COTTLE MISSION NEWS: Week 53 (4

Monday morning, we were up by 5:00 am and got ourselves ready to leave for Utah. Seemed the decision happened so quickly and now the time was here. We said our prayers and loaded the van with one bag and two backpacks and away we went. We parked the van at Park N’ Fly by the airport and continued to their airport on their shuttle bus. At the airport we got seat assignments at the Frontier desk and proceeded to security which took about 20 minutes. Finally, we continued to gate C-5 and waited for the boarding process which began shortly after 7:00 am. We had nice seats together and the plane, at Airbus 320, appeared to be new as it was very clean. Seating was tight, but you couldn’t recline the seats and so didn’t have to contend with the person in front of you laying in your lap. We had 3 phases to the flight; phase 1 a 2-hour leg to St. Louis, Missouri where we made a short stop to offload and take on passengers. While waiting a tall lanky cowboy came up and talked to us. He was a member from Ralston, Wyoming. He also was a horse dentist and it sounded like he was very popular as he traveled all over the country taking care of horses. He knew Brian Winn from Annabella and also participated in Rodeo events. Finally, the boarding finished, and we took off for another 2-hour leg to Denver, Colorado. We exited the plane and stayed in “A” concourse for 3 hours waiting for our final flight to Salt Lake. While waiting we had lunch at Panda Express and did a little walking and sitting and got our devices charged up again. The high Rockies appeared to have a lot of snow, but not much around Denver and the front range. Finally, we arrived in Salt Lake at 4:30 pm local time and Erin, Kate, Beth, Miles and Wells met us at the gate. It was wonderful to have those kids running to us and welcoming us to Utah. They were changing so much and growing up, especially Kate and Beth. We arrived at their home about 5:30 pm and it was wonderful to be with them again. Erin showed us their new kitchen, which had been completed during the year, and it was beautiful. Weston arrived from work an hour later and it was good to see him. What a nice family! Erin had dinner prepared and we all sat down and enjoyed the meal and hearing the kids tell about their activities. Following dinner, Erin had a FHE lesson prepared and gave a nice lesson on “Choices” and then we concluded the evening with some Ice Cream. The kids went to bed and we visited with Weston and Erin until 10:00 pm and then went downstairs to Kate’s room for the night. It was so good to be with them and we looked forward to spending the week doing what we could to support Jeff and Paul in preparing for the funeral.

Tuesday morning, I got up at 6:00 am. Erin took Kate to school for choir practice and was home again fixing breakfast for Beth. She took her to school at 8:30 am. Milers and Wells were up by then and climbed in bed with Pam for a few minutes. We took Miles to Kindergarten at noon and had lunch at Noodles & Company (Wells’ choice). When done we headed to Primary Children’s Hospital in a light to heavy snow storm. Pam called Kari Lovell and let her know we were coming and after arriving at the hospital, Kari came down to the lobby and met us and the reunion between her and Pam was sweet. We visited for a while in the lobby and then she took Pam and I upstairs to see her baby boy Wyatt. A nurse was in the room with Wyatt when we arrived, and he was bundled up in a blanket but trying to move about. They were closely monitoring his oxygen levels as they had removed the oxygen earlier in the morning. Kari unwrapped him so we could see the scar from surgery. He was such a pretty little boy with a full head of hair. It seemed sad that he had to face such a traumatic first few weeks of his life. Kari went through what had been accomplished with the operation and how he had fared the past few days. Wyatt had been a real trooper. She was hoping to take him home on Thursday, which would have been impossible to consider following surgery. We returned to the lobby with Kari and a couple of Sports Team mascots walked through the door with two pallets X-Box game systems donated to the hospital. Wells was fascinated by the mascots and they came up to him and gave him a “high five” and a hug. He felt pretty special. Finally, we said our goodbyes to Kari and hoped for the best for her and Wyatt and headed south to Provo. I borrowed Erin’s van and we did a little shopping and got Erin’s van washed and filled up with gas. Back at Erin’s, Weston was home, and we joined the family for dinner—very good. After cleaning up, the children went to bed and the adults visited and then called it a night.

Wednesday morning was Kate’s 11^th birthday and Pam and I both woke up about 6:30 am and visited a little about the day and then did some reading and checking of email and the news. I showered and got dressed for the day and then came upstairs and watched Kate and Beth head out for school Weston took them as it snowed during the night (about 2-3 inches) and his Outback handled the snow better than the van. Oh, for the days of our old purple van, it could go anywhere with its AWD. Pam and Erin left at 10:00 am for a hair cutting appointment for Pam and when done they came and picked up Miles for school and did some shopping and brought lunch for Wells and myself. Pam’s hair looked really nice and was quite short. Erin had parent-teacher conferences for Kate and Beth in the afternoon and returned about 3:30 pm. Pam, Erin and I went to Costco and Kohl’s for an hour and then returned. At 5:30 pm Weston was home, and we celebrated Kate’s birthday with presents, and she got some nice things. When finished with the presents we drove to the Golden Corral and had dinner. We invited Drew and Kyline and Kali to join us and Kali accepted the invitation and it was nice to see her again. She was living in Provo and working but taking a break from school. After dinner we returned to Erin and Weston’s home and the kids got ready for bed and the adults visited.

