While we were down in Provo, Brandon introduced me to three of his former mission friends. We had so much fun talking to each of them! I loved seeing how excited Brandon got when they would speak of shared memories from the mission. I could really tell that, despite the typical joking around that most missionaries do, Brandon was a wonderful missionary and a good example to those around him. I was positively beaming when his friends would say such nice things about him!
Not only did I get to meet former companions from his mission, but I also got to meet several families Brandon interacted with on his mission. The first family we met was a family that had adopted Brandon in his last area. Just two of the kids were home, but we took pictures and had fun talking with them. Then we stopped in on this elderly couple. They were in their late 80's, but were just as cute as can be! The wife was so excited to see Brandon that she just kept clapping her hands together and giving him hugs. Their story was so much fun to listen to, as well! The couple had met at a singles dance at church like us. But, as they were talking while dancing, they soon discovered that each was divorced, had two kids, and shared the same birthday! But, their love for each other was very apparent in the way they looked at each other, so I loved being in their home. The last home we visited was a gentleman that Brandon still keeps in touch with. He was good enough to let Brandon play his recently purchased Martin guitar...Brandon had definite guitar envy!
Perhaps the best part of our Salt Lake visit was being able to spend time with Brandon's family. His grandparents and several aunts/uncles live in the area. One day we went over to visit his grandparents for lunch. The lunch itself was delicious, but we just had lots of fun talking to them and learning more about family history stuff. Nicholas loved it, too! They had several toys out for him to play with, but his favorite toy was the humidifier. It shot out a visible mist and Nicholas kept trying to reach out and grab the mist. It was pretty funny! While in Salt Lake, we stayed with his aunt Kathy, who we actually got to spent about 2 months with this past summer. She was really incredible and orchestrated this dinner with the whole family around. I got to meet another of Brandon's aunts I'd never met, several cousins, and Brandon's brother Marty even made it to the dinner! Nicholas loved all of the attention, and I think Brandon was beside himself with excitement at being able to spend so much time with all of them!
Our last stop in Utah was actually visiting a bit more of my family. My cousin Eric is attending LDS Business College, so we stopped in to see him. Unfortunately his wife was at work, so I still have yet to meet her, but we had a great time talking to him. I lived with him, my aunt and uncle, and my two other cousins while I was in Maryland for my internship back in 2002. As a result, I kind of view Eric as almost a brother at times. We also had lunch with my brother Christopher and...his girlfriend! I am very proud of the fact that I was the first member of my family (well, other than Christopher) to meet her. Her name is Jinha and she is from Korea, where my brother had served his mission. He met her last year down in Provo and she is now attending LDS-BC as well. We really liked meeting her and think she's a lot of fun!
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