Daniel's Home, Crush Golf, Senior Trip, FSY, Mission Shopping, Spiderman, USU Visit, Stolen

The last two weeks have been a whirlwind. Here's what we have been up to. 

We had our last P-day call with Daniel two weeks ago. It was crazy to know that we were going to see him soon. Josh joined from his FSY job and Sarah joined from her Senior Trip, but they didn't join at the same time. 

Matthew had his area bowling tournament for Special Olympics. He did amazing. He bowled a 226 and earned the gold medal. He was supposed to go to the State competition, but since he has gone to State so many times, they let some other athletes go instead for this time. Matthew was a bit disappointed, but ultimately was okay with it.

My niece Tess got married two weeks ago up in Logan. It was a great ceremony and they seem happy. 

The Sunday before we were able to go to her brother's missionary farewell at church. He will be serving in Columbia, South Carolina Spanish Speaking. Their family had some big happenings during that week.

We tried out the new Crush golf. It is very similar to Top Golf, but a lot closer to us. It was fun, but I think we still prefer Top Golf.

Matthew had his last week of Camp Kostopulos. He gets to do three separate Monday through Saturday sleep away camp weeks. He was excited to go back. All the staff remembered him as we walked in to check in. Matthew was pretty excited about that. Here is one of his counselors that wanted to get a picture with him:

Sarah was able to go on a friends Senior Trip. They went down to St. George for a few days and had a lot of fun. Here's a few pictures from her trip she shared with us:

While Sarah was gone, Aaron picked up an extra temple shift on a Tuesday. Noah and I decided to go and do some baptisms so we could go and see him. That was the first time I have been able to see Aaron as a worker at the temple since he worked in the baptistry that shift. It was pretty cool.

When she got back we went and did some mission shopping the next day. I don't have any pictures besides these shoes from that day, but we did a lot of mission shopping. 

Sarah has most of her clothing for her mission. We just have all the other things we still need to pick up.

It is coming up sooner that I think so we are trying to prepare.

A funny thing that happened is that Sarah drove to a friend's house to hang out. Her and her friend decided to go swimming with another person. That other person drove to the pool. We ended up picking Sarah up from the pool to go mission shopping. All that happened on a Saturday. Sunday morning Sarah was leaving to go to the YSA ward. She walked outside and then came back inside asking where the white Camry was. I looked at Aaron and he looked at me and neither one of us had driven it. Josh hadn't been around that week to drive it and Noah said he didn't take it anywhere. We were then freaking out thinking it had gotten stolen. We were getting ready to call the police to report it when Aaron asked Sarah the last time she had driven it. She thought about it then got a bit sheepish. She said she had driven it to her friend's house when they got together to go swimming and left it there. Phew! Thankfully, when Aaron and Noah drove over to her friend's house it was still parked there safe and sound. That gave us some excitement that morning for sure--haha!

Matthew's old high school teacher still keeps in touch with Matthew. She likes to take him out to lunch with her daughters every so often. She scheduled a lunch date with him a few Saturdays ago. Matthew was so excited to see her, her daughter's and meet her new fiancé. She has been so great with Matthew. I am grateful for all the people that love Matthew.

Daniel had his last few days in the mission. The day before they were going to fly home they all got to do a session at the Winter Quarters temple.  Here's all the missionaries that were going home:

All the elders:

Yay!

It was finally time to pick up Daniel from the airport. His flight got in at 9:40am. We made sure we had some signs ready for him:

That first hug is awesome!!

It is nice to have him home:

Since Daniel's flight was early in the morning in order to get to the airport all the missionaries had to get up at 3 am. Daniel was tired!! Josh couldn't get off from his job at FSY to come to the airport so we decided to drive down to Provo to BYU campus so Josh and Daniel could see each other. Daniel fell asleep on the way down to Provo.

It was awesome to have everyone together for the first time in two years:

Josh was able to take a quick 20 minute break to come and visit with us before he had to go back to work.

We then went out to lunch. We let Daniel pick and he chose Cafe Rio. YUM!!

We then stopped by to see Grandma T:

Then we stopped by to visit Miles, our nephew. He had just started Home MTC two days before. It was cool to get a picture of both missionaries in the family--one returning and one just starting out.

We did put up a banner in the front yard:

It took Sophie a minute to warm up to Daniel:

Then the unpacking kind of started. Daniel had mailed home a 35 pound box of stuff he didn't want to lug around in his luggage the week before. He just wanted to make sure all of it made it home. Sarah wanted to see what clothes she was going to be able to 'borrow' from Daniel in the next few months before she leaves.

