Welcome Home Sister Danielson!!

After faithfully serving in Salt Lake City, Aunt Kathy returned from her mission last weekend, and we were lucky enough to be on the welcome home committee!

Living away from family now makes me really appreciate opportunities to get together. This was a special family gathering, but like most family gatherings, something buck wild was bound to happen. As my dad would say, we were making memories!

So my mom and Uncle Brent decided somewhat spur-of-the-moment to drive up from Vegas to be there to welcome Aunt Kathy. They agreed that they would leave St. George by 8:00 so they wouldn't be driving home too late. When it was getting to be around 8:30, they decided to get serious about leaving, but there was just one problem...Uncle Brent couldn't find his keys. For whatever reason, my mom was the last one holding his keys and she put them right where she'd know where on the counter. Well...they were not on the counter. We looked high and low and all over the house, but the darn keys were nowhere to be found. I decided that the only logical conclusion is that they were in the trash, you know...the one where Grandma Chris had just finished scraping all of the leftover Mexican dishes!! Well I did what any good wife and cousin would do, I volunteered Dave and Shane to dig for the keys. Dave pulled some sort of switch-a-roo because I ended up dry-heaving with Shane! It was just like the good ol' days. No matter how many years pass, I still feel a little mischievous with Shane!

As we were outside freezing and digging in the trash, Aunt Kathy said a prayer and was instantly hit with the inspiration to look under the couch. So while we're elbow-deep in the ick, Ashley and Grandma Darlene are inside dumping furniture over. Lo and behold the keys were under the couch! (We decided to have Kathy pray for a few more things before she got released!!)

Grandma Chris decided to take advantage of the furniture being moved to vacuum underneath it. Being a Richards, I say it's not a family party until someone busts out the vacuum!

We felt like Grandpa Barney was nearby when we looked at his handiwork behind the furniture.

Aww! Brotherly love! He is so happy about that key!!

Morgan was sick and hiding from the camera, so I thought I'd throw this one in to prove that she still lives with us. ;)

It was so fun to see everyone! I'm proud of my Aunt Kathy for many reasons, but I'm especially proud and thankful for her service and example over this past year-and-a-half!
Welcome home Sister Danielson!!