Picking up Hyrum from BYU

Last week Hyrum - now Elder Watson - left for the MTC and eventually Pittsburgh, PA and its surroundings. Most of our summer has been spent preparing him (and us!) for this glorious two year quest of his. So let's back up!

Hyrum loved BYU. He enjoyed his first year of studies as a math major, attended lots of sports games, made friends, and generally had a blast. He also got his mission papers turned in before he turned 18. In February he got his call to the PA Pittsburgh Mission and we started preparations. April 22-23 we drove up to Provo to fetch our son back home for almost two months.

Nia took an impressive number of landscape photos from the back seat during the drive. I'm including one here. 

One fond memory was on the first day I asked the kids what they wanted for dinner. They excitedly chose KFC, which we can't typically get in town and most years only have on Dec 23 as a family tradition. On the one hand, it was delicious. Our main takeaway, however, was to never do that again in the car -- no plates or silverware makes it REALLY hard to dish out greasy chicken and sides! Lots of clothes got messy. Chaotic fun.

We made it to BYU and checked into our hotel just across the freeway from the Orem temple. It's not often (for me) you get a view of the temple from your hotel! We were there for just a few minutes when Hyrum let us know he was done with his finals and ready to receive us.

After a quick peek at his room, we drove to the tennis courts across campus so he and JT could play some tennis before leaving. J: "Didn't you also play with him?" I did for a few minutes. We grabbed a bite at the cafeteria - a much more expansive and impressive place than when I was there 25 years ago - and then spent a frenzied hour moving Hyrum's stuff out of his room and cleaning it up for an earlier-than-expected inspection. We made it! J: "Though we did miss a couple of drawers, they were okay with me cleaning them out after the inspection." What a nice Mommy! Nia was also very helpful. "Hyrum wished he hadn't needed any help. It's hard to move."

After a short walk through campus, Hyrum went to say goodbye to some friends and we went back to the hotel. Joy and I repacked some of his stuff to take up less room and chose some cleaning supplies we really didn't need to haul back to Texas with us. Even though we four had only brought a couple carry-ons, unloading an entire dorm room filled the car surprisingly well! That was Hyrum's last night at the Y for the next few years. Here is Nia at the library, the place of her soul's delight.

The next morning early we picked up Hyrum and convened for our first baptismal session as a Full family of 5 at the Provo City Center Temple. "That was so awesome!" They have underground parking and an underground lobby before you enter the temple itself. (Picture of us outside the lobby below). Back when Joy and I got married, we talked about the kind of furniture and colors we wanted to decorate the house with, and I gotta say - the Provo City Center Temple lobby is about as close to what I dreamed of back then as I'm likely to stumble across anywhere. "It was one of the most beautiful foyers in the world, and you don't expect that underground." The chairs could be a deeper shade of blue and there could be more greenery, but really, *chef's kiss*

This was JT's third time in a temple, if I'm counting right, and the first time all five of us could be together inside the temple. I sat there next to Joy at the baptismal font as a witness. Hyrum and JT were in the font where Hyrum would baptize his brother on behalf of some of our departed family members. Nia stood ready at the side with a towel when JT would come out. There was this pause as I saw a foreshadowing of our family dream.

Eight years ago we created a family vision of where we wanted to be in 20 years. Part of that vision included getting together in the Celestial room of the temple - a room that represents the peace and beauty of heaven. We weren't there yet, but here we were gathered doing temple work together, preparing for that day. I didn't cry, but I was ready to. "JT did cry. He cried and held Hyrum tight after the baptisms before he climbed out of the font." A small piece of our heaven was being created there before my eyes.

Hyrum baptized JT and Joy, then I baptized him and Nia. After we finished our service, we gathered in the car and started on the two day drive back to Texas. Hyrum regaled us with many stories of his last weeks at the Y, while he finished grading for his classes. We stayed in the same hotel near Farmington, NM both directions, which made some things convenient, but our arrival back on Saturday was late in the evening. We made it back in time for church on Sunday and I could get back to teaching classes on Monday, missing only one day of teaching because of our trip. (I had assigned my students some videos of me to make up for the missed lecture.)

Joy: "I'm so proud of Hyrum. He accomplished a lot as a 17 year old and did a really commendable job in his first year of college. He made good use of our money and his time. It was really nice to have Hyrum with us again on our way home, in the car and in the hotel."