Tuesday - Sprague Fest is finally here!!

Tuesday - Sprague fest begins - woo hoo! The event that we've been waiting for for literally months is finally here - we get to hang out - IN PERSON - with all these amazing people that we've grown to love through just the typed word and their gorgeous photos & LOs....how cool is this?

The plan is to meet in a conf room that Jess reserved for us at 10am. So Kari & her adorable 2 1/2 boy, Cougar, Laurie, Deb, Amy, Tori, Jeanne, and I all meet up in the Timpanogos room...and wait...and text Liv & Jess....and wait...and call Liv & Jess...finally, Liv comes down (can I just tell you how awesomely amazing it was to finally meet this fabulous woman in person??) and tells us that Jess is sick....such a bummer! So sorry that she feels under the weather & can't come play with us today....but she needs to rest & save her voice for speaking & teaching. We sent up some emergency Diet Mt. Dew & lots of hugs.


The group wandered down to Gandolfo's NY deli and had some a-ma-z-i-n-g sandwiches - yum! Then, we finally got it together enough to make it to Temple Square in SLC by 2pm. We managed to find parking and find each other (it's a pretty big place!) and took some time to stand outside the square & just absorb the beauty of the architecture & the love that so obviously went into building it all. We wandered around the North Visitors Center and the gardens of the Temple Square....taking lots of pictures - gee, ya think? Tori and Laurie graciously and patiently answered my barrage of questions about LDS history & practices. We got to see the inside of the Tabernacle (where that little singing group hangs out sometimes...) and then we went up to the top of what used to be the Utah Hotel but is now a beautiful place for receptions and lunches and has a eye-level view of the top of the Temple - just wow. Liv gave us all these beautiful silver necklaces - so thoughtful and so very Liv - who else would think of bringing gifts like this when you have to travel around the world??

Since I had to pick Gary, Gail & Joan up at SCL airport in a couple of hours, I parted with the group - who all went to go shopping - and wandered by myself up to the Great Salt Lake. To be honest, I was a little bit disappointed. I think I was picturing this vast body of water surrounded by gleaming salt flats....yes, it's a big lake - but I grew up on the biggest lake east of the Mississippi so I'm not that impressed with large bodies of water. Yes, it's salty - even more so than the ocean. But, it stinks.....and there are no salt flats - just yucky, stinky mud that is just teaming with flies & other bugs. I was surprised to see seagulls - Utah is a landlocked state - seagulls, seriously? But, at least I can say I've been to the Great Salt Lake.



Off to SLC to gather the other 'peeps - it was like the perfect storm - but in a good way. Just as I'm pulling into the parking deck, Joan calls my cell phone saying she's here & has her luggage. Gary & Gail come down to baggage claim within 10 minutes and we are on our way back to the hotel with literally 1 second to spare to get our free 20-min parking at the airport - suhweet!

We head back to the Timpanogos room to meet the crew & Jess has joined the land of the living! She is feeling well enough to make it to dinner with us. Off to the Training Table we go - Kari worked here for 4 years & really knows the drill. She had us in stitches with her ordering techniques & the do' and dont's. Lots of burgers & cheese fries later, we head back for a good night's sleep.....