On March 15th, Thursday, Vivi flew to Hawaii, thanks to a generous gift from Ondalynn and Meredith. That was a special break for Vivi who works so hard at home and the school, working in the lunch room. She had so much fun visiting Meredith's family and enjoying beautiful, Hawaii. She returned early in the morning of the 20th. We took care of Clark, Daisy and Kaeley on Friday the 16th because they were out of school. Brett picked them up early that evening. We hurried on to see "Les Miserables" put on by Gresham High School. Ondalynn, Gary, Sydney and Julia joined us, too. It was absolutely incredible! I couldn't believe the acting and singing of these young people. I didn't need to see it done professionally.
The families are taking advantage of having the Williams' in Hawaii to plan their family vacations there. Meredith & Bryan are great hosts, and they are so good to open their home to everyone. Ondalynn & Gary's family had a terrific week there soaking up the sun. The day before they left, the Vance's hosted the family gathering for Easter in their home. Julia & Austin, Seth & Tiffany and the boys, and Vivi and her children all gathered on for General Conference and the Easter dinner. We were in Utah for Conference, but we're so glad they got together. What fun they have.
Friday, April 13th, Vivi didn't have work as school was out for the day. Dad tended Clark, Daisy, and Kaeley at our home and Vivi and I did a temple Endowment session. It was so lovely to be there with her and have lots of time to visit quietly in the celestial room. Then a quick lunch before hurrying home to rescue Dad. He treated the kids to Taco Bell for lunch.
We love having close by to see occasionally. Seth turned 40 this year. Now that's hard to believe! He had meetings in Portland a few days after his birthday, so we were so happy he came and stayed overnight with us. The next morning we all left for the temple early to meet Seth's boys, Jackson, Addison, and Preston at the baptistery for their youth temple trip. It was so wonderful to see them dressed in white, loving this opportunity to be in the temple. Seth and Dad helped with confirmations and witnesses. I hurried on to an Endowment session.
Tiffany and her Dad, Preston Gee stayed with us on Sunday evening, April 22nd and the 23rd. They went skiing together on Monday and then hiked the Gorge on Tuesday. He treated us to breakfast out on Tuesday morning. Monday night we hosted the sister missionaries and Bro. Larry Norr, who's wife, Donna, died the end of December. We enjoyed a delightful visit with Preston and Tiffany.
Seth participated in a panel discussion at the U of O campus in downtown Portland on Friday, May 18th. It was entitled, Freedom of Expression Series: Response and Responsibility in an Age of Technological and Social Disruption. There was a delicious complimentary lunch for those who registered in advance. One of the men on the panel sat at our table. He is an advisory to Pres. Trump for Asian relations. He has his own PR business and travels frequently across the country speaking to various groups. Seth had sent him some of his work in preparation for this panel discussion. He said to us, "Your son is amazingly brilliant." That was nice to hear. Others who knew Seth made similar comments. It was a treat for us to see him in action and see how recognized as a "rock star" (used by the professor introducing him) in his field, the new journalism with social media. He was eloquent in his delivery. Tiffany praised him for that and he said it probably comes from teaching on a regular basis. It was Gary's last day of work with Mill Creek Developers in Portland where he was instrumental in developing high rises in downtown Portland. He started his new job with an estate developer for the IDM company today, May 23rd!
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