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We always look forward to our yearly summer Utah trip, and this trip was especially neat because Natalie, Ben’s little sister, just returned home from serving a mission in Rome, Italy. We were able to be their for her homecoming talk in church on June 28th. Ben’s Aunt Nancy and Uncle Richard, who have been serving missions in the beautiful and wonderful place of Tampa, Florida, also gave their homecoming talks in church the same day.
Sidenote: Ben’s family has a smart neighborhood setup – his grandma is their nextdoor neighbor on their west side, Nancy and Richard are on their east side, and his Uncle Vince had a house just adjacent to them. So, they all live in the same ward, mow each other’s lawns, share their things, and get to visit with each other often. Cliffie has two other sisters and they live close by, too. But not close enough to be in the same ward.
Anyways, my estimation is that there were an extra 80 to 100 people in sacrament meeting that day to support Nancy, Richard, and Natalie. Many of them drove 3 or 4 hours to be there. His family is super supportive like that. We were able to visit with Ben’s cousins, aunts, uncles, other relatives, and family friends. Joseph, Julie, and Christy also came to Heber. It was a really neat day.
Interesting facts about Natalie:
- She is an excellent cook
- Studying Interior Design at BYU
- Huge fan of BYU football
- Has put up with having 5 older brothers
- Loves children and is so good with them
- Currently works at a bank
- Has been diabetic since she was 15 months old
- She is the girl version of Ben
- Sadie looks a lot like Natalie did as a little girl
- Has been studying Italian for many years, even since before her mission
