It's Miller Time

This weekend Adam and I had the chance to break away from Boise for a few days and go and bug the Utah branch of the family tree. Mike had Stake Conference, and Matt had a school project as well as finals to study for. However, since I didn't have to teach Gospel Doctrine and since Adam had Monday off, we took a much-needed road trip. It was kind of fun to have just the two of us, but I admit that I missed Mike and Matt. (Adam did an outstanding job keeping me awake on the drive down by sharing a wealth of information from The College Basketball Encyclopedia, a book he absolutely LOVES. I admit that there are some neat facts in there.)

The cool part of the weekend was that we actually got to stay with Karen and Andrew. They are renting the front half of the cutest little green house on a corner lot, and since it has a relatively large living room, we were quite comfortable. Adam slept on a queen-size air mattress on the floor, and I sacked out on the couch. Sleeping on our old couch brought back great memories. When I was pregnant with Matt and then with Adam, I would sometimes get nagging, painful backaches. The best relief I could find was to lie on the couch and have the back of the couch support my aching back. Happy memories!

Another awesome part of the weekend was feeling so spoiled by my daughters and my son-in-law. Rachel made us taco soup on Friday when we got there, and even though she said it was really easy, her preparation for us touched me. Karen made some yummy muffins to go along with it. All of the rest of the meals were great--Andrew makes a mean oatmeal with blueberries and Karen a great "inside out ravioli"--and I felt a bit like royalty. How fun to be spoiled by my own kids!

The company and activities were fun as well. Karen, Andrew, and Rachel are playing on a co-ed soccer team this semester, and Adam, Jake (my nephew), and I got to cheer them on to a 5-4 victory. We also got to see Jake contribute a few buckets and steals in a quite well-played church basketball game. We topped off the sports-themed day by watching the BYU basketball team completely dismantle Colorado State. It was an impressive win, and I think the Cougars may actually do well in March Madness this year. Maybe they'll play the Blue Devils. . .

I enjoyed spending the Sabbath with my Utah kids as well. Karen and Andrew have a fun ward of "newlyweds and nearly-deads," and it makes for interesting discussion in Sunday School and Relief Society. We went to my sister's house on Sunday for dinner and games. Karen had very early clinicals the next day so we couldn't stay too late. However, it was fun to be together.

I feel blessed. My adult children have grown up to be independent, hardworking, fun people who are contributing to society and making their way in the world. Do I worry about them? Of course! Always have and always will--that's a mom's job, right? I realized, though, that they have made good choices and are capable of mapping out their future. Life is good. P.S. I think we wore Rachel out. . . or maybe it's school that did it? I'm betting on the latter.