Birthday, Hikes, and Goodbyes

This has been a crazy week with lots happening.  It seems like I just posted and here it is again.  On Monday the 22 of June we had Alea, Sherry and Richard for dinner and games.  We do love our games.  Sherry and Richard stayed with us at nights while they are working on a home they are getting ready to sell.  They leave early and come back late and exhausted.  We were glad to have them here for her 78th birthday and are amazed at how no one can keep up with her.  I went out to the house for a couple of hours to plant flowers and load limbs onto a trailer to haul off, and I was done in!  They brought a box of family treasures to go through, and I have found letters to and from my (Debra) Great Grandmother, Hattie Jane Taylor Higginson.  I am going to get them scanned and post them on Family Search.  What a find.

Bob, Sherry, Richard, Debra celebrating Sherry's 78 birthday.

We learned that Dave and Sandy Briggs are returning to Lovell Wyoming and finishing their mission from home.  They are our game playing, walking friends who we will miss beyond words. There are so many leaving, that this place is starting to look like a ghost town.  We did our hikes on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday.  So grateful to the Briggs for introducing us to some amazing places to hike around Salt Lake.  Our favorites are up City Creek Canyon, all within walking distance of our apartment.  City Creek is between Capitol Hill and the Avenues with a beautiful creek running along the trail.  There are a lot of bikers and people walking dogs, most of them on a leash.  That is good because I am afraid of dogs! (not my own of course)  There are plenty of hills to climb and stairs also it you choose to take them.  It takes me back to my nursing schooling days when I lived in the dorms in the avenues attached to LDS Hospital and had to go over to the McCune Mansion for classes up by the capitol.  I would go down the stairs on the Avenues side and up the stairs on the Capitol side.  It is more difficult 50 years later, but somethings don't change.

Utah State Capitol from the Avenues side.

Debra and Bob in front, Sandy and David Briggs back.

Sandy, David Briggs, Debra and Bob.  Nice picture despite the telephone pole.

We had a bunch of farewell parties this week as two of our favorite missionaries from the zone leave before June 30.  Robin Fuellenbach, who also served as Sunset By the Mississippi in Nauvoo, leaves and we have had a lot of fun reminiscing about Nauvoo in our time here.  Occasionally we will break into song and dance from our Nauvoo days much to the chagrin of the other missionaries. Laura Christensen, our tech and party person is also being released.  We will miss them both.

Front, S Thomas, E Parker, E Barton, S Barton, S Collier, S Parker, S Richardson, E Bott.  Back S and E Farnsworth, S Harder, S Versluis, S Minor, E and S Rogers, E Eddy, S. Christensen, S Eddy, S Fullenbach, S. Robbins, S Shearer, 

S. Raines, S Bott.

Same Training Zone but behind our COVID19 masks.

WebEx farewell party. Sisters Fullenbach and Christensen in party attire.

President and Sister Fenn leave on June 30 along with all the young Elders.  Their mission is being dissolved.  It is hard to say goodbye to them, but with all this working from your apartment and seeing only faces on a screen, it was good to get to at least have a walk by farewell.  Of course we were all behind masks.  We will meet our new Mission President, Steven Randall, after July 1.  Nothing is set yet, but it will all be by zoom.

Bob and Debra Barton with President and Sister Fenn, masked and social distancing.

With Elder Davis one of the missionaries that served with in the Training Zone.

In line to meet President and Sister Fenn to say good bye.  Notice the socially distanced, masked line behind us.

Debra, Vanja Y Watkins, and Sandy Briggs.  Vanja has written many hymns and children's songs for the church.  She was the newly released director for the Elijah choir that we sang in.  Another of our amazing missionaries leaving this week.

Bob, Debra, Sandy and David Briggs.

Darrell and Marlene Bott, President Daniel Unger, Debra and Bob. All training zone missionaries.

We did not get any pictures of the Temple this week, so I'll get some for next week, but be assured the work goes on.