What a fun day as a family. I cannot believe it had been two years already and Tyler is coming home. Elder Farnsworth served his mission in Kansas and he loved every minute of it. The whole time he was gone we all saw how much he grew up. We all saw how much he loved the people of Kansas and how much his love for the Savior and our Heavenly Father had grown. It was a great time the whole week.
Getting to St. George for the homecoming was a real mess for everyone in the Farnsworth family. First of all, Traci was suppose to leave Tuesday so she could help Mom get ready for the week, but as she and Jonathan arrived at the airport they told her her plane had been struck by lightning. They also told her the plane would be ready in the morning. She was not happy, but she went home and came back the next morning. When she got there the second time, they told her more bad news. The plane was not fixable and they would need to bring another one from Dallas and it wouldn't land until that evening. What a mess! Finally she got on the plane but missed her connection flight because of a delay. Mom and Dad were supposed to pick her up in Las Vegas but she did not land until almost midnight. Instead, she got a rental car and finally made it to St. George around 3:30 in the morning.
Now for another crazy mess story that builds onto Traci's. We left Wednesday around 3 so we could see Tyler get home at the airport. We had a prayer before we left so we could make it to St. George safely and off we went. Our trip was going really smooth with no issues until we got to the Manderfield exit and all of the sudden I heard a pop noise. I thought great maybe it was some ice falling off and hitting something. Then it happened again and again. I pulled over to check the truck and I could not see anything or smell anything, so we went on. No more than another mile down the road I heard a big pop and lots of grinding and the wheels locked up. I was able to get to the side of the road with no issues thank goodness. When I got out again and looked, again I saw nothing. I got back in and tried to drive forward and the truck drove like the brakes were on. Great... My first impression was to call Rick and see what he thought. I thought they had left West Jordan around 12 to come down to St. George, but to an answered prayer of my little ones, they were in Beaver, just 9 miles from where we were. WOW!! They came to the rescue to help. Rick said after he looked at it, that it might be the transfer case. Again, another transfer case problem... I thought. I was trying really hard to keep it together and not lose it. Well we got a tow truck and while we were waiting for tow truck, Dad came to the rescue and picked up my little family. Dad and Mom were supposed to be in Vegas picking up Traci, but with her delay they were there to help us instead. More answered prayers. While everyone was gone I got in the truck and said a prayer for me to help me relax and for a hope all will be okay. As I opened my eyes there was a car behind me. I got out and notice a gentleman asking if I was okay. He was a cop from California on a work trip. He said he had his hazards on to make sure I was safe. I thanked him and told him the tow truck was coming soon. He left and another truck came and it was red with EX on the plates. The guy got out and he said he was from North Logan Fire and he was going down south for a conference. It was my friend, Benion! How awesome was that. Him and I got in my truck and talked until the tow truck came. This helped a lot with my nerves. Last but not least was the tow truck guy was Tiffany's cousin. I did not have to drive down with a creepy person. What a huge answered prayer. A big testimony builder again. The stars were in alignment that night to help us get to St. George safely even with the problems with the truck. After two days in the shop, the truck came out with a brand new transfer case and we came home with a $380 tow truck bill and a $2,500 mechanic bill. I'm glad we are getting a good tax refund this year...but the truck runs fantastic now!
The main event of the whole week and the reason we all came together, came on Thursday afternoon. Tyler flew into the St. George airport at 1 pm and we were all there to meet him. The only person missing in the family was Sean.
His best friends were all there. Aunt Cathline and Uncle Ron was there with Robert. As you can tell we were all ready for him as he got off the airplane. When we saw him, we lifted up the posters and yelled and hollered. The security let him through a door and Mom went in for the hug which she had not had for two years. Then it was Dads turn also.
Funny story. Paul tried to sneak in and be the first hug, but Mom physically booted him out of the way and got the first hug. Everyone had tears of joy to see him. He had never met Charlotte, Jonathan or Kari yet, so it was fun to watch them meet him for the first time. Jonathan was not to sure and did not go to him, Charlotte was like "Hi Tyler!" and went to him with no problem like she does with all men. Kari was young enough she went with no issues also.
There were lots of family hugs and pictures. Emily was way excited to see Tyler. She and Tyler go way back. She has always had a soft spot for Tyler and as you can tell she missed him and was happy to see him.
