Andrew has left for his mission!

August 7, Wednesday

It’s hard to believe that it was exactly six years ago that we dropped off Nathaniel at the Sky Harbor airport! I got up this morning at 4:40 AM so that I would have time to get myself ready for the day and help Andrew finish up the packing. I had told him that I would put all of his pants and his suitcoat and his shirts in the suitcase for him so they didn't get wrinkled all night. He had a handful of things that he needed to remember this morning like his retainer and his alarm clock. We were ready to go around 6 AM, like we planned. We stopped at the Circle K on Val Vista and Germann and Michael, Andrew, and Jonny ran in quickly to get sodas and Andrew got a Monster. We were doing pretty well but we hit some traffic on the 101. There were at least three fender benders that we passed today. It was a little after 7 AM when we got to the airport. Michael said it took us a full hour so that was a bummer. He dropped us off at the elevators in the parking garage and Andrew and Jonny and I went to check the bags. That went pretty quickly because we were able to go to priority since he has a first-class ticket (it was cheaper to upgrade to business class since he was checking two bags, and it was such a small plane that business class was actually first class). We barely had to wait at all. His suitcases were 51 pounds and 53 pounds which wasn't a big deal today because he had up to 70 pounds but it might be a big deal when he travels to Australia so he'll just have to be careful about that. There will be a few things that will be used up at the Provo MTC so that's good. By the time we got the bags checked, Michael and Daniel had caught up with us and so we went straight to security. I had my big selfie stick so we took a few pictures and they would've been fine but I started taking pictures of Andrew and the boys and a nice lady came up and offered to take the picture so I gratefully took her up on that. We got some nice pictures of the whole family. 

There were already two other families there saying goodbye to the missionaries. He didn't have much time so we had to start saying our goodbyes. I could tell that it hit him and he was trying to hold back tears. I told him it was OK and he could cry if he needed to and he shouldn't be ashamed of doing that. Andrew started crying and Michael gave him a nice long hug. Michael was already crying and then I started crying. I gave him a big hug I had to let go because I was on my toes and couldn’t hold it much longer. I think I gave him at least four more additional hugs. Daniel was pretty stoic but they had a nice hug. Jonny couldn't hold back his tears. He acts like nothing bothers him but I know how much he looks up to Andrew so it didn't surprise me that he got emotional. When we were all done with the hugs and I got my final hug, it was time for him to walk over to security. It was a little bit easier this time because I know that I can talk to him on Friday. The line was longer than I had ever seen but we stood there and waited as he got through the line. Once he got through where he had to show his ID, he was through security pretty quickly. It was hard to see him because he was so far away but I could tell it was him. He turned and looked at us and waved. I had asked him to do that and he didn't believe me that we'd be able to see him and I told him I wasn't sure but asked him if he could try and he did. He waved to us and headed off to his gate. I stood there for quite a while, just like I did with Nathaniel. It was like I was stuck in place and I couldn't leave. I knew he would be OK; I wasn't worried about him getting where he needed to go. I just had a hard time walking away. Like, the act of me walking away is officially saying goodbye and admitting that he's gone. It was so hard. Michael and the boys were patient with me and let me stand there for a little while. I have no idea how long it was. It must've been at least 10 minutes. Once the family with the sister missionary started walking over to security, I knew I couldn't stand there and watch them do that so we left. Andrew had hoped to go to McDonald's for breakfast but the gate was changed so I told him he could go to Wendy's because that should be near his gate, but later he told me that the line was too long and he didn't have time so he just got some pretzels and a soda and went to the plane. We drove the boys to school. We had told Daniel that we would stop at McDonald's on the way so we stopped at the one on Gilbert and Germann and got him two sausage Mc Griddles. Nobody else wanted anything. Then we took them to school. Michael dropped us off and I went into sign in the boys. Jonny's been dealing with a cold so I was concerned that maybe he needed to go home and rest but he wanted to go to school so that's what we did. Daniel considered going home to get his car first but he ended up just getting a ride home with Carson so that worked out. Michael took me home. It's hard to look at Andrew’s empty room. I straightened up a few things and then I went to take a nap. I set my alarm for 11:15 AM. His flight was supposed to get in at 10:48 AM our time so I figured by 11:15 AM he would probably be at least to baggage claim. It turns out his flight got in early and he got his bags right away and they made it to Provo by about 11:50 AM so that worked out great. They met Audrey at Brick Oven for lunch. I'm so glad he got to go there because that's what he wanted. He loves their pasta bar. In the pictures, he had a plate of fettuccine alfredo so that was pretty cute. 

Audrey went back home and Nathaniel and Emily took him to the MTC. Audrey hadn't gone to the airport because they were worried about the space and she had work anyway. It turns out they couldn't have fit his two checked bags, his carry-on, and four people in the Corolla so it's just as well. I had asked Emily if she could try to get a picture at the MTC drop off but I knew that it might be hectic but they did get one and I was grateful for that. It's basically like dropping him off in a parking garage. The people try and open the back for you to get out the luggage and it all seems very rushed so I'm glad we didn't go. This worked out great so he could have time with them. We could tell in the pictures that Emily had been crying and she admitted she had. 

They forgot to text or call me so I called them around 11:40 AM and talked to them on speakerphone for a little bit and got the scoop. Apparently, there were many missionaries on the flight, and a lot of them were going home. Andrew was a little embarrassed about being in first class but nobody made fun of him. He said it was a little awkward because when he got off the plane all those missionaries were greeted by their families and he thought to himself, well, that will be me in two years. I told him that I knew he would have a great experience at the MTC and that he would be an amazing missionary, as I had already told him many times. I talked to Emily again after they dropped him off and she told me how everything went and that it was all good. It's weird because I can actually see his schedule still because I had a tab of it open on my computer when he was showing it to me. He got there at MTC pretty close to 2 PM so he would've had almost 2 hours to get settled in. I'll have to find out how it all went. I didn't do a whole lot today. I set up my to-do list like that on purpose so I didn't have to be stressed about accomplishing a lot of things. 

Here is Andrew with his companion, Elder Kjar

We will miss him like crazy, but there is no where else I would want him to be!