Thursday morning, I dropped off Kate and Beth at their school and got my hair cut at Fantastic Sam’s. The girl who cut my hair asked where I was from and I told her Monroe, Utah, but currently serving a mission in Jacksonville, Florida. I asked where she was from and she said Temecula, California. Surprise, surprise I said we had a missionary in the Jax Beach Ward from Temecula, and she responded, “Sister Paulsen?” She knew her, not well, but knew who she was as they were in the same Stake and had attended girls camp together. Small world! When finished I returned to Erin and Weston’s home and Weston was gone to work. Erin was busy cleaning her kitchen and took care of her boys. She was such a good mom and we were constantly amazed at her mothering skills. Pam did a couple of loads of laundry for Erin and at 11:30 am we left for lunch. At 1:00 pm we dropped Wells off at his Pre-School and then Erin dropped off Pam and I at the new University Place mall while she took Miles to school and participated in a parent-teacher conference for Miles. She finished about 3:00 pm and picked us up and then we picked up Wells and returned to their home. We had a wonderful evening.

Friday morning, Kate and Beth were off to school early and the rest of us had a quiet morning until 11:30 am when Erin, Pam, Wells and drove to the new Café Rio on University Parkway. It was wonderful as usual and when finished we continued on to Springville to visit Ann Marie and Terilyn who was staying with Ann for the next month while Ann continued to recover from her surgery. We had a very nice visit and Ann Marie was doing very well and seemed to move about with little pain. We returned to Erin’s home at 3:00 pm and Erin and Pam began working on cupcakes for Kates birthday party in the evening. She was having a “late night” with friends which Erin loved because it was simple to prepare. At 6:30 pm Kate’s friends arrived, and they played games and had a good time. When Weston arrived home, he brought pizza and drinks and they paused from their games and we all ate until stuffed. Erin and Weston put Beth, Miles and Wells to bed about 7:30 pm and Kate and her friends continued their activities until 10:00 pm. Pam and I disappeared into the basement.

Saturday morning, Pam, Erin and I attended Aunt Win’s funeral in Murray. Weston would have accompanied us, but attended a funeral of one his University professors, John Telford, in Salt Lake. A baby sitter watched over the kids. At the Murray chapel we joined the family as they assembled for the viewing. Aunt Win looked beautiful and natural. So happy that she was finished with mortality and back with Estel and others of her family and friends. We visited with numerous extended family members as they arrived for the viewing. At 10:45 am the bishop invited Ann Marie to offer a family prayer and the casket was closed. Pam and Ann Marie put on her cap but with the new church policy, chose to not veil Aunt Win. We followed the casket into the chapel and Bishop Rasmussen conducted a wonderful service. following an opening hymn and prayer we heard from Camille Campbell, Katie Campbell and Brittany Campbell. Pam spoke and gave a wonderful talk from her heart about her dear Aunt Win. She was followed by a melody of songs by Mark Dyches on the piano. What a glorious 5 minutes. Jeff then gave some wonderful and humorous remarks about his mother followed by concluding thoughts from the Bishop. It was a wonderful funeral and Aunt Win would have been pleased. Following the service, the family and friends assembled at the grave site, I was invited to dedicate the grave. It was very cold with 8-10 inches of snow on the ground, so we didn’t stay long, but returned to the chapel for a luncheon hosted by the ward Relief Society. After saying our goodbyes to Jeff and his family, we returned to Provo. Weston arrived home about 5:00 pm and at 6:00 pm we all went to the Brick Oven for dinner. We invited Drew and Kyline to join us and it was nice to see them as a married couple. Drew was in school at UVU and working for a construction firm in Lehi, and Kyline worked for her father in a call center near their home. After dinner, we visited for a while and then said our goodbyes with an invitation for them to visit us when we returned in August. We returned to Erin and Weston’s home and put the kids to bed and visited with Erin and Weston for an hour before calling it a night.

Sunday morning, we spent a leisurely morning and then got ready and left for church. Sacrament meeting commenced at 10:30 am and was a wonderful meeting. Erin and Weston live in a very wonderful ward. During the 2^nd hour all the kids went to their Primary classes, Erin went to Young Women’s, Weston taught Kate’s class in Primary and Pam and I went to our Relief Society and Priesthood classes. My class was excellent, and the teacher led a wonderful discussion on the converting power of the Book of Mormon. After the block we returned to Erin and Weston’s home and had lunch and then a wonderful discussion on everyone’s lessons. For the rest of the afternoon the kids played with each other and watched some television. The adults visited and relaxed and then Pam and I went downstairs and took a nap. Erin and Weston did the same until about 6:30 pm when Erin fixed some dinner for her kids. We joined the family upstairs at 6:30 pm to watch a family movie. When it was over the kids went to bed and Pam and I visited with Erin and Weston for a few minutes then went to bed ourselves.