Day 106: 6-27-20 (Saturday)
Today is Tyler's mom's birthday. We checked in with her and she and Joel are doing well. It's sad that they won't be able to see Kameron before he leaves for his mission. It would have been nice to have them here for some additional support when Kam is set apart as a missionary. I am so over the Corona virus which looks as though it will never leave.
Ailey and I did a little birthday shopping spree. Clothes were the only things she wanted.We found her some cute things but man everything is wiped out around here. We also ended up ordering a few items online. We grabbed some lunch while we were out and about. It was nice to have some one-on-one time together.
Costco had a cute chair and ottoman for cheap so Kam and Tyler picked it up for me. Kameron spent most of his day with Abbey making the rounds to say goodbye to his friends.
These arrived in the mail today!
Day 107: 6-28-20 (Sunday)
We got a terrifying early morning text from Kirk and Meki saying that they had to evacuate their home due to a fire and were staying at a hotel. They had to evacuate at around 4:30 am! The pictures that they sent were scary! They could see flames from their backyard. The fire was due to fireworks.
This is the view from their back yard...horrifying!
Meki had great presence of mind and was able to gather items that they would want and need from their home at 4:30 am all while the flames were moving closer. I would not have been that calm and rational!
We had home church today and the joy of Kameron being ordained to the office of an Elder and receiving the Melchizedek Priesthood. Bishop Finn (who was our bishop years ago) came over and along with Tyler ordained Kameron. It was pretty special and the spirit was strong in our home.
We also had Ailey's family birthday dinner. Abbey and Reilly both came over. Hunter wasn't feeling well. It was fun to celebrate our cute sixteen year old a little more!!
Ailey is our little party planner extraordinaire! She wanted to plan and decorate for her own family party. Um...okay! Here she is setting her own table. She is so funny!
She also made her own trivia game about herself and had prizes! Bryn won. LOL!
This girl cracks me up!
Ailey is our pickiest eater. She likes about four things and then sweets. Her birthday menu reflected this:
Homemade Over-the-Rainbow Macaroni and Cheese. (This is Patti LaBelle's recipe and it is rich!)
Cheese Pizza
Pink Lemonade
Dirt and Worms
There wasn't a fruit or vegetable to be seen as per her request. I find it hilarious that she plans to be a dietitian. Dietitian feed thyself!
We also played a rousing game of Johnson Tries! Reilly got a subscription box that sends you treats from different countries. Her first box was from the UK. This was so much fun! Tyler and I are going to subscribe for our family and maybe even have a little box sent to Kam when he goes to Minnesota. That is kind of a perk to him staying stateside; we will be able to send him things with ease.
My favorite foods were the rhubarb and custard chews and the clotted cream fudge...everyone liked those too. The kids really liked the pickled onion rings. I did not. The worst items were the lamb and mint crisps and the banana toffee. Not. Good.
We talked to Kirk and Meki tonight. They are back home and there is minimal smoke damage. Thank goodness!! It started to rain and that helped to contain the fire. Unfortunately there is another one burning but further away from them. Heartbreaking for all involved.
Day 108: 6-29-20 (Monday)
Today is cloudy and cool. It is kind of a nice break from the heat. Today has been weird. No one in our family is particularly motivated. We are all in kind of a weird emotional funk. Is it because we are on the cusp of change? Perhaps.
Tyler and I walked midday to give our endorphins a boost. It kind of helped. Kameron heard from his district and trainers. He has two companions...they are both from Utah. It was fun for him to find out who is in his group. His district was encouraged to contact one another and to start getting to know each other. He also continued his rounds saying goodbye, shopping, and spending his last full day with Abbey. The Stake called and set up a time for Kameron to be set apart as a missionary...tomorrow at 5:30 pm. We are getting so close. It's a weird feeling. Relief and anxiety...for all of us.
The funk continued on into the evening. We ordered dinner to be delivered and then I watched the last few episodes of one of my very favorite shows. The Durrells in Corfu. It helped.
If you haven't watched this series you MUST! It is so good and funny! I love it!!
Day 109: 6-30-20 (Tuesday)
Today was a BIG DAY for our family. It has been a swirl of emotions. The morning started with Kameron coming into our room to talk. He was feeling good and is excited to get things going. That was good! He was planning to spend most of the day with Abbey and then come home just before he had to go to the stake center. I told him that he might want to build in a bit of recovery time. Today was going to be pretty hard saying goodbye to Abbey. I feel for that sweet girl and for Kameron. It's hard enough for LDS girls to say goodbye to their boyfriends for two years but for a nonmember it's got to be pretty brutal. Abbey is a incredible young woman and has been super supportive. That has been such a relief to Tyler and I and further proof of why we think so highly of her. I was right. It was very emotional and hard for both of them. A little recovery time was good.
