Fall 2020

I haven't written in a while. I think it's maybe a bit of a sign that I don't really want to write about my life right now. Things are great. My job is great. The kids are great. Kamiko and Bekki and Dotty came again in October, but I am still divorced. I'm not thrilled that I had to get divorced. Most days I'm ok with it, but some days I'm really sad about this change. It is what it is, though. I mean, I have to trust my Heavenly Father, who sent me the prompting to get divorced. It doesn't make it easy. I'm mostly ok. It will all be ok. I know this takes time. 

I do have a ton of support. Kamiko, Allie, Melia, Starlyn, Jenny, Kristen, Karen, Debbie, Derek, Maria, Natalie, Sylvia, mom and dad, Allison, James, many many more people are here to give me support. They are great. 

Starlyn had a whole unit at the Marriott Mountainside in Park City to herself before Thanksgiving, so she invited me to join her. Jenny came too. We had a blast. Watched TV, played games, and talked. So fun. 

I confused chili powder for cinnamon in my cranberry sauce and apple pie on Thanksgiving. Luckily I caught it in time to take the top crust off of the pie, rinse the apples, and season them again. Had to make a new batch of cranberry sauce. 

I voted

Last day of classes on campus until 2021. Right before Thanksgiving. The rest of the semester was remote. Look how straight my teeth are getting. 

Allie and I watched the DeVuyst kids while James and Allison went house hunting. I'm so grateful I had picked up a sugar cookie mix the day before. 

My friend Adrienne Murray and me in our Halloween sweatshirts

Yes, this pretty big mouse mad it into my house. Lee Hjorth was kind enough to set traps and come get him when we caught him. Ewww. 

Allie and Mac

Cookies

This is what I picked for my Christmas gift from BYU. Ham and cheeses and mustard. I also got bread and a cutting board. I've got great plans for this over Christmas break

Watching TV with the girls

Watching TV with all the kids over Halloween week when Kamiko and Bekki were in town

I helped Allie make these for her students

Mel found Mitty. She was looking on the South Utah County Animal Shelter website and found him in late November. He had been missing since July 23. He was turned into the shelter on October 28. Note that his name at the shelter was Simon. He was so skinny when Mel got him. He seems just fine now that he's home. 

Mom and I watched ONE Hallmark movie together. Dumb Covid. Mom even decorated the basement in late October so we could fully enjoy the experience. 

October 9th and 12th in California

I'm very lucky to have extremely supportive sisters.

October 9th marked the 6-month mark of the divorce being final and October 12th would have been our 29th anniversary. It could have been tricky, but instead, I was in California, having a great time with my sisters. 

Jen and I flew to LAX on the 9th, where we met Kristen, then went to Downtown Disney. So, I got to spend a few hours in my favorite place. By the way, due to Covid travel restrictions/cleaning measures, it took us longer to get our rental car than to actually fly to California. Jen and I got in first, so we went and got the car then we picked up Kristen. We went straight to Anaheim. Stores and restaurants were open. The parks won't open for months, I'm sure. Governor Newsom is really keeping California on lockdown. Big time lockdown. We got sandwiches at Earl of Sandwich then we got in line to enter World of Disney. I got an apron and I got a Haunted Mansion hoodie for Mel. I got rainbow Disney Crocs for Allie. I also got a Jungle Cruise magnet that I'm really excited about. It references one of the corny jokes that the guide always says. Oh, it was fun, even though we had to wear masks. 

Please let me in!

Tribute to Chadwick Boseman, actor who played Black Panther, and passed away this year

We then drove to Sarah and Cameron's new house. It's such a perfect, cute home. They're only about 15 minutes from the beach. Their neighborhood is so cute. Cameron does turndown service, with chocolates on the pillow each night. It was a blast. We went on walks around the neighborhood, we hiked, we went to the beach, we went out to eat and had yummy food. My favorite was a delicious black bean burrito at a dive by the beach. It was full of beans and guacamole, all wrapped up in a soft flour tortilla. Sarah surprised me with a yummy chocolate birthday cake. Sarah and Cam are so much fun. We watched trash TV "Selling Sunset" which is about high end homes for sale in Sunset Hills, California. 

There were a lot of cars with Trump and American flags that drove up and down the street

It doesn't look that great, but it really is the world's best burrito

On Sunday, the 12th, we decided to go to San Diego. I don't remember the last time I was there. We took pictures in front of the San Diego Temple, we drove past the Mormon Battalion visitors' center, and we went to Mission San Diego. We Hunter girls love our missions. Sarah got some beautiful photos of the mission. It was such a great time. We had enough time Monday morning to hang out and go on a walk around the neighborhood before heading home.  

