Visit to the US: Utah, Part 3: Friends + a stealth pray-er

While in Utah we got to visit some friends (some mentioned here with pictures and some without :) ) but we love them all! :)

So happy to see one of my mission companions, a member of our "Dritt" (threesome)! Her husband was the area psychologist and she made time to come teach and find with us -- we served together for about 6 months? Maybe more? I love her! She is awesome :)

Here we got to visit friends from our married ward at BYU and meet their cute kids. We also got to read them some great books like The Napping House and King Bidgood's in the Bathtub (and he won't get out... ;) ) by Audrey and Don Wood. Repeatedly. In fact we had a nice parallel session where I read the one to the one daughter and F read the other to the other daughter..and then we switched, or rather they did :) And then again? I can't remember, but it was good fun and lots of laughs :D

We also met some more friends from that ward at a park...after thinking we were meeting them at another park...it got confusing ;) In the confusion and while waiting at the first park, I drew this copse:

Eventually we (without a cellphone..) managed to get everything cleared up and find them at the second park. Hooray! We had a nice visit, talked Waldorf, chased ducks and all sorts of fun things :D
On the way back we stopped at the Provo City Center Temple, that we hadn't yet seen.
(For more info about what temples are, visit this site at mormon.org.)

Look! I fit right in with my pointy hat :)

It was Sunday so it was closed, but we enjoyed the outside,

The 2nd temple in Provo, UT from our church, the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints. Even though Utah has quite a few temples spread across its towns and cities, Provo is the only city with two temples.

some flowers,

I marveled at the colors on individual buds but on a single plant! Wow!

Look! Decorative purple basil :)

aaaand a very stealthy pray-er.

In fact he was doing a slow-motion jaunt (I'm sure he was going 'down to the [temple] to pray, studying about that good ol' way...' ;)

and we wondered if he always walked that slow or if he really was in stealth mode. After a few macro pictures, F reached out to get close to him and then he boogied right out of there ;) So yup, we met a praying mantis in stealth mode going to the temple. Epic :)

We also got together with some of my best childhood friends, E + N. So glad to see them!

I'm so grateful for good friends!