Starry Night, Sunny Day

 

Friday afternoon I left the wonders of Education week and drove up to Rexburg to spend some time with Cindy Lynn and Mahon.  It was a long drive, but I entertained myself by talking to Russ, looking at the sunflowers growing alongside the interstate,

(ok, who am I kidding here?  I did far more than enjoy the sunflowers as I drove by!!!  I pulled over to the side of the road, stopped the car, climbed over the railing, and happily took pictures for a while.)

and eventually enjoyed watching a long and beautiful sunset. 

Somewhere along the way it occurred to me that the sky was perfectly clear, and that maybe it would be a good night for star watching in Idaho.  Cindy Lynn checked the calendar and it turned out that we were just a week past the apex of the Perseid Meteor Shower, so we decided that once I arrived we would go and do some star watching.

I arrived late enough that we didn’t want to go all the way out to the sand dunes, so we drove to a church parking lot on the outskirts of town, spread out some blankets, and laid down to watch the stars.  It was a beautiful night and the stars were so bright and clear.  We lay there talking about my favorite class at Education week, and what I’d learned about personal revelation.  Every now and then we’d see a small shooting star and we’d interrupt ourself, pointing and saying, “I saw one!  Did you see that?”

And then, we saw it.  We all saw it.  The BIGGEST shooting star I’ve ever seen.  The kind that is so bright that it leaves a streak of light behind it, this one blindingly white and longer than any I’ve seen before.  It was so amazing that we were almost speechless.   After that we watched a  little longer, but without any expectation that we could top that moment.

(so that you can imagine that you were there with us…)

Every time I look at the stars lately I think of a line from a Christian song I’ve heard a couple of times in the past month. 

I'm giving my life to the only One who makes the moon reflect the sun.
Every starry night, that was His design

What a design it was and is…

 

Saturday was beautifully sunny, and it was also Cindy Lynn’s 23rd birthday.  (How’s that for great timing?)  We celebrated by taking a lovely walk around the gardens on the BYUI campus, eating amazing raspberry lemonade frozen custard at the new Neilson’s in Rexburg, and having an incredible birthday dinner complete with out of this world mango pina coladas.  I will get her recipe and post it because believe me, you want to try it!

The flowers at the garden were so lovely, and it’s just such a happy place for me because that’s where their wedding reception was.

After dinner they went to see the movie “The Help” (so amazing—if you haven’t seen it you should!) and I drove down to Logan.  Thank you Cindy Lynn and Mahon for such a wonderful visit!

 

PS—I thought the hollyhocks were so beautiful, and yesterday before I flew home I went by my wonderful Aunt Pam’s house and she gave me bunches of seeds from her beautiful hollyhocks!  (Along with daylillies, columbines, irises, and something else I can’t remember—she was so generous!)