Day 5 - Manti

On Wednesday after lunch we said good-bye to Daniel, Alisha & Rusty. We had a fun time visiting and hanging out with them. Hopefully Landon & Rusty will be good buddies someday.Zach misses Zoey. She's such a mellow dog.

Alisha taught me how to play Canasta and Savannah wanted to learn. She actually did really well, other than having to lay out her cards on a chair because she couldn't hold them all in her little hands.

We drove to Manti and got there mid-afternoon. I haven't seen my grandparents since before we moved to Texas. They hadn't met Connor & Landon, so it was a nice visit. Connor quickly found an atlas and kept them busy.

Soon after we arrived my grandmother offered to watch all the kids so that we could go to the temple for a couple of hours. The kids had so much fun while we were gone. They took them on a walk to see the horses nearby and my grandad took each of the four older kids on an ATV ride to a little waterfall nearby. When we got back grandmother showed us how they had a "jam session." My grandmother plays the piano very, very well and played an upbeat song. Connor & Savannah jammed along on the organ. It was loud and crazy and the kids LOVED it.

My grandparents, Lowell & Gayle Nilsson, with all the kids

Connor & Grandmother share the same birthday, so it was nice for them to finally meet their "birthday buddy."

After dinner Grandmother produced lots of treats. This table always brings back memories. When I was child my grandparents lived nearby us in Mesa. This table was twice as long then and our favorite place to sit because the seats swing out sideways from underneath. I think we only had one or two falls off of them on this trip.

We left first thing the next morning. I took a picture of their house because it is amazing how much it has changed over the last few years. My grandad is very talented and can do absolutely anything. When they bought this house it was just the section with the second floor. My grandad added onto the front after a while, creating an additional living room and master suite. The yard was completely dirt with no trees or anything. Now there are huge trees, grass, picket fences, sheds, and even a gazebo in back.

We stopped by the beautiful temple grounds for a quick picture on our way out of town.