Pinch Me

The only downside to our SLC trip this past week was that we left our camera somewhere on temple square and we haven't been able to locate it. So no pictures for a while. But I guess the written word is better than nothing.

Richie and I have been looking forward to our 5 year anniversary for about a year now. We planned on going to SLC and dropping the kids off with his folks, getting a hotel, sleeping in, going out to eat, not having a schedule and on and on. Then after Richie got hired, we found out they have a training for all new hires and their wives in SLC that they completely pay for. So we nixed the idea of going down in June and combined our anniversary celebration with a new hire celebration. Did I mention it was free? Yeah, it was.

We dropped the kids off Monday night and crashed at "The Plaza". So fancy, yes? In fact, this entire trip we felt super fancy. You should probably read this post with your pinky up. Tuesday was full of meetings. Lots of info to digest, but it was all good. We got down to the nitty-gritty about pay and insurance and all that technical stuff. In between meetings, we dined at the Joseph Smith Memorial building. Before more meetings at the Church Administration Building after lunch, we went to the very top, 26 floors up to be exact, and admired the view. We took a picture here, so just imagine it. We finished meetings around 5, crashed at the hotel, re-grouped, re-focused and headed out for a night on the town. We walked to the Gateway and ate at an Asian restaurant called "Thaifoon". (insert chuckle here) It happened to be a lot like the restaurant we tried in Eagle, Idaho on our first anniversary, so that was kind of fun. We took a picture here of us eating the first sushi we've had in 4 years. It was awesome. Then we went and, get ready for this, saw a full-priced movie! I told you we felt like big spenders. "The Avengers" wasn't disappointing like I was expecting. I'll venture so far as to say, it was rather good. The pool at the hotel closes ridiculously early, so we hit up the JB's attached to the hotel and got us some ice cream and ate it while we walked around the block. We kept having to remind ourselves to slow down. "No kids to go pick up, nothing else to do, just relax. Let's just stroll."
Wednesday was also full of meetings on temple square and we ate lunch at the JSMB again. This day was more training on how to be an effective teacher. We listened to some great info from the top dogs of church education. I'll tell you what, The Church is amazing and incredibly efficient and effective. We got a teeny-tiny glimpse into how one if it's departments runs, and it was eye-opening to say the least. We can't believe we get to be a part of something so big and important.

After the meeting closed, we headed straight back to the Garners to see the kids we had been missing so much. I don't really think they even missed us that much. Which is good! They had so much fun with Grandma and Grandpa and all their uncles, who I'm sure gave them their undivided attention. We were so grateful to have family that was available and willing to help us out so much.

Now it's back to the grindstone. At one point we looked at each other on the drive home and realized we probably won't get to do something like that for a loooong time. And then we sighed. It will remain a memory of an almost perfect get away with each other that will hopefully sustain us through the next 5 years! :)