Thanksgiving Week Part Two

This first picture is from Pam's Sorority House.  Yes, I visited a sorority house, it was nice to see the Greek ladies that were so important to my Pam.

Anyway, getting back to the story at hand.  We finally got to slowly make our way to Logan, we avoided Sardine Canyon all together and went via Tremonton.  We didn't have a lot of time when we came back, we were told not to see Grandma but to go straight home since we were on a strict time table.  We got back to the home in Smithfield where we had a total of fifteen minutes to eat lunch at which point Pam went with the girls to go wedding dress shopping and I went to babysit my nieces and nephews that I hadn't seen in a long time.

We both had a lot of fun.  The girls loved Pam and said it wasn't awkward or strange at all, like she had always been there.  Being at the Larsen house was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed it.

That night after the dress selection and children watching was over the missionaries came over to give the final lesson to my Pam so that she could be baptized.

Baptizing Pam in Smithfield instead of Pinon was extremely difficult.  It was a battle all the way.  Dad had gotten permission from the mission president in Utah but hadn't gotten it from the Farmington New Mexico Mission President since the Mission President here said that he would take care of that.  He didn't.  So, Thanksgiving Day I get a call that says that the Mission President is not pleased with what is going on mainly because he doesn't know what is going on.

I spent my Thanksgiving calling New Mexico trying to get through and resolve the matter.  Finally Dad was able to call him and explain a few things and apologize that things had not gone better.

Friday we had the baptismal interview and I did a phone relay between my Branch President and Dad's Bishop trying to get the proper permission to baptize Pam.

Saturday Night the baptism was beautiful.  I confused 120 S for 120 N, so we went in a little late.  We got in and got dressed and as we sat and sang the first song I felt so electrified and excited.  It was How Great Thou Art.  I pondered upon the words, how it spoke of creation, atonement, and the 2nd Coming. The whole Plan of Happiness was laid out, and our part in it as eternal companions.  It would all start for us that day with that baptism.  It was a beautiful spirit that I felt.

Dad spoke and then I performed the baptism.  I was very happy but also so nervous.  I kept having to remind myself that I needed to do the prayer in English - not Spanish.  I was so nervous that I put my hand in the wrong place so that I would plug her nose instead of having her do it herself.  Sean of course thinks this is hilarious.

Pam, when she looked up and saw the young faces of my nieces and a nephew she felt that it was truly meant to be that it was right for her to be baptized in Smithfield.

Jeff Fowles gave a good little talk about the Holy Ghost, Sean says he's me in 30 years.  After that the missionaries did a lovely musical number at which time my niece Emma decided she didn't like a painting hanging where it was.  She knocked it down and shattered the glass.  Despite the serious nature of the song the poor elders had a hard time keeping straight faces.  The song suffered a little and then recovered it for a strong finish.

Some other things that happened...

Quality time with puppies

Pam enjoyed the mountain views

And we got some great pictures of the temple, one of which I almost fell face first to get.

Thanksgiving Week Part One

Well, no pictures, my camera which had some great shots got lost, of course it was my 700 dollar camera and not my lesser super old digital camera from when digital cameras were a new concept.  We have no idea what happened to it, but that's life sometimes, at least I got four years of use out of it.
Yeah that didn't make me feel any better.
Anywho, the journey from Pinon to Price was nice and pretty much uneventful.  We were a little worried about the cloud cover possibly giving us some snow but it stayed clear.  We stopped at a hotel which allowed pets.  I had Bo and Angel in my room.  Dogs are way too hyper after being in carriers all day to just lay down and go to sleep.  So I indulged in Adult Swim cartoons as the dogs ran around the room jumping from bed to bed and on me.
The dogs and I decided to go to sleep at about the same time.  Angel went to sleep by my feet and I don't remember what Bo did.  What I do remember is that Bo felt that I should wake up at 4 in the morning to pet him and feed him.  I disagreed.
We drove the rest of the way to Salt Lake City and handed the dogs off to Dad at the airport.  Meeting Dad there made Pam feel a lot better about meeting my family.
The first plane we took was going to Atlanta, it was a very nice flight because it had screens that showed us where the plane was in the sky on a map.  I emailed Dad while we were flying over Kansas.  Another thing that was nice was that Google provided us with free internet as a holiday gift to all Delta flyers.
Columbus was warm.  It was warmer in Columbus while we were there than it was in LA.  Apparently we made it there just in time because currently they are having weather which ranges between five and eight degrees.
The car that picked us up from the airport was a surprise, her father has unique taste in transportation which is partially due to color blindness.  When I saw the car there was no indication to me whatsoever that it would belong to Pam's father.  I thought it was a teenage car.  The rims were bright lime green.  On the hood there was a metallic bulldog, which was downright cool.  A lot more original than the normal stuff that gets put there anyway.
Columbus is a beautiful city full of trees that were still green while we were there.  We went and saw the Columbus Temple after the viewing.  The temple was very special.  Pam and I walked around it and decided together that we were going to be sealed together for time and all eternity.
An interesting place we visited was a field of cement corn.  The neighborhood where Pam grew up was once a giant corn field.  The six foot tall cement ears of corn, all of which were different, were there as a monument to the town's history.
Here's a contradiction for you.  We went to a Jewish Bagel shop where they make kosher bagels.  I had one with bacon on it.  How does that work?  It was a very tasty contradiction if I do so myself though.  Breakfast sandwiches, should be their own food group.
I attended my first ever Catholic mass.  It was a very intriguing experience.  Pam was bored out of her mind, but I was fascinated, if only I could have been allowed to get up a few more times I could have been better to stay awake better.  I watched carefully at the progression of the ritual and could see why some people didn't care for it and others could be devoted to it.  I was a scholar watching another culture express itself.  I left feeling glad to be LDS.
Pam's family was very kind to us.  I met the Millers as well as her Mom's family.
On Tuesday we left Ohio for Utah.  Our plane landed ten minutes before a mammoth blizzard struck Salt Lake City and we were forbidden by Dad to travel.  Which was a good thing since we could barely even drive to our hotel which was only five or so blocks from the airport.
We struggled into the hotel in the blasting snow and were able to find a pizza delivery man brave enough to travel to us.