Spontaneous Utah Trip! A loooong post

So my neighbor Meghan needed a buddy to drive with her to Utah. After thinking and thinking I made a couple phone calls and finally said YES! (the night before).

We left Seattle Thursday, April 1st at around 6:30am and I was dropped off in West Jordon a little after midnight. Pretty good considering that we each had a baby to breastfeed, plus there was her 3 year old. We truly are champs! My generous brother and sister in law, Jason and Mindy welcomed me into their home. And I am so glad they did. They had just accepted a job offer in Baltimore, so it was a great time to see them before they left.

(Ok, so this is Jason and Mindy's engagement photo, many many moons ago hahaha)

Friday evening my dear friend Sasha picked me up and we both surprised a woman named Ala Petrovna with my arrival. You see, Sasha and I taught Ala in Vladivostok Russia while we were on our missions. I hadn't seen her since and this was her first time in America! She is still going so strong in the gospel! We went to the Salt Lake temple and did sealings. We loved it!!!


Saturday I went to Temple Square and enjoyed listening to Conference with my friend Candy in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. Prior to the afternoon session, we shared a delicious meal in the Garden Room, a restaurant on the top floor of the JSMB. LOVED IT! I then spent the night at her house and enjoyed Conference with her on Sunday. Elena loved Candy :) and I love her too.Sunday evening, my friend Smitty (from the mission) welcomed Sasha and I into his family's home for a visit. LOVED IT! Ever since the mission, we had get-togethers in their home. Loved talking to Smitty's mom. Loved their stories. Just great people. Family for life!
After the grand visit, we returned to Sasha's house and I slept on their couch.

Picture of me w/ Smitty's parents when we graduated and left Utah.

 

Monday we headed to BYU where I sat in on Sasha's russian class. (She teaches Russian at BYU--what a stud.) She taught about how Russians traditionally celebrated Easter with colored eggs and these fruit cakes! So awesome. Following her class we visited Ryan and Arina Purcella (such a cute family), and then I was dropped off back with my in-laws Jason and Mindy.

Old photo of Kurt & Sasha, and Arina & Ryan at a Russian fundraiser at BYU

Tuesday I relaxed with Jason and Mindy. I watched as Mindy painted walls while her two adorable kids were entertaining themselves. I also experimented with food, making a salad and pizza (the latter with the kids). Jason loved how Elena "grunts", one of her many sounds.

Cousin Katelyn with Elena

Wednesday my cousin-in-law Becky picked me up and off we returned to BYU. We explored the BYU bookstore where I realized that the church dresses weren't in the season that I liked. Darn. Sasha arrived to teach her Russian class and I agreed to watch her cute daughter Yulia. While watching Yulia, I met up with a friend Cam and was so fortunate to meet his beautiful bride Heather!
When Sasha's class ended we dropped by Inna's house! Inna was my russian teacher in the MTC. Love her! We hugged, chatted, and departed. Inna teaches ESL right next to BYU. She is a fabulous teacher.

 

We then picked up Ala Petrovna and eventually headed over to the Krucheks!!! There we greeted Pavel (from Vlad), Kim (his beautiful wife), Anya and Dasha (their cuuute kids), and Sveta (Pavel's mom, from Vlad!). Once again, what a tender mercy to be able to see family from clear across the world!


Thursday, I spent the morning with Mindy and we went around doing errands for their big move. My friend Becky (BYU buddy) picked me up and we chatted about life, her future wedding, and her loving fiance while we chowed down lunch. It was a great time to see Becky, especially before she gets married and will be living in Arizona!

That evening I had dinner with Vanessa (a BYU dietetic friend) and her awesome husband Dave. They too are about to move to Boston as he will be getting an MBA at Harvard.

Friday and Saturday, my driving buddy Meghan picked me up and off they left UT. This time, we made a stop in Boise where she had dinner with her in-laws and I had dinner with mine. They were excited to see their grandbaby! We finally arrived home. Hurrah! OUR HUSBANDS WERE SO HAPPY TO SEE US!!!! Dan and I ended the day, walking to the lake and eating on the dock with Elena.

What a week! Crazy how none of it was planned and yet, it ended up being so fulfilling. What a tender mercy. It was a great week to catch up with friends. One of my friends at BYU said that there were so few left of our generation. I am glad that I got to catch the last few before they too move to other places in the world. I just loved it.