Our trip to Utah

Hello all! Sam & I just got back from our trip to Utah to see my brother off at the MTC. It was a good trip but we're glad to be home & back in our warm weather and our own (king size) bed! I'm not the best picture taker so I definitely didn't come home with pictures of everything I did in Utah but I did get some...

Zack had his "farewell" talk in church on Sunday. He did a GREAT job! After church we had food out and people dropped by all day! It sure wiped us out! It was so fun to see everyone.

The next couple days were all about getting Zack ready to go. We celebrated Christmas early and played some "Garbage." (Don't worry-- it's a card game-- we don't play in the garbage for fun!! Not usually anyway...)

Wednesday was off the the MTC in the morning. It was a fun experience as a family but as some of you have experienced, it can be very hard to say goodbye for 2 whole years! We're so proud of Zack and the decision he made to sacrifice two years of his life in service to his Savior. For those of you who aren't familiar with LDS missions; young men usually go at the age of 19 for 2 years and young women at 21 for 18 months. While on their mission, they devote every bit of time to service and teaching. They don't have weekends off, can't go hang out with friends, can't call home, wear dress clothes all of the time, and work from dawn until dusk. It's a big sacrifice. What DO they gain? Maturity, a strong testimony of Jesus Christ, love for the people they serve, joy from seeing people turn to Christ, support through letters from their friends and families, and many other good life lessons. Isn't it amazing?

After all of that, it was almost time to leave. Then came the most difficult time for me. Yes, I'll miss Zack and I do miss my family so much when I'm not in Utah, but yesterday I had to say goodbye to my childhood dog; Stockton. We got Stockton when we lived in Maryland and I was just barely 11. He's a toy poodle and we named him after John Stockton of the Utah Jazz. Most of you know how much I adore animals. Stockton has been an important part of my life. About 7 or 8 years ago, he started to get cataracts in one of his eyes. He eventually had it in both eyes and was mostly blind. His hearing then started to go in the past couple of years and this year, the vet diagnosed him with dementia. His health has declined quickly just in the last few months. He basically either stays in his bed or walks around playing "bumper cars," (walking until he bumps into something then changing direction). He gets freaked out and confused easily and has lots of accidents. So with his quality of life so low; the humane thing to do is to let him go. Saying goodbye was so difficult, especially since my mom said he seemed much happier and more active with me around. But it's time and we all know that all dogs go to Heaven! I'm counting on it! Sam said that he and Muffy (Sam's dog) could be friends. (We put her down the summer we moved to Texas.) Today is the day for Stockton. I'm trying not to think about it! I love you Stockton!

For more pictures of the trip, click here.