THE PAUSE THAT REFRESHES!!

Chilean mission friends Laurie and Steve Sowby gave Victor and me a great gift!  Laurie phoned to ask if we would be interested in joining them at a rented beach house in Oceanside for a few days during the week since their daughter and family had left for a three-day stay at Disneyland.  Victor's eyes lit up!  I, who am not even necessarily a beach lover, leaped at the chance to give end to a very hectic week for both us:  Victor doing some end-of-year Bishop reports, me throwing together a workshop on Family History (in Spanish, mind you) for the sisters in our ward during the Stake Women's Conference. 

We had lovely very comfortable facilities,  78 degree weather, privacy, tranquility (as only the off-season can bring) and absolutely NOTHING that we had to do!  Though we went packed for all kinds of possibilities the allure of just sitting, reading, doing nothing, napping in the sun, and a tad of computer genealogy work was just too great.  It was a lovely healing balm to our souls and a great way to bid our friends farewell as (poor them) they leave the sunshine and head off into the cold snows of Washington D.C. to start yet ANOTHER mission!  They will replace our other mission friends the Ellsworths teaching Institute and being in charge of facilities for a little over a year.   They will be great at it.  We'll welcome them back next year.  Thanks, Steve and Laurie, for the memories!  (We liked the beach house so much we have decided to hold cousin camp there next February with OUR family).

That really IS just a nice sunsest, not a nuclear explosion!

Austins, Sowbys - a fond farewell