This was the week that Savannah left and reported to the MTC for her mission!  Since Monday was our last Family Home Evening before she left, we decided to make it special and go to the Provo Temple grounds for family scripture reading and then a family testimony meeting.  It was a lovely night and we really had a nice time together.

Tuesday night was our last dinner together as a family so we went out to eat at our favorite Chinese restaurant.  It turned out to be extra fun because our older kids have a lot of funny memories from going to that same restaurant often when they were younger (and our family was smaller!).  It used to be a buffet so they remember eating just the jello and crisps for dinner and then loading up on ice cream!  They are funny kids.  We had a great time.

That night Savannah was set apart by our Stake President as a missionary and ambassador of the Lord!  Grandma and Grandpa Gazdik were there as well as all Savannah's siblings.  The President gave Savannah counsel and had Kevin and I bear our testimonies then he gave her a beautiful blessing.  We looked at the map in his office with all the missionaries from the stake on it.  Savannah's picture will be there, too!

On Wednesday, Savannah didn't need to be at the MTC until 1:15, so the siblings went to school and Savannah buckled down to do her packing.  I helped her with things and sat on the floor and talked while she put things in her suitcases.  We had to do a couple of things at the bank, Kevin got Cheyenne and Bethany from school since they wanted to come, and Sarah left school early on her own.  We drove to the chapel just down the road from the MTC where we met Grandma and Grandpa Gazdik to take pictures, give our final hugs, and say goodbye.  Oh, I will miss her!

Kevin and I took the kids home and then we were able to go back and do a session in the temple across the street.  It was really calming.  I'm so proud of her and so excited for her and my heart is going to be just fine.  I'll leave her in the Savior's care.

So!  Thursday and Friday there was no school because of Fall Break.  On Thursday, Mariah and I took Chey, Cali, Beth, and Ben to the zoo!  We went through at a pretty quick speed because we were following Ben.  Even so, he got worn out before we made it all the way around.  We had fun anyway!  They've added a bunch of robotronic dinosaurs throughout the zoo and that was Ben's favorite part.  Beth and Cali liked the sea lions.  Mariah liked the little cats.  Cheyenne liked the elephants.

On Friday Kevin stayed home from work.  He took Mariah, Chey, Cali, Beth, and Ben to play basketball at the church in the morning.  Mariah and I needed to go watch a free concert at BYU for her choir class, but Kevin took the other four out to lunch at Burger King so they could use some free coupons they'd acquired.  After that, Sarah and I took those same four youngest to the cheap movies to use some more free coupons.  We watched Minions which has not enriched my life in any way but was fun to watch with my own minions especially when Ben put the popcorn bucket on his head as we walked out.

Saturday morning, Kevin taught two workshops at a conference in Salt Lake.  He did fabulous, of course!  The rest of us just hung out for most of the day.  When Kevin got home, he picked up the "new" used refrigerator I had chosen for our home.  We already have something new to show Savannah when she gets home!