Alta vs Bingham

 I love how Will is looking in his football uniform! He's starting to fill out and is looking good! :)

 The Bingham game ended up being a bit different! Because we had so many injuries on the varsity team, and the JV was needed to fill the positions, we didn't have enough boys to field a full JV team. So the JV and Sophomore teams ended up playing together. It was "interesting"! These guys had never practiced together, so it was a bit rough to watch, but the good news is that Will played a bit of JV! Hahaha!

 Bingham is ranked nationally right now and they have a great program, so we didn't go into it expecting to win- and we didn't. But with each game these boys have learned a lot and you can see the improvement! Will has gone up against some REALLY big guys but hasn't been afraid! I can't believe how quick he can be at times getting through the offensive line.

 He had another great game and is learning a lot! This is a shot where you can see him break through the line....

He ran right through! Nice job Will!! Keep up the GREAT work!! Go get 'em!!!

Missionary phone call & Letters...

On September 22nd Carter was off to the airport to fly out to Orlando. He left the MTC in the very early morning hours and hopped on to a commuter train called "Frontrunner" and then caught the light rail train out to the airport. We had initially wanted to meet him out at the airport, but after emails and a letter from him, he told us it would be best if we didn't. I will admit I was VERY bummed, but I also understood. He was just getting to where he wasn't very homesick and seeing us could set him back. So instead of going out there we were able to talk to him on the phone! What a blessing!!!

 We had mailed him a phone card and were able to visit with him on the phone for about 30 minutes. He sounded WONDERFUL and very happy! He told us briefly about his time in the MTC and how glad he was to finally be going out to Florida! It was tough on him to be so close to home, but loved the emails, letters and the cookies we had sent to him there. He LOVED the people there and said he learned a lot. He told us he would be letting us know when he arrived safely in Florida. We told each other we loved one another and that was it! We were all able to participate in the phone call because I had him on speaker so Brianne and Will could hear- and Chan was conferenced in on the call so he was a part of it too.

Later that night I got an email from him and all it said was "I MADE IT!!!!!!!" and that he would be writing us soon. His mission has a website and after a few weeks we found this posted on there. This is all of the missionaries that came the same day as him. And the picture on top is of Carter and his current companion Elder Bagshaw! Aren't they CUTE! That following week was a rough one for me. My mind kept worrying about all kinds of things! Did he forget anything, did he get the box of items I sent, was he handling the schedule okay, was riding the bike going alright......... and on and on. I just needed to know he was doing okay! That following Monday when his email came was a HUGE relief! He never skipped a beat! He went right out and hit the ground running! He is doing amazing and loves it there! Such a blessing! Now I relish in his weekly emails and letters- I love them all! They bring such peace and MUCH JOY! Yay for missionaries!!

Girls Concert Trip!

 The week after Carter left Brianne and I left on a girls trip! This trip had been in the making for over a year! Brianne is a HUGE One Direction fan and we bought her concert tickets to see them.... in Arizona! Chan and I both have family there so we figured why not!

 So we hopped on a plane and got a rental car and off we went! But since it's where I grew up I had to take the opportunity to drive her to all the places I lived and show her my schools etc! By the time we got to see the Mesa Temple she was done with driving and wanted to go to the house where we were staying at- Chan's aunt Jill and Uncle Joe's home.

 Brianne is familiar with them because we have boated with their family at Lake Powell and she knows their girls- Ashley and Nicole- really well! So we went to their home and relaxed for a bit and then decided we wanted to see a movie! So we went and saw "If I stay" a great chick flick! :)

 After that we went back to their home and waited for the girls to get home from school. Once they got home we had a great time visiting and had a lovely dinner with all of them that night. The next day we decided to take it easy so we spent a couple hours outside playing in their pool before showering and getting ready for the concert! Chan's cousins daughter was also going so we met up with her (Andrea) her Mom (Tara) her Grandma (Kris) and one of Andrea's friends for dinner before the concert. (pictured above) It was fun to catch up with all of them and to fill up our bellies before heading to the concert!

