Herriman Beach with the Buehners

 Ever since our first trip to "Herriman Beach" in 2010 it will always be called that. (Instead of its correct name, Blackridge Reservoir) We went with the Buehners and Audrey had a blast. (As always) 

Georgia Aquarium with Audrey

 Since we were in Atlanta we decided to make a mini trip of it and take Audrey to the Georgia Aquarium. We'd only been one other time with the bigs kids in January 2013 while living in Mississippi. Audrey had a great time and we were able to nerd out and recreate some pics. Yes, it made us miss our Sarah who was 7 when we went and Audrey was 6. Our hotel was directly across the street and Audrey liked looking at the giant whale shark on the side. 

She's leaving on a jet plane... Last days together at home and trip to Atlanta

 I mentioned in my end of June post how much we loved having Sarah home for her first week as a missionary, but I'll say it again - It was wonderful! What a gift! Her missionary president/wife recommended she only bring two suitcases to help with bus travel, which meant leaving behind her carry on. That meant we needed to get creative with packing and try and keep it under the airline weight limits. We bought a vacuum sealing system that made it possible to fit it all. Adam was nice enough to help us weigh the bags and adjust as needed. 

Since Sarah wouldn't be around for the 4th, we decided to do fireworks on the 30th, since she shipped out on July 1st. 

Sarah was flying on Delta from SLC to Atlanta, so we decided to join her on the first leg of her trip. Her flight was filling up, so Audrey and I went on a slightly earlier flight and Mike signed up for jumpseat on hers. They were nice and sat he and Sarah together. My friend Mallory Schippenboard was a flight attendant on mine and showered me with goodies because of my sadness. 

Having Sarah leave was so hard, and many tears were shed, but we're happy for her and the choice she made. When the church first started allowing missionaries to call home weekly I thought it would be distracting and unnecessary. Now that it's my child in the mission field, I think it's the most amazing thing in the world and Monday is my new favorite day. Once Sarah got into her area she was able to call us and let us know. 

Random June

 We started off the month by getting our annual Mother's Day pedicures. I should have put Sarah by Lynette so they could chat. I will miss this tradition in 2026. 

Audrey attended her horse camp and then we joined the Starleys at Kevin's grave to celebrate his birthday. Mike and Andy let off fireworks and they were as sketchy as ever. The fact that they're super old adds to the excitement; you never know which way they're going to shoot or when they'll explode. 

Sarah and I continued our tradition of attending the Parade of Homes. It's crazy the amount of money that exists and the houses some people build. I wouldn't want to live in most of them, but it's fun to walk through and see how they're decorated. 

Audrey asked for bangs and then asked to dye them like Sarah's new college BFF Taylor. She liked them for a few days and then decided they were a pain and has been growing them out ever since. (It's now 12/28) 

The crew hired to paint this near our kids school might need to go back... ;) 

We loved having Sarah home for Home MTC. It was a blessing, and we got a full week with her as a missionary. Have I mentioned a few times how much we're going to miss her?!

Sarah's Farewell and setting apart- Le Sigh...

Sarah's Farewell was three weeks ago, and I want to blog about it before I forget details. For those that don't know, it's customary for a missionary to speak in their ward (congregation) before leaving on a full time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Ever since President Gordon B Hinckley gave a talk in 2002, farewells have become more simple. The missionary is one of the speakers, and the meeting doesn't revolve around them. I like this change. When I went on a mission in 2001, my family was in charge of my farewell. I spoke along with my mom and sister Jess. My mom and sisters sang a musical number and it was the Sister Liz show. Although I've still seen families dominate the meeting, I liked that our ward kept it simple.  

Sarah gave a great talk on Listening to the Prophet. We loved all of it, but especially loved it when Sarah said she'd be speaking "Brazil". She's been taking Portuguese lessons from the Brazil MTC for a couple months, so we got a kick out of her nervous slip. I asked why she didn't correct it, and she said because when she had piano recitals she was always told to pretend like nothing happened and just keep going. Sound logic! The youth speaker that spoke was Nathan Tanner, and an adult, Ryan Wilson also spoke and gave a great missionary themed talk. It was a great meeting. She had a lot of friends that came to support her and some of them came over after for a late lunch. 

We're not supposed to have big parties, but we knew we'd have family in town, and needed to feed them, so we had a little more food than normal set up in a festive way. ;) We brought out the macaron tower again and I made some Brazil shaped cookies although flag cookies may have been more convincing. 

After the luncheon, President Vaughn Evans came over for her setting apart, which is when she's formally made a full time missionary. He talked to Sarah and us for a while and I really appreciated how much he talked about the importance of obedience on missions. I've mentioned it to Sarah a handful of times, but we receive so many blessings when we show our love for God and Jesus by being obedient. Missionaries can use all the help they can get, and obedience is one way to get that help. After his words, he invited everyone there to say some words. We were all surprised, and pleased, when Steven spoke up and told her he was proud of her for going and even if he isn't going to church, he's glad she is. (I wish I'd recorded it or had it written down. It was really sweet. Maybe I'll look at the camera recording, but I doubt it.) Dave talked about being a convert as did Greg Buckmelter who happened to arrive shortly before her setting apart. My parents commented, Mike and I commented, Ash commented, and I think that might be it. I'll have to ask Mike when I talk to him. It was a really special evening for our family. 

A new ritual I am going to miss is my nightly walks with Sarah. Ever since coming home from college, we've gone on a walk together most nights. I cherished this time with her. It's only been two weeks, but I really miss her!