Monday, Gavin and I had a Cinematic Pop dress rehearsal followed by a concert, at the Mesa Arts Center. We had quite a series of unfortunate events on our way.
The first was he couldn't find one of his shoes. After looking and then trying a few different pairs, he found some that would work. As we were about to leave his house, he realized that he had left his music in the car that his wife, Cadie, had at work. We check around the house, just in case it was there, with no luck.
As he got in the van to go, the seam in the seat of his pants split open a little. I ran into the house and got a safety pin. We then drove to Cadie's work, about 30 minutes away, to get his music.
We knew we were going to be a little late, so we texted a couple of people to give them a heads up. As I finished letting them know, I got a text from Kristine Mitchell that her tire had blown out and broke and cause a bunch of damage to her car. She wanted me to save her a spot and to let them know what happened. I told her that we were running late too.
Gavin jumped out and got his music out of her car. As he hopped back in the van, he forgot to be careful with his pants, and about 7 inches of the seam split open. No safety pin could repair that.
We stopped a Ross that was just down the road. Of course they didn't have any black pants in his size. As we walked out of Ross, I saw a Dollar Tree next door. We got a needle and thread, so I could sew up his pants. Brilliant!
We laughed a lot throughout all of this.
We really didn't want to miss rehearsal. Rob doesn't rehearse with us very much, so every minute counts. We let them know that we would be even later.
Gavin drove with a beach towel over his lap as I sewed the seam back together. It's a good thing he's my brother.
As I sewed, my phone rang. It was Kristine again. She was wondering if we would be driving past where her van was on the freeway, and if we were, could we pick her up. Her husband was on the way to arrange for the van, but she didn't want to miss rehearsal. It worked out perfectly.
When we pulled over by her, I got out to get her, while Gavin put his repaired pants on.
We all decided that our string of mishaps, were really a tender mercy for her. It made me really think about how often that might happen in our lives. The Lord blessed us with the opportunity to serve, even though we thought everything was comically going wrong. It was going just perfectly for us to rescue Kristine.
One of my favorite teachers from school, my theory teacher Dr. Stefanie Gardner, was in the orchestra. She plays clarinet amazingly!!! I loved listening to her play!
Lots of my sweet friends came to support me.
Krista Baker and Steph
The Jordans and Jon Baker
One of my MCO boys, Colton McOmber
Noah, Freddy, Spencer Jones, Andrew
Laney, Zanna
We love Spencer!
Zanna, Cosette Smith, Laney
She was so sweet with the girls!
The family!
Tuesday night, we performed again.
I love getting to hang out with Laura Davis. She is one of my favorite people!
Laura and Steph
We've been friends with these guys for years. It was fun to have Taylor sing with us.
Taylor Earl, Gavin, Laura Earl, Steph
My school buddies!
Sebastian Damiani, Steph, Lance Ballard, Stefanie Gardner, (and cousin Justin Spooner photo bombing)
My family was there as well, Ben and Nan, Mom and Dad, Justin and Stephanie Spooner, but somehow we didn't get a picture.
Jen and Jason Tanner were there. I love them! Our kids have grown up together.
The soloist and composer of Cinematic Pop
Spencer Jones, Adam Payne, Cosette Smith, Rob Gardner, McKenna Breinholt, Benson Jones
Thursday, Sara and I went to the Gilbert Temple to be with her friend Madison as she received her endowment. Sammy met us there. We did our usual thing and stayed in the Celestial Room for a long, long time. It is the best place for wonderful conversations. I love it!!!
We didn't get any pictures with Madison because we stay for so long, that they had already left.
The flowers were gorgeous! The weather has been crazy cool here, right around 100 degrees.
That is refreshing for the end of June.
Sara and I went to In N Out, remembering all our good times there,
and because we were STARVING! We missed our burger buddy, Josh.
The girls have been having a bunch of fun playing Just Dance with cousins.
And doing puzzles.
And being silly!!!
Sara gave the boys their last haircuts before she leaves.
Saturday, Vivi and Laney assembled many pans of enchilada casserole in preparation for the family lunch we would be having the next day, after Sara's farewell. I was so grateful for their help!
Saturday night we had our Come Follow Me lesson with Sam and Vivi. It was great to have them here. I love having all these wonderful people in my home. We will miss Sara!!!
Sara gave a beautiful message in church. She glowed with the spirit. She is so well prepared to serve the Lord as a missionary. She will thrive with the structure of missionary life. She has so much love to give!!!
Gavin and I sang Come Ye Disconsolate. We added a harmony to make it a duet. I was in heaven singing with him. I love having him so close now. We sing together several times a week now.
I snapped a few quick pictures during the family lunch, just so we can remember who was there.
Justin and Stephanie Spooner, Nan and Ben, Andrew, Sam and Vivi
Tyler Hatton and McKaden Packard were the missionaries who taught Sebastian his first lesson. They are both home from their missions now, but came back to visit. They stayed the weekend with us and came to Sara's farewell. We had Sebastian over for lunch so he could see them while they were in town. It was a very happy reunion!
Sara, Leilani, Rachel, blurry Peter, Daniel, Sebastian
Dandi, Aunt Faye, Grammy and Uncle Mike
Benson
Daniel and Daphne
Blake, Freddy, Rachel and Lydia
Leilani, Natalie, Steven, Adriana, Emily, Jon
Daniel, Grammy, Mike, Rich
Daniel and Vivi
Vivi, Sara and Sammy
While we were on the porch we saw these cute fledglings in their nest, hidden in our vines.
We had our video call with Timmy Sunday evening. I love these times together!!!
Dandi and her boys stayed the night. They played a ton of games, especially Exploding Kittens.
Zanna, Freddy, Josh, Lucas, Andrew, Wilson and Noah
McKaden grabbed my phone and took this beautiful picture of us together. I sure love him!
The late night gang. We took this picture at about 2 am.
Freddy, Andrew, Josh, McKaden
Lilly, Sara and Lauryn
Tyler was smart and crashed early, with his teddy bear.
Monday, we said goodbye to Tyler and McKaden. Andrew, Freddy, and Josh stayed up playing games with McKaden until the sun rose. Sara and I went to bed around 4 am. We were up talking with Dandi, and a sweet friend in Thailand. Daniel and the little girls went to bed around 2 am. It was a crazy but super fun night! We were just enjoying every last minute with each other before Sara leaves.
This was how we really felt.
Having a good time!
It has been so busy with all the preparations and gatherings. I am looking forward to having a normal life again, but loving all the fun that comes with sending a missionary off into the world. It's horribly wonderful!
