The Bryan Family Sampler: June 2026

Saturday, June 6, 2026

Cruise Day 1

We finally did it!

We bit the bullet and booked a cruise :)

We had wondered for a while if it would be a good way to vacation with Ben but we just hadn't been able to take the leap. Some friends from Andy's work encouraged him and helped him find one with a good deal and with just about a month to go we went ahead and scheduled it.

On May 1st we flew to L.A. and hopped on board Royal Caribbean's boat, Navigator of the Seas. Ben did really well with the flight, pretty much sleeping through the whole thing...so did the older boys.

Traveling with Ben can sometimes be a challenge (but we've also noticed that sometimes his chair can be a perk and will aid in skipping long lines :) so after the short flight, and enjoying our first Uber experience and finding our way on board the boat, we were greatly relieved to have arrived without too much trouble.

On a side note, I have always had trouble with motion sickness but we had been told that the patches you put behind your ears are very helpful so I gave those a try and let me tell you...I think they are a miracle! The plane ride and the Uber drive were a dream. I couldn't believe how good I was feeling in situations that would normally leave me feeling queasy and headachy.

Ben doesn't seem impressed...

but everyone else was a little in awe over the boat.

While we waited for our rooms to be ready we found ourselves on the pool deck and got some food.

While there, we ran into a couple that used to live in our neighborhood years ago! It was fun to see the Hills and catch up with them a little bit as we saw them throughout the week.

Josh found the ice cream...

I am now eating an anti-inflammatory diet so I knew it would be somewhat of a challenge to find things I could eat. Having not found anything on the deck that was thumping with loud music, I went exploring to see if there were other options...also, options that included fries for Ben which he had been begging for.

I found the Windjammer which was much more peaceful and had fries...not really many options for me still but I think everyone was grateful to get away from the atmosphere of the pool.

There was an announcement that the rooms were ready so everyone else went off to check them out while Ben and I continued relaxing at our table.

I can't really remember what we did until dinner time...probably just relaxed in our rooms.

Our first night in the dining room was nice. One of the chefs came out to talk to me about my dietary needs. I felt bad saying all the things I couldn't eat. I had brought my own bottle of salad dressing on the boat with me and just planned on bringing a little squeeze bottle of that to dinner each night...and if a salad was all I got, then that was fine.

There was a little trouble with the rooms.

We had planned on having the three older kids in one room together but when they saw their room, it was obvious there was only space for two people. Even though it made the most sense to me for Abby to come be with us, she was not happy with that arrangement so Josh was a good sport and volunteered to sleep on our couch with Ben.

We decided to sleep with the balcony door open and boy, did that end up being one of our most favorite things of the whole trip...falling asleep to the sounds of the ocean every night!

Celebrating Josh

The Institute choirs had their end of year concert.

They did an afternoon performance which my dad came to and then an evening performance which Mom, Jo and Matt were able to attend.

As always, it was fantastic!

My favorite number, A Poor Wayfaring Stranger, had a beautiful cello part to it. The cellist was exceptional and did a marvelous job! As the choir was exiting the platform at the end of the afternoon performance, someone bumped into the cello and it fell and was basically totaled :( Thank goodness it was insured! Word was she was going to borrow a cello for the evening performance but when the time came they completely skipped the song. I was hoping they had just rearranged the order but they never sang it. She must have decided to go with her cello which was being taken to Salt Lake to be fixed ASAP!

I was so sad the evening crew didn't get to hear it! I believe it had moved Dad to tears that afternoon.

I am so glad Josh is a part of this choir and gets to participate in wonderful events like this!

Since we were going to be on a cruise over Josh's birthday and he worked or had something planned every night the week before we left, we celebrated his birthday the Sunday just a few days after my birthday :)

Socks, a Cane's gift card, books and a game :)

Celebration at the dome...

We surer love our Josh and he was such a good sport to celebrate early!

April Odds and Ends

I believe it was either January or February that Andy told me there was going to be a big to-do at the Institute on my birthday and a couple of apostles would probably be there.

It wasn't necessarily my first choice of how to spend my birthday but it could also be kind of special so I decided to start looking for a new dress for the occasion.

A few weeks before the event Andy broke the news to me that unlike what we had assumed, he wasn't sure I would be invited. We had just assumed I would be a part of things since I always am when guests come. This was a little different though...a meeting for the board of education and they just wanted to have it in our new building. Elders Gong and Renlund and Sister Johnson wanted to meet and have lunch with some of the student leaders and do a very short devotional for the student body but other than that they would just be in meetings all day. Andy was very stressed about making sure everything was in order and prepared for them. They announced the devotional a few days before the event and Andy got a call from the new commissioner's office and was basically chewed out for publicizing it even though they had been told they could make it public....were they supposed to not publicize it and have no one show up?

Anyway, it was kind of a thing.

Also a couple of days before, Andy told me he still didn't know if I was invited. I told him not to ask and I would just assume I was not.

He told me to still come to the devotional even though I wouldn't be on the stand like usual. It was only supposed to be half an hour and honestly, for my birthday, it sounded more pleasant to just stay home and do what I wanted to do rather than running around in the middle of the day for a 30 minute devotional.

I almost stayed home but realized I didn't want Andy to feel unsupported in this big event that he had spent so much time and effort on so I went with Matt. We got there before the doors were supposed to open and found the event space to be completely packed already! It was raining and they felt bad for the long lines of students waiting to get in so they opened the doors early.

There were a few rows up front that were reserved. That's where Andy had told us to sit but I felt bad since literally no one else was sitting there yet. I thought other members of the faculty would have their family members sitting there but apparently not...Matt and I took a seat and eventually a group of a few girls came and sat next to us...I don't know how they got to sit there but the one right next to Matt was super friendly and she chatted with him for quite a while since we had almost an hour to wait.

I tried to get a picture of just how full it was but I wish I would have had Elder Checketts take it for me and get a higher view to show the depth of the crowd.

The choir had the opportunity to sing for the guests during their lunch so they came walking in a short while before it started...

Another attempt of trying to see how crowded it was but I was too embarrassed to really get a good shot.

The student leaders that had been at the luncheon came in and sat in our area and then Andy walked in with all of the distinguished guests. It was hard to get a good picture of them without being obvious.

I think this is just how Andy looks on the stand when an apostle comes...worried :)

The devotional went well. We started 5 minutes early and ended 5 minutes early. All three of the guests spoke and kept it very short.

Clint Mortensen came over afterward and wished me a happy birthday.

I can't remember what else I did that day.

At the beginning of the month, Andy had gone and visited Mike Lindhardt at his home.

He was dying of cancer.

He had been my advisor when I was the Classroom Enrichment Committee VP on LDSSA my junior year of college (also while I was dating Andy)

He was assigned elsewhere not long after and ended up in the south as a mission president about 8 years ago while his son in law was in Andy's preservice program.

They learned he had cancer and sent him home early for treatment. He was doing really well when he rejoined the Logan Institute faculty the same year Andy was made the director.

He did great for about 3 years and then, last year around the holidays, he started going downhill.

Andy had a precious experience with him during this visit. He passed away a few days later and we attended his funeral a few days before my birthday.

He was such a good man and I love this picture!

Matt had a pair of jeans that had a rip he wanted to repair. I helped him find a video that showed him how. He did it and then got super interested in all kinds of other ideas of what to do with jeans!

He acquired an old sewing machine from T and started experimenting.