Daniel's girlfriend's family dropped by some Twisted Sugar Cookies welcoming him home which was awesome:

Daniel then set up a temple endowment session with two other returning missionaries. They wanted to all do a session together before they got released. Then they hit up Thurgood Ice Cream while they were still missionaries to enjoy the free ice cream. After that it was time to meet with the Stake President to be released as a missionary. It was a full, but wonderful day.

The next day I had to go to work, but everyone else was able to go do some baptisms at the temple:

After work we all went to see the new Spiderman movie. It was great!

Noah had picked up a 4pm-1 am shift at Little Caesar's so he wasn't able to join us unfortunately. He needed the money since he will be going on tour with band this spring to New York, and it is a bit pricey. He picked up another 4pm-1 am shift the next night, too. He was exhausted but pretty excited about his next pay check. Anyway, the movie was great.

The next day Josh was in transition between his FSY at BYU and his last FSY week at UVU so he had the whole Saturday off. He rode Frontrunner up to our house. We then drove up the Utah State in Logan to show Daniel where his apartment is and walked around campus to see where the different buildings were.

Walking around campus--Daniel, me and Josh:

We did stop by and get some yummy Aggie Ice cream before we drove home. Josh and Daniel both fell asleep on the drive home:

Josh then rode Frontrunner back down to UVU to start his last week of FSY for this summer. He did share a few pictures from his last few weeks at FSY with us, though. He spent two weeks in Flagstaff, Arizona. In between the two weeks his group of FSY counselors and area coordinators were supposed to meet up at the reservoir and go cliff jumping like they did last year. Josh rented a car, but didn't put in the right coordinates. The people in his car didn't realize they didn't have the right coordinates until they were driving down a rocky, dirt road in the middle of nowhere by no water. They then realized their mistake and turned around. They ended up going to IHOP for food instead so it wasn't a total loss. He will have done 9 weeks of FSY assistant Area Coordinator and counseling by then end of summer. He is exhausted, but glad he was able to work it again this year. This is his 3rd year doing it and he has been a lot of places--Arizona, Provo, Missouri, Iowa, Texas, Salt Lake, and Orem. I am sure I am missing a few other places, but it has been a good experience.

Sarah was excited to get Daniel home and to go to the YSA ward with him Sunday morning. However, they had some excitement on their way to church--they go pulled over. We haven't gotten the new license plates for that car yet so, thankfully, it was just a warning. I am glad it wasn't for speeding. Our car insurance rates are crazy now we have all the kids back on our policy again. YIKES!

Sarah has been attending Mission Prep Sundays after church. This past week she was excited to meet the 'BOM' socks guy. She didn't know that we used to live in the same ward and are still in the same Stake as he is. That was funny especially when he told her he remembered when she was born--haha! That birth story was quite memorable--haha!

Aaron went on a business trip to Alaska a few weeks ago. He did share some pictures of a bear that crossed the road in front of their car and a huge moose that was off to the side of the road:

4th of July, Testing, Prayers, FSY, Car, Eye Infection, Speech, Fun Run, Parade

We have been keeping busy. Here's what we have been up to during the last three weeks.

For the 4th of July we all decided to run the local 5k run--that is everyone, but Sarah who said she wanted to sleep in. Fair enough. So Aaron, me, Matthew, Josh and Noah all got up early and ran the 5k.  Here's Aaron about to cross the finish line:

It was a bit rough for Sarah and Josh since they had gotten back from FSY at midnight of July 4th. Sarah went as a participant and Josh was working there as an Assistant Area Coordinator down at BYU. They weren't in the same session, but were at least in the same location so they were able to drive home together.

Right after finishing the race we headed back home to get dressed for the parade. We entered Matthew the Human GPS float in the parade. Matthew tends to bolt and not look around at his surroundings. This makes it easier to keep him contained. So Aaron drives the truck, Matthew sits in the back with Sarah and Josh this year where they threw candy to the parade watchers:

Matthew's new group home manager was there and took this picture of Matthew in the parade. Matthew LOVES doing this every year:

Noah and I did the community Band again this year. Noah played the bass drum and I did the flute.

After the parade we went to the Party at the Point and got us some seats at BINGO. We did not win anything this year, but that was okay. Noah was walking around with his friends while we were waiting for BINGO to start so that's why he is missing from this picture.

We did have to leave a bit early because Sarah and Noah had to go to work afterward. Sarah at her care center and Noah at Little Caesar's.

