The Final Goodbye

Well, here it is.....the beginning of saying goodbye to Laurel for 18 months.

Clark and Laurel are going "in for the hug".

This is when I lost it.

Next time Laurel and Michelle are together Michelle will be married. I'm sad that Laurel won't be there for all of the fun and excitement of the wedding, but I'm so happy that Laurel is doing exactly what is right for her too.

Grandpa Hatch drove up from St. George to wish Laurel well.

From the hotel, to the car, to the curb........of the MTC.

Yes, another back seat shot. Clark said his goodbye's the night before because he had to work. Missed you Clark.

Love Laurel's eyes.

Two very happy girls I tell ya. Happy happy girls!

The hugs from her big brothers are really heart felt. I so love that they have both served missions as well.

"I LOVE the mtc. love it. mucho mucho. The first day all i kept thinking was how much I love the mtc and how much I love that I'm on a mission. It's great. It's already hard, but it's great."

"ok i love you all! the church is true! the saviour died for us!"

-Hermana Cahoon

Farewell Week (part 2)

You might think that all we do when we are together is eat. That's not all we do, but you gotta eat right? Sometimes eating a meal together can be really fun. Oh, it's especially fun when we go to a fast food place, because most of us know what we want, but then Mark likes to save money, which is good, but then it kind of turns into a contentious situation sometimes. I know what you are thinking......"hey, if everyone paid for their own meal then there would be no contention". The contention is worth a free meal :)

Pizza Hut in Dillon, Montana, the 1/2 mark. The best thing about this Pizza Hut is the ice. We went to Zupas in SLC and their ice is worth the trip too. It's small and kind of soft and just down right perfect in my book.

" Hey Brad, what song are you singing?"

Laurel had one more pair of shoes to buy and sandals for the shower, and then Michelle found the best deal on those brown boots she has on. Michelle kinda hummed and hawwed over the $10 price, but when you ask yourself, "are these $10 cute?" and if you answer yes then you gotta get em'. They turned out to be 1/2 off the clearance so yah, they were definitely $5 cute!

In and Out.

Let's see, what question did Laurel just ask Michelle?

(actually, Michelle was posing for the camera)

Waiting to be seated at Red Lobster in Provo.

Still waiting to be seated at Red Lobster in Provo.

It was worth the wait! They gave us two free appetizers and who was the happiest? Mark!

Oh Laurel. Not sure you are looking like a "set-apart" missionary to me.

This is what Michelle likes to do when she can sit next to me, cuddle and nuzzle!

Look at all that space and Michelle wants to squeeze into me. It better not stop when she gets married, or else!

This is the last picture taken of the kids the night before we took Laurel to the MTC.

All packed up and ready to go.....

(next post is the MTC drop off)

Farewell Week (part 1)

All the kids came up for Laurel's farewell last weekend and it was so fun, as usual. Have I mentioned that I love it when all the kids are home at the same time? It was nice to finally meet Jordan too, even if it was at 3am. It kind of feels like Christmas morning when the kids roll in so late/early. I was asleep of course, and then I heard something, so I listened closer and realized it was them, "the kids are home". Yep, so the first time meeting Michelle's fiance' was three in morning in my jammies with no makeup on and my hair in a pony.

These back seat photos are some of my favorites. We are on our way to, or is it coming home from Waterton.

I know it doesn't look like it, but it was windy and it was coooolllldddddd.

This is Brad ice sliding and Neal is making a run for it.

Neal took these next two photos. One is focused on the chunk of ice while the other one is focused on the mountain. (do you see the face in the ice?)


We also did a little gopher hunting. This is Jordan trying his hand. We were all taking turns shooting at the same gopher. I'm not sure who finally got it, but we had fun trying. You know what a happy day it is when you finally see a gopher? Ahh, spring is right around the corner!

Look at all my boys watching a basketball game.

Jordan was very nice to play ping pong with Neal all weekend long. And I mean, all. weekend. long!

Cooking. Laurel is making her Thai dish that we all love. She doesn't even use a recipe anymore, that's how good she is and it was delish! It was nice to have Kelly stay a night so the cousins could hang out.

We had a little family/friend lunch after her farewell talk on Sunday. It was nice that Grandma Cahoon could come. Laurel really loves her Grandma Cahoon, in fact, all of the grandkids do.

And here she is. Hermana Cahoon. Our Stake President took this photo of us just after she was set apart as a missionary. Look how even steven Jordan makes this photo look. 4 and 4. Love it!

Next post will be our trip to Utah......

Neal

On Sunday, Neal (Mark is out of town) and I decided to go for a drive into Waterton. The weather was spectacular last week so we decided that good weather = a Sunday drive.

I love how the sun is shining a goldy/orange on the mountain tops and this reflection? It just does not happen very often here! Waterton and wind kinda go together.

Just me and my boy :)

Neal's favorite picture. I sure wished I had brought my camera.

Phones work.

If you look close you can see the moon.

Neal and I had a good afternoon hanging out, delivering cookies, and visiting with some of our favorite people here in Leavitt. It was a good day!

Michelle and Jordan are Engaged!

Can you believe it? We're having a wedding! Jordan proposed last night and I am telling you, Michelle is one happy girl!






It will be in the Salt Lake Temple, but no official date yet.