This is what a father's living quarters would have looked like

The San Diego Temple is soooo beautiful

Mission San Diego

All Jenny and I wanted to do was to go to Disney. All Kris wanted was sunset at the beach

Jenny, Kristen, and me at the San Diego Temple

Jenny, me, and Kris at the beach

I'm just grateful that I had such awesome family members to spend the days with. 

Arkansas Vacation

I've been in Arkansas, visiting the kids, for just a couple of days. I got here Thursday afternoon and I go back to Utah tomorrow. It's been a great trip. 

Allie was a sweetie and drove me to the airport EARLY Thursday morning. I got a row of seats all to myself when the flight attendant pointed out that there was an empty row. I laid down and slept. It was great. I had a 5 hour layover in Denver. Once again, I found a spot to sleep. That took me a while. I sat down near my gate for takeoff and listened to my audiobook. About 2 hours after sitting down, I realized the arm rests from my row of chairs were gone. It was the perfect place to sleep, but by then there was a woman sitting at the other end of the row of seats. I was determined to sit there longer and to get the spot for a nap. After a while, the lady sat across the aisle, but left her stuff in "my row." Finally she boarded her flight. I still had about an hour until I had to board my flight, so I laid down on the seats and took a nap. I think it's easier to sleep because the masks we have to wear makes me feel like nobody can see me. LOL. 

Flight to Arkansas was fine. Got here around 3:30 pm. We got excellent BBQ for dinner. I had a BBQ pork sandwich with baked potato salad and baked beans. DELISH! Oh, and I had a Dr. Pepper shake from Whataburger. It was fantastic. So good. 

I woke up on Friday, sure it was about 8:00 am. It was after 10:00. What a great morning so far! We got moving slowly. We left the house at 12:20 to drop Kamiko off at a lunch meeting. Then Bekki and I went to see the site of the Bentonville Temple and we went to Crystal Bridges, a lovely museum in Bentonville. It houses all of the Walton family art and has some great stuff. Bekki said she used to go there all the time when she was first here and single when she was feeling nostalgic for home and culture. Some highlights, besides just spending time with Bekki, were the Norman Rockwell Rosie the Riveter and a Frank Lloyd Wright house. I'd always wanted to see a home by Wright, famous architect. There was also an Ansel Adams exhibit that we were hoping to see, but there were no tickets available online. We went and asked at the counter and they had walk-in tickets available. YES! The photos were so amazing. Adams was born in San Francisco and was a conservationist, a member of the Sierra Club. He took many photos of Yosemite. It was such a great day. What a day!!!! We got back and Bekki and I made Greek Chicken, zoodles, and roasted potatoes for dinner. We also cooked up some spaghetti squash and chicken in the instant pot for later use. We then drove to Fayetteville to see the lights in the square. There are so many charming things here in NW Arkansas. 

Our sweet Dotty May

Norman Rockwell's Rosie the Riveter

The sewing nerd in me loved these pieces made of carefully placed spools of thread. You look through the prism and you see the piece of art - Mona Lisa and The Last Supper.

The beautiful hallways of the museum. The museum itself is a piece of art

The front of the house offers privacy, with limited windows

backside, plenty of windows

Today we slept in until about 9. I went to Walmart to get boxes for the kids (they're moving next week) and to get hot chocolate for tomorrow's celebration of Santa Lucia. Cinnamon rolls are in the oven right now! Then we went to Bentonville again to see The Momentary, a contemporary art museum, also funded by Walmart, Waltons, etc. It had a fascinating exhibit by a black artist named Nick Cave. We went to a famous coffee place to get hot chocolate. The didn't hear our order correctly and only charged us for and made ONE. We each got a taste. It was really good. 

Came back home and the kids got ready to go to a Christmas party. Their friends were nice enough to invite me, but I opted to stay home. I had yummy pasta salad for dinner and I'm watching "New Girl" while the kids are at their party. It's been such a fun trip. I'm so proud of all the things Kamiko and Bekki are doing here. They serve in their ward, they help the missionaries, they work at their chosen jobs, and they take good care of cute Dotty May, their doggie. 

Tomorrow we feast on cinnamon rolls, hot chocolate, and scrambled eggs and the kids get their 2020 Christmas Tree ornament. Santa Lucia.