 We walked from the restaurant to the stadium and it was HUGE!!!!! The closer we got the more amazing it was! I'm not one to be impressed by a stadium but I was blown away by this one! Can't you just SEE the excitement in her face! She was LIT UP!! She had a calendar on her wall of her room counting down the days to this concert! She even saved money to buy merchandise! :)

 This was one of her purchases! But I have to admit when all the people were waving them in time it was pretty cool! 5 seconds of summer was the opening act and they were great and MAN WAS IT LOUD! An arena FULL of girls screaming their guts out! I'm telling you that you can't even imagine what that is like! :)

 When One Direction finally made it out they put on a fantastic show! They sounded exactly like they do on their albums. They did one encore but it was over the top! One funny thing that happened was that Harry Styles asked if it was any one's birthday- and of course several girls began to scream that it was theirs. He pointed out one girl near the stage and asked her name so they could sing her happy birthday. Her name was BRIANNE!!! Isn't that crazy!! The whole stadium sang happy birthday Brianne!! What are the odds of THAT??!!!!

 After the concert she was talking 90 miles an hour as we crawled out of the parking lot, but as soon as we hit the freeway she was OUT!! All that excitement pooped her out! We didn't get back to their home until VERY late! I wanna say it was 1 in the morning!

The next day we slept in! We were both pretty pooped! And our flight didn't leave until 1:30 or so. It was a good thing because Brianne was so sad it was all over! She was dragging that day and kept saying how she didn't have anything else to look forward to now! Good grief!! I kept telling her to focus on the FUN we had and how AWESOME the concert was! Our last stop before hitting the airport was Fuzzy's Taco Shop in Tempe. Another one of Chan's cousins manages them and we thought it would be fun to try out! It was really good! The perfect ending to a super fun trip! I am sure if Brianne had her way we would travel to wherever One Direction is NEXT year too! Hahaha! But seriously we had a blast! I guess you could say I was an honorary "Directioner"!

Alta Sophomores vs Jordan!

 After Carter left I was worried about how Will would do with football. His brother had been there with him ALL SUMMER and helping him along. Well..... I shouldn't have worried at all! This was one of the first games Will played after Carter left on his mission and all I could say is WOW!!

 You can see it in his eyes in this picture! He was on fire! He got a fumble recovery, he sacked the quarterback and stepped in to play offensive line after one of his friends got a nasty hit that left him with a concussion. He was doing everything right how he should!

 The team didn't win the game, but they played amazing and showed a lot of fight! We didn't get killed either- it was a great game!

 After the game Will was called over to the coach- and let me just preface this by saying he had 2 goals at the start of this season.. 1.) to be asked to dress in a varsity game and 2.) to sack the Jordan quarterback. When he was called over he had already tackled goal #2 (pun intended) and after talking to Coach Schuck was asked to dress and that next days varsity game!!!! IT WAS AWESOME!!!

 That next day he was able to participate in the team dinner and was able to dress with the varsity team as they played Jordan High School for the first annual Mayor's cup at Rio Tinto Stadium! He is #59!

 He didn't get any varsity time on the field but he didn't care! Being there on the sidelines was a huge honor for him and one he had worked hard for!

 Alta didn't win this game either, but they played a hard fight!! There was several points during the game that I thought we might win!

For Will the most important thing is that he achieved his goals! AND he dressed varsity earlier than his brother did!! BONUS!! He was so excited to write Carter and tell him all about it! We are so proud of him and how hard he is working! We know they'll be more big games to come! :)

Tammy's wedding!

 In one week after Carter's Farewell Tammy met this guy here... Matthew Prows. She met him on an online dating site. They spoke via the site only a few times before he asked for her phone number.

  After getting her phone number they spoke on the phone daily and met for the first time that next weekend. It was only about 2 weeks later that they were engaged and we were out looking for wedding dresses! WHAT?!!!

 I always told her that she would find a guy and get married but since many years had passed and she was now living with her Dad at the age of 42- she didn't think it was going to happen! I could tell when she first told me about him on the phone that they would get married! I could hear it in her voice! She was different with him- she was her authentic self!

