn't had barbecue for many months so it was fun to enjoy it with great young adults!
In addition….two wonderful friends joined our family gathering, Martha and Duardo.
When Mark was a missionary in Puebla, Mexico in the mid-70's, he helped teach a family about the gospel of Jesus Christ. One of the daughters in that family eventually married, and two of her children are Martha and Duardo. A few years ago Martha made a goal of finding the person who brought the church into the life of her mother. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack because there had been no contact with Mark since his mission. Then, there was a chance encounter between Martha and Melissa when they were both teaching at the Missionary Training Center….Martha saw Melissa's name tag and asked if she knew a Mark Pickett. That is how Martha remarkably, perhaps miraculously, fulfilled her goal….and we have remained special friends ever since.
We loved our days in Utah…fun reconnections with family and friends, being with our Melissa, and seeing beautiful Utah during the Christmas season!
No comments:
Post a Comment