Oh my gosh it has finally come! Tyler is home finally! We have been putting on a sticker a day for the past two years and it was so exciting to put on the last sticker! It looks so much better filled than empty! He came home on Friday night at 9:30. I was watching his flight and had planned on leaving Usana when there was a half an hour til his plane landed. It would be worth missing George to be able to see him step off the plane. Well... for some reason the stupid plane was early! So I got to the airport, parked at the wrong terminal and literally ran through the entire airport. This might come as a shock to some people but I am not really a runner. I kind of get a sort of asthma whenever I even jog. Well I was fullout sprinting! It wasn't really a pretty sight. People were telling me to slow down and yelling other random things. It was pretty embarrassing. And even after all that, I missed him by like a minute and a half! I was so ticked! I missed George and I missed Tyler. Oh well. It was still really fun at the airport!
There were so many people that came and supported him at the airport. It was so nice of everyone! Tyler said that one of the missionaries that he was traveling with asked who all of the people were. Then he turned to Ty and said, "are they all here for you?" Then some random person walking by asked the person that they were with if Tyler was some sort of celebrity because of all of the people around him. It was pretty funny.
I think that Tyler was a little overwhelmed. But he kept saying funny things. One of the best phrases was... Morgan is like a young woman now. And then Karen informed him that she is not like a young woman, she is a young woman! It was pretty funny. Everyone has grown up since he's been gone.
I thought that this was such a cute picture of our future missionary Jayden. Everytime that I looked over at him he was just holding his poster and staring at Tyler. It is pretty crazy because I will always remember when his dad, my cousin Korey, came home from his mission. It was so exciting to me and such a good example to me and all of my cousins. I hope that now Jayden will always remember Ty coming home and keep a mission as one of his goals.
This picture sums up how excited Colton seemed about Ty coming home! I hope that it was everything that he had been hoping it would be!
Kate was the only one that was not completely ecstatic about Ty coming home! But I thought her face was so cute while she was crying.
Here is Tyler with both of our grandpas.
Logan had been waiting all day to see Ty. He had text me about a billion times to see when we were going to be home. He must have been waiting on our corner or something because he showed up about 2 seconds after I told him to head on over. Here he is with his souvenir South African jersey.
We had a couple of birthday presents waiting for him on his bed. The first was the 7th Harry Potter book. The book came out about 2 weeks after he left and he was pretty bummed about it at the time. So my mom bought him one when it came out and kept it in mint condition until he got home to read it. And he also got an iPhone. I love mine so much that we decided Ty needed one.
One thing that Tyler requested for when he came home was cake batter with brownies ice cream from Frosted Rock. So Steph ordered it and Steph, Dave, Braden, Annie, Colton, Mary, and Todd came over to eat it with us. So it was a good time for Tyler to give Colton his souvenir soccer jersey and shorts. Colton says that he is not going to wait for a special occasion to wear them.
Here we all are eating our Frosted Rock. We're only missing Jaron, but soon enough we will all be together again! It was so fun to all be there hanging out.
The next night was the Weber State fireworks. I probably say this a lot too but I really think that it is my favorite night of the whole summer. We go every year and I love it. Alyssa and the Peterson boys came with us. I didn't remember to take pictures until we were on our way home. Oops. Our hair is kind of going crazy because the windows are down. Tyler made the comment that it was just like old times except that Josh was the one driving and we didn't have to hold Jaydn and Morgan's hand as we crossed the road! Crazy how time goes so fast!
I am so grateful that Tyler is home now! It has been a way fun weekend with so many fun memories. I know that there will be many more to come. I am so glad that he went and was such a good example to all of us. He has so many stories that he has started to tell us. I love hearing them all. And while I am so grateful that he went and was able to have that experience, I am even more grateful that he is home now. I love him and missed him so much! Welcome home Ty!
The stage before the ceremony started.
Walking to our seats...
Receiving my empty diploma holder.
Braden also graduated the same day so we are both cute little 2011 graduating cousins!
Kallee and Whitney came to my graduation. It was so nice of them because graduations are pretty boring. I love them!
Grandma and Grandpa Smith came to support both Braden and I. They are so cute!
Grandpa and Grandma with both of their graduates.
Mackenzie graduated too!
My family. Except for Morgan. She is too good of a student to miss school.
Morgan and I when she got home from school.
We went to Mandarin for dinner that night with everyone to celebrate.
Me with the cake that Annie made us! It was so cute!
My Grandpa and Sandie were out of town during graduation so they took me to Maddox. It was really fun and nice of them. It is one of my favorite places to eat.
All three of us.
I loved graduation day and am so glad that I finished school! Now no matter what happens I'll always have my degree. I love everyone that supported me! I have gotten lots of cards, money, my favorite ring ever, a nook, and books from people. Graduating is the best!