 The last 10 years have been rough on her. I have helped her though some pretty yucky stuff and I feel I know her better than anyone. She is truly like a sister to me! I was thrilled when she told me she was getting married and couldn't wait to meet Matt- I knew he was going to be a special guy!

 We were able to spend time with both of them when she came up to purchase her wedding dress. They both came over for dinner and we could SEE for ourselves how happy they BOTH were. They fit together so well! Matt lives up here in Herriman and Tammy still lives in St George, so they are going to commute to each other for a while until Tammy's school year is over and they can move her up north.

I am SOOOO excited for them both! The wedding was simple and beautiful!

 It's amazing what the Lord will do if you just wait for HIS timing! It may have been a long wait for her, but well worth the wait!!

Congratulations my friend!! I can't wait for you to move north and be up by our family! We love you!

The day has come...

 On Wednesday September 10th Carter was due to report to the MTC. On this day we kept Will and Brianne home from school. There was NO WAY that I was going to make them miss this! We didn't have to be there until around 1pm so we took our time gathering Carter's things and making sure he had EVERYTHING he needed. Funny story... as we were getting ready to bring all his things out to the truck I was putting his debit card etc in his wallet when I asked him where his temple recommend was. He told me where it was and then I replied that the one he mentioned was his OLD one... hmmmm....

 We spent the next few minutes frantically looking for it! Even texting the bishop to find out what we'd do if we couldn't find it! Thankfully, after a prayer was offered, he thought to check his suit pants in his suitcase. We found it there... thankfully...where he had left it! Once that was handled and Carter said goodbye to Dakota, who spent a while with us that morning, we all piled in the truck and went to breakfast at Ihop. We had a delicious breakfast and watched Carter text and snapchat MANY friends all morning! Handing over the phone hadn't happened yet! Haha!

 With our tummies now full it was time to head south to Provo! I had to take one last "car selfie" on our way! Soon there would only be 4....

 On our ride to Provo Carter put out his last Snapchat story! Both of these pictures were in it!

 When we arrived to the Provo temple grounds there was this HUGE grass area and a parking lot. We found a good spot to park and I HAD to get a picture by this sign! It was just too funny! There were several families all there with their missionaries and ALL of us were waiting for our turn to drop off our boys.

 All of the families had their cameras and were snapping loads of pictures... just like me! I wanted to have some pictures of the kids together etc so that I could cherish it while he's away. The one below is currently my desktop on my computer. It makes me happy :)

 We walked all over the lawn and were admiring the weather and the beautiful scenery! I had never been to that temple before and had NO IDEA how stunning that canyon is by the temple. As the time to leave grew near I saw Chan grab Carter to give him a hug and tell him how proud he was. It was then that I saw the tears in Chan's eye's and that's when mine wouldn't stop flowing. I hugged him and just cried.... he held me so tight and I could tell (without words) that he was trying to be brave.

 As I write this I have tears running down my cheeks- it was so tough to say goodbye. I had SO MUCH more I wanted to say! There was so much more I could have taught etc etc etc! After my hug it was Will and Brianne's turn- we knew this would be the better time to say our official "goodbyes". With each hug Carter didn't say very much and when he did he tried to make us laugh... again trying to be brave for the family, but I knew he was struggling too.

 We climbed back in the truck and drove the short distance to the MTC. It was here that it all became VERY real! The church is amazingly organized and as we drove in they directed us to our area to drop off. As we drove alongside the curb it was covered with missionaries with their name tags on smiling and welcoming the new arrivals. Carter pointed out one shortly before we stopped saying he knew him! We put the truck in park and had a sweet missionary greet us and help us get out his bags. By this time the missionary he recognized from his high school had made it over to him and was giving him a big hug!

