Mexico Or Bust!

This is the picture that will go on Matt's mission plaque.  Doesn't he look handsome?  This photo will also appear (we hope very soon) in the next edition of the Beehive newspaper.  We can't wait to see it!  Every time the Beehive arrives I go right to the page that has the photos of missionaries that have recently left and look to see if there is anyone that I know.  

Today, Matt flew from Salt Lake City, Utah to Monterrey, Mexico.  He wrote last week to tell us that he would be able to call us once he got to the SLC airport and we were really excited to hear from him.  His flight was at 8:20 a.m. and so he thought he would be able to call between 5:30 and 6:30 a.m. our time.  Well, everyone woke up early and Allie, Sarah and Shawn came over and we waited.  We had breakfast and we waited some more and as it got close to 7 a.m. our time and 8 a.m. Utah time we knew that something had gone wrong and that we weren't going to hear from him.  We were disappointed, but knew that he was by far the most disappointed.

Lucky for us, he ended up having a layover in Dallas, Texas and ended up calling about 10:45 a.m.  He said that in SLC there had been too many Elders and too few phones and he thought he had missed his chance to talk to us until Christmas.  When he landed in Dallas it was just Matt and two other Elders and so they made the most of their layover and used the phones.  By then we had all scattered, but Matt had a phone card and so he made contact with everyone.  He called me and I talked to him for awhile and then he said go to the schools and round up the Monkeys (Paige and Kaylee) while I try to get in touch with Pop (Rich), Pooch (Allie), Sarah and Meg. (How come Sarah and Meg don't have nicknames? I don't know.)  Well, he was able to talk to Richard and Sarah, Meg and Allie got voice mails (they might be the lucky ones because they will get something to save and re-listen to) and he called back within 30 minutes of his original call home and was able to talk to Paige and Kaylee and hear Dixie bark as she listened to his voice on the phone.  We are all a little tired, but it sure was worth getting up early and being able to talk to Matt today.  He sounded happy, excited and ready to learn all about Mexico.

It feels like Matthew just blinked and the two months at the MTC just flew by.  I hope he feels that way too. His letters home are hilarious and usually complete with illustrations.  The highlight of his MTC experience was getting to have Elder Neal L. Anderson come to the Missionary Training Center and speak and feeling the undeniable witness as Elder Anderson walked in that he was a true Apostle of the Lord.  He enjoyed the "free box" where he was able to find such treasures as an inflatable monkey that they found a sombrero and bandanna for and they also got shirts, candy and cookies out of the "free box".  He worried for a period of time that an inordinate amount of hair seemed to be coming out every time he showered and he wondered if he was going bald and even if it might happen while he was still at the MTC. :)  He found out that there are stairs everywhere at the MTC and he figured he and the other Elders had walked at least 10 miles just using stairs during the first couple of weeks there.  He worked hard at learning Spanish and he looked forward to packages and letters from home and was dubbed "The 4 square King" during daily exercise periods.

The following are some pictures that Meg took of the day he arrived in Salt Lake City.  Here is Matt at the  airport with Brigham.  Brigham and Meagan met Matt at the airport two months ago and welcomed him with a balloon and an Elder Cluff poster.  Brigham loved spending time with his Uncle Matt.

Here is Matt and Meg.  Meg was able to pick Matt up at the airport and take him for lunch and a chat and then drop him off at the MTC.  That way all of us got to be a part of his MTC day since the rest of us took him to the Phoenix airport and said our goodbyes there.

This is the last picture that was taken before Matt entered the MTC.  His parting words to Meg were "See you in 2, Meg.  I love you!  We are so happy that Matt has this opportunity to teach the gospel and serve the Lord for two years.  We can't wait to hear all about his adventures and experiences in Monterrey, Mexico!

I Knew Carbs Were Bad For You

Don't let my title fool you, this blog post is really my review of the opera, Les Miserables.  Richard and I went and saw it last night.  It was his 4th time and my first.  Why, you ask, has Richard seen it so many more times than me?  Because he stays awake and I don't! :)  As of last night, I think I have attended Les Miserables 3 times but this is the first time I have stayed awake and seen the whole thing.  Opera is just not my thing.  Way too much singing!  Don't get me wrong, I have seen and even enjoyed a few musicals in my time, but the constant singing of opera gets to me.  Why do they have to sing everything?  So, what did I think of the big production?  Lets just say that Richard probably wished I had slept through it again.  The following is my take on it: The main character, Jean Valjean, gets into a lot of trouble because he eats carbs aka bread.  Don't most of us realize by now that carbs are usually nothing but trouble.  I have even known people to suffer way longer than 19 years because of their carb consumption. :)

 Richard said I would probably have to read the book to have all of my questions answered, but that is not going to happen anytime soon, so feel free to clue me in on what I missed or simply didn't understand.   How does Jean Valjean go from being a thief to being wealthy?  Why didn't they spend a lot  more time explaining that instead of showing a house of ill repute?  What happened to the people he even stole the bread for in the first place?

 This guy is named Javert and he spends his whole life trying to find Jean Valjean and put him back in prison. At the end of the opera he ends up killing himself.  Why?  Well, here is my theory; Do you know how much paperwork he would have had to fill out just to get reimbursed for years worth of per diem in chasing Jean Valjean all over France?

I know Richard loves singing much more than I do, but I am going to have to give Les Miserables a rotten tomato for unresolved plot and seedy characters. :)