Moscow here we come

Since dance production was canceled this spring we decided we'd better enjoy the weekends more so we headed up to Moscow after dance on Friday.  Lily read for over three hours trying to get on top of her 5th grade book list while Kate listened to TSwift's new album and Emmy and I listened to an audiobook.  We got there just in time to take Mack out for dinner and go for a walk in one of the campus arboretum.  Which is pronounced something like "Arbor eat um", or "are burit..yum" - I think they sound like eating burritos, a dog command or something but in spite of the weird name they are really cool.  They are forested areas right on campus.  The one we walked through Friday night was full of trees and plants from all over the world.  It was beautiful and I could see why Mack spent a lot of time walking there.  

After our walk we found our Vrbo rental, Fox Hole, a cute little family room kitchen with a loft with a queen, twin bunk beds, and a small bathroom.  It worked perfect for us and kept us laughing with how many foxes we found - Lily's count was 16 + 100 (for a set of sheets she refused to count).  By nine o'clock the girls and I were getting sleepy (ten our time).  So Mack said goodnight and headed over to his friends place and we went to sleep.

The next morning we went out and ate way too much for breakfast and headed out to tour campus.  While wandering we found a Science expo and Mack said he got extra credit if he did 10 stations.  The girls thought it looked fun so we got our station sheet and started learning all about volcanos, glaciers...

amazingly cute and colorful caterpillars,

rocks, fossils, mammoths, seed, the water table, prehistoric sharks, and a lot more.  Everyone enjoyed it, we all learned something, it was free, we got treats, Emmy got to show off her hard earned science knowledge and Mack got extra credit.

Then we continued our campus tour and visited the famous water tour before we explored the other arboretum on our way back to our car.

The second arboretum felt like a full on forest - what a cool place to escape to on campus.

We decided to let Mack do some homework and we went back to the Fox Hole for naps and downtime.  Then lunch at Panda before hitting the mini golf course.  Kate proved to be okay despite ignoring every tip Mack and I shared.  Emmy was all over the board but gave us a lot of laughs.  Lily, Kate, and I managed a hole in one.  Lily did pretty well but definitely didn't like the holes when she got over 5 strokes.  Mack and I managed to tie it up for the win - he with several more pars, me with a no holes over 5.  The weather was perfect and everyone loved it.

Emmy wanted to get to Pullman, Washington to see the grizzly bears at Washington State.  They were pretty sad looking bears but she was happy.

After that we dropped Mack off so he could do more homework and watch a bball game with his friends.  The girls got some yummy ice cream, went window shopping at target, then enjoyed a nice dinner before heading back to our place to watch a movie from our beds before heading off to sleep.

The next morning we got ready for church and got all our stuff packed up in the car.  We had learned Saturday night that Elder Gong was visiting Mack's stake conference Sunday.  So I dropped the girls off early at the stake center to barely get a our seats in the cultural hall, then went and picked up Mack.  We were all seated 30 minutes before the conference started.  Suddenly, I felt an elbow from Lily and looked up to see that Elder Gong was standing in the isle right next to Emily.  I watched as he tapped her on the shoulder and then shook her hand.  He proceeded to shake each of our hands.  It was a special experience to look into his eyes and feel his love.  He made a point of shaking many hands as he walked toward the stand and he ended the meeting 30 minutes early in order to allow time for people to line up and shake his hand.  His love for each of us was real.  Both he and his wife's words were powerful.  Sister Gong reminded us to that life is hard but we are not alone and everyday is precious so be grateful.  Elder Gong taught that the Lord looketh on the heart, everyone has a story, be quick to observe, and there are somethings we can't do alone. He talked to the primary kids even walking like a penguin to teach that penguins jump off cliffs all together to scare away the leopard seals - remember you have a whole group of penguins ready to jump with you - you are not alone!  It was a great meeting.

We grabbed some lunchables and such items for lunch, said bye to Mack 😢, and hit the road for an uneventful drive home.  Fun times.