On Saturday morning, before the sun was up, Kevin and I dragged Arthur out of bed (multiple times) and we headed to the airport. This time it was Arthur’s and my turn to go visit family out west, and in spite of the fact that it had only been four days since my chemo treatment, we were doing this thing. Luckily I had Arthur as my travel buddy, and he was fantastic at helping out, even pushing me the mile from the gate in SLC to the baggage claim.

It was there that we met up with Marilyn and Brent. We love them so much and are so incredibly blessed to have them as friends.

We loaded up into their car, and went straight to Temple Square while I still had some energy. It is so wonderful to have the scaffolding off of the temple, and to see some of the new and amazing sculptures on Temple Square.

We were able to visit the new visitor’s center, and it was fabulous. The new model of the SLC Temple was spectacular, and really shows how much they were able to expand during the renovation.

I also loved seeing how they situated the Christus statue, and how you could see the temple through the window (even if part of me will always miss walking up the ramp to see it in the old visitor’s center).

Then we went downstairs and got to see some other great displays. Arthur really loved the globe.

Then we waited about 15 minutes in line to do the “Inside a Temple Tour,” which was so awesome. It is like a permanent open house, with full rooms created to look like they would be inside of a temple. Our tour guides explained each room, and there were also short videos between some of them to help people better understand the purpose of temples. It was so amazing and such a wonderful permanent exhibit!

After visiting Temple Square, we stopped at Crowne Burger for lunch, which was delicious! Then we headed to Harrisville to Brent and Marilyn’s home. I took a quick nap, since I had used up all of my energy for the day, and then spent time talking with Marilyn while Arthur and Brent played games in the basement.

Later that afternoon, some of my amazing and best friends from high school came to see me – Leslie, Carrie, and Kendra. Although I had been able to see Leslie and Kendra last summer, it was the first time in many years since I had seen Carrie. We had the most wonderful time talking and laughing. It was so absolutely amazing to see them and spend time with them!! And Marilyn made us the most wonderful dinner and dessert – she is so wonderful.

The next day, Arthur and I were able to attend church with Brent and Marilyn, and it was so great. We had a good afternoon, ate a great lunch, and then my sister Holly picked us up to take us to Twin Falls. It was so wonderful to get to spend time with them!! (Oh, and Arthur really wanted a picture with this cute stuffed tiger, since he looks so much like one of Derek’s.)