Here are two from Hyrum's farewell dinner that Jennifer shared with me.
Her group photo turned out way better than mine!
On Tuesday, March 26, the four older boys went to the Temple to do baptisms together one last time. In the meantime Jeremy and I went and got snacks for our trip and one more suitcase, because it was apparent that just one wasn't going to cut it. When they got home, we packed up at a leisurely pace and headed to the valley.
We had reserved a couple of rooms at Super 8 on Gilbert Rd. We checked in, and it quickly became apparent that we needed to get our monkeys out of there. They were going nuts, and it wasn't time for dinner yet. So I asked my Google Assistant (aka like my best friend ever) where the nearest park was, and we hopped back into the van and went there. It had a big duck pond that was all full of algae and just a few ducks. And there was also this cool playground. We had so much fun! Even I got on and played on the different things! :) And even the big boys did!
This toy was kind of fun. You drag it all the way to the poles, and then it slides down to the other side like a zip-line.
This park had lots of things to spin on. Everyone got really dizzy.
This thing spins too.
This teeter totter was great! I could ride it with Henry, and I could ride it with Hyrum, both just as easily. It had springs like those rocking toys over there.
Benji was waving his arm around to make himself spin. XD The thing you stand on spins around the pole.
This thing is kind of like a merry go round. You stand on it and use your body weight to make it go. You can get it going really fast! Fast enough to make Mommy scream and hold on tighter, anyway. ;)
Soon after this Hyrum tried to give Benji a push and accidentally knocked him off. He scraped his leg on the spinny thing. It looked awful! We had to go to Walgreens later and get something to patch him up because the first aid kit we had in the car was insufficient. Poor Hyrum felt so bad.
Timmy tried to roll down the grass, but it was too prickly.
Walking back to the car to go to dinner
We met Tom, Jennifer, and Jeremy's parents at Organ Stop Pizza. The kiddos and I had never been there, so I had no idea what to expect. Just some guy playing a pipe organ? Nope. It's a theater organ, and it had all sorts of instruments all around the room that the guy at the console controlled. There were even little puppets that would dance when he opened their curtain. It was all so, so cool! It was very full too. So. Many. People! And it was really loud! But we had a great time. If I had to guess I'd say Hyrum and I enjoyed it that most. ;)
The organist would play for 20 minutes or so, and then he would rotate down into the pit with the organ and take a break for a few minutes and start again. You can see him playing sort of - behind the orange bars on that little stage thing. He was playing Moon River at that point. I couldn't help but think of Robert's coworker who would sing Moon River anytime anyone bent over. XD One of the coolest parts was when people the organists took requests. He had bits of paper for people to write them on and drop them in a box. Then he bent down and chose some and sat down again. And he just played whatever there was. Lots of Disney songs were requested and we all sang along. He made it all into one long medley. Oh, it was just so fun! And the pizza was quite yummy too! :)
Loud.
We went back to the hotel and Grandma and Grandpa came. Then Susie came bringing Krispie Kremes! Bubby fell asleep pretty fast once he decided he was ready - after we washed everyone's feet because that floor made them all black. We usually get a nicer hotel, but they were all way over budget, so we made do. I had to fold my pillow in half so it would be enough to support my neck.
That was a LONG night. I fell asleep pretty OK, but then Henry woke up and demanded a drink at about 12:00 or 1:00. And then I tossed and turned and ran to the bathroom with an upset stomach until like 4:00 or 5:00. Long night.
The next day we had breakfast and got packed up, and then we had some time before we needed to go to the airport, so we went back to the park. As we were arriving, a whole gaggle of kids from a nearby school arrived. They all came in single file, and the teachers carried buckets. Each class lined up in two lines and were told not to talk. It looked like they must have had the whole school there by the time they were done. Then they just stood there for like 15 minutes before walking back single file. I felt so bad for those kids standing there not allowed to talk or wiggle while we were off to play. I tell you, it was an emotional couple of days, but it was a GOOD couple of days. I wished we had more days like that.
Jill spun so long on this toy that she got queasy and threw up on the way to the airport. XD Hooray that we had a Walmart bag in the car, and hooray that it held up!
