Catch up

My laptop died last week so I'm behind on everything.  It's funny how about 5 yrs. ago, I hardly looked at a computer at all and now I can't function without one.  I miss the good old days.  I used my time so much better then.
So, once again I got a one month early birthday present.  My mom has always teased me that every year, I get my present early because I can never wait until my birthday.  I don't really do that on purpose, but it does seem to happen about every year.
Last week was homecoming and Audrey once again had a cute date, a beautiful dress and a great time.  She's so much more at ease with the boys than I was in high school.  There is always a line up of 10 boys waiting to ask her out and she makes them all think that they are #1. 
And I love Lorinda's shop that we can go and rent a beautiful dress, take it back after and go back again for the next dance and find another beautiful one that is new to us.  It makes it so I never have to fight with Audrey about how much a dress is going to cost and how little use she will get out of it.

Audrey and Tyler P.

So, AJ is in Ecuador!!  His MTC experience is over and he seemed to love it and grow in the gospel so much.  I have a feeling about him---when Mario went on his mission, he had a unique experience in that his mission lit him on fire about the gospel!  He LOVED his mission way more than than most returned missionaries and he came home and has only moved steadily onward and upward when it comes to his testimony.  I feel like this same thing is going to happen to AJ.  I am loving watching it happen!

AJ was supposed to get to call us on his flight day to Ecuador.  He told us that his layover would be in Columbia and he would call sometime between 6-9 am.  So, I was glued to the phone.  He didn't call and didn't call and I asked Mario about noon if I had permission to get worried.  (Mario confessed to me later that he also started to  really worried because of the layover being in Columbia--a very dangerous country that does not love Americans)  I canceled exams, I made my VT partner go without me, and I was very determined to be home when he called.  Well, we finally got an email from him at about 2:30 saying that he walked all over the airport in
Columbia and couldn't find a phone to call us.  I was bummed out.  I really wanted to talk to him.  He said that Quito was beautiful and he couldn't wait to get to work.