July 22, 2015: Reporting to the MTC

July 22, 2015 finally came. 

This was the day Taylor had been looking forward to for so long.

 It was a hard day. I'm not going to lie. But we made it through. 

We had to take a few pictures before we left. 

 Grandma Linda sure had a hard time saying goodbye. She and Taylor are very close.

 They have a special relationship.

 Taylor made sure to say goodbye to our dog, Belle. He's worried that she won't be 

alive when he gets home.

We tried to eat an early lunch at Smashburger, but I don't think anyone really enjoyed their lunch too much. The nerves were starting to get to all of us and the reality of what was about to happen made it difficult to eat. We did enjoy spending every last minute together.

We went to the Provo Temple and walked around for a bit. I love these pictures of my precious boy.

Last family picture for 2 years. 

Saying goodbye was HARD. Each one of us said goodbye to him in our own way. While it was so hard for us, I know it had to be extremely hard for him. He was strong and patient and ready to go. He was so anxious to go and serve the Lord. What a wonderful example he is of a wonderful missionary already. We were emotional, it was hard. But we all knew it was time and he had to go. We knew he was ready and we were all so proud of him.

 We arrived at the MTC and pulled our car in, stopped, jumped out for literally one minute and he was gone. He turned around to wave with a big grin on his face. He was happy and ready to go. What more could a mom want? While these next 2 years will be difficult, this was the look on his face the last time I saw him. How much better can it get? He is happy!! He is happy!! He kept telling me to not be sad but to be happy. And that's what I am trying to do.

We all love our special boy so much and couldn't be more proud of him. He is doing what Heavenly Father wants him to do. We can do this!! I know we can!! Now, if we could just get an email from him, that would be awesome.