The Trip West

Here's the last picture we took of Elder Whitaker before he got on the airplane; not the best, but we weren't there when he left for the airport.  Besides, this is a typical Sunday afternoon "Mom, why do you have the camera out?" pose.

The camera was out so that it would be ready to document our drive across the country!

After 40+ hours of highways, driving, and rest areas (with a little detour to see what Highland, Illinois looked like - that's where Wayne's Hug ancestors settled), we arrived at Weston's new house - 

where we got to get reacquainted with this cutie!

 Going to the park helped.

Michelle was glad she didn't have to wait any longer to finally meet her newest niece.  Brooke was happy too.

 Elder Steven did a good job of not getting his suit dirty.

 

Isn't it nice when you ask your kids what they want to do and the answer is "go to the temple"?  We had a great experience together.

 It didn't hurt that the evening ended with brownies and ice cream and a baby's smiles.

The only thing that could have made the day better was to have the missing family members there too.