San Diego Status: ARRIVED

 Last night after dinner Mr. Dub gasped with delight in the dining room. I immediately turned towards him to see what happened.

An email had arrived in his inbox from the mission president of the San Diego mission, and he was reading aloud, informing me that our missionary had arrived, and there were pictures to prove that this was, indeed, a happy affair.

She did not arrive alone, as you can see. The mission president and his wife are seated in the front row, and all of the new arrivals are seated and standing around them. I spoke briefly with her on the phone in the morning, as she was waiting to board her flight from Salt Lake to San Diego. She was excited, a bit nervous and happy to be on her way. It was fun to hear her voice, and then even better to see these pictures.

Come in, MTC, do you copy?

It was radio silence for seven days.

I'm not going to lie and say I wasn't a teensy bit anxious about hearing from Sweet Mesquite--my mother heart needed confirmation in the affirmative that the eagle had not only landed, but that she was settling comfortably into her new routine.

I'm happy to report that I received the big 10-4 yesterday afternoon. Not only is there no need for a distress signal, the eagle is SOARING.

 Our little missionary sent several emails full of happy details and pictures about her days in training. She has been assigned to a district of eight new missionaries, and has been paired up with a companion from the local area, Sister Carlson. They became fast friends. During their second (and final) week in the training center, they will serve as the leaders of the sister zone. She said it's been exhilarating to walk around and say "Welcome to the MTC!" to all of the missionaries with orange dots on their tags, indicating new arrivals.

 They will both be headed to San Diego next Tuesday, along with three others. The remaining three of the group of eight have been assigned to the Washington D.C. mission. (not to the middle of the Pacific Ocean, as the next picture might lead you to believe)

She spends hours and hours in a classroom, but she assures us that time flies by. She reports that the food is good, gym time is fun, and she has even bumped into a friend from home.

 I know the relationships she is forming with these young adults who are commissioned and committed to the same ideals and beliefs she holds so dear will be forever friendships.

Mesquite was excited to report that as of yesterday, for the first time in the history of the Provo MTC, there were 52% sister missionaries, and 48% elders. Girl power!

Her next email will come from San Diego.

Signal is clear. Roger that.

XOXO

MTC: she's IN.

Our missionary made it--arrived in Salt Lake City, spent the night in Provo, and got dropped off at the Missionary Training Center right on time.  Yonder and Teeny live a stone's throw away. They provided a happy send off. It was a good day.

They barely got her to turn around and give them

a farewell wave, as she was READY to get started.

First: the MTC

Next: San Diego!

Mission Launch: a success

 Everyone left school or took off work to make the drive into Boston to say goodbye to S.M. at the airport.

It was FINE! MUCH easier than saying goodbye to Yonder all those years ago...

Maybe it was because she was not our first missionary. Maybe it was because she was SUPER excited to finally get started. Maybe we just felt like we were slipping on a comfortable pair of shoes. There were a few tears, but mostly we couldn't wait to launch our missionary onto her eighteen month journey.

Off she goes!

XOXOX

She turned 19 and WHOOSH!!...

Birthday Pie(s)

on cinco de mayo.
Now you know why we DON'T sing in church.

it's motorcycle season again

While Sweet Mesquite spent the weekend in Utah, Yonder took out the bike. Former missionary treated the soon-to-be missionary to the first ride of the season. In a few weeks she'll be heading to a place so warm and sunny that motorcycle rides happen all year long. (Probably not for missionaries)

Dear Sister Whitcomb...

Not only has she accepted her call, she's already started preparing to leave in May, and has set up her own mission blog.

In case you missed the Missionary memo:

LOOK who's waiting to hear where she'll be serving:

Her paperwork to serve a mission was submitted February 17th.

That means she'll probably be receiving that big white envelope THIS WEEK!

But she has a plan.

It involves gathering. And WAITing.

Until March 13th.

So wait with me!

And get excited.

(And if you want, try and GUESS where she'll be assigned. She has a giant map of the world on her apartment wall, and is filling it up with little sticky notes that include names and guesses. Comment below with where you think she'll go, and that will make her VERY happy while we wait!)

She is going to be an AWESOME missionary.

