The Beginning of My Leave of Absence

So much has happened in the past month!  The time has quickly flown, and I'm unable to grasp that most of the summer is already gone!

For those of you who have been following my posts and photos on Facebook, please bear with me!  I promise to relate my stories from Angola shortly.

Since I have had to prepare for my trip to Angola, I had family coming to Montana, and I have seemingly a million projects to accomplish, I have taken a leave of absence from work for the time being.  I'm still getting things done and haven't gone back to work yet.  I have been working non-stop around here, even after getting back home from the other side of the globe.  I started this leave of absence on June 22, so I guess it's been a little more than a month now!

On the first day of my leave of absence I went to Livingston to have lunch with Grandma.  Livingston Health and Rehabilitation Center was hosting a "Sensational Summer Barbecue" for the residents there.  Paula made some really great meat.  I really liked the quality of this meal.  Grandma seemed to be doing well.  I told her that I was going to Africa on a mission trip and wouldn't be able to see her for a little while.  She didn't say too much about it, so I don't know if she didn't have anything to say or if she was a little disapproving.  Of course my grandpa Lyford spent some time in Africa during World War II, specifically in Algiers, Algeria.  I'm sure my news reminded her of what little Grandpa told her about living in Africa.

While I was in town, I went to Dad's and Bonnie's new house at the south end of Livingston.  Finally they have a big enough yard for the quantity of equipment that they own and enough space in the house to hold their things.  I'm very excited that they have this new home, and I hope the two houses they already own quickly sell.

Dad's and Bonnie's new house

The next day was Saturday, and I took Elena and Kristina, a couple of our foreign workers at the Super 8 in Yellowstone National Park.  Their main goal was to see Grand Prismatic Spring the way that it is shown on the postcards (an aerial view, or one from near the top of a nearby hill).  Mostly they wanted to see the hydrothermal features of the park.  We went to Mammoth for a short stop, then Norris to see Steamboat Geyser, and then we saw a couple bull elk in Elk Park.  Afterwards we went to Artist Paint Pots.  We had a picnic lunch in the woods (since all the picnic areas were jam-packed full of people), and then hiked to see Grand Prismatic Spring.  The girls were super worn out after that short hike, so when we went to Old Faithful to get some ice cream and frozen yogurt, they didn't want to wait another 20 or 30 minutes to see Old Faithful go off.  I suspect the altitude and the heat of the day were the greatest nemeses of the afternoon.

A couple bull elk at Elk Park, Yellowstone National Park

Kristina and Elena at the Gibbon River, Yellowstone National Park