All of his best friends he grew up with were all there to see him get home. It was funny to see them all react and be around each other. Tyler was going down and hugging all of them and then he got to Sammy and skipped her. Oh it was funny to watch. She was expecting a hug and a hi, but nope none. I thought at first he did not want to hug a female yet until he was released. But there was another girl he knew and he gave her a big hug. We all looked at each other and thought oh boy that is funny. Finally he went back and gave Sammy a hug. Needless to say we all laughed.
After all the hugging and picture taking we all headed out side to the cars. I went and got the trail blazer to put Tyler luggage in. Yes we were driving my parents car because the truck was in the shop. As Tyler was coming out, Dad pulled up in his new Dodge MegaCab truck which Tyler had never seen. The look on his face was priceless. He had no idea Dad bought this truck. He was way jealous. Once we got the drool off his face we took off to Golden Corral for food. What a great idea. We all got to talk to Tyler and have fun as we ate.
Tyler was not released until 8:30 that night, so he had his shirt, tie and his mission tag on all day. Once we got home we talked and played around until 8:30 and Tyler, Mom and Dad left to go to the Stake President's house to get released. We all could tell he was nervous and not sure. About an hour later they came home and I opened the door to see him and he looked devastated. I took him by the hand and pulled him in for a hug. I knew what was the matter, and I knew what was wrong. He told me when the Stake President asked him to take off his mission tags, there was this feeling that left him and he did not want to lose that feeling. I told him as I hugged him, you will be okay and it is time for your next part in life. I also said, "Don't ever forget that feeling and how you felt on your mission. You know you gave it your all with no regrets we are all very proud of you." I could tell Tyler was a different person, he had truly grown up in many ways. It was fun to see this first hand. Before he got released, his friends told him they would see him at 9 to take him to Denny's. When Tyler got home, however, he called his friends and told them not tonight. He made the decision on his own. The old Tyler would have jumped all over the opportunity and left. I was proud of him. We spent that night as a family hearing all of his fun mission stories and seeing all of his mission pictures. It was a fun night.
The rest of the week was spent having some fun in the sun. We are glad to go to St. George for a week in the sun. We were all tired of the snow, rain and clouds. We took the bikes and hiking backpack for Charlotte. We were ready for a good time. We went to the park on Friday.
The kids had a blast at the new all abilities park near Tonaquint. This park has a lot of cool slides, swings and other fun toys.
They especially loved the zip lines. They each took turns on the zip line and loved it when Tyler would push them really hard so that they could go even faster.
The kids also had a blast riding their bikes and seeing the ducks. I was able to take these three kiddos to see the ducks and this was the first time I had seen this many ducks. They were all super friendly. The kids were able to go up and feed them with their hands. They thought this was the coolest thing ever. There was a really mean swan that I was giving a hard time. It kept eating my foot and getting mad. The kids laughed. We all had a great time until around 3 and then the rain and hail came down hard. It hailed so much that the ground was covered in white. It looked like it had snowed. We were disappointed that the snow had followed us down to St. George. But thankfully, it soon melted.
While we were there Cole had his birthday and we went to wish him a happy birthday.
He was so excited to play with his cousins and eat his cake. They put on candles that would not blow out. I was funny to watch his face when he thought the candles were out and they light back up again.
On Saturday the weather was finally nice and we all took off on a hike. There was an Indian petroglyph site just outside the Arizona strip.
Of all the years we have lived in St. George we had no idea this area was even here. It was a good hike for the kids. They all had a great time climbing and seeing the cool pictures. What a great day to be outside.
Charlotte loved her backpack and being outside. There was some really cool places to hide and little caves the kids posed in for us. Emily was loving this area. She had so much energy and it was good to get all of it out.
There was also a big rock at the end of the trail that all the of the cousins climbed up on, with the help of cousin Chase.
We played around until it was getting a little cold and then headed back to the house to get ready for Sunday.
The whole weekend was a blast being with family and being there for Tyler's homecoming. His homecoming talk was amazing. He did a great job. The night before he was so worried about life and what he was going to do next. He did a great job for a couple of days with the transition of being home and then it hit him Saturday night. He was afraid of following his friends and falling away from the church. We assured him he was stronger than he had ever been. It was a good conversation to have with him as siblings. When Sunday came he did a great homecoming talk and the Spirit was strong through his whole talk. When I saw him up there, I saw a true man who grew up in so many ways. After church we headed back to the house for the open house and food. It was good to see other people from the family.
We all had a great time. But all good times have to end, it was time to head home. We are proud of you Tyler for being a great missionary, brother, and uncle.
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