Visiting Mesa with Mom

Hey everyone! I'm back! I've been MIA mostly because I thought I wasn't doing much with my life. But now that I have a job and a car and am sitting at work all day, I realized I had been doing a lot! For example, I visited my mission for Easter with my mommy!!! Here is a picture narrative of our trip:

FIRST: We got to Arizona really late at night and went to bed at a hotel (well, first we ate dinner at the hotel, and it was way too much food. So much food that we could barely eat breakfast the next morning). The next morning we went to the Mesa Temple first and did a session there with my mom's bestie, Amber. Amber served as a counselor to my mom in both a Primary and a Relief Society presidency, so they are on the same wave length when it comes to picking out outfits to wear to the temple.

SECOND: I gave mom a tour of the Visitors' Center where I spent a good amount of time as a missionary. We also were able to pick some grapefruits off some trees on temple grounds. They were a little high, so we found a kid who was super excited to climb the tree and pick fruit for us. BTW if you have never had a grapefruit from Arizona (say only in Virginia), then you have no idea how amazing they are! They are super sweet and you can just peel and eat them. Which is what we did, and mom loved learning that.

THIRD: We visited Kaleena and her kids! They are a wonderful family. Sister Natasha Lewis and I taught Kaleena and her oldest daughter, and later her son was baptized. The youngest will have her turn in a couple of years!

FOURTH: We visited one of my mom's college roommates. I don't have any pictures of that, but I'm sure she does. They loved catching up, and I heard about some funny things my mom did. Like dancing to some crazy cats song with her punk rock boyfriend at BYU. Very weird, mom.

FIFTH: I don't know why I don't have pictures of this, but we went to Backyard Taco and ate the most delicious tacos ever and then went to the Easter Pageant! I LOVE the Easter Pageant and feel shocked when people who have lived in Mesa forever tell me they've never been. GO! It's a play about the entire life of Jesus Christ from his birth to his resurrection, and it is the largest Easter Pageant in the world. 

SIXTH: Easter Sunday. We went to the first ward I ever served in - the Hermosa Vista Ward. The first Ward Mission Leader that I ever served with was speaking, so we had to go. They had an amazing choir. They could be the poster ward choir for the entire LDS church. 

SEVENTH: There were still some people I wanted to see, but I hadn't been able to reach them or confirm plans, so mom and I just drove around and showed up! First were the Bawdens. I lived in their guest house with Sisters Naulu and Dashjav. They are a fabulous family. Then, we stopped by the Allen's home. Brother Allen was my ward mission leader in the same ward with the Bawdens. He could be the poster Ward Mission Leader for the entire LDS church (and the one in the Hermosa Vista Ward too). Basically everyone in Arizona is INCREDIBLE. The next stop was trying to find the Sutherlins. They are a family I taught who got baptized, but I knew they had moved and I couldn't find a phone number for them. So, I did a little secret agent work on a smart phone, found an address, and we tried it. And they were home! The kids were so grown up, and it was just awesome to see them. Brother Sutherlin apparently had cancer a couple of years ago and is doing well now, but I had no idea! I need to be better at staying in touch with people. Anyway, I'm so grateful for these three miracles of finding friends at home on Easter. I thought everyone would be out and about or at church, but it just worked out perfectly the times we showed up at their homes. That night we had a wonderful Easter dinner with Amber's family, and then we got ready for our next trip!

(The Bawdens)

EIGHT: Monday morning mom, Amber and I packed up the car with plenty of snacks and drove to Sedona, Arizona. The scenery there is gorgeous, and my favorite part was this cool church that is built into the rocks. Unfortunately, the sunset wasn't that exciting (actually I feel bad b/c I wanted mom to see an amazing Arizona sunset, but there weren't any the whole trip), but with sunglasses over the camera lens, we got some cool pics (: We stayed the night, did some shopping the next day and then headed back to Mesa. Once we got back, we visited my mission trainer Sister Everette who is married now and lives in Mesa. Lucky her! She has a cute home with two kitties and chickens and a garden!

FINALLY: Wednesday was our last day, so we decided to go the Gilbert temple. That was awesome of course. After that, Amber showed us this really awesome bbq place where we ate way too much again and then headed back to the airport. I'm so lucky that I got to visit my mission with my mom! I'm grateful that she could see where I served and meet some of the people that blessed my life and helped me become the woman I am today. I'm grateful that I was able to serve in this amazing place.