Friday night in Columbia

Last Friday evening my mom and I went to a church activity in Colombia, Missouri. This was about a five-hour round-trip for us, but we really wanted to go because Elder Richard G. Scott, one of our general church leaders, was going to be in attendance. I invited three of my friends to ride to Columbia with my mom and me so that they could help with the driving since my mom was still recovering from her appendectomy last week. My friend Nate did all of the driving, which pleased my mom. My mom actually said that if she had been the one driving we would've never made it on time because she doesn't speed. (We ran into a lot of rush-hour traffic, so that's why it took us a little longer that the usual two hour or so drive.)

It was wonderful to be in the presence of an apostle of the Lord. When the fireside was over, Elder Scott stood by one of the doors of the chapel so that people could shake his hand as they exited. Fortunately, I was sitting right by the door where he was going to be standing. He came over to me and asked me if he could shake my hand, but my mom told him that I can't shake hands. He then told me that I have sparkling eyes and to not lose the sparkle from them. I told my mom it was probably just my eyeshadow, but she disagreed. :)

My friends and I stopped for ice cream on the way home at a little ice cream stand called Andy's Frozen Custard. It was just an ice cream stand -- the kind of place where you order at the window and eat outside. The air was so chilly that evening that I decided to eat in the van because I was really cold. Ice cream always has a way of hitting the spot, though, no matter how chilly the weather is!

I'm so glad that I was able to go to this activity and that several of my friends were able to ride with my mom and me in our van. What a great experience!