Scotty asks for so very little that when he asked if he could have his first real friend party we were happy to oblige. He has made friends to fast here in Idaho and had his little crew thrilled to spend a fun night with him. Also, this kid still loves donuts more than anything else. He handles being in the middle of all the girls like a champ and is hilarious!
The line "Here's my heart Lord take and seal it" from Come Thou Font of Every Blessing has been playing in my mind over and over again for the past couple of weeks. Sending a child on a mission is a whole new level of consecration I have never understood until I have been on the parental side.
Turns out being a return missionary myself doesn't make it any easier when it's time to say goodbye. Sending your own child off feels so unique and individual that you forget thousands of parents have done this before you and thousands will do it after me. When it's your own child it feels so sacred, so personal and so hard. We are so happy and excited for him but today was REALLY hard!
Jeffrey invited Ashton to PAX unplugged (a board game convention) while we were staying at their house for Fall Break. He hesitated because it would fall over Ashton's 18th birthday. Ashton's was elated and he told him there's nowhere else he'd rather be on his birthday. They went to Philly and Ashton and his cousins had the best time.
Jebbie floated the idea of a Thanksgiving up north in Nibley together for 2025 and we were all in! We arrived on Wednesday night and the older cousins played dozens of rounds of Secret Hitler. Poppy came up with hilarious phrases like "I am not a crook!" that everyone loved. It was the first time the older cousins had gathered together at their grandparent's house and we could not get the house quiet before midnight both nights. There were kids sleeping everywhere and they had the best time.
This was our second fall break at Jebbie's house in Elko New Market and it was just as magical. The kids play all day and the weather was perfect. We had giant bonfires every night and the kids would play ghost in the graveyard and infection. They really are the best hosts and our kids get along so well that each vacation with them feels dreamy!
Ashton’s mission call arrived just 9 days after the stake president hit submit. On September 22nd I got a text from him that said, “It’s here!!” And I couldn’t for the life of me figure out what was here ?!? We were shocked it came so quickly. Ashton had it planned that our employees Danica and Nikki would open his call on the computer at work, print it out, post-it note over the location and get it ready to open. David and I left the room when they pulled it up on the computer but we heard the scream from the other side. They wouldn't give us any hints but they promised us he would be thrilled.
I have to add my two cents before I get to the opening. The couple of weeks before the call came I started thinking a lot about how amazing it would be for Ashton to go to Argentina but I was afraid to say it out loud. But I started to really feel like it would be the perfect place for him. He would love the food, he already has 4 years of Spanish and he has heard about Argentina his whole life. So, we all guessed our locations that night I put my star right on Buenos Aires. He opened his call and I was shocked and not shocked at the same time.
Back to the opening... At 8pm our house started to really fill up. And then more and more teenagers kept arriving. Ashton told us he never felt more popular and loved then that night. He was glowing the entire night.
