Mission Call, Graduation, Montana Road Trip, Titan Tribute, Gold Medals, Races

May is in full swing. We have had lots of happenings. Josh graduated with his Associate's Degree in Laboratory Technology. Before his graduation ceremony he had a Pinning Ceremony. The Pinning Ceremony is where the students are given a pin for professional recognition for finishing the program and a pledge to their profession.  They had a small luncheon for all the MLT graduates and their families and then recognized all the graduates.  Aaron and I were able to go with Josh.

Shaking all his professor's hands:

Here's his pin he can wear:

Wahoo!!

Later than evening was his actual graduation ceremony. 

His picture on the Jumbotron:

Grandma T was there for his graduation, but left when it finished. He was glad she was able to come. We did get some pictures of Josh with his diploma:

After graduation was over we went out for some sushi.  YUM! Noah had to work that evening so we missed him.

Josh will continue straight into the Bachelor's program this fall. No rest for the weary!!

The next morning bright and early Josh and I headed out on a road trip up to Superior, Montana. For Josh's Associate's Degree in Laboratory Sciences he got to do a 2 week lab rotation. He was given the option of doing the lab rotation local or going to a rural location. Josh, being the ever adventurous soul, chose to go to a rural location. He found out he got assigned to a very small laboratory found in a tiny county hospital located in Superior, Montana.  It is a very tiny town with a population of 830 residents so Josh really got his wish of being in a rural lab--haha!  It was an eight hour drive from our house. He had to be there by April 27. Since he graduated April 25 at 5 pm, we did not leave to make that drive until early morning Sunday, April 26. Since it is quite rural Josh needed a car up there so I drove out there with him all day and flew back home out of the Missoula, Montana airport that evening. It was a really pretty drive. We did drive through a few snow and heavy rainstorms which was crazy. 

It was a bit chilly, too:

We stopped by Idaho Falls for lunch. After lunch we looked around at the Idaho Falls Temple and river. Way back when I went to school at Ricks my roommates and I would occasionally drive over here to go rollerblading around the temple. There is a long trail, sidewalk that goes all around the area. It was fun to see it again. In the background you can see the temple:

The more north we drove the colder it got:

When we got to Missoula I took Josh grocery shopping to make sure he had food to eat. He was going to stay at an old assisted living facility that no longer was open. The facility was used for staff housing that lived far away from the hospital and for students. Since Superior was an additional hour away from Missoula I had Josh drop me off at the airport so I could fly home and he made the rest of the drive by himself. He started his lab clinical early the next morning.

We got to see how things were going with him when he joined in our P-Day call with Daniel that evening:

Noah has had a few track meets the past few weeks. He has been running the 1600 meter.

Speaking of Noah he tried out for Advance Percussion for next year and made it!! He was pretty nervous about it and didn't think he would make it because he forgot to bring his music home over Spring Break to practice. He was happy when he found out he made it. Wahoo!  

Aaron went on a business trip a few weeks ago. He got to try the best ribs he has ever had. Afterward he went up to the kitchen and asked how they were made. He wants to try and make them the same here at some point.

Sarah needed some volunteer hours for the National Honor's Society. Her and some friends did a few volunteer shifts sorting and stocking shelves at Deseret Industries.

Josh enjoyed his lab rotation:

He got to see some interesting/gross things he was pretty excited about.

His lab week went from Monday through Thursday. That meant he had from Friday to Sunday to find things to do. He said he hiked all the trails within a hour radius of the hospital. He also go to go to a few hot springs in the area as well.  Although he was the only student the whole entire time, he really enjoyed himself:

It is really beautiful up there.

The following Monday Sarah got this amazing text:

She submitted her mission papers with the Stake President a few weeks ago and was so excited when her call finally came. She was at work Monday evening when it came. She took a quick break as a CNA at the assisted living facility to call us and let us know her call came. She was pretty excited. She wasn't going to open it until Thursday evening, though. She did peak at it, though just to see where she was going to be for the next 18 months.....

Daniel had Zone Conference a few weeks ago. He got transferred to a different area with a different companion. His second to last transfer. That is so crazy!! He will be home the end of July. Here are some pictures from Zone Conference:

Matthew got to help out with the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics. It travels from coast to coast. Matthew got to carry the torch for a leg of the course. He only carried it for a little bit because he got really scared of the flame, but he still got to carry it which was pretty cool. Here's some pictures of Matthew, wearing his Mr. Awesome sash, with the torch:

Matthew had a Track and Field Special Olympics competition the end of April. He competed in the 800 meter race, shot put, and long jump. He got a gold medal in all his events which he was so excited about. He gets to compete at the state competition at the end of the month down in Cedar City. 

Sarah is doing all the graduation/senior things. She was invited to participated in the Titan Tribute. It is where they take the weighted top 5% GPA of the entire senior class and invite them to nominate a mentor. The school said the students didn't get where they are without help from others. They encouraged the students to look for mentors outside their families and then submit the names so they could honor the graduate and the mentor in a Titan Tribute program. Sarah didn't have to think very much before she nominated her Young Women's leader, Jandie. Sarah wrote a really nice tribute to her and when it was her turn her and Jandie got up on the stage together so Sarah could read the tribute she had written about Jandie. It was really sweet. Here's a picture of Sarah before the program started:

Here's Sarah reading her tribute to Jandie:

"A person in my life who believed in me and helped me grow is Jandie Lowe. When I first really got to know her, I had been called to be a youth class leader in my church. I was not a very confident person and I didn't feel competent in my responsibilities at first. But through Jandie's love, kindness, patience, and example she helped me grow into the leader that I could be. She helped give me confidence in myself and my abilities both as a leader and as a student. Because she encouraged me to branch out to other people, I was able to learn how to better communicate with people, which extended to my teachers as well as my peers. As I worked with her more and more, she became a person I looked up to, but even more important to me, she became my friend. She became someone that I could confide in when I was stressed about work or school, and she supported me as I reached towards my goals. I am so thankful to have her in my life, because she is truly an amazing friend, an adamant supporter, and a kind of generous person to everyone she meets. Thank you Jandie, for helping me build myself into the person I am today and showing me what true love and kindness are about."

Here they are after the program. Jandie is pretty amazing person:

For being the weighted top 5% GPA Sarah got a medal she can wear at graduation and a certificate for her accomplishment:

Noah had his last track meet last Thursday. I was able to get off work a few minutes early so I could go and watch him run.

Right after the race we grabbed Noah and came right home because Sarah was going to be opening her mission call that evening. Aaron got everything set up. We had Josh, who was still in Montana and Daniel, who had gotten approval to join in from his mission president on a Messenger call. The other laptop was streaming the Youtube link.

Sarah was so excited to have so much support online and in person:

We had everyone guess where they thought she would go on the map:

Sarah read her call. She will serve in the California, Carlsbad mission. She will start October 14. She is really excited. 

Hugs Dad:

Mom:

We are excited, too. We are glad that we will have Daniel and Sarah home together for 8 weeks before Sarah leaves.

The next morning I got to fly back out to Missoula, Montana so I could drive with Josh back home to Utah. The Missoula airport is TINY!!  That's okay it made it easy to navigate--haha!

We drove the scenic way home. We stopped in West Yellowstone for a bit to look around.

We got home late that night and we were both exhausted. Let's just be honest the last three weeks have been really tiring. The end of school is always a crazy time.  I am also currently juggling all three of my jobs, too. Hopefully, things will slow down soon. Probably not, though. I wish I could nap in the sun like Sophie at times: