Oh Johnny Boy!

We had a friend visit from Alabama a few weeks ago. John was one of the young men from our ward in Bama and he and his mom became close friends with our family. My kids adore Stephanie and John. Once they heard we were moving back to Utah, there were many tears shed between us.
We were more than thrilled when Stephanie agreed to send him here for a visit. John has never stayed with anyone that was not family and even then it was only a night or two. So the fact that she let him fly across the country to stay with us for a week, was not lost on us.
We didn't tell the kids about John coming and surprised them at the airport when we picked him up.

They were so excited, it was adorable! On the way home, Tate kept saying "hi, John."
We were really excited to share our Utah home with him. John has never seen mountains so it was fun to show him the big wall of mountains we have here. He was overwhelmed, but thought they were amazing. True to Utah fashion, we hit major traffic on the way home....at 10:30pm! They had closed down 3 lanes on the freeway so he got to experience sitting in traffic for 45 minutes.
John was so great and watched the kids for us while we were at work. We kept saying thank you and he kept saying "no, thank you." He just wanted to spend time with them.
One afternoon Spencer took him to the Jordan River Temple so he could do baptisms. John said it was an amazing experience for him. We didn't have time to take him to do baptisms at all the temples close to us, but we were able to drive to them and let him get pictures. He couldn't believe having so many all in one area.
His favorite thing of his visit was going to Temple Square and seeing the Conference Center and Salt Lake Temple. He was completely enthralled with everything. We walked through each Visitor Center and he took pictures the whole way. He loved the Christus Statue.

I only have a few pictures of him because he used my camera with his memory card.
We took a quick family picture in front of the statue, but it turned out blurry. But you get the idea!

The kids loved the reflection pool and we were able to get a cute picture of all 3. Kids and water never fails.


We also wanted to show the mountains and took him for a drive on the Alpine Loop, which takes you through the Wasatch mountains. At the highest point, we were at 8060 feet above sea level. John kept saying "this is amazing." I thought he might get a little light headed or car sick being up at that elevation, but no. It was Ayden and I who got sick!
Sadly, our week with John went by way too fast. For his mom, however, it was a long week! We are so thankful Stephanie was willing to let him come. He is such a good young man and good example for our kids. He has a good attitude and is so willing to help others. The Sunday that he was here he jumped right into church with us. Our ward is huge and he was eager to meet the other youth and to bless the sacrament. It was a true testament to his mother. Stephanie, thank you for sharing your wonderful son with our family. We miss him already and can't wait to see y'all again! John, we love you so much and will always be grateful for the example you are, especially to Ayden.