Riena came home from her mission! You can just look at the pictures but I wanted to write it all down so that I could remember everything.
Tuesday after work (11 pm), I came home and took a quick nap. At 2 am, Mira and I loaded up the car and started the long drive that waited before us. It wasn't that bad at first... I had a book on tape to listen to and a few Rockstars (shh) to keep me up. I was pretty wired! Despite a hundred and one bathroom stops and Mira throwing up from something bad that she had eaten earlier that day (it got all over the outside, side of the car... eww, gross), we made it to the Portland Airport in record time.
Riena's plane was almost an hour late but it was so worth it. My parents and Glenn waited at the entrance for her to come out. She came out and there was a lot of crying and hugging. (Funny story: Riena said that she was crying because when she saw our family, she realized that her mission was really over and that's why she cried. My mom cried because she was so happy to see Riena but we like to joke that she was crying because Riena got so big! haha!! Nah, she didn't get THAT big but lets just say that we can finally share clothes and she can't say that I'll stretch them anymore!) When they finished up, they started walking out to get her bags. Mira and I were hiding behind a column further back. As soon as they started coming towards us, I sent Peyton to go say hi. I heard Riena say, "Oh my gosh, is that Peyton?!" Peyton ran straight up to her and gave her a huge hug! Either Peyton remembered her from when she was 2 months old or there was just an awesome Spirit around her but she let Riena pick her up and carry her around everywhere.
We grabbed her bags and after taking hundreds of pictures, we decided to go out to eat. Riena wouldn't stop talking and didn't give anyone a chance to cut in or talk. She made lots of comments about the people around us. There was a guy who walked past us with a few extra earrings in places I wouldn't like, long hair pulled back in a pony tail, and a certain smell that is only all too familiar in Portland. Riena looked at us and said matter-of-factly, "He needs the gospel." It was pretty funny. Just what I expect from a returned missionary! After that, we went to the stake center and Riena got set apart. I'm so proud of my sister and hope that her example and mission touched many lives in Ventura, California.
Saying hi to Auntie Riena. If you look closely, you can see the tears...
Proud Parents
Family Picture
Standing in front our house with the signs we made and one of the signs my dad made!
Peyton made her own sign too that was super cute. It said, "I 'Bug' You!" and then she put these sticker bugs all over the poster. The "bug" was inside a heart... But we somehow lost the sign at the airport so we had to make a quick, make shift sign on the way from the stake center to our house. haha :)
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