Mexico MTC

My Birthday

For my birthday Nate surprised me with a trip to Las Vegas to see Lionel Richie!! I LOVE Lionel Richie! It was such an emotional week, it was nice to have a distraction. We had so much fun--like more fun than I think we've ever had. And we've had a lot of fun. It was amazing. The hotel was so nice, I got to wear a new dress, and Lionel Richie was so, so good. I don't deserve all the spoiling I get from Nate, and my kids. They were so nice to let us go, especially when it had been a hard week for them too. We may have also bought a car while we were down there... It wasn't what we had planned but it was kind of exciting. We didn't drive it home, we decided to have it shipped to us. So we also decided to keep it quiet until it came. It was a quick trip--just one night and then we went straight to another concert in Deer Valley. I bought tickets to that concert months before and we didn't want to give the tickets away, so we went. While we were there, right when they started playing the song "Angels Among Us," Lia called. It was just a short call to let us know she made it to the Mexico MTC, but we were SO happy to hear from her! I cried through the whole call, but it was so good to talk to her! It was a great Birthday!!

 

Beginning of August

At the beginning of August, I took Laura and Megan school shopping with Audrey, Lucy, and Nora. Laura also went to Park City with her friends Ella, Anna, and Madelyn, and we got our first pictures from Lia from the Mexico MTC.

Lia Leaving

After two weeks of home MTC, it was time for Lia to go. I loved home MTC and was sad to see it end, but she was ready to go. On her last full day before she left, she and Laura did some yoga that morning, she had a few classes, and then we finished getting her packed up. Nate's mom and dad came over to say goodbye and helped us get her the rest of the way packed. And then they left and Lia had a few things for us and we had a little gift for her too. And then Nate gave her and everyone else who wanted one a blessing. Lia's notes and pictures for everyone were so sweet! I didn't want the night to end because I knew we'd have to say goodbye in the morning. We were up late getting all the last minute things finished and then we were up early the next morning to take her to the airport. The airport was miserable. I mean truly miserable. We had no idea how hard it was going to be. Everyone was out of sorts and saying goodbye was so, so hard. Nate said when we got home that he's never felt his covenants tested like they were that day sending our daughter out into the world. We knew it was the right thing for her and that it would be a blessing for her and our family, but it was so hard saying goodbye. We had a few tender mercies like the girl who met up with her after she left us and walked to her gate with her and took a picture of the two of them and sent it to us. And another missionary we were able to find to deliver a letter that we forgot to give Lia to read on her way. He was on Lia's same flight and after we got to the car and realized we forgot to give her the letter, we ran back in and thankfully found this missionary. And we had several family members and friends and neighbors who reached out to us that day. But man, I am not looking forward to doing that again!

Second Week of Home MTC

Lia's second week of home MTC was full of goodbyes. Addie, Ellie, my Mom, my Dad, Jessica, the Farmers, the Nelsons (who we saw again after that), the Barsons, the Elmers, Cam's family, and one more time with the Nelsons. It was a little bit of a whirlwind, but we really appreciated everyone taking the time to come over and get together.