First picture says it all

This says it all.   Anya made this as a gift before we left.

There really wasn’t much happening this week.  It was one of our lulls before the storm.  Even President Larson felt that way.  It makes me wonder how bad the storm will be.  Actually it shouldn’t be that bad, we’ve weathered much worse.

Monday was a hard day.  I think we are getting pretty anxious to see our family.  It isn’t necessarily home  that we miss- it’s the family.  Kids grow too fast and we miss being part of that.  Monday was pretty hard for me.  I just hated bugging missionaries for paperwork.  I know it isn’t important to them, so no real motivation for them.  Although Walt can provide serious motivation when they don’t turn in their monthly report and he turns off their TIWI card.  We only had one companionship that got to experience that.  You can bet they turned their report in that afternoon.  It took till Tuesday afternoon to feel excited/happy about working in the office.

Elder Withers, Elder Noble, and Elder Stephens getting ready to go shoe shopping at the Mall

We love being around the missionaries and helping President and Sister Larson keep the mission running.  We do feel we are contributing and helping the situation.  I guess like anything, there are good days and bad days.  At least we are never bored.

Walt had a tough week physically.  He woke up Wednesday with his back really hurting.  Not sure what caused it.  He was able to make it through the morning, but after lunch I left him home.  He was much more comfortable lying down.  It’s been getting a little better each day; which is a good thing.

There is a big remodeling project that the Facilities Management people need to complete on the mission office.  The bathroom needs to be remodeled to accommodate any handicap individuals.  Getting the right timing down is really going to be tricky.  Normally there is a six week time  between transfers/arrivals/departures.  With the extra missionaries we are receiving, that time frame is not really considered and we get new arrivals when the Mission Department wants to send them.  We have 18 coming between Tuesday and Wednesday this week.  Then another 19 on July 7th.  I think . . . they are starting this renovation project in between?  Things keep changing.

The rose bushes in front of the Mission Office/Home

Sister Wild and I had cleaned out the back storage area a couple of months ago in preparation, while we didn’t have as much to do.  Then 3 weeks ago, we find out they have to tear apart the storage room we moved everything to, because there is asbestos tile on the floor and when they remodel that will need to remove it.  Half of the storage room are office supplies and the other half, missionary supplies - like Book of Mormons, (in various languages), teaching pamphlets, etc.  So Sister Wild sent out an email for missionaries to let us know if they needed anything before we start boxing it up.  So Friday, I was “filling orders.”  I really got my work out in that day.  Sometimes, they want a whole box of Book of Mormons; which contain 40 books.  There are several areas that have been reopened and therefore, have no supplies in them at all.  We’re grateful they need things.  It’s that much less we have to pack and move later.

Saturday, we were able to have our weekly adventure in Wyoming.  Months ago, literally back in March, President Bailey wanted to take Walt to this fishing adventure he has done in the past.  We weren’t sure it would really happen with all the changes with COVID-19.  He called us on Tuesday to give Walt two options.  Option one - go on this “high adventure” type fishing excursion - which would entail driving about an hour into the Big Horns, hiking down a canyon (another hour) with some sketchy conditions and fish in the river.  It would definitely been an adventure. A lot of rivers have been running pretty high, so he wasn’t sure how the fishing would be.

Option two involved a double date of sorts.  There is a fishing spot he likes in the Big Horns at a lake, with only a half mile trek down to it.  Just the adults would go and the fishing  wouldn’t be as adventurous, but still fun.  I figured I would let Walt decided.  I was leaning more towards option 2, but didn’t want to deny Walt such a “high adventure” opportunity.  He chose the second one.  I think the not for sure fishing might have played a part in that.  He also wanted us to be all together.  I thought that was quite thoughtful of him.  So that’s what we went with.

The group of pictures were taken on the journey to the lake. We are really going to miss views like this!

The hike down wasn’t long but pretty steep.  Amanda (Sis Bailey) stayed with me as I carefully scaled down the mountain.  She has a knee that isn’t in the best condition, so taking it slow worked well for her. I still appreciated the patience.  I think it was nice for Walt to go at his own pace and do the guy thing.  The lake was beautiful!! It is called the Sawmill Reservoir.  It was  surrounded by gorgeous evergreens.  It was a pretty large lake.  At one point we spotted a moose clear on the other side.  It was way too far to get a good look or picture.

President Bailey really wanted me to enjoy the fishing experience. I told him I was happy just watching and taking pictures, but he insisted I give it a try.  He is quite patient and a good teacher.  I did give it two tries; snagging the line both times.  That was enough for me.  I didn’t want him to waste his fishing time unsnagging my line.  Amanda tried for a bit, but wasn’t having much success either.  She was quite the fisherman on their Alaska trip this year.  I think she out fished them all!  I’ve seen pictures.  

One of the smaller lakes

The next three pictures are of Sawmill Resevoir.

So she and I ended up just chilling and talking.  I think it was great for her to get some just adult time in.  Having children at home right now can really take a toll on a mom.  We always have a good time talking about things.  Walt was the first one to catch a fish - Brook Trout.  So he and President Bailey had a good time.  They caught 10 or more fish.  They threw some of the smaller ones back, and we took home 10.  By the way, President Bailey’s first name is David, but since he is in our Stake Presidency, that is always how I refer to him.  Just like I would never refer to Bishop Checketts as Ty; although I think he prefers it.

The most surprising part of the day was the wind.  It was crazy windy that day.  A couple of huge gust would come through and blow everything over.  Amanda and decided to hang out in the more wooded area where there was less wind.  She set up a hammock and we had a couple of camping chairs.  Their dog, Nellie came along for the adventure as well.  She is a bird dog.  She is still in her puppy stage, so has lots of energy.  She was only allowed to run around when Amanda could keep an eye on her.  Other wise, she would have gotten into all the fishing stuff or swimming in the lake, scaring all the fish away.

David, Amanda, and Walt (in the back)

I like taking all the pictures

The big catch! 

Coming down the mountain.  Me and Amanda 

Had to get a picture of just us two

We had a nice packed lunch with sandwiches and snacks.  I had wanted to show off my fire skills, but left my flint in another back pack.  We headed back around 2:n30.  I thought the hike down was a little rough, but going back up was even tougher (at least for me).  Walt agreed it was a bit strenuous.  Of course, it took me much longer.  Amanda stayed with me for most of it and then Walt took over the rest.  He’s so good at taking care of me.  It was pretty darn steep and I’m not in as a good a shape as I would like to be.  Guess when we get home, we’ll have to hike 2-3 times a week.

We had dinner with the Baileys - fresh fish and pizza. We had to eat our fish and the kids were really hoping for pizza.  They have a great pizza place in the small town Big Horn.  They ordered an Alfreda Pizza and a BBQ Chicken Pizza.  It was all super yummy.  We left about 7 pm to head back to Billings.  It’s only a 2 hour drive; which now feels like just a trip down the street.  We’ve turned into Wyoming/Montana people.  

It was a good week-end.  We had our usual sacrament service with our District today.  We aren’t sure church will ever happen here before we go.  Wyoming is pretty much open, but Montana not so much.  The time is flying by for us, and there is a lot of sentimentality going on.  As we left the Bailey’s, we realize it might be the last time.  We have plans to come back next summer, but a year is a long time away.

We hope you all are enjoying your summer and we can’t wait to see everyone!