Driving to the stake center was kind of a hard drive. Things were actually happening. Kameron was pretty emotional and anxious. As we pulled into the church we asked him if he was sure that this was what he wanted to do. We said we could drive home if he had changed his mind. We have never wanted him to think that a mission was something that he "had to do". Never. Missions aren't for everyone. He said that he was sure and then he took a deep breath and got out of the car. I think these kids don't get enough credit for the sacrifices that they make. Two years of their life. It's big. I am in awe of them.
It turned out that our stake president's car broke down and that our good friend Chris, who is in the stake presidency, would be the one setting Kam apart as a missionary. This was a HUGE blessing! Chris is a good friend to all of us. He knows our family very well. He and Kam have a great relationship because Chris is Kam's friend's dad. Chris works for the same company as Tyler and he is my good friend Valynn's husband. It was perfect for all of us.
Reilly met us at the stake center and we all gathered in Chris' office. The feeling in the room was so special. It felt full. Full of the spirit, full of love, full of comfort, and full of family (some unseen). Chris was awesome with Kam. The first question he asked him was, "How has today been?" Kameron replied, "Hard" and then Chris said, "Tell me about that." It was such a great way to get Kameron talking and opening up about how he was feeling and how he really is excited to get going and serving but also validating how hard it is and that it truly is a sacrifice. It was wonderful.
Chris asked Ailey, me, Tyler, and Kam all to bear our testimonies. It was powerful to say the least. I did have to laugh a tiny bit because I know Reilly was sweating bullets thinking that he was going to ask her to bear hers. LOL. It's hard when your kids choose to "take a break" from the gospel as she says that she is doing. You want so much to be a family united in faith. But as I sat next to her and heard her quietly sniffling and showing up for Kameron I realized that we were united as a family in faith and I know that she felt it too. It was a neat experience.
Watching Chris and Tyler set Kameron apart as a missionary and bless him was truly a sacred moment. It was a wonderful experience. Two awesome and honorable men who are good friends blessing this kid that they know and love. It was powerful.
Chris told us that parents of missionaries who go into the mission field without going through the temple and who are serving stateside are being allowed to come and go through the temple with their missionaries when the temples open up. What?! That would be amazing!!
He's official!
While we were standing outside the church taking pictures; Kam's buddy Nick and his family arrived to have Nick set apart too. It was so good to see them!!! We haven't seen them since before quarantine began! I loved the huge hug that Kam and Nick gave each other and their shared excitement. My friend Julie and I chatted for a minute. This is her 4th and last son to send out on a mission. Her words of *advice* were..."Don't listen to what anyone tells you.Two years does NOT go by quickly!!" LOL! I love her.
We needed a little activity after all of this so Reilly did a little missionary photo shoot for Kam. It provide just the right comic relief for all of us! We are not good public picture takers! But I am grateful and think we got some fun pictures.
Then we just took some normal family pictures...LOL.
We asked Kameron where he wanted to grab some dinner from and he wanted DQ. I am sensing a DQ theme this quarantine summer. But seriously...have you tried the Oreo cheesecake blizzard? I am not a chocolate person and I have had several! I guess ice cream does help to heal a broken heart and helps you deal with significant life changes!!
On our way home we drove past the temple and stopped to take a few more pictures of Elder Johnson:
Tonight was definitely a BIG NIGHT for our family and a very special experience. I loved seeing the big grin on his face!
Day 110: 7-1-20 (Wednesday and MTC Day #1)
Today is Kameron's first official day as a missionary and his online training began. We have been told over and over again that our house is now an MTC. No pressure or anything. Ailey made this sign to hang up on our stairs when Kameron is doing his training as a reminder for us.
Thank goodness for Zoom and all of the online meetings that we have had over the last 110 days! We have learned to be much quieter...and more appropriate!! LOL.
Today it is cold and rainy again. Tyler decided to try making homemade chicken and dumplings. We are addicted to watching the Paula Deen cooking videos on Instagram and this recipe looked so good. Tyler made the whole thing from scratch and it was FANTASTIC!! Seriously, it was SO GOOD and yet quite different from homemade chicken and noodle soup.
I have been a little apprehensive about how Kameron would feel about online MTC. To be honest I was a bit worried that he would hate it. Thank goodness he had a great first day and really enjoyed it. Whew. We had a good night sitting and talking about his first day experiences as a family. Having him do his MTC training online has added a very nice feeling to our home.
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