I've been bad...

Sorry I haven't posted for a while.  Last weekend Reed traveled to New Orleans for a teaching convention.  He actually managed to make it to two of the classes and the rest of the time was spent seeing the sights and eating crawfish.  While Reed was off stuffing his face, I stayed with his parents in Apache Junction so the dogs and I would't be all alone.  On Saturday we drove down to the Arizona Science Center to see the Titanic Exhibit that I have been begging Reed to take me to since before it even came to town.  I have been fascinated with the Titanic since I was a little girl.  My mother actually let me stay home and watch news coverage when the found the ship.  I still have the National Geographic somewhere with a story on the wreckage.  When you enter the exhibit they give you a card of someone who traveled on that fateful voyage and you have to wait to the end to see if they lived.  I was issued a name of a woman who was a third class passenger so I knew she would be among the dead.  The exhibit was fascinating and I actually learned a lot more than I had known before.  There were a lot of people on that ship that were not scheduled to be.  There was a coal workers strike and to conserve coal they moved passengers from the smaller ships to the larger Titanic.  Oddly enough there was actually a man who was counted among the dead who was shanghaied the night before the voyage.  I am sure he was amazed to learn of what would have been his fate if not for the Shanghai. They had an iceberg replica so you could feel what the water would have felt like.  The stories of the families that we lost or broken by this is haunting.  When I came to the end I learned of the fate or Mrs. John Bourke, not only was she lost but her husband and he entire family that was immigrating from Ireland.  They were park of a larger group of immigrating Irish who hoped to settle in Chicago.  The exhibit was amazing and I would gladly go again.  We then ate at a new restaurant in the Arizona Center and talked about the exhibit.  

While Reed was gone Winston cried constantly which really didn't help me because I missed him enough to cry too.  When I picked him up at the airport a group of women said to me "You must be Kim.  Reed missed you a lot."  It was nice to hear that he missed me too.  He brought me back a photograph of an old street corner in New Orleans and some paintings on old roofing tiles.  It was good to have him home and Winston hasn't left his side since.  

On Thursday night I connected with my old friend whom I hadn't seen in ages, Laney Cheney. Her little family was in town to see her sister and an exhibit on the life of Christ at the Mesa Temple.  I talked her into bringing her family over and staying the night.  We stayed up and talked until 1 am or so.  It was nice to see her and get caught up.  You never realize how much you miss someone until you see them!  We made a big breakfast for them in the morning before the hit the road and I got to spend time with her children.  What a fun little family.  I was so sad I had to go to work.  I was so happy she sacrificed time with her family to come see me and meet Reed.  Well I think I'm caught up for now!