Summer Comes for a Visit

My friend (and former mission companion) Summer Thorp, who currently lives in her home country of Canada with her husband and son, needed a break and a time to recharge her batteries so I suggested she come visit me for a few days and we could have a great time. She agreed to do so and we picked her up at the airport Sunday afternoon.
I was excited because it is rare we get a chance to visit face to face. We spent last New Years with them up in Canada (there was a post on this) and had so much fun. This time we were a lot more relaxed because in addition to my having tons to do, she didn't need to do a lot of touristy things. One thing that was super fun for Jasmine while Summer was here was that Summer offered to do her hair almost everyday and she did beautiful french braids that I don't know how to do. She was going to teach me but we ran out of time!We did head up to the Visitor's Center Monday night to see the display they had for the Reflections of Christ and we forgot our cameras, so we don't have pictures of that! It was so nice to spend a little while on the temple grounds and Summer hadn't been there since she was a little girl.
Tuesday, we ran errands and I took her to Potomac Mills to do some shopping. Since I get tired on my feet a lot these days, we only stayed a few hours but it was still lots of fun!
Wednesday we did something touristy - I couldn't bear to have her come all this way and not take her to see something she hadn't before. We went into Old Town Alexandria and visited Gadsby's Tavern. I hadn't been there since I was a child and Lorne and Summer had never been. It was a great tour. It wasn't super long but it was very informative and we learned all about the functions of a tavern in Colonial Virginia in the 1800s. Did you know, that if you stayed at the tavern, you had to share a bed with someone else and also the room with as many as 10 other men? If you were a woman, you couldn't stay there. Each tavern also had their own special punch that was the specialty of the tavern and they all tried to outdo each other with their punch (alcoholic of course). It has been recorded that George Washington himself spent time there.After the tour, we walked around Market Square and got a few pictures and walked into the Lavender Moon Cupcakery, only to discover they were out of cupcakes for the afternoon. It was a great afternoon and I know Summer enjoyed it immensely.That night, we made pies. Since she would be joining us for Thanksgiving, I had her help me make the pies I was asked to bring to the festivities and since Summer likes being in the kitchen she was happy to help. It was messy fun and everything we made turned out delicious.Thursday we did the Thanksgiving thing (more on that in a separate post).
Friday was her last day here with us - well, only a half day since she flew out that afternoon. I indoctrinated her in the American art of Black Friday shopping. It is not for the faint of heart, folks. We were out of the house by 5:30 AM and arrived back home by 11:30 AM - triumphant in our purchases but not without a few battle wounds - like standing in line for 2 and a half hours at Toys R Us. If she hadn't been there with me, I don't know if I could have done it. She seems to have survived it - though I don't know if she would ever do it again!
Saying goodbye was hard since I don't get to see her often and it felt like the time flew while she was here. I could have though of a million more things for us to do but alas, time was not on our sides. I hope she got what she needed on her little trip here and that we will get to see her and her family again soon.