Mom is a Missionary!!!

It is so fun to have a missionary in the family again! Mom turned her papers in sometime in June and learned that the brethren take the month of July off, so that delayed getting her call a bit.  August 8th came along and this is what she found...

Called to serve in the Texas Houston South Mission as a Family History Records Preservation and Family History Specialist.

She had to report to the MTC on Labor Day, September 3rd.  Just over 3 weeks to get things done... let the preparations begin! Sorting, shopping, cleaning, de-junking, fixing, packing etc, etc, etc.  It was nice that all us kids were able to come home and lend a helping hand.

Shed in need of repair.

Look at that teamwork!

Good work guys!

It wasn't all work, all the kids had a great time playing!

Saturday evening was a farewell party for Mom.  The weather didn't really cooperate, but plenty of people made it out to give their well wishes!

Balagna's came from Logan- such great family friends!

Jayson playing in the rain!

It was great to see Questy! 

There was packing to be done, but not without a little entertainment from Jess and Ryan!

PD Warrior Sign

Sunday was the perfect day to take a few family photos!

What a good looking bunch!

Mom with all her kids!

Brent and Ashley

Dunroe Family

Ryan & Marcela & kids

Jared & Katie & kids

We were sad that Steve and the kids were unable to join us.

 Sisters

Brothers... what goofballs!

Brother Pow-wow?

What?!

Take that! Ah, boys will be boys!

Arms length apart, I don't want him touching me!

Ready for the picture now!

Forget that, I love you guys!

A little too much love perhaps!

Alright, we'll cooperate and finally give you a good picture! 

While everyone was taking family photos Jackson wanted nothing to do with that! Off he wandered to the pond... oops! Good thing there were so many adults around to watch him!

Cute Jayson!

Scrunch time with Aunt Katie!

Sunday evening at 8:00pm was the designated time for the setting apart.  Everyone, kids and all, went.  We were quite the crowd that converged on the Stake President.  After visiting for a few minutes he got straight to business and gave the most beautiful blessing I think I have ever heard.  The spirit was very strong and we've no doubt that those we could not see were also in that room!

Officially Sister Linton

Monday morning came quick! Everyone had to be packed up and we were out of the house by 8am.  We met up with Jess at the Provo temple and had some time to snap a few pictures.

Time had come to kick her to the curb.  We no longer get to go into the MTC, we pull up and are greeted by about 10 elders and 2 sisters who are there to help carry luggage and direct her where to go.  She was ready and excited to go!

First picture in the MTC! 

It was a wonderful weekend! It doesn't happen very often that all of us siblings get together.  After we dropped Mom off at the MTC we went to Dad's grave which was the first time since his funeral (9-1/2 years ago) that all 6 kids have been there together.

We have a great time when we are together - us siblings and also the spouses and kids.  Such cute nieces and nephews I have! I wish big family get togethers happened more often, but why don't we do it again in 18 months?

Best of luck Momisita! We know many people, including your own family, will be blessed through your willingness to serve.  You will be a great missionary! Love you tons!  

Ritzy

Friday, July 20th at 12:30am a horrible act of violence occurred in the Aurora, Colorado movie theater by the Aurora mall.  When I learned the news on Friday morning I was literally sick and my thoughts instantly went to friends and family.  I was so relieved to learn that no one I know was in that theater that night.  I appreciated the texts, phone calls, and e-mails asking about my well being.  I loved FB and how quickly news spread of everyone’s safety.  My heart aches for the family and friends of the 12 who were killed, for the 58 injured, and for all who were at the theater that night who will continue to live that nightmare.  I have been to that theater several times and it really hit home how bad things can happen to anyone, at anytime.  On the other hand, when tragedies like this occur it gives me hope to hear all the stories of the courageous heroes and I realize there are still a lot of good people in this world.  I don’t know what the shooter’s motives were, nor do I care, but I do think the only thing he accomplished by this horrific act is to restore faith in humanity and unite a community.  It is my hope that this is the memory that will live on and not the “who” or the “how” surrounding the evil that ran rampant that night.

