Thursday, May 31, 2012

Saying Goodbye...

April 25, 2012

So, dropping off a missionary is like driving through a fast food restaurant, but without getting the cheeseburger. We had the scheduled time of 2:40 pm to drop Josh off at. As we pulled up to the MTC, the first thing you see are all the missionaries lining the sidewalk. As we pulled up to the curb, two missionaries were waiting for Josh and said, "Elder, we've been waiting for you." One elder grabbed his luggage and was off with it. We took nine seconds to snap two photos of Josh while we were dropping him off. And then it was just time for him to go. He gave us a hug goodbye and his host missionaries walked away with him. Josh had a smile on his face from ear to ear and didn't even look back even once. It was hard to believe that he was gone, and because the entire event was only 17.5 seconds, we didn't even have time to cry or realize that he was gone. That hit us as we were driving away, however, it didn't last long as Jaden and Cole were already arguing over what to do with Josh's room. Jaden wants to turn it into a workout room and Cole wants to turn it into a gaming room.  Josh wants to turn it into a mausoleum that won't be touched for two years. Only time will tell.


Officially a Missionary...

April 24, 2012


Josh was set apart as a missionary on April 24th, by our stake president, President Rose.


He makes a great looking missionary!
















Friday, May 25, 2012

Farewell Josh...


                                                        
                                                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                   April 22,2012

Josh gave a spectacular farewell address the Sunday before he left. Tons of friends and family were there to celebrate with us. Josh spoke with the polished perfection of a true missionary and had his mother crying the entire time. We had lunch afterwards  and everyone had a chance to give Josh a hug....saying goodbye is so hard! Thank you friends and family for being there to support Josh on this joyous journey!



















Thursday, May 24, 2012

Endowment Day













April 2012


Josh has been to the temple many times performing baptisms for the dead, however, today he got to take out his own endowment. This was a really exciting day for us. His uncle, Chris Covington, was his escort and uncle Chris makes everything fun!  What a great day! Of course, no great day is complete without Papa Murphy's Pizza, and that is exactly what we did!





















Thank you to all of our family who came and supported Josh on this great day: Justin and Cathy Hokanson, Chris and Cindy Covington, Grandma Wanda, Cami and Ric, Dave, Kory and Tarea Morgan, Grandma Irene and Nancy Waterfall. We love you! Thank you so much for being here today!







"I am so proud of you Josh! There have been so many times in your life that you have given me reason to be proud, but this?!? You've left behind your friends, your two-story bed and sleeping in till noon, your cards and playing till 3 am, and your laptop and have left to serve the Lord. And from what I can tell, you are having the time of your life. You are definitely in your element, doing the right thing at the right time.  Thank you for being an example to your brothers, cousins, and friends. I look forward to hearing about the lives you touch in Argentina."


Love, Mom










Following in his dad's footsteps, just while in a taller suit! Dave served his mission in Germany, and although Josh took three years of German, he will still serve the people of Argentina.











Nothing says Lovin' like having both your grandma's around. Thank you Grandma Irene for coming from Ogden to spend this special day with Josh





     
 Hangin with Grandma Wanda! Thanks for everything, Grandma!


               Mom, Jaden the Lackadaisical, Cole the Righteous, and Elder Burt!

Thursday, May 10, 2012

What did Josh do to get ready for his mission?

Josh hung out with friends, friends and more friends. Oh yah, he also worked at Papa Murphy's Pizza.  We personally consumed 58 double layer, pepperoni pizzas during those few months. So, I guess we were much better off for that job. 

What are they feeding Will and Phil at BYU? I thought Josh was tall, but look at these two!


Josh, Jaden, Conner, Avery, Tyrell and Sam played "Magic" almost every day. Yes, you heard that right, almost every day, usually until 3 or 4 in the morning and sleeping in until noon. I'll bet the missionary schedule will be a bit different, but I'm sure that was a very valuable skill to tuck away in his bag of tricks.


Josh was caught a few times doing some manual labor on a home improvement project. Actually, it was a big project, and hopefully Josh will be proud when he remembers how he contributed to such a spectacular kitchen.

Now, that is a sign of a natural-born leader, getting his friends to help haul away bricks...Thanks guys!


 Don't forget that you saw it here first, Josh using power tools, and enjoying it!

W

Josh gets called to ARGENTINA

December 8, 2011

Josh gets his mission call to serve in the Argentina, Resistencia Mission. He will be learning Spanish and will report to the Provo MTC on April 25th.  Josh is super excited about this call, however, wonders how big the spiders really are in Argentina.  We're betting they're enormous!