We stopped for breakfast in Missoula and made it to Rexburg around 1pm. We were able to check into our hotel early which was wonderful! We dropped off our stuff and went over to Ailey's apartment as soon as she got out of class. We got the tour of her new apartment. It was really cute. Unfortunately they don't have any contracts for Spring semester so she and her roomie Ellie will be moving yet again. After that we needed to do a little shopping for Ailey. She needed a temple bag and we found her the cutest ruby red bag. It is darling! We got her all organized and packed her bag for her trip to the temple the next day. Then it was back to her apartment for a bit to see Ellie and to meet her other roommates.
Kameron had class all day and then had to work that afternoon/evening so Tyler and I went to dinner at the Hickory with Ailey. I think it is my favorite Rexburg restaurant. It was really good! It was nice to have to some time alone with her before we met up with Kameron and then met all of the significant others aka Erin and Luke! Of course we didn't want to wait until Kam's shift ended so we went to the ol' Walmart and played "Where's Waldo?" Ailey, Tyler, and I all went separate directions in search of our boy. My motherly instincts won out. He was in the gardening section and NOT surprised to see us. LOL. He was like "I knew you couldn't help yourself!" So true!
It was also in the Walmart gardening section where Kam dropped the bomb... although a good bomb...that not only was he excited for us to *meet* Erin...but he has also decided that he wants to marry her. I was like..."Didn't you want to know if we even liked her before you got that serious?!" And with a quirk of his eyebrow... he told me "NOPE!" But he did assure us that we would like her. Kam does have good taste in girlfriends so we weren't too worried.
After dinner we went back to Ailey's apartment. Her boyfriend Luke had stopped by while we were gone. On her bed were gifts from him to US?! What the heck? He left us a giant box of Crumbl cookies, a bouquet of roses, our favorite redbulls, and a note that said, "Welcome to Rexburg Mr. and Mrs. Johnson!" So sweet! Ailey went to go grab Luke and Tyler and I went back to our hotel to await the arrival of all our people. We couldn't wait to meet the kids that our kids were dating!
I knew that we would really like both Erin and Luke and we sure did! We've facetimed with both of them a few times and we knew that they were fun and good for our kids. They were even better than we could have imagined!! The kids all came over and hung out in our hotel room until around1am. It was so fun!! I had some Easter surprises for all of them. They are such great kids. Tyler and I were so impressed. Hooray!
The next day was Ailey's big day at the temple. This stands out as one of the most perfect days that Tyler and I have ever had. It was an AMAZING day for sure! Incredible and unforgettable. The sun came out and it was a gorgeous! Ailey came over to our hotel that morning and had breakfast with Tyler while I got ready. Then she left to pick up Luke and we all met up at the temple. We were all so excited for Ailey. This moment was extra special because about 10 years ago we were on Spring Break in Utah and we stopped in Rexburg to see the new temple. We all got out and walked around the grounds. Ailey and Bryn were peeking in the doors and I took a picture of them. How serendipitous that this would be the temple where Ailey would receive her endowment. Very cool!
The Rexburg Temple is very beautiful! We are used to the small Spokane Temple so it seemed enormous. Ailey and I were greeted so warmly and lovingly and she was able to go to the office of the temple president and we were able to talk with him while he got her paperwork ready. He told her that she was the "Queen of the Temple" and that he wanted today to be very special for her. Then we got our sweet temple escort who took us into the dressing room and then Ailey did her initiatory work. After that we were ushered into the Brides Room which was stunningly beautiful with gorgeous morning light streaming through the windows. There it was explained to Ailey all about the covenants that she would be making and she could ask any questions and discuss any concerns that she had about the temple. Then it was time for our session. Our cute little escort got the Johnson Party...we had a group with us! FINALLY! I love it! It was so fun to see Tyler, Kameron, Luke, and Erin come in. The whole experience was so special and unforgettable. Tyler and I had some very special spiritual experiences while in the temple with these kids. Life changing experiences. Being in the celestial room with all of them and Tyler too was the height of happiness. But one of my favorite memories from that day was of all of us leaving the celestial room. We were walking out and going downstairs to the dressing rooms. Ailey and Luke were in the front of our group holding hands and walking down the hall and down the stairs, followed right behind by Kameron and Erin holding hands and walking down the hall and stairs, and then right behind them it was Tyler and I holding hands and doing the same thing. It was such a special moment. I looked at Tyler and he looked at me and we knew that if this group was meant to be we were all for it. We could see these two new people as part of our family. We had such peace about these couples, their futures, and our growing family.
We are very proud of the decisions that Ailey is making and it is fun watching her mature and make her way in the world.
