Sunday, February 14, 2010

This week has been eventful in many ways. Most of the week was devoted to getting Mandi and Kempton ready for their migration back to Illinois. It never ceases to amaze me how much stuff Mandi can accumulate in a short period of time. Why would anyone living in Illinois buy a food processor in Idaho.

Mandi had several items on her to do list that she felt still had to be done, so many of the photos are last minute activities. I'm not sure how likely the girls snowboard lessons are to take, but Mandi did take them to the hill for a night of fun. Larry and Janelle Wellman went along for the adventure and according to all, the night was a success.

Snowboarding wasn't the only winter wonder that Mandi felt everyone should experience. She orchestrated a trip to the sledding hill up near the BYU-I. Kempton never seems to enjoy her outings as much as she thinks he will. As you can see from the photos, he is more like his Gramps, and thinks the snow is for shoveling, not playing.

On Thursday, Cari, Abby and Ashlyn were dropped off at the Idaho Falls, Airport for their trip to Las Vegas. Somehow, it seems a lot more logical when I head for Vegas with 100 of my closest golf buddies than watching them leave for a gym meet with 20 of their closest pals.

They had rented a house near where the meet was and apparently had a great weekend living it up and just relaxing in the sun. The girls did pretty good in their meet, Abby's best finish was a 3rd on floor and 5th overall, and Ashlyn had a 2nd on floor but 8th overall. Their team took 4th and they were thrilled with the experience.

Friday night Addison and I were tasked with trying to put everything Mandi had collected into 4 suitcases. It wasn't much of a challenge size wise, but when most of what she is taking is books, weight rapidly became an issue. (On a side note, since I was using Addison as the holder of the luggage to weigh it, I discovered that if I could cut him in half, I could almost take him on the plane in two pieces.) Saturday, I loaded Mandi, Kempton and four 50 pound suitcases into the car and headed for SLC. Everyone made it home intact, and Kempton remembered to call Jake, daddy instead of "my Jake", so all is right in Illinois.

Sunday found me playing the part of limo service again, as Cari and the girls came home. We all gathered around the television and watched Johnny win his silver medal, and then watched it again several times. I wouldn't have thought it could be so exciting, but we are all very proud of Johnny. Congratulations Johnny.