Now on to a little lighter topic…

I could easily get accustomed to the life of luxury… I do like nice things! This past weekend was my company annual recharge event.  This year the recharge was held in Beaver Creek, CO and they put us up in the Ritz Carlton.  Nice! I invited my friend, Heather, to come with me.  So, I picked her up from work and we got on the road at 11am on Friday.  We arrived with enough time to check in and put our stuff in our room before boarding the bus for the challenge event.  I felt like I was on a reality TV show where you have no idea what you would be doing or where you were going, but you were told to be in a certain place at a certain time.  Come to find out our challenge this year was based off the TV show “Top Shots” (which I have never seen).  Anyway, we were divided into teams and had 7 different stations to rotate through.  Each station involved a weapon of some kind... shotguns, pistols, bow & arrows, blow darts, bull riding, and a paintball gun. 

It was a lot of fun and I had a great team! Turns out the Fire Breathing Rubber Duckies took 1^st place with 116 points!!! Go us!! The second place came in at 92 points or somewhere around there, so we did great! The best part is, it pays to be competitive and have some skill on your team since Heather and I each won $125.00.  Got to love that!

1st Place 

After the festivities on Friday we headed back to the hotel and Heather and I sat out on our balcony and had a wonderful visit for probably 3 solid hours.  I loved many things about the weekend, but I think my favorite part was enjoying the crisp mountain air and fabulous conversation with a great friend.  I feel so lucky to have so many amazing people in my life! 

 

 

Saturday was completely open to do as we wished.  In our welcome packet we received $75.00 for me and $75.00 for Heather to use however we wanted.  Got to love that! We didn’t have any set plans so we just played it by ear and went with the flow! We started the day off by playing some tennis on a clay court.  I’ve never played on clay before, and I can say it was not my favorite! It was still fun to play and I felt like playing at a tennis club was a very Ritzy thing to do! 

We wandered around Beaver Creek village and did a little shopping after getting ready for the day.  Then we met up with a co-worker and his wife and played some Frisbee golf.  Frisbee was a lot more intense than I expected it to be.  I guess I wasn’t thinking we would literally hike a mountain, stroll through mud, and roam through the trees and tall grass looking for our Frisbees (or the hole for that matter)!  I definitely wore the wrong shoes! It was a lot of fun and I even got par on a few holes so that made me happy.  I also learned that there are various types of discs… driver, midway, and putter.  Who knew?? 

After Frisbee we had a couple hours to relax before heading down to dinner, so we watched a Netflix movie, “Thor”.  Not one I will ever see again, but a good action and not have to think kind of a show.

We met up with some co-workers for dinner at a restaurant located in the hotel.  I think 6 young kids completely stood out in this ritzy restaurant.  The menu was rather small which made my choice really easy since there was only one thing listed that I would eat… NY steak! It was delicious and I was pleasantly surprised since typically the more expensive the restaurant, the less likely I am to actually enjoy the food! We put our $75 dollars towards dinner and that did not even cover the entire bill – expensive! It was fun to simply sign the check as Room 323! I felt very high-class doing that!

We went from living the good life to watching an episode of “Hoarders” and quickly realized that even living a normal life is a huge step up from how these people live.  So crazy!

So, our vacation came to an end since we had to leave at 7am Sunday morning so I could go to the airport.  We went straight from Beaver Creek to the airport so I could catch my flight to D.C.  So, that is where I am now.  I checked out of the Ritz Carlton on Sunday morning and checked into the Marriott Sunday evening.  I am in DC attending a conference until tomorrow.  Living the good life, huh? Actually, I find it rather lonely and I am so looking forward to being home and not living out of a suitcase anymore. So, while it is fun to pretend and live the glamorous life for a weekend, I think I prefer my normal life with my own bed!