Off to the MTC!

On Tuesday, July 1st, we left very early in morning for Utah.  Chanon and I decided to drive Dean up (instead of flying him up) and we left the other kids home with Grandma.  We had an enjoyable, uneventful drive up to Utah.  We stopped in Spanish Fork to stay with Chanon's sister, Phoebe.

 Once we got into town, we had a little car trouble.  We were thankful that we made it that far without any issues, though!  We took our van to Clegg Auto in Spanish Fork and they were wonderful.  They really took care of us and helped us out.  It ended up being a huge blessing...maybe I'll tell about the experience in another post.

Clegg Auto has several of these BYU signs hanging in the shop/repair area.  The owner said they put them up as a joke because one of the mechanics is a huge University of Utah fan and hates 

BYU!!! ha ha.  I took the picture for my mom because she is a huge BYU fan.

One awesome thing that the guys at Clegg Auto did for us was give us a loaner vehicle to use while our van was being repaired.  We were able to take Dean up to Temple Square in Salt Lake (which was our original plan).  We didn't have nearly as much time there as we'd hoped for, but it was still a great time.  I just got a letter from "Elder B." yesterday and he said the following:  "I've been thinking about our time in Salt Lake City that day before I entered the MTC.  That was great to spend time in such a sacred place with my parents before the start of this great journey.  Even though it was short, just putting myself back into that day brings me a lot of comfort.  I'm glad we were able to be there together before leaving." 

 It was definitely worth it, and a wonderful experience.

Elder Brinkerhoff in front of the Christus Statue at the North Visitor's Center

At the Tabernacle

Salt Lake Temple

 Very cool shot I took of the Temple at night (I'm going to try to print and frame this)

Elder Brinkerhoff next to one of the Church office Buildings

Final packing Wednesday morning at Aunt Phoebe's house

Last pictures before leaving for the MTC

Elder Brinkerhoff and Aunt Phoebe

Loading up the car

First glimpse of the MTC

We had a little time before we had to drop him off, so we hung out at the Provo temple for a little while.  Here is a shot in front of the fountains

A very unflattering "selfie"!!!!! ha ha

Here we are curbside at the MTC---Chanon unloading Elder B's luggage.

This is Elder B.'s "host"....they have Elder's and Sisters come and help out the newbies (aka:  Greenies).  There are so many missionaries now that the MTC does not do chapel sessions anymore.  You have about 5-ish minutes to unload and say a final goodbye at the curb.  It was hard, but we survived!

One last, quick picture

See you in 2 years!!!!