Secret Surprise!

When we were little, our favorite Family Home Evening activity was what we called "secret surprise" - where we made a plate of treats and stealthily sneaked them onto someone's doorstep and then rang and ran! So much fun. We were so stealth no one EVER figured out it was us! (HA.)

Well, this past Friday, my brother Scott and his wife McKenzie graduated from BYU. My parents were scheduled to leave the very next day for Israel, where they would serve at the BYU Jerusalem Center for study abroad students for 18 months. I thought about how my entire family would be together that weekend for the last time in who knows how long? Scott and McKenzie are moving to Texas, David is moving to Alaska, Ryan is applying to med school. But for this last weekend, they would all be together - except for me. And that made me sad. So I bought a plane ticket! And then, to add excitement, I kept it a secret! And arrived as a surprise! Like a plate of cookies on their doorstep - a real live secret surprise!

I had my sister and my youngest brother as accomplice, and my other brother's mother-in-law (yep!) but that is all I told! Thursday night, Nolan and I drove to Kansas City and then flew to Salt Lake City, arriving around midnight. Yes I flew on a plane with a one-year-old, because I am supermom! HA! Ryan picked us up and then stealthily drove us to my parents' house in Midway. My sister was already there with her family and she had secretly set up beds for Nolan and I and left the door unlocked. My grandma was there also, so it was a full house we were keeping secrets from!

In the morning, when my parents woke up, my sister took Nolan downstairs while I stood around the corner and videotaped. The reaction was priceless! I do love a good surprise. (When she sends me the video, I will put it here!) They were shocked and amazed. Secret surprise mission accomplished.

So here's the twist. Remember I said my parents were leaving for Jerusalem the day after graduation? Well, they called a week earlier with some surprising news. Instead of going to the Jerusalem center, my dad was called as a mission president for our church to reopen the Liberia Monrovia mission. (It was closed with the outbreak of Ebola). They will leave in early July and serve for two years. So although they did NOT leave this past weekend as planned, it will still be a long time before they'll be back in the states with us again! This also rendered my going-away gift (Jerusalem: A Cookbook) obsolete. Oh well!

We had a great weekend, apart from the actual graduation ceremony itself, which was terrible. Sorry, but yes. Okay mostly because Nolan decided at the very beginning that he didn't want to sit through it, so he and I spent two and a half hours milling around the foyer of the Marriott Center. Good times with Nolan. But we had some pretty amazing food afterward so it was all better.

We also had a graduation party that afternoon with the graduates and their families.

Yesterday we were able to attend the open house for the newly completed Payson temple. It was just beautiful, and SO enormous!

For some reason, it was SO bright outside. That is why we all have our eyes closed and look generally grouchy!

This morning, VERY early, Nolan and I headed home again. He did all right traveling back, sleeping on the first (longer) flight and kind of throwing a fit on the second (shorter) one. Most importantly we are now home safe and sound and had a fantastic time! I'm so glad we were able to spend time with my whole family, however brief!