We are in Joliet, Illinois, this evening and have just had dinner with Slick and Jane Gardner. The computer died this afternoon and is happily recharging as I write this. We visited with my Aunt Dorothy in Blair, Nebraska, last night and had breakfast this morning with her daughter Neena and her husband Ken. It seems like a long way to Florida, but we have been listening to a book on tape called Wednesday Letters. I had no idea that could be so entertaining. We can hardly wait to get back on the road to finish the book. We will start south and east tomorrow. Will hope to post some pictures tomorrow night.

The girls met for luch before we left. We promised to keep in touch and invitd them to come see us in Florida. It would be fun if they would come see us.

We left St George on Sunday with a very full van of stuff. At Provo, we decided to drive by the MTC to see if we could find the place the next morning. As we found the sign to the entrance we had to stop at a stop light and watched as dozens of young men and women walked by on their way to the Temple which ws two blocks away. We pulled the car into a parking lot and watched the procession. They walked by six and eight abreast. All dressed in their white shirts and ties or Sunday dress. It was as if the two thousand stripling warriors were marching by us. A visual of the 'holding to the iron rod". I have asked Taylor to take a picture of it next Sunday so we can post it on theblog.

That was the begining of the most awesome week we have ever experienced. In spite of the fact that I broke my right little toe Monday morning. This was the fourth time. Spud drove me to Insta Care and they gave me another boot and some pain pills. The next morning at our break he went to the book store and fell in the drive way. There were ten young men there to help him up. His suit will have to take a trip to the cleaners when we get to Florida.

Our classes included interaction with the other Elders and Sisters each taking turns role playing as new converts, less actives and investigators. We could not believe how fast the days flew.

We are in Grand Island, Nebraska, as I write this. It is quite fun to have a laptop that has a good battery. As soon as I get a chance, I will download some of the pictures we took at the MTC with Taylor and his companions.

We hope to make it to Blair this evening to visit with my Aunt Dorothy. We are not making as good a time as we thought we would.

This is one of our closest neighbors that we will be sharing the condo yard with. I hope he approves of Utahns. The canal that runs beside the Condo is home to a few more fearsome friends. But we did see some wandering ducks that were looking for a hand out. Spud said ducks are fine, snakes NO Way.

I will miss my birds, but according to Sibley, Florida is home to finches and sparows, so I'll find some to buy bird seed for.

We have heard that our new bed has been delivered. It got there before we did. We are busy doing final errands that must be finished before we can leave. We hope that the weather stays nice while we travel. The hurricane season is in force as I write this, but so far has missed Ft Lauderdale.

Spud and I heard from President Hale last week. He asked me to teach the new converts about New Family Search and Roots Magic. Spud will organize Temple Excursions by motor coach! I am so excited about these callings. Our grandson, Taylor, is in the MTC and loving it. We must report on Monday, September 20, at 10:00 am. I am frantically packing and repacking. This next week will fly by.

Our farewell talks went very well. I'm not sure exactly how close I came to giving the speech that I wrote, but people have told us what a great meeting it was. Taylor gave an awesome speech that he wrote himself. We are very proud of him. I hope to add a few more pictures before we leave. We'll see how well I have learned to do "blogging".