Snapchat is almost my favorite

Especially on days when Sunday selfies from those cute college gals pop up on the phone screen.

an update from Idaho

Our favorite BYU-Idaho student is mixing things up this semester. She's "off-track." This means she's not attending classes full-time; instead she's working four days a week and taking an online class. 

She moved to the apartment next door, has the same room mate who we're all crazy about, 

and is diving head-first into some new experiences and opportunities. 

She's as lovely as ever.

(and missed more than ever)

Inside AND out.

She had her wisdom teeth out.

All FOUR of them.

(she is still WISE.)

Then we sent her back to Idaho.

And I miss her.

the end.

sisters

the college girl is thriving

People have been asking me about how our Sweet Mesquite is doing since I dropped her off in Idaho, oh, about a month ago now.  Here's the first-day-of-school picture with her room mate and partner-in-crime she texted me:

Truth is, she's making college two thousand miles away look like FUN.

She cooks/packs her own meals, likes all of her room mates, plays in the University Band, was asked to be the Choir Director at church, has joined an Ultimate Frisbee team/league, and goes Country Dancing for fun.

 I think she likes it.

Moving the college student to Idaho: a tale for which you might want a comfy chair and some refreshment

To say the past week has been a whirlwind of adventure would be a gross, gross understatement. I've had a fantastic journey from east coast to west and back again, depositing Sweet Mesquite on the campus of BYU Idaho, where she is now thoroughly immersed in her first official day of college. We flew from Boston to Baltimore, and then on to Salt Lake.  Our first stop: BYU Provo and a ride on Yonder's new bike.

We met some of Kristine's family. They're delightful. Their front yard is the Provo temple. That's not a hard view to live with.

After my turn on the bike, we drove north to a shared meal and some camaraderie with our dear dear friends The Parsons.

 They are our most favorite Massachusetts expatriates in Utah.

 We tried to leave and they turned a hug into a Mesquite wrap.

We feel stuffed to the brim with love whenever we get together.

There weren't many hours left in the day by the time we reached my brother's house. We expressed our gratitude, fell into bed, and were rolling out before the sun the next morning to drive across the northern border:

If it were not for our need to reach our destination by a certain hour, I would have stopped at least a dozen times on the drive to take pictures of the amazing things I saw. Including, somewhere many miles off an exit in the remote wilderness of somewhere-in-Idaho, a nice man in overalls with the most facial hair I've ever seen around a mouth with no teeth, who directed us down a dirt road to the nearest gas station so that we could take a much needed break. The morning temps were in the low 30s, so the big crop sprinklers on auto that morning were turning everything they touched into ice. It was quite beautiful, and a little shocking on September 12th. I do harbor a teensy bit of photographic regret. Except there were a few moments where I couldn't help myself. Like proving to my speed limit 65 people at home that we were driving a lot faster than that most of the day:

I did manage to stick my camera out the car window a few times (NOT while driving 80 of course)

After a week of many hours of driving and traveling, I know my family was nervous about the possibility that I might become drowsy behind the wheel. I will tell you that I was honestly so enamored with my surroundings, that I was just too visually stimulated to be sleepy.  For that I am grateful.

Four hours and a few turns later, we found ourselves on South Yellowstone Highway (Yellowstone is just a short drive east of campus) and turning onto the university's main street.

 We checked in, moved in, met roommates, picked up text books, got a college I.D. and explored the campus.

Mesquite's apartment is located about 60 seconds from campus. It was a short walk to everything.  

By dinner time I needed to head south, so we said our good-byes and I left her by the side of her adorable room mate.

 They're in college!

And they're going to ROCK it.

solving the world's problems in the swing with Grampy

All in the course

of a single Sunday afternoon.

 There's something special

about the relationship between

a Grandfather and a Granddaughter.

Cousins chatting on Sunday

keeping campers safe at the waterfront

Sweet Mesquite's got herself a sweet gig for the summer.

She's working as a lifeguard at a church-owned girls' camp in New Hampshire. She's back at it this week.

 I miss her like CRAZY when she's gone.

But I guess it's a good warm-up for her college adventures in the Fall.  Meanwhile, she's enjoying a pretty good view from her office.

She did it!

And it was a HAPPY day.