Re-visiting the past: A trip to Flagstaff & NAU with Simon

(In front of Campbell Hall, many moons ago.)

Brian and me...our story begins at NAU in the fall of 1981. That's when I first saw Brian. I was up on a cherry picker (a high ladder used to hang lights), which was sitting in the middle of the stage, making last minute adjustments to the lights for the play that Brian had the lead in. He walked out on stage for dress rehearsal and I looked down from my high perch and noticed his fore arms first. Something about them appealed to me. He caught my eye...well, both of them. After that, I would see Brian walking to or from class...alone, looking down at the ground, moseying along, deep in thought. To this day, I still like to watch him think. It's almost like I can actually see it happening, the wheels churning, the thoughts taking shape. For me, if I need to think about something, I get so easily distracted that it may or may not happen. I don't feel like I can make my little thinking wheels churn. I've got other talents, but that is not one that comes to mind. My brain works in a complimentary way to Brian's, and I think we have mutual admiration for the way the other thinks.

(Deja' Vu)

(I used to live in Campbell.)

(Brian lived across the street in Hanley...it looks like the only thing left of the original Hanley Hall is the foundation. Campbell and Hanley residents often gathered in front of Hanley to play Hacky Sack. My Birkenstocks were my best hacky shoes. I admit that I was a little crunchy, as in "granola" back then. I think I'm still crunchy at heart.)

This is the surrounding area.

(Pam and I shared an awesome corner room with 2 windows.)

I still love the charm of North Campus with it's old buildings and many fond memories.

That was a long digression on that, but glimpsing Brian walking along on campus, deep in thought was a big part of our beginning...I guess I spent a good amount of time admiring him from afar until he finally noticed me, too. Fast forward 65 months, 37 of which were spent apart, while we both served as missionaries for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (he in Washington D.C. and I in Minnesota). We were engaged 4 days after I returned home and married 6 1/2 months later in the Mesa, Arizona Temple in the spring of 1987.

Back to the present:

A few weeks ago, it worked out so that Brian and I could go up to NAU with Simon for Freshman orientation. I have to just say here what I mean by "worked out", because a little miracle happened so that we could both go(we desperately needed a getaway): At first, only one of us was going to go with Simon and see if we could find someone's couch to sleep on, since a hotel was not in our budget. That was the plan...until we went to the Temple the week before and the little miracle unfolded. While in the Temple we ran into the brother of one of our good friends. They just happened to be down from Flagstaff, where they live, going through the Temple with their boys, who will be leaving on missions this summer. My first thought was, "Aha! There is my couch!" So, I proceeded to mention my need for a couch to our friends and they said, "We have even better than that...") They weren't kidding! They had a beautiful vacation rental home that just happened to be vacant on the days we were going to be up there. A wonderful blessing all because we just "happened" to run into Jim and Jen in the Temple. We had lodgings beyond what we could have imagined AND a much needed getaway. We can't thank them enough. I wanted to share some photos of this beautiful home that can easily accommodate a large group. I highly recommend it if you have a family reunion coming up. Jim did a fabulous job building the house and paid attention to all the little details that make it really special. Read up on it here. It was spectacular. We had fun exploring every nook and cranny. It was such a treat.

The entry...awesome.

The Living Room to the left of the entry.

Simon got this room upstairs.

Game room upstairs

Another one of the 4 bedrooms upstairs.

At the end of the long entry hall, turn right and you see the dining area/family room/kitchen.

(I think I would enjoy cooking in this kitchen!)

And last, but not least, the cozy master bedroom and bathroom to the right when you come in downstairs.

It was perfect! Thanks again, Jim and Jen. We loved visiting with your wonderful family. We felt an instant connection. It feels good to know that you're up in Flagstaff when Simon heads up there this fall. I just realized that there are no pictures of Simon on here and we really did go up with him, but we rarely saw him during orientation...so no pics of Simon with us in Flagstaff.