Such a Full May!
Oh May! You just about did me in. This month was SO packed full of stuff that it was almost overwhelming. I remember saying to a good friend that I just couldn’t wait for this month to be over. She wisely reminded me that I had so many wonderful events coming up and to really be present during all of it! I changed my mindset and truly tried to enjoy every single day. What a month!
St. George Temple with Megan
Megan and I did initiatories at the St. George temple one morning. We’ve been busy with dentist appointments, Stake Conference, packing, ordering things online and sending things back. Boy it takes a lot of work to get a girl on a mission! So glad to be spending time with this girl, though.
Hanna and Spencer’s Reception
Jared and Geneva’s daughter got married up in Draper and it was SO MUCH FUN to drive up and go to the reception. Matt and I made a 24 hour Mother Son date of it and drove up together, picked up Taylor and Katie and stayed through the whole reception. So much fun to eat, visit with Missy, Terri and Geneva, dance and then light up the path as Hannah and Spencer got in their car and took off. What a fun event!
Surgery for Emily
Emily got a bump on her wrist removed. She went and got it looked at, got the surgery scheduled and had Brynn take her in - which was SO nice. When they texted all of their friends they said, “Emily’s headed into brain surgery!” She had to wear a soft cast for several weeks but everything healed up nicely.
A License and A Permit
Luke officially got his drivers license on the same day that Matt took his permit test. Excited boys for sure. Matt and I headed straight for the church parking lot and drove all over Tonaquint neighborhood. He’s good and he’s so ready. Here we go for ONE MORE DRIVER!
Matt Turns 15
Classic Matt reacts well for every present. He got a BYU tie and hat, some cool Hurley golf shirts, a green surf shirt from my trip to San Diego, a few other things and Pop Darts from Luke.
Matt’s 15th Birthday Party
So fun to have these kids at the park to celebrate Matt’s 15th birthday. Pizza, Soda, frisbee and lots of running around. Fun stuff!
Katie and Taylor’s HXP Training Weekend
Katie and Taylor had Humanitarian XP Training May 9th - 11th up at Bear Lake. They really enjoyed their weekend, bonded with their co-counselors and group, enjoyed the Hunger Games themed events and enjoyed the best speakers. What a cool experience.
Tyler’s Homecoming
We drove up on Saturday the 11th and slept at Shelley’s to be there for Tyler’s Homecoming Talk on Sunday morning. He did such a great job! Nikole spoke as well and really shared her heart. It was beautifully done. After church we headed over to the Moons house for lunch. So fun to be together and wish Shelley a Happy Mother’s Day in person!
(Picture from when we waited at the airport to welcome him home. -April)
Disney Trip
On Tuesday morning we drove from St. George straight to the BEACH to hook up with Taylor and Katie who were already there enjoying a few days at Newport Beach with Taylor’s Family. We enjoyed some beach time together, walked to get tacos and then drove to check into our place by Disneyland. We enjoyed Wednesday at both Disneyland and California Adventure with Emily, Megan and the boys and then two days with Ryan and Cassie, Katie and Taylor. It was SO MUCH FUN! We just love Disney and it was the perfect LAST trip to do with Megan before she leaves AND combine it with the FAREWELL so everyone could be there.
Megan’s Farewell Weekend
It was the best weekend! More details on another post. Loved being together for this special weekend. The pictures turned out so cute!
Megan’s Home MTC
This was our first time experiencing Home MTC. Sister Johnson quickly acclimated to her new schedule and loved her companion - Sister Bishop - and her new district. It was fun to see her appear and disappear throughout the day as she’d wander upstairs for meals and to chat inbetween classes. So grateful for have been able to experience this with her.
From Sister Johnson’s First email… “home mtc was definitely an experience. I learned so much and surprised myself with how much I participated. but it definitely got hard to pay attention by the end of the week. My companion is sister bishop, she is from american fork and I love her. we would just talk forever on facetime during comp study, she is so chill and easy to talk to. We are very similar too. My district is also way good. We are very chatty and basically everyone knows us because of how much we talk and volunteer for stuff in big group zooms. We had a very heated debate about ut vs byu that I accidentally started but we're all chill now I think (elder Andrews may be still recovering). My teachers, sister kershaw and brother kaylor, are the best people ever and we always have such a good time in their classes.
At home, I played soccer almost every morning with my dad and the boys. The whole johnson side came to st george to memorial day so i got to spend any free time with them which was a blast. lots of golf and pickleball and soccer which i LOVED. “
Memorial Day Weekend with the Johnsons
On Friday, May 24th the Johnsons came to St. George for our annual St. George trip. So fun to eat Benja Thai at Nikole’s new house, golf at Dixie, go to movies, eat at Pizza Factory, swim, play games and be together. Our group is getting big now! Our family stayed with Shelley at her place. Nikole and Ashlyn at Nikole’s new place and Lindsey and family at Rob’s parents place. Lots of gathering for food and hanging out.
St. George Temple
Chris, Megan and I went to the temple to do sealings and it was powerful and I cried the entire time. I just kept thinking… It’s all about family and our covenants. Our sealer was so intentional and the Spirit was so strong. It was wonderful to do with Megan before she left. The boys did baptisms at the same time and it was just the BEST morning.
Farewell Lunch with Mike and Carly
Megan really wanted to see the girls one last time before she left on her mission so we asked if we could come say a quick goodbye and Carly invited us for lunch and made the best spread. It was so fun to be together for the few hours before we dropped Megan off at the MTC.
MTC Drop-Off
Our first official MTC Drop-Off. They really know how to organize the whole thing! We were led down into the underground parking and when we stopped the car to get out there was a sister Missionary assigned to our car. She took a picture of us together and then helped Megan with her things and put her arm around her shoulder as they walked off. What a tender sight I’ll remember always.
Young Men Campout for Luke and Matt
The boys had a BLAST at their canyoneering campout. It was high adventure and high fun. So glad they were able to enjoy a few days together with their friends and YM leaders. On the fast Sunday after camp, Luke went straight up and bore his testimony using a ‘getting off the path story’ from camp and talking about how easy it is to leave the path but how hard it is to come back. Let’s just stay on the path, he said. He did such a good job.
Getaway at the Lodge
With the boys busy at YM camp, us already up north for Megan’s MTC drop off and wanting to stay up north for London’s baptism on Saturday we decided to reach out and see if anyone was using the Lodge. It was the PERFECT rejuvenating couple of days - just Chris and I. We watched movies, ate at Lola’s, went on long walks and worked on wedding and work things. We love it in Midway and just discovered that we might like it the best when it’s just the two of us! Love my man and so grateful to be doing all of this with him.