Ethan's Departure

We took Ethan to the airport dark and early this morning. I woke up at 3:25, he was already awake and getting dressed. (He said he only got one hour of sleep... I hope he's ok today) At 3:45 he was ready to go and went to give his siblings one last hug and kiss, or if they were too high on the bunk bed to reach, they got a little push and hollar. Eth hugging Natalie -

"Say goodbye to your brother for 2 years!" (maybe, we'll see how 2021 and 2022 go, right?) They were all conscious and said goodbye, except I'm not sure about Hyrum, he didn't respond.

My mom came by to say goodbye, share her testimony and give him $20 bucks for airport food, which he happily accepted. I'm glad that they got to know each other during Ethan's senior year when he went to her house to work for her, writing up deposit slips and making bank runs for Bonneville Realty. He got a peak into their life that only a few of the grandkids have seen. Bye Grandma Hibbert!

My mom had slept through our last hurrah last night, cause she was up at 3 am Monday morning. I guess 3 am is just her wake up time! Final hugs to Joseph and Mel before we drive him down. They were so nice to get out of bed to see him off.

At the airport.

They had a sign that said for only one parent to come in. Corey said I should go. Last hug from Corey -

A kiss for Peter (he was watching Barney on Corey's phone. Peter woke up and cried and cried, as you can hear in the goodbye video above. We figured he'd be a stinker for Mel and Joseph if we left him, so cranky Peter got to tag along. He's such a baby.)

Pressing forward along the straight and narrow moving walkway.

Taking the escalator down to check in.

There were people standing in line, so we figured we'd do what they were doing and got in line. And stood there. And we didn't know why.

Ethan gave me permission to leave. "I think I got it from here." I didn't leave though. "...or you can keep standing here too..." I stayed. Eventually some baggage clerks showed up and then the line started moving.

They don't open until 4:30. I guess I thought they were always open, but covid must have slowed things down. He got his boarding pass, checked the baggage in, then we took the elevator up. A final hug from me and then he headed to go through security.

Like we had done when Joseph left, I stayed and watched until he was out of sight. After he joined up with the other missionaries, I couldn't tell which one was him except for the two straps that were on his backpack.

He gave me one final wave before he headed to the gate. He is going to do great things.

We got back home at 5:30 and took a nap. Woke up at 6:30 to get high school kids off for the 2nd day of school. Then another nap. Awake again at 8 to send off the elementary girls. Then another nap. Around 10 I felt like I was good to stay awake for the day. I cleaned the kitchen as I talked to Nicole, who has been on vacation for like a month camping and stuff, so we caught up on the latest. I cleaned and it was nice to have it stay cleaner than it usually has these past few months with all the kids home. ODP still made their fair share of fun messes. They practiced the ABCs with Mel and the keva blocks.

Peter fell asleep with Mel and took a looong nap, which was great. I'm really trying and praying for help to be able to wean him and have him learn to fall asleep on his own without needing/wanting me to nurse him to sleep. I hope I haven't ruined him.

So cute, little stink bug

And then Abi had a flute lesson and kids were tired after school and no body practiced today, but I did do a great job cleaning the kitchen, so good job me. And we had burgers, chips, and watermelon for dinner. Melodie took Joseph back to Provo at 10 tonight. He ran some errands today while he had access to a car. He got himself some new shoes and Nike socks - he modeled them so we can send it to Ethan and see if he approves and if Joseph is stylish now. We've been informed that Stance socks are no longer cool. You have to wear white Nike socks.

I told Joseph that he had to pucker his lips if he was modelling. 

Looking good, Joseph, with his neck gaiter covering there around his neck. He's ready to take campus by storm. We'll see him again soon I'm sure, he'll be coming up for Mel's farewell message in church in a few weeks. And life goes on.