Hyrum waited for a bit here before checking his bags and getting his boarding passes. He looked kind of nervous. He'd never flown before, and, man, was he about to get some experience!
Standing in line to check luggage
Playing on the escalators, waiting for Hyrum
Saying goodbye - Jill and Hyrum
Michael
Henry
Benji
Joshua's "hug" (He's not really a hugger)
This was just too soon, I tell you! I was not ready.
And promptly at 10:45 he went through to security and we had to stay. It made me bawl.
That's him in the white shirt way back there.
There was nothing else to do, so we left - in style. ;) Just kidding. Only Benji did.
We went to Jennifer's house, and she made us macaroni and cheese with Spam. Yum! We didn't stay long, but we got to see Brooke and CJ come home. Bubby fell asleep on Jill's lap in the car.
The next day I was a basket case. My boy was gone, and not only that, but he was traveling in airplanes, far away, and I couldn't call to check on him. All I could do that day was bawl and watch the flight trackers. I had 3 of them going at once in my browser, and discovered an app just as he was about to land in Accra. (Oh, and you bet I tracked his flight from Phoenix to Atlanta the day before, off an on as I dozed in the car with my head flopped over. And I tracked his flight from Atlanta to Amsterdam off and on through the night. I woke up just as he was about to land in Amsterdam. And then, yes, I tracked the last flight too.)
Meanwhile, Henry played with 3 little sticks: "Hi. I'm Henry." And then the other stick says, "I'm Henry." And then I don't know what all, but it was so cute. Oh, and except he says Harry instead of Henry.
Then he decided to do yoga too.
Michael drew this, and Timmy insisted I take a picture.
After we got home from taking Hyrum we took Jill's top bunk off and got rid of it. We moved Jill back into the small room where Hyrum had been. (I say we, but I really mean I sat in the bathroom and cried while the guys did all the moving. I couldn't even bear to take his sheets down to the washer for days. But I did help Jill put her sheets on the bed.)
I found this going through stuff. It broke open and then I dropped it, and the glittery snow spilled everywhere. It was cute, but it went in the garbage.
Dogpile!
Almost there!
Almost there!
There, but it wouldn't say the plane landed. It just kept adding minutes to landing time. It finally did say landed.
These are better pictures from the app I discovered. They're out of order, but there they are.
In all that's 3 hours and 44 minutes, plus 8 hours, plus 6 hours and 30 minutes, making 18 hours and 14 minutes in the air. Except the first flight was about 20 minutes early landing. (That doesn't count the hours of layovers in between.) A total of 9,212 miles. Long.
About 4:00 PM our time (I guess that's about 11:00 PM Ghana time), Brother Allen from the MTC sent these two picture to confirm that our missionaries had indeed made it safe and sound. Poor Hyrum looks like his face is swollen. He looks sleepy too.
I got a short email the next day. Sounds like he probably got airsick, and when he got to Ghana he didn't have his yellow fever card, so he had to get another yellow fever shot before they'd let him leave. That one was only $20! The first one he got cost us like $300 and a trip to Tucson. Wish I'd known we could do it way cheaper! I don't regret that trip, though. It was just Hyrum and me, and it was good.
I feel really glad that Hyrum wasn't able to find a job. Those last few months having him home were just so nice. I really miss it, though.
I don't know the missionaries in the bottom picture, but they flew in with the other missionaries too. It sounds like this is just a big group! Last time it was two missionaries and that's all, arriving to this specific mission. In the top pictures you can see Hyrum in the back on the left. The guy on the right is Elder Maddock from Prescott. In the middle in the front with the crazy blonde hair is Elder Ballard from Utah. I "met" both of their moms on the Facebook page for the mission. (You guys, there is no place like that page! Everyone is so loving and helpful. I just love those ladies!)
I'm doing pretty OK. I didn't cry as much as I thought I would writing this. I cried a lot those first few days. I still miss Hyrum like crazy. It's definitely a huge sacrifice for me. He's one of my best friends. But I'm happy for him. I hope he's feeling better! I hope I get to hear from him tomorrow! It might be Thursday, though - whichever day they go to the Temple is their p-day in the MTC.
Whabam! I'm caught up again.
