Sunday with the Gibbons

Another fantastic Sunday in Moscow! I went to the International branch to meet up with President and Sister Gibbons and be introduced to their friend, Artyom. He showed up a bit into the meeting, sat down, reached across Sister Gibbons to shake my hand and said, "Hello Kimberly!" After the meeting, and after talking to Dr. Lundberg, I went over to where he and the Gibbons were. President Gibbons asked if we had met each other yet, and as I went to say that we had met briefly, Artyom threw his arm around my waist, pulled me into him and said, "Don't we make a good pair already? She's beautiful! She is taking me to America and getting me a visa!" "Ah, yes, President, didn't I tell you?" I joked. Artyom kept grabbing me and hugging me throughout the day and telling me I was beautiful. I would just kind of laugh.

We had some great lessons in Sunday school and Relief Society--fast Sundays are great! Then it was off to have pancakes at the Gibbons! Artyom was to meet up with us, and as I was the only one who spoke Russian, it was left to me to explain this at the gate. It must have worked, because within 15 minutes Artyom was at the door. And with him--red caviar.

We sat and ate cashews and drank peach juice while we waited to be seated at the dining table. President Gibbons brought us in the delicious pancakes, hot off the grill. I covered my first with maple syrup, bananas and pecans--delicious!!

By pancake #2, it was time to try the caviar. I put a spoonful of it on my pancake and bit into it. The little eggs popped in my mouth as I bit in to them, their salty exteriors filling my mouth. I got the first bite down, just in time to have Artyom turn to me and say, "Well, aren't you going to try any caviar?" "I just did! I just barely ate it." "Well, I didn't see you!" And with that, he heaped two large spoonfuls onto the other half of my pancake. I cut off a piece containing half the caviar, put it up to my mouth, turned to Artyom and said, "Are you watching?" Then I scooped it into my mouth with a loud "YUMMMM" and a laugh. He laughed good naturedly, and I thought okay, I got down two bites, but one more? hmmmm.... So I quickly ate down the next one, and tried to keep my face from showing any sign that I less than loved it. At least I didn't call it "that stuff" as Sister Hall had, which made us all laugh.

After dinner was over, Artyom had to leave to meet with his parents at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior for the Holy Trinity holiday. He said goodbye to all, and kissed me on the cheek. President and Sister Gibbons, Elder and Sister Hall, and I decided to play a game--a tradition in the Gibbons' home. We played 25 words or less. The first time I had played and I loved it!

President Gibbons found out I have a competitive side as he and I went out to bargain for the card and who would play. We were on opposite teams, and it was our team to represent our teams. "I think I can describe these 5 words using 15 clues." "Well, I think I can do it in 14," he replied. Without missing a beat, I sad, "13." "12," he said. "11," I fired back. He paused and deliberated. I thought I had him if he made one more bid. "10," he said. "It's yours." He tried to get me to take it. "Would you want it for 10?" he asked. "Nope, this one's all you." If he couldn't describe the 5 words on the card using 10 words or less, in 1.5 minutes, my team would win the round. We did :)

For a different round, Sister Hall and I were each representing our teams. President Gibbons called out, "Don't let her have it for more than 9 clues!" "Hey, isn't that cheating?" I joked. As Sister Hall and I looked over the card, she said, "I can describe it in 20." "I can in 19." "Okay, do it," she said. When we walked in, I told them I had won the bid for the card. "How much?" President Gibbons asked. "19," I smiled. "You let her take it for 19?!" "Never send Sister Hall into negotiate," Elder Hall said with a chuckle.

Sister Gibbons and Elder Hall made great teammates--I only had to give one and two-word clues for Sister Gibbons to pick up the word! Between the three of us, we played a fairly nice game.

Sister and Elder Gibbons were obviously pros at the game, and it was really fun playing with them! Team Sister Gibbons/Kimberly/Elder Hall almost had a sweep of the game with 4 cards to 1.

President Gibbons gave us a ride home, and we thanked him for the game and food. This morning when I came into the office, President Gibbons said, "You know what I realized? We should have had you over a lot earlier and a lot more often for games." "haha You probably saw a side of me you hadn't really expected." "That's the Kimberly that we like!" he said. President and Sister Gibbons are so amazing! They will really be missed here in the office. They will be leaving at the beginning of July for their new assignment in Salt Lake City. I can tell they will miss it here as well.

I forgot to add that at one point in the kitchen, after Artyom had left, President Gibbons looked me in the eye and said in a fatherly voice, "Now I don't want you going out with him. In fact, I'm telling you not to. You should invite him to activities with Church members. I don't want you dating him until I have known him for a couple more years! He's a great guy, but I don't know him well enough." He's already known him for three years. "Okay, got it. I'm sure my dad will appreciate that. And my mom, too," I said with a smile.