Moore Fun in April!

April was a family month for us.  We got to be with members of our family every week of April!  That's rare for us, but we certainly aren't complaining.  We love our family so very much and enjoy every minute that we can have with any of them!  We miss those that are so far away and wish we could see them MOORE often! 

BYU's winter semester ended and Eric and Hannah drove home for a long weekend!  We had so much fun with them.  We packed a lot into just a few days.

I have a group of friends that meet once a month for lunch and we take turns fixing the meal for each other.  We call ourselves the Gourmet Gals.  April was my turn and I have been wanting to fix a Brazilian meal for a while.  It was purely coincidence that Hannah happened to be home for it!  It was on Friday, April 24, at noon.  She was able to tell my gals all about Brazil and it's food and people.  The food turned out delicious!

We had Feijoada, which is a black bean stew containing pork, beef short ribs, and bacon with onions, garlic, and of course black beans.  We also had a pico de gallo, which is called Vinegrette, and delicious cheese bread call Pao de Queijo.  We had authentic Guarana to drink and Brigadeiro's and a Lemon Mousse Pie for dessert.  Brigadeiro's are delicious little cookie balls made of cocoa and sweetened condensed milk rolled in coconut, nuts, sprinkles, or anything else you want.

The meal was a hit and everyone left happy and full.  Full of food and Brazilian knowledge!

We got some exciting news recently that our grandson, Garrett, is engaged to be married to a lovely young lady from Sweden, Louise.  We got to meet her when we were in Utah for General Conference weekend and instantly fell in love with her.  They are both living in Provo at the time and will most likely be married in December in Hawaii where she hopes to be doing an internship!

While Hannah and I enjoyed our luncheon, Mike and Eric did some errands and had lunch at the Cheese Importers here in Longmont.  They decided it's a bit girly for them and not big enough servings for guys!  That night we went to Denver to see a musical at the Buell Theater.  We saw "Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat."  It was very entertaining and we had a really good time being together doing one of our favorite things as a family.

One of the things Eric and Hannah like most when they come home is playing the piano.  Eric purchased a small piano this school year and has been working hard on several pieces that he played for us.  Hannah sang some of her opera pieces and it was fun to hear her lovely voice filling our home again!

On Saturday, April 25th, my friend's Sharma, Stacey and I gave a bridal shower to one of our good friend's (Michele's) daughter, Courtney Lamb.  We had fun planning it and it turned out beautiful!  She seemed genuinely pleased and loved!  We got to meet her fiance, Garrett, and he is a very nice young man.

That is Lavender Lemonade that Sharma made from fresh Lavender!  It was delicious and very refreshing as well as soothing.  I loved it!

Here are the people who attended:

Sharah Ludlow, Hannah, Elizabeth Wheelwright, and Heather Trane

Garrett's three sisters and two nieces, Courtney, and Courtney's birth mom and sister

Lizzy and Stacey Horton and Shelly Trane

Michele, Karen Dunn, Stacey, Sharma, and Shelly

Mother and Daughter

Garrett came at the end so we could all meet him.

They are off to a good start with a lot of nice gifts and well wishes for a happy marriage!  They get married on May 16 in the Logan Temple.  We are thrilled for them and their families!

Sunday, Hannah and I got to sing "Consider the Lillies of the Field" in Relief Society as part of Gerilyn Brown's lesson.  I love to sing with Hannah.  Mike accompanied us like old times.

For Sunday dinner, Eric treated us to Low Country Boil, a wonderful dish which he was fed many times on his mission in the south.  It turned out perfectly and the four of us devoured all of it without any trouble!

We had a quiet Sunday at home and just enjoyed being together.  Sunday evening, we were treated to a Webex from our mission president and his wife that was just for all the returned missionaries from the Massachusetts Boston Mission (MBM).  It was so good to see their faces again and hear their voices live.  It was just like old times!

President and Sister Packard will finish up their mission at the end of June and will be moving to San Antonio, Texas, where he will work in a law firm with some of their family members.  They will be missed in the MBM for sure!

Eric and Hannah left to go back to Utah on Monday morning, April 27.  It was a short visit, but we loved every minute we had with them.  Eric will find a job and work for the summer and Hannah started at BYU on Tuesday, April 28, for Spring Term.