"THE DROP OFF"

UGH, how do I tell about this post.  This was such a very emotional day....That about sums it up.  We spent the morning at BYU and that was good and fun.  Dallin was dressed in his mission best, so he really looked like a MISSIONARY.  It was seeming very real today.  We ate lunch at the BYU food court.  We saw several other missionaries waiting for their time to check in.  We left BYU about 40 minutes early, because I was thinking that I would have Scott park in the parking lot and we would finalize our goodbyes and have some closure.  When we got close to the MTC we were directed into the turning lane of the MTC.  They asked us if we had a missionary and we said yes, and then we drove along side the sidewalk that had hundreds of missionaries standing by numbered signs waiting to take my son from my side.  Dallin asked...."is this it"  I asked the same thing, I was so inexperienced I didn't know what to do.  So we pulled up to number 19 and the host missionaries opened the door, and started to get the luggage out.  I didn't even have time to grab my camera to capture all this.  I was frustrated.  If I could do it again I would have gone over to the exercise park across the street and watched the goings on and finalize our goodbyes.  Well that didn't happen so we made the best with what we had.  So everything was very rushed.  I asked one of the host missionaries to take one family picture.  They said that they couldn't.  I looked to Scott with tears in my eyes.  The sweet missionary saw me and took my camera and snapped a picture while his companion blocked the view so they wouldn't get in trouble.  I had todo it, I just had to.  I had warned Dallin before....."I have to have a family picture at the MTC Dallin, so you can either let me take it or you can be seriously embarrassed."  He chose the picture, smart kid.  So they gathered all of Dallin's suitcases, we all gave quick hugs, and Dallin started to walk away.  I couldn't stand it, I wasn't sure what was happening.  The nice picture taking missionary told Dallin to turn and wave, so he did, I will be eternally grateful to that missionary.  I didn't feel any closure.  When Dallin was gone, I turned to the missionaries and said with a flare to my voice,  "do you always make people go that fast, or just us?"  He said "oh no the others are way faster."  Then a parking missionary came over and kindly asked us to leave.  Ugh!  When we got in the car I was shell shocked.  I wanted a redo.  Poor Scott wanted to help me, so he said "DeWitt, hurry put on you Sunday clothes and we'll go through again and look for Dallin."  We didn't, we just were escorted off the property and we headed to Colorado to find solace at Daniel and Connie's house.  I cried for a lot of the drive.  I'm so glad Dallin is there, and I know this is where is supposed to be, it just needed to be tweaked a bit.  Anyway, all in all it's a good thing and I am satisfied.

This was the Missionary that wanted to hurry us.

My second favorite missionary is behind the camera and my third favorite missionary is beside him blocking the view, and my first favorite missionary is, you guessed it....Elder Evans

When we showed these pictures to Daniel's family, they noticed the white car behind us.  Watch the white car.

I wanted to take as many pictures as I could.  Allison came over and got the camera from me and I thought, oh how nice she is going to take pictures for me, but she just HELD it.  Oh man, I grabbed that right out of her hand and continued snapping pictures.

A quick hug with DeWitt

I love this

That's Allison, I was at the wrong angle, so she didn't get her own hugging picture, but they were pressuring us.

Polly's hug

Lillian's hug

This is typical...Polly is giving Dallin instruction

The dad hug

The mama hug.  I said not one word.  I absolutely could not talk, if I would have opened my mouth it would have been a sob.      (The white car is still there.) Allison did take this picture, she got the perfect angle, the perfect shot and the perfect show of emotion.  
Thanks Allison.

The Look Back.  What a handsome missionary.  (the white car is gone)

One last touch, from DeWitt 

Come on one more picture....PLEASSSSE

The walk off, (some more of the cars are gone, but we're still there)

The real deal walk off, (no cars:-)

The host missionary, my second favorite, hollered at Dallin and told him to turn and wave.  Dallin did, but I got the picture with his hand half way in the air, so it looks a little weird, but I want to show every picture I got.  So that's it, that was our experience.  All in all it was good.  It was a very fast experience, but it looks like we stayed the longest, so go us!!!!

Last Little Bit of Time with Dallin May 25th 2011

Some kids left this big P on the Jones' door, Polly loved it of course so we had to take a picture

My family.  Daron took this picture just in case we didn't get one at the MTC.  This was our last morning together.

Our family, different view

Scott and Daron Jones.  They are childhood friends

We went to BYU to waste some time, before we took Dallin to the drop off.

Dallin and Lillian at the BYU Bookstore.  We saw several missionary people walking around waiting for their "time"

Finding lunch

DeWitt and Dallin in the BYU parking lot

Our beautiful children in the BYU parking lot

More From Around Temple Square

We got to eat lunch in the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, (the old Hotel Utah).  This cafe is called the Navuoo Cafe.

I told DeWitt and Dallin to pose like Hyrum and Joseph, so this is what they ended up doing.

Scott and Polly.  Polly loves to ask Scott questions

Allison, Mom and Lillian

hmmmm, not sure what happened here.

Outside of the Assembly Hall

At the North Visitors Center

My goofy family.....Got to love em!

Love it!

In front of the Conference Center

Conference Center and The Jones' Monday May 23, 2011

We are walking from Temple Square to the Conference Center.

Lillian and Polly in front of the Conference Center

Inside this amazing building

There was a lot of art work in the Conference Center.  I loved this one with the Stripling Warriors.  I had my two Warriors stand next to me.

These are all originals of Arnold Freeberg.  This exhibit was amazing!

This was towards the end of the day and Polly was tired, so DeWitt picked her us without a second thought.

Cool picture in front of the 3 story waterfall

This is taken from the top.  This seats 21,000 people

Lillian and Polly standing next to their 5th great grandpa, Parley P. Pratt

Lillian, Polly and Rebecca on the top of the Conference Center

The whole family on the top of the Conference Center

We stayed Monday and Tuesday with Daron and Stephanie Jones in Linden, UT.  Daron is Scott's childhood friend.  They took such great care of us, and even had a rock wall to climb

Lillian got to the top great, but when she looked down, she had other thoughts, and she had a hard time coming down.  It was pretty funny actually.

Polly the whiz, she one armed it.

This is after Lillian made it down from the rock wall.  She was trying to make Allison understand the horror she just experienced.

Dallin, he wasn't going to climb the wall, because he was a set apart missionary, but he said since there was a Bishop there, Daron, that it might be OK. 

DeWitt went up several times without any trouble, so he needed to make it harder by using arms only.  He made it most of the way.  It looked incredibly difficult.

Scott wanted to give it a try!

Lillian and Dallin

I guess this was the advanced side, and Scott was the conqueror

Polly and Maron

Brinley and Polly

Kadrin, Ambry, Daron, Stephanie, DeWitt and Dallin