Eagle Court of Honor

Carson waited a long time for this night to come--over a year. He decided that he wanted to have his Eagle Court of Honor once Aubrey would be able to attend. It was a great evening. Aubrey had spoken in church earlier in the day, so we had lots of family spend the afternoon eating and visiting before the Court of Honor. I am so grateful for everyone that made the day possible--all of Carson's past & present Scout leaders, his friends, my friends, our family--we couldn't have done any of it without you.

Bruce Dallin, Scout Committee Chair, Conducted the Court

David Pack, one of Carson's friends, led the Flag Ceremony. 3 more of his friends participated as well.

Kevin Barnes, former 11-year-old Scout leader, convened the Court

Eagle's Nest

Dave Packham, former Webelos leader and current Venturing Crew leader, spoke about Carson

John Cannon, former Scout leader and Varsity leader, awarded the Eagle

Here I am pinning his award on his shirt, along with 2 palms he has already received. (He actually has 4 now, 2 just haven't been presented yet)

Carson putting on my Mother's pin

Love my boy!

Aubrey leading Carson in the Eagle Charge

Carson presenting his mentor pins to Landon Cooley and Kasey Walker (who couldn't be there so it was accepted by his wife Jenni)

Giving the Scout repsonse

Bishop David Paulson giving a few remarks at the end of the meeting

He's Home!

 Finally the day came for Aubrey to return home from his mission in Germany. I had been counting down the days from about 102 days away. When it got to the last few days, I actually started counting hours--starting at about 100 hours away. I know, I know, kind of crazy, but I just couldn't help myself. I was extremely emotional in the last few weeks leading up to his return. So much so that I wasn't sure how I would be able to keep it together at the airport. Surprisingly, I didn't cry that much when he actually got home, maybe I had got it all out of my system somehow. The kids were excited as well, even if they did have to miss part of school to go pick him up. He was scheduled to come in at 2:00 pm on December 13. I had followed his flights online and knew that he would be on time. Grandma & Marla met us at the airport and we all anxiously waited for him to round the corner in the International terminal. I had already given Carson the assignment to take the pictures. I didn't want to miss a single chance to hug him. When he finally came around the corner, I jumped right at him and gave him a HUGE hug! In fact, I couldn't stop hugging him. I just didn't want to let him go. The pictures are kind of blurry, but it's okay, they are just perfect to me.

Grandma was happy to see this missionary grandson!

 Maren and her friends made this sign to hang on the house to welcome Aubrey home.

The flags are for all the missionaries who have served on the Hatch side. (Grandpa--New Zealand, Geoff--California, Marla--North Carolina, Allen--South Carolina, Gary--Denmark, David--Connecticut, Melissa--Chile, Bryan--Brazil, Todd--France, Kyle--Hawaii, Cameron--Portugal, and Aubrey--Germany)

We put these back up on Sunday the 18th, the day Aubrey spoke in church and reported about his mission. Pretty awesome sight!

It's been great to have him home. I love seeing how he's grown into a man in so many ways. I love hearing his laugh. I love hearing him interact with Carson & Maren. I am so glad he chose to serve a mission and to be an instrument in the hands of the Lord. I couldn't be prouder of my son :)

December Preparations

I had lots to do to get ready for an exciting December. I wanted to be completely ready for Christmas & the Court of Honor before Aubrey came home on the 13th. I actually came pretty close. The house and Christmas trees were actually decorated Thanksgiving weekend (WAY early for me). My Christmas cards were signed, addressed and waiting to add a picture from the airport. Our Christmas fortune cookies were decorated, boxed, & delivered. All presents (with the exception of a few items of clothing for Aubrey) were all purchased/made and just waiting to be wrapped. Carson's Eagle scrapbook was put together (just missing the journaling) and the programs were printed. All of Sunday's food was planned, purchased, or assigned out. Bedrooms were cleaned in order to accommodate all the guests our house would see over the busy two weeks. Even my kitchen was cleaned (with help from a very kind friend). I couldn't have done all of it without the help and support of my kids and friends--THANKS!

Here are a few pictures from our fortune cookie night.

And here's one of my lazy dog sleeping on my pillow (his favorite place to hang out lately). He didn't do anything to help get ready for our busy holiday season!

Continuing with Time Travel--Preference

 Carson went to preference with his friend Carlee on November 12. They made a mighty cute couple! And one of the highlights for Carson was the ride in the stretch Hummer limo. It couldn't navigate the neighborhood too well, so no pictures of it for me, so sad. But at least I got a couple of them when she picked him up. Of course, before she came, Carson had to ham it up for the camera.

More Time Travel--AF Canyon in October

 One day during fall break (late October), Maren & I headed up American Fork Canyon to take some pictures. We missed a lot of the colors, and the pictures won't be winning any awards, but we had fun anyway.

 Carson and his friend Megan also went up AF Canyon to take photos. They found a few more colors than Maren & I did. Here are a few highlights from their photo shoot.

Time Travel to First Day of School

While reviewing pictures, I found that I had never posted several events here on my blog. I thought I'd do a little "time travel" to document at least a few of them here. Here are Maren & Carson on August 23, 2011, the first day of school. Maren is in 9th grade and Carson a senior. He wanted a Beatles lunch box for his birthday--he told me he'd take his lunch every day if he had one (and he has made his own lunch for school nearly every day). How did my kids get so grown up?