My smooshed heart is happy and sad at the same time...

Letting children go is not easy.  There have been a lot of prayers and laughs and tears and hugs. Letting Jonas leave for BYU has been the right thing to do, but it is still hard to not have him around. We miss him: tears well up and my throat gets tight as I try to keep my heart from spilling out even as I type this.


I really want to document this event with just a handful of pictures from our week.  I probably would have taken more pictures, but I really just wanted to spend time with Jonas instead of being behind a camera or connected to my phone.

Braces are off, this guy is HAPPY!

On the road to BYU, gang sign up because Ironman said so...

Check out the size of this cheeseburger at Black Bear Diner.  

It's seriously so huge and he ate it in like less than five minutes.  

Last minute advice, words of wisdom, or maybe just talking about a recent movie.  

It doesn't matter, the love is there.  

But keep your eyes on the road Mister!

Check out the new apartment!

Just a few things to put away, and I'm sure the football posters will be up soon!

 BYU fans back at home, 

cheering Jonas on!

Reuben is 6!

What a great birthday for a great kid!  Bob had the day off so we were able to start the day off with our whole family.  Donuts, presents, playtime, making the cake --- which turned into cake pops...
I still taught my evening seminary class, but after that we had pizza, cake, and ice cream, and then rushed off to an evening of family pictures by the mountains.  We also got to visit the Chavez family and hear about Jose's mission call to the jungle in Honduras.  It was busy but filled with wonderful moments.  Reuben did great at sharing his toys, I think he's learned the drill with all the other siblings that want to play with him and his new stuff on birthdays!

The cake was supposed to be Thor's hammer, but it fell apart after baking.  

So, I improvised quickly and made infinity stones from the Avenger movie series...

Reuben loves his new Captain America costume!  

We've got Thor, Green Lantern, Superman, Ironman, and the Hulk as his companions in this picture...

The other presents are all enjoyed as well, (thank you!) but my phone hardly ever has photo memory since Gideon keeps stealing it to take pictures of random walls or floors or whatever...