This is when he said "okay bud it's time to go". By now I couldn't control my tears... I hugged him tight and he reassured me and said, "I'll be back before you know it" and "I love you"! I didn't want to let him go! But I turned and got inside the truck with my family and we drove away. THAT WAS THE HARDEST THING I'VE EVER DONE!! Our Stake President the night before told us it was going to feel as if we had just left a funeral, boy was he RIGHT! I just couldn't stop crying!! Brianne was struggling too, Chan had his moments, but Will was so strong! He was the sunshine that day- just happy and sweet. Our family was showered with thoughtful messages, texts and sweet treats that day. I went home and went to bed for a bit! I was emotionally exhausted!! We all were to some degree! I am so thankful that I had Chan and the kids to lean on- to make me smile! Will even put on you tube videos of babies laughing to get me to laugh! It was so sweet! The most important thing about that day wasn't that I was sad, because I wasn't "sad". The emotions of the day came from IMMENSE pride! Yes, I will struggle with not being able to speak to him or to hug him, but I know without a doubt that he is where he is supposed to be!  He is a special spirit and is going to help so many people find Christ! And we will receive blessings because of HIS service! I do miss him, EVERY DAY, and our home is much quieter and different without his presence, but more than anything I am a VERY proud missionary Mom. See you in two...

Temple Time!

 I almost forgot to write about Carter's first temple experience! What an awesome thing it is to take your child through the temple for their first time! WOW! He was SOOOOO excited to go too!

 We have talked about it so much at home that he was MORE THAN ready to attend. Chan was his escort and we also had Bishop Fitt, his wife Karen and his daughter Kim who attended with us. We went to the Draper temple, which is our home temple, so he also was helped by one of our Ward members, Brother Matthews, during his time that night. Watching him that evening I could tell he was just soaking it all in. He didn't seem overwhelmed a bit! And he wasn't! It was a wonderful experience and afterward we went out to dinner together and got to celebrate!

A few weeks later Carter and Jaden went to the Oquirrh Mountain temple to do a session together. They snapped this classic selfie afterwards! Such great examples!

Last few days with Carter

 On September 9th I took the day off work because I HAD to spend a day with my son! I knew that the 10th was going to be hard and I just wanted to spend the day with him and have some FUN! We started our day off at the bank... yuck... but had to be done! Then we were off to meet Chan to have some lunch :)

 We grabbed Dad and went next door to Red Rock to have some yummy food! And I swear that the waitress was flirting with Carter, and he was giving it right back! Hilarious! We were laughing a lot and giving Carter a lot of grief about how hard it was going to be to give up his phone! He was on it A TON the last few days before he left! Then we were off to a movie! Carter and I really wanted to see "When the Game Stands Tall" which is a football movie that had come out weeks earlier. It was the PERFECT ending to our day together! It was a GREAT show with a great message! Once that was over it was time to pick up Brianne from school and get home and prepare for his setting apart.

 You can see in his face how excited he was! It was so incredible to have the entire Stake Presidency and our Bishopric at our home! WOW! They are all wonderful men and superior examples of living the gospel. We were able to sit for a few minutes and visit with them and they asked Chan, Myself and Bishop to bear our testimonies. That was rough... I had bore my testimony the Sunday before and explained how the Lord had given me peace and how grateful I was for the gospel and the knowledge it gives. I literally could NOT let him go if I didn't have that. Then Chan spoke of the example that Carter has been for our family and how HIS testimony was strengthened from him. And all the comments given that night were incredible- especially the setting apart itself.

 Once that blessing was given he was official and we couldn't let him out of our sight! We assigned Will to be his buddy :) We spent the rest of the evening with Carter as he said goodbye to a couple friends!

 Will and Brianne are so proud of their brother! Can't you just SEE it!

 And what a pleasure it was to have Jaden with us that night! He and Carter have been friends since 4th grade! He was one of the first friends Carter made when we moved to Sandy! He was able to participate in his setting apart and will JOIN Carter in the same exact mission! He goes out about a month after Carter arrives! It was unreal! These two will be awesome together! I hope they get that opportunity to be companions!

Going to sleep that night was like Christmas! I had a hard time falling asleep because I was going over everything that was going to happen the next day! But as I said earlier, the Lord is amazing and he has given both Chan and I the strength we need to let go of this amazing kid! He is going to bless SO MANY lives! We are truly blessed to be his parents!