La Gran Aventura Day 82: Pizza night with the Condon’s

Friday, March 1, 2024

I spent most of the morning trying to figure out how our Eurail passes will work. Unfortunately, there are some extra reservation fees that we have to pay each time we travel between countries, but we are in this thing now.

Betty went to the temple this morning with Chris Condon and Crystal Bahr. It is just what she needs: some time with friends and with the Lord in His house. She also had lunch with Gabby Moss.

While I was working on my laptop, River wanted to do yoga. She is the cutest.

Also while I was working it dawned on me that our Sapphire Preferred credit cards -- which have no overseas transaction fees -- will expire while we are gone. Chase will overnight them to us. I also realized that I can’t find my Chase debit card. That is a huge problem. Hopefully Betty knows where they are.

At lunchtime I took the kids to the college for LDSSA lunch. We saw Roger Butters there. He said we will never regret the money spent on this trip. It’s worth mortgaging the house for. We might have to do it.

In the afternoon Betty and I met up at Aaa in Jackson to get our international drivers licenses. Now we can borrow or rent and have a little extra protection.

Tonight we had dinner with the Condon’s. We love our pizza nights with them. It’s as comfortable and uplifting as dinner can ever be with friends. We have missed them dearly, and we will miss them on the next leg of this journey.

We finished the day watching a few more minutes of The Longest Day. The kids seem to enjoy it, but it makes everyone really sleepy. I just want them to appreciate Normandy as much as possible.

La Gran Aventura Day 81: Planning

Thursday, February 29, 2024

Today I spent a bunch of time on itinerary plans. It feels like two steps forward and one step back. Plans are made and unmade as fast as I can get them.

In the day I went to the office and had lunch with Josh Burnett. He’s such a good kid. I love working with him.

I was also able finally just sit and blog, and I got myself caught up a bunch of the way. I’m so grateful.

But I was able to help things to calm down, and we had a nice evening. We actually finished it up by watching the first 20 min or so of The Longest Day -- in preparation for our trip to Omaha Beach.

I’m stressing a bit about the train situation in Europe. It’s not a very straightforward process to get everything going.

Oh, and one more thing. Anna Vincenzi has got a lead on some lodging in Rome. With a priest. That could be really cool I think.

La Gran Aventura Day 80: Tough nights

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Today was a good day. I did some work in the morning, and then Betty and I went to Ann Arbor. REI has been our salvation, but it also feels like it will be the death of me. Then we came back and had dinner with the Bahr’s and then it was off to church activities. And then we finished things off with a long talk with a frustrated Alicia. It feels like this happens pretty much every night now. Alicia gets upset about something, and we have to just work through it. But I’m learning that if we just take the time to work through things, we can always find peace again. I’m not afraid of it anymore. It just takes some effort.

La Gran Aventura Day 79: BYU beats Kansas

Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Today I woke up determined to get everyone’s packs squared away. I’m certainly being a bit obsessive about this, but with weight and space being such a priority, I really think it’s worth it. I’m also becoming a world-class labeler of stuff. It makes everything so much easier when things are labeled.

That project ended up taking up nearly the entire day. But I’m feeling quite good about where we stand right now.

I’ve had to do some rearranging of our itinerary because the Rome temple is going to close for the second half of the month, and the Netherlands temple is closed in the first half. So we will still go Paris to London, but from there we will likely head down to Italy for at least a few days to make it for our temple appointment there.

This whole thing is crazy.

Tonight the kids and I watched BYU beat Kansas in Lawrence in one of the craziest games I’ve ever seen. This team is so fun to watch. It was a really magical night.

La Gran Aventura Day 78: One week to Paris

Monday, February 26, 2024

This morning I woke up and realized that in one week we will be on a plane to France. There is still so much to do.

I was feeling really desperate because we still hadn’t secured lodging in Paris, but then David Sluss, a friend of the Aburto’s, contacted me and said we can stay with them. I was so grateful I nearly cried. We got all the kids together and said a prayer of gratitude. His wife Dinah is from Mexico, and she and Betty have connected. That has helped Betty feel more calm. It’s all coming together, and my heart is full.

We also packed Betty’s backpack today. We got it down under 20 pounds, and I think it’s in pretty good shape. Now we’ve just got River to do tomorrow. She should be the easiest.

This afternoon I had a department meeting in which we discussed the schedule for next semester. It went really smoothly, and things are ready to go there.

The day ended up with the Bells. Matt made his famous pizzas. They are such good friends, and we all get along so well. We have missed them, and we will miss them again.

Now it’s time for bed. I’m tired, and I’ve just got a massive amount of work to do tomorrow.

La Gran Aventura Day 77: Back in Church

Sunday, February 25, 2024

Today it was great to get back on church in Jonesville. I love our ward so much. We had good morning meetings, and then Betty and I went up to Battle Creek where I had a meeting, and Betty was able to interview with Pres Christensen. And we also gave her a blessing. It was good for her. She wants to go on this trip, but she is really struggling because she doesn’t want to ruin the trip for me. She’s afraid she just won’t be able into do it physically or emotionally.  I just keep telling her that I love her and that she is going to be OK.

La Gran Aventura Day 76: Pack Check

Saturday, February 24, 2024

Today I spent most of the day going through packing lists -- first my own and then those of the bigger kids. We have misplaced some things, but for the most part we are in good shape. My pack is a bit heavy, and I even pulled the extendable legs from my tripod to make it lighter. I need to be as light as possible.

Last night Betty and I had a long talk about this trip. She feels so exhausted, and she’s really worried that she won’t be able to make it. I read to her some sections from “Cast Not Away, Therefore, Your Confidence.” I know she has had spiritual witnesses that this is good. Today she seems more involved in things. We are going to be OK.

La Gran Aventura Day 75: Worry

Friday, February 23, 2024

This morning Betty and Kimball and I went out for a little walk. It was nice. We also said hi to the Parkers. They are such great people.

I’m really in high gear on finding a place to stay in Paris right now. I’ve struck out with the bishop of the ward around Versailles and the temple housing is all booked. So today I emailed the Aburto’s friend David Sluss as well as all of the French faculty at Hillsdale. Oh, and the bishop of the ward in the center of Paris.

Something’s going to work out.