Feeding a Small Army

Before he started his mission, Cooper asked if we could hold an open house so people from church could gather to say goodbye to him. I've never done something like that (Peter's missionary experience has been very different, so we've experienced a lot of firsts with both of them) and felt a little daunted by the request.  But I told him I'd think about it. His buddy Spencer was set to go into the MTC the week before Cooper. Since we would largely be inviting the same people, we decided to combine our efforts and hold a joint open house. She provided the German food (Spencer was called to Berlin) and we brought the Brazilian food. It was an interesting culinary juxtaposition.

I cooked for two days to be ready. I now can successfully make pineapple-upside cupcakes, sequilhos, and Pao de Queijo. I made so many batches of that last one that I memorized the recipe. We also took a veggie tray and a fruit tray. Bryan cooked a big batch of Brazilian steak and cut it into bite-sized pieces. He also made all the food signs in German and Portuguese.

We had nearly 100 people RSVP.

I would guess that about 75 actually came.

I didn't take a single picture of the people because I was on my feet chatting with people for over two hours and didn't even think of it.

But I did  take pictures of all the food before anyone arrived!

Even though they went in a week apart, they still found each other at the MTC and took a picture to send to their moms!

Fewer Is Better

 Good news! It looks like maybe the fix worked! While I have 100 views on Monday's post, I only have 16 views for yesterday.

I never thought I'd be pleased to have fewer readers. But real, human readers are infinitely better than the bot variety.

For now, we'll stick with a public but unsearchable blog.

But First

Thank you to those of you that have reached out saying you'd still like access to the blog.

Bryan found one more thing to try before I make the blog private. I've just changed some settings, none of which will be obvious to anyone reading. Unless you're a bot, then hopefully it will be clear that something is different.

Until we get this issue resolved, I probably won't post much. I mean, I'll still write something every weekday, but I'll hold off on any real content.

Lock It Down

Here's something fun. And by that, I mean not at all fun. I get anywhere from 15 to 50 views on most of the posts on this blog. I looked at it this morning and we're now between 150  and 300 views on several posts. Considering that it's already unsearchable, we suspect that bots have found their way to the blog. After a consultation with my in-house technical support (Bryan), it looks like we need to lock down the blog and make it private. I don't love this, but I don't want bots to have access to it.

If you would like to continue to have access to this blog, please send me a message (email, text, Messenger, Marco Polo). I'll figure out the logistics of adding specific people.

That is all.

Walk On

I got to watch Topher at his Fitness Walk yesterday. He had fun and did a good job following directions. I wish I'd gotten a picture of him throwing a football through a hula-hoop, his aim was great!

Into the Unknown

On Wednesday morning, Cooper enjoyed a pancake breakfast at Nana Shari and Papa Ron's house,

repacked to include all the white shirts and the white pants he'd gotten the day before,

stopped by The Missionary Mall to buy a few ties (not pictured), drove to Provo for lunch at the new Creamery on Ninth at BYU,

drove to the MTC drop-off spot in the parking garage,

said one more round of goodbyes,

and went on his way.

We miss him, and I've cried a few times since he left on Tuesday morning, but we're so glad that he's chosen to serve a mission.

The Day Before

Cooper and Bryan spent most of Tuesday traveling to Utah. I think the best part of that long day was getting to hug family once they arrived.

Up, Up, and Away

We rolled out of bed extra early (those of us not heading to seminary or an airplane) to say our goodbyes and get hugs before Bryan and Cooper left.

Answering the Call

Tomorrow is the day that Cooper flies to Utah to go into the MTC.

For the last week our great room has been a disaster while he's worked on packing.

This looks like the mess was contained.

But if you look in the background of this one, during our farewell dinner of Cooper's favorite foods, the chaos is a little more obvious.

Cooper is currently finishing the packing. The chaos will be put away. And then he'll be off, learning how to me a missionary.

We're so excited for him.

What Does the Fox Say?

Art Club applications were due this week at the middle school. Everyone had to submit a piece of art to get in. Sophie stayed up much later than was wise and created this beautiful fall scene with oil pastels. The fox is my favorite part.