What a great surprise. Our very best friends from our years in Denton, TX, when Stan was in graduate school, came to visit--Jim and Maurine Richards. They are really the neatest people. So much fun. They just returned last winter from a mission at the Merida Temple in Mexico, and were on a trip to visit their mission president. We were so flattered that they put us on their itinerary. We haven't seen them for about 20 years. Maurine taught school, and Jim is an outstanding artist. He taught in the art department at NTSU when Stan was a student there. Now their claim to fame is their daughter who plays the flute with the orchestra on temple square. If you've ever seen the orchestra on TV, you've seen Jeanine--she's the beautiful brunette who is always on camera. I can't tell you how fun it was to see Jim and Maurine again. Lots of reminiscing and catching up on old friends. We just needed a lot more time. Maurine's the one who taught me how to enjoy my kids and told me how important it is to have a sense of humor. (She told Jim that, too, when their little boys had way too much fun with their dad's paint one time. I doubt he saw the humor in it at the time, though.)
While Jim and Maurine were here, we spent some time in Stan's music room, so he could demonstrate his new "toy" the MalletKat. I should add that Jim and Stan did a performance together at NTSU--Stan playing percussion, and Jim painting on clear plastic that was projected on a screen. That was back in their "avant-garde" days.
Obviously, this guy is having way too much fun these days!
