Almost Heaven, West Virginia...

Since Sage was a junior in high school she has wanted to serve a mission! And while most parents are thrilled to hear their kids want to serve missions, there was a side of Jack and I that was equally ok with her sticking with her studies instead of going on one.  The last thing I wanted was for her to feel obligated to go because everyone else in the family had served one.  But anyone that knows Sage knows she's not easily talked into or out of anything so before I knew it, her papers were in and what felt like less than a week later, her call was on the missionary portal!  We were really happy for her and it's no secret I was really happy to have her serve in the states so Charleston, West Virginia, here she comes!!! Take good care of my baby!!!

Oh, the anticipation...  So fun watching all her friends gather in the dorm lounge!

Photos with BFFs Carly and Katelyn, her cousin Halle and Brent!

 

                                                   

Here are Sage's closest friends from her freshman year that all decided to serve missions  How cute are they!  Somehow I got nominated to take their photos...so I did my best.  I love how she found such a great group of friends to start off her college experience with.

Finally after a grueling second semester of her freshman year behind her, it was time for Sage's home MTC experience to begin, she had her farewell talk and open house and away she went.  We have no doubt she will be an amazing missionary and we are so proud of her for having a true desire to serve and spend this time lighting the world with her beautiful spirit. Once again I didn't get many photos from her open house.

Home MTC...

Some of many cute friends, family and supporters that made it out to her farewell/open house.

Of course we got in in one small hike the day before her departure to the Provo MTC.  

And before we knew it, it was time for good byes... The jury is out on who she will miss more....Jack and I or Nova...

Good bye sweet girl.  We will see you soon.  xo

Michael and Michelle!

What a treat it was to have Michael and Michelle make the trip out to attend not only the open house for Ty and Ashley but also to see Sage before she took off on her mission.  Originally it was supposed to work out that sage's farewell was also this weekend but there was a change and that got pushed back a week.  It was a bit of a bummer but it didn't change the joy it was to have them staying with us and participating in all of the festivities including Sage's setting apart!  I'm so bummed that I didn't really get any great photos of all of us but what a fun time we had at the pool, up the canyon, and celebrating sweet Niko's birthday.  He sure loved hanging out with Sage and boy did Sage love spending time with him.  Literally glued at the hips as you can see... 

And they're off...

After the beautiful wedding in Idaho, Ty and Ashley made their way back to Salt Lake to catch their flight to Cabo! I can only imagine the mental countdown they had going on in their head to this date when they could finally take a short breather before moving onto their next adventure!  I found a hotel that was in a great location and offered a wedding package where they were able to enjoy massages, a dinner and photo session on the beach!  

There was still one last celebration though that needed to happen before Ty and Ash could make the move to Seattle for Ty's summer internship...and that was our open house.  So shortly after returning from their honeymoon it was time for one last celebratory evening. Having lived in different places, we've been fortunate to form close friendships with many friends along the way.  Coincidentally, many of those friends have also found themselves living back in Utah so we decided it would be nice to host an open house in our Heber home for those friends, many we hadn't yet had the opportunity to reunite with since moving to Utah. What a surprise it was to have friends we had first met dating back to our college, New York, Seattle, Ohio, and Florida days in addition to colleagues of Jack's here in Utah and friends we had met since moving here merge together to support us and show up. It was a beautiful night and I'm so glad we had a great excuse to spend time with these friends. Being that we were the hosts, I'm really sad I didn't get photos with everyone that came through our doors that evening as it was a constant flow but here are a few shots I managed to get at the very beginning and the very end.  

Two families merged!  Sadly, the day Ty and Ash left for Cabo, Connor left for Florida to start his internship for AG Reserves so he's missing from this photo but he was here in spirit!

The best help ever!  I don't know what I would have done without Paul and Camilla and the George's.  Such a tremendous help to me.

And a shoutout to Paul (and Sage) for escorting our guests up and down the driveway throughout the evening!