SLC Mission - April, 2014

The Audras visit Scheels

Our daughter Audra and Audra Jr. came to visit us, so we thought we’d take them to the fun sports store, Scheels.  We didn’t spend very long there, but we had fun with all the strange creatures.  The stuffed animals were neat, but the moving, talking statues of Jefferson and Lincoln, are eerie, to say the least.  They recite their famous speeches, and move their arms and hands as well as their head.  They are really life-like.  It is really creepy when their eyes meet yours. Maybe they are related to us.

          

   

Audras visit Salt Lake City

We also took the Audras to visit Temple Square and the Church Office Building (COB).  We got some neat pictures from the 26th floor observation deck.    It gives a different perspective of Temple Square from up that high.  It was a cold day, so we didn’t stay long.

We drove to Provo so that Audra Maggie could check out the campus.  Audra said that the college has grown since she was there 100 years ago.  They have a super neat bookstore, so we spent a lot of time there.

We got tickets for a dinner theater named the Desert Star.  It is the same melodrama theater where we went with our work friends, when we saw Phantom of the Opera.  This time they had a play called “Provo Cop”.  It was cute and funny with lots of LDS jokes.  It was about the caffeine cops.  Nowhere in the world would they get the kind of laughs as they did in this Utah theater.  Wonder why?

               

Audra visit brother Earl

We got together with Earl & Cathy at the In-N-Out Burger, not too far from their house in South Jordan.  Good food, good family, good times. Well, good family and times.

      

Audra visits Tingey daughters

Since we were close to the home of Amy Tingey, we were able to go visit her, and her sister Dana was there too.  It was such fun to talk about the good ole days in Fairwood.  Where does the time go???

Audras attend General Conference

 We were able to get tickets for the Sunday Afternoon session of General Conference.  It was wonderful to attend with the Audras and feel the sweet spirit that is always there.  Every time we go, we can’t believe how many people attend, but it’s worth it to be there in person.  It may not be as comfortable as what our kids used to call “Pajama Sunday”, when we watched conference on TV in our P.J.s, when they were kids, but it was well worth the effort.

      

Elder Gamiette Visit

Because it was General Conference time, our dear friend Claude Gamiette, came from the Caribbean, where he lives.  He is an area authority and gets to attend conference each year.  We had a wonderful time visiting with him and getting caught up with what has been happening with our friends in the Caribbean, since we came home from our mission there.  He is really a dignified fellow, as you can see, and we love him a lot.

        

Malmrose Opera Visit

  Our granddaughter Athena had a birthday, while we were in SLC.  We asked her what she would like to do for her birthday treat with us, and she said, “Go to the Opera”.    So, we went out to dinner and then on to the Utah Opera version of Puccini’s Turandot.  Wow, what a spectacular performance.  The sets were great and the voices were too.  Good thing they had a reader board, because it was in Italian and we would have had trouble following the story.  It was a lovely evening for us, as well as for Athena and her friend.

            

Jake Malmrose's birthday wish

  Jake's birthday wish was to go shooting.  So Jake, his dad Earl, and us grandparents took him to the local shooting range.  All had fun and came home without any injuries.

     

Church I.T. Staff

 Gerald’s IT group took us to a lovely luncheon in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.  There are so many nice places to eat downtown, and this is one of the best.  They said how much they have enjoyed working with Gerald and appreciated his contributions.  He told them what a joy it was to work with such smart and nice people, a rare combination.

       

Gerald worked most closely with Rick Partridge (on left below), in charge of Leader & Clerk Resources on the Internet and Justin Krebbs, in charge of LDS Tools, used commonly on cell phones.

  

Lunch with Malmrose cousins (Dale, Bonnie, Jeanie & Earl)

Gerald’s cousins and other Malmroses who live in the area, came to lunch with us at the COB cafeteria, to say goodbye.  He has enjoyed getting acquainted with some of his family, and he has come to love them.  It’s nice not being the only Malmrose in the phonebook.

  

Arrival at home in Sequim, WA

 Monday, the day after General Conference, we got up early and got into our truck which we had packed the week before, and said goodbye to our mission time in Salt Lake City.  It was a mixture of sadness to leave, but happiness to be heading home again.  We drove all day until early evening and stayed in Vancouver, WA at Audra’s house, and then drove the rest of the way home to Sequim the next day.  It felt strange to be driving down our street again, but it felt good to sleep in our own bed once more.

We unpacked with the help of our strong grandkids.  It took all day to unpack the truck, and a couple of weeks or more to get boxes unpacked and in the right places.  The only thing we seem to be missing are Gerald's ties.  We expect to open something up a couple of months from now and voila, there they will be.  It finally feels like home to be back in our own house again.  It is a good feeling, that’s for sure.

 

Dinner welcome by Mitchell family

Our Bill Mitchell family invited us over for Easter Dinner, and we had a wonderful time getting re-acquainted.  We have visited many of our friends and are glad to be near them again.  We do miss our many dear family and friends in Utah, and we hope to visit them again in the future.

  

Noah's birthday celebration

Our grandson Noah, had his 12th birthday this April, and we were home just in time to celebrate with him and with Elias, who had his birthday not long ago.  What fun they are, and we love having them next door to us.  They even let us visit their Lego Land occasionally.

 

Seattle Temple visit

We went to the Seattle Temple recently, and the flowers were magnificent.  Almost as beautiful as Temple Square in Salt Lake City.  How blessed we are!