Soap to smell good.

Quinn, my 9 year old, went to Scouts yesterday.  They were instructed to bring their knifes.  I thought he was going to learn knife safety.  Instead, he came home with a Valentine's gift whittled with a knife  for me.  It's soap!  He even etched the word "mom" on it. 

This morning he told me, "You can save the heart part of the soap and use the regular part of the soap so you can smell good."  (The heart only required 1/2 of  a bar.)  Does it get any better?  Man, I love that kid.

Letters from a missionary.

Cole is able to email us on Tuesdays from the MTC.  He's allowed a total of 30 minutes so his letters are mostly answering our questions from previous letters and requesting items needed.  It seems to me that his most requested item is candy, lots of it.  I don't understand this since he really could have cared less about food before he left.  Now, it seems to be a very prominent thought and belly filler! 

I found a bucket of candy in the roof, it was quite spectacular. Missionaries hide things when they leave. This place is very mysterious. My best friend up here is a Canadian.

Gym is fun. I'm a terrible b-baller but I play speed and win sometimes.  If you feel so inclined and find yourself in the neighborhood, please pick up extra H&M slacks. Also, the goodies didn't last long. Those cookies are marvelous. Can Emily dearelder me? That would be fanny.

Love,


Elder Cole Tipton yo boyee!


Daily schedge is different every day, but personal study, breakfast, class, lunch, class, gym, dinner, class, bed.
My comp. is Williams choro and is from Alpine UT. The food is a curse. I weigh 153.8 lbs. (Cole left here at approx. 145 lbs. two weeks ago!)
Both of my suits are black, yes, but I'm the only Fukuokan with a black suit. The rest must've gotten the memo?
I don't want pajamas. They're silly.
The nihonjin came yesterday. They are funny. I forgot how to say anything other than "toire o kitte mo ii desu ka?" or something like that. He said sure.

(Referring to the Orange Juice trials he did to prove there were no laxatives in the OJ by drinking two glasses with each meal.)  OJ is innocent, though we don't know if he just had a really good lawyer. At any rate, although the orange juice has been pronounced safe, I've had enough of it for a while. Choir is today again. My BFF elder is not my comp but is in my district. His name is Elder Roberts. He's tall.
Packages are fun to have a share. Has Kye said anything suggesting cookies soon? I just love to eat. I'll be careful with candy. My companion is having his parents send him an electronic dictionary and translator. We gonna learn real good.

I have 5 minutes left. (On the computer)  It (the timer) flashes intensely. I'm at the edge of my seat.
This place is totally Hogwarts. Except Voldermort can't get in.
Lincoln wrote me a funny poem about who knows what. Mayhaps a girl. I love that guy.
Tell Truman there's no way he scored 250,000,000 (on Donkey Kong). Take off three 0s and I will believe him.

Love you people!

Turning Japanese

On January 26th, Cole left for the MTC.  He was scheduled to leave at 7:10 a.m. but that didn't happen.

We got a computer generated call from Delta Airlines just after 4:00 a.m. letting us know his flight was delayed for 4 hours.

What did we do with our extra time?

Sleep until 7:00 a.m. 

Once we got up, we met Emily and Steven at Crackers for breakfast.  Two of Cole's friends, Lincoln & Travis, who spent the night came along too.

Getting all the Winston he can.

Finally Cole got to the airline counter.

Next he went up the escalator.

Really. 

This is what it looks like when you're sending off your missionary for two years!

Catching more of Winston.

This is what Cole giving me a hug looked like from my perspective.

Cole hugging Em Zoe.

Quinn.

Truman.

Winding his way through security.

Everyone has to walk through the maze even though it was really slow and no one was around.

It's a very funny thing to watch.

Well, not so much fun when it's your own boy leaving.

This is his "Rocky" pose.

Okay, I just made that up.

This is the last known picture of Elder R. Cole Tipton.

See his pensive look?

After he went through security, we found out his flight was delayed another hour, so five hours total.

We understand there were two other missionaries on the flight with him so I'm sure he wasn't alone.

His missed his 1:15 check-in time due to circumstances beyond his control.

Our final entire family picture for the next two years.

Trust me, this one was one of the best.



Whirl Wind

Cole leaves for the Provo MTC in two days!  All last night "whirl wind" kept coming to my mind.  Cole gave his missionary "farewell" talk yesterday.  We had family & friends come in to see Cole and send him off for the next two years.

It started on Saturday night, before the big Sunday talk.  Family & friends started showing up.  Cole has been getting real huggy lately.

Jamie & Scott & their kids came by and got to meet Winston as a bonus.

Of course a little Beatles Guitar Hero was played while Jonathan looked on.

Yes, that is Rick at the microphone.  Don't ask.

Cole's birthday/so long cake that Bama got for him.  The phrase on it is something she always sings to the kids, "You can go but be back soon.  When you're gone I'm going to miss you."

Some of Cole's friends showed up for the celebratory chicken curry.

Tipton Cousins

The little family

Dueling necklaces.  Aren't they cute?  Aunts Juliett and Heather, that is.  Yes, the necklaces are adorable too.

Chelsea and her friend Clay.

Bama.

Aunt Cherisse, of  the Texas Tiptons made a pillow case for Cole to take with him and we all signed it.  Shaun was one of the first to get his hands on it. The boarder says, "Turning Japanese.  I think I'm turning Japanese.  I really think so."  Remember that song?

Coleyman

Jonathan.  When Cole comes home in two years, it will be Jonathan's turn to leave.

The Hancock side of my life.

More Hancocks!

So Aubrey, an adopted Tipton, said, "Let me get a picture of you.  You have to be in at least one picture."  Then she took the picture, looked at it and said, "You look like a crazy woman.  Let me do it again.  Here, put Tiffany in the picture with you to bring down the crazy."

Note:  my hands are blurry, that's because they were getting busy!

I did my best, really!

Oregano's for R. Cole Tipton's 19th birthday celebration!

So on Cole's 19th birthday, January 11, 2011, we took the family out to eat at one of Cole's favorite places, Oregano's.

 Rick and I were delegated to the small table at the end of our party 'cause no one else wanted to sit there.  Also, Quinn had to be next to Winston so that he could have his hand in his car seat at all times.

 This is the best shot I have of Cole.....if I would have asked him to pose, it would have been worse.  Trust me on this one.

See what I mean?

Such a sweet bunch of kids. 

Family Pictures.

 

Back in November we had a family picture session with Larry Reeves. 

His site is http://www.larryreeves.info/
You would think it would be easier with older children...not so much!

They find great joy in making faces and being goofy.  

It explains my face in most of the pictures. 

Witness a Miracle!

Winston David Hale
12/22/2010
This is simply beautiful.

On another note, today is R. Cole Tipton's 19th birthday and in 15 days, he leaves for the MTC (Missionary Training Center) in Provo, Utah, where he'll spend 12 weeks learning the Japanese language and Gospel Doctrine.  From there he'll go to Fukuoka,Japan, where he'll serve his mission for two years.  Ah, my baby boy is growing up.

Cole and his nephew, Winston.