This time when we drove out, we stopped a little more than halfway and stayed the night at the Marriott in Elko. It was nice to not drive the whole way in one sitting and the promise of getting to go swimming really helped the girls. We've never stayed in a hotel, all four of us, and it was actually super fun! The girls loved swimming and thought it was so cool that they got their own bed and that the hotel gave us toothbrushes since I left theirs at home on accident. Hannah was bouncing of the walls, she was so excited (or at least the bed) and all Hazel wanted was to cuddle up with a pillow and blanky. The girls went right to sleep (thank you swimming pool!) and so Aaron and I stayed up and watched a movie. Thankfully, we all slept well until Hazel fell off the bed at about 6 a.m., poor thing. It was a little snowy on the rest of our drive, but luckily we made it to Utah safe and sound. We were all very happy to be out of the car and I was very excited to not hear "Mom..." literally every five seconds.
We spent Saturday afternoon helping my family get ready for the farewell. We made cookies and Hannah was a good helper and helped Grandpa Kevon clean. It was fun to just hang out and talk and catch up. That night, we had dinner with the Bytheways. We went to Zupa's (man, I miss that place) and I was in Nuts About Berries Heaven.
The next day was Amanda's farewell. She gave a great talk and also played a song on the cello, which was gorgeous. #showoff Jk, Amanda, I love you. I loved hearing her testimony and excitement about sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Afterward, we had lots of family and friends over, ate way too much food, played Octopus 8 and Mafia with the cousins, and talked and talked. I love big family gatherings like that. It's one of the things I miss most about Utah - everyone getting together and not really doing anything, but just having fun.
That night, we stole over to the Bytheways for a bit. It was Trish's birthday a few weeks ago, so we got to participate in our tradition of saying something we love about whoever's birthday it is. I just love Trish! She is the world's best mother-in-law and I'm so grateful for her. Here's a picture of her that shows exactly who she is - an amazing grandma making all of the kids feel special by letting them help her with everything.
Monday morning we were able to go to the Provo Temple Open House. I've been dreaming of going to this since this temple was announced - I went to stake conference in the tabernacle before it caught fire, I watched it burn on my way to work in 2010, and I lived just blocks away from it while it was being rebuilt - so it was a real treat to be able to see the gorgeous finished product. It was also so neat to be there with my family and to be able to share what the inside of a temple looks like with Hannah. She was especially excited about the sealing rooms where people get married. :) Her other favorite part was the umbrellas that they let us use.
On our way back from Provo, we stopped to see Brooke and Scott, their new apartment, and their new puppy Maslow! Hannah and Hazel loved eating all of their food. :) Thanks to Brooke, I now know how to train my children. Whenever I want them to listen to me, I've been having them pretend that they're Maslow and they're much more obedient that normal...
Monday was also the day of selfies where we came up with this gem.... (and some cute ones)...
Monday night we celebrated Trish's birthday with pizza benders from Italian village. Again, it was just a laid back night of hanging out and being together. Somehow I didn't even get a picture of Trish blowing out the candles though.
Tuesday was a low key day, which was nice. Aaron went snowboarding with his dad and Allie, Brooke, and Scott. So Hannah went to preschool with my mom and Hazel and I helped Amanda pack and ran some errands. It was good to get a little sister time in before saying goodbye.
In the afternoon, we went up to Siegfried's for some Deutsch essen. We tried bratwurst, weisswurst, spaetzel, saurkraut, fried potatoes, etc. The best part was definitely the German Chocolate cake. Yum. Here's our girl with her German food:
Amanda's setting apart was amazing and it was my favorite part of our trip. Her stake president invited all of us to say something if we wanted to so it kind of just turned into a family testimony meeting. I'm convinced there is nothing better than being with your family and hearing their faith in and testimony of Jesus Christ and His Atonement. I just wish Heidi and Dave could have been there. Before Amanda's setting apart, I had been worrying about a lot of things - our house that still hasn't rented, upcoming Turnaround at Aaron's work, saying goodbye to Amanda for 18 months, etc, but while she was being set apart I could not feel anything but peace. The doubt and fears and worries were cast out and the Spirit was so strong. It was a beautiful experience I will never forget. There was a lot of ugly crying. :)
I'm so grateful that we were able to go out to Utah and be there this week. This was one of my favorite trips back to Utah. Aaron and I are so blessed to have such wonderful families. I'm especially grateful for Amanda. She's always been my buddy and its going to be hard to not be with her for the next year and a half. But I know what she is doing will bless our family, will bless her own life, and will bless the many lives that she will touch as she teaches the gospel in Germany.
I know the gospel of Jesus Christ brings us real joy. I am grateful for His Atonement that allows me to change and grow and become more like Him. And I know that any sacrifice we make for Him and His church will never compare to all that He's done for us. I feel pretty lucky right now.
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