Later that evening we went to a local church lawn to watch the fire works that evening. In the middle of the show the sprinklers turned on. That was quite the surprise. Luckily we were able to finish watching the show then go home and change out of our wet clothes. Noah was with his friends so he was missing from this picture.

Daniel's mission is winding down. We got his flight plans a few weeks ago. He will fly home July 30 and we are looking forward to seeing him in person soon!!  Here's a few pictures from his mission in the last few weeks:

Matthew got to have a Leadership Training and pool party with the Special Olympics a few weeks ago. He was pretty excited about that:

He got to deliver a speech about the importance of inclusion and share it:

All three Mr. Awesome's wanted to wish everyone a happy 4th of July:

Matthew was able to compete in the track and field state games at the beginning of June. This past Saturday he competed in the local bowling competition and won a gold medal in bowling scoring a 226 game--that is with no bumpers. He is excited to be able to compete in the State games next month.

Our city did a Freedom Program where different people got to speak, play a musical number, and retire an old flag. Sarah, since she was the city youth council mayor, got to give a 3 minute speech about how the youth can contribute to the future freedom of our country. She did a great job and wasn't nervous despite being in front of all the residents who came from our city.

Here's a few pictures from Sarah's FSY experience at BYU. She did not go down there knowing anyone. She did get a good roommate, though.

She liked her group for the most part. She said her group consisted of mostly 16 year olds and seeing as she is so much 'more mature' (her words) at times she got a bit annoyed with them, but mostly had a good time. She said it was cool she got to tour the MTC since she will be there in October as a missionary.

Josh got to spend the week of July 4th-July 11th with us before he left again. Last week and this upcoming week he is down in Flagstaff, Arizona working with FSY.  He will come back to BYU and Orem for his last two weeks. Unfortunately, he will be down at BYU when Daniel flies home so he won't be able to make it to the airport. 

Last week our family was pretty spread out. Aaron was on a business trip in Alaska, Noah was at cross country camp in Idaho, Josh was at FSY in Arizona, Daniel was in Nebraska and me and Sarah were at home in Utah. It was cool to be on Daniel's P-day call with everyone Monday evening.

Since it was only me and Sarah during last week we grabbed some pizza, watched Alias and made jewelry in the evening. It was a fun week.

We have been preparing for when Daniel gets home. We needed to get him a working phone and add another car to our 'used car lot'. We picked this kids care up Saturday. I am embarrassed to say we now own 6 vehicles....but the truck we don't hardly drive that one so it doesn't count.

We are now trying to figure out who will drive which vehicle. Daniel will need one up in Logan, Josh will need one to drive back and forth to Weber State, and Sarah and Noah will have to share until Sarah leaves on her mission in October.  I am sure there will be some sibling squabbles in the next few months about who gets to drive which car.....ugh.

Noah went to Cross Country Camp this past week. While there they went to a local water park. Noah went down a crazy fast slide and got some nasty pool water in the back of his right eye which caused the lid and eyeball to swell up and was painful. I had to take him in to Urgent Care Saturday after we picked him up. They put him on two different antibiotics to treat it. They were thinking it might be peri-orbital cellulitis. I am hoping it clears up soon because the eye is not something you want to mess with. Keep your fingers crossed it works!! Noah did find out he got a 5 on the AP World History Test. Wahoo!

This past Sunday it was my nephew's mission farewell. We were running a bit late so I was speeding and ended up getting pulled over on the way. DOH!! Thankfully I got off with only a warning. That is a good thing because we had just switched are insurances the day before. Anyway Miles' farewell went well. He will be going to the South Carolina Columbia mission speaking Spanish. 

Matthew started his last week of Camp K this week. I dropped him off this morning. All the camp counselors remembered him so as soon as we walked in to check in they shouted, "Let's Fire it Up!". Matthew was pretty excited to be back.

Josh shared a few pictures from the last few weeks of FSY. 

The week Josh was home between FSY sessions he took his big, gnarly MLT (Medical Laboratory Tech) test. It is a professional credential certification for laboratory technologists. In order to take the exam you have to have an accredited associate's degree and lab experience which he did. The test focused on blood banking, clinical chemistry, hematology, and microbiology. He was really worried about it and has been studying for it for awhile. He was relieved to get notification that he did in fact pass. Wahoo! He will have to take the gnarly MLS test after he gets his Bachelor's but that isn't for two more years. Phew!

We have really been praying for our niece Sydney who is 16 years old. She has had some complications and really needs some prayers right now. Here is what Jill, Aaron's sister and Sydney's mom, has requested:

I know miracles can happen so we continue to pray.