Kyle's Leaving on a Mission

This past week my baby brother, Kyle, came and stayed with us prior to his entering the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, Utah. On September 3, 2008 my mom, my sister Kelly, her husband Jason, Rob, Amelia and I took Kyle out to lunch at Tucano's in Provo and then took him to the MTC. It was a sad but great day! Kyle will be gone for 2 years as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Hawaii. He received his mission call the day of his high school graduation and we were all there that day too! It has been a joy seeing Kyle grow up and now going on a mission. He is a great kid and will do great things for the people of Hawaii! I love you Kyle and am proud of you!! Here are some photos of the day!
Here we are at Tucano's waiting for the food to come!
Here is Kyle taking his luggage to the MTC...what's with the white sunnies?
Kyle and Kelly getting ready to cross the street from the parking lot to the MTC.
A quick family shot before going inside, including from L-R Me, Amelia, Rob, Jason, Kelly, Kyle and my mom!
Because Kyle had a brand new suit on, he hadn't used his pocket, so Kelly was very helpful and helped unstitch the thread in his pocket!
Although Kyle was set apart as a missionary for over a week at this point, but going into the MTC he received his name tag with the famous "Dork Dot". For those of you who have served a mission and gone to the MTC you know exactly what I am talking about...for those of you who don't know what it is, let me tell you! When a missionary goes into the MTC they receive their name tag. On their first name tag is a bright orange dot that shows that it is the missionaries first day at the MTC. Basically those that have been at the MTC for a week or so give them a bit of a hard time (thinking they are cool because they have been at the MTC for a week). It is pretty funny! Anyway, the mom is the one that gets to put the missionary's first name tag on. So that was cool for my mom!
Here is my mom with our Elder LaBarre!
Rob, Amelia and I with Elder LaBarre
Kelly, mom, and I with Elder LaBarre
Elder LaBarre and I right before going into the meeting room...where we will say our goodbyes.
Amelia with her uncle Elder LaBarre. When he comes home Amelia will be 3 and walking and talking! I can't even imagine!!

After all these photos were taken we went into a meeting room where the missionaries are welcomed by the MTC president and given a bit of instruction on what will happen in the MTC. It is a pretty hectic schedule but the most spiritual and uplifting time a person can ever have. I'm excited to hear from my brother! I will try to keep people updated on his mission! Love you Kyle!!!

Kyle's Graduation & Mission Call

We went to Colorado this past weekend to see my brother Kyle graduate from high school! His graduation took place at Red Rocks Amphitheater, which was an amazing venue. After graduation we went to lunch at Olive Garden and then went to my mom's and checked the mail. In the mail was Kyle's mission call!!! Seeing my sister Kelly waving the letter in the air reminded me of the day I received my call. We all ran inside and started making phone calls to my sister Aaron, my brother Peter and Kelly's husband, Jason for all to hear where Elder LaBarre would be sent. Of course we gave Kyle rules, such as he was not to jump ahead and read where he was going before reading it out loud, and he had to read every line. As Kyle began reading the spirit hit me so hard that here my baby brother was going on a mission, something he has been preparing his whole life for. Kyle is called to the Honolulu, Hawaii mission and reports to the Missionary Training Center in Provo, Utah on September 3, 2008. Kyle will be English speaking. This is so exciting!! I think it is interesting that he and I (the only missionaries in our family) were both called to the South Pacific. I am so excited for Kyle! Since he received his call, he went to the temple in preparation for his mission. Rob was his escort and it was a wonderful day. It was a very filling weekend!

Baby Bruder

Kyle came to my blog and complained that he was not on there, I figured that I better get him on there! Kyle is my baby bruder he is 11 years younger than me. He is currently 17 (almost 18) and is a teenager to say the least!


Kyle is a junior in high school! He is in choir and won many awards in that, Rob and I saw him in the Music Man, and he did a great job! Kyle is also going to Germany this summer (apparently he can speak German), who would've thought!


Kyle is extremely smart and knows it! He is getting his Eagle Scout award here shortly! Which is very exciting! He built shelves for a pantry (if I remember right). He moved half way through his project and had to go back to Missouri to finish it!






This photo is from last summer we went on an adventure the day after Kelly's wedding and found this little lake. It was beautiful up there! We found a little snake so Kyle thought to be sure the little guy was included in our photos! That's right, Kyle is very considerate!




Kyle likes to play on his computer (which may or may not be a good thing), he plays a mean game of Scrabble, and sometimes thinks his is the coolest guy on the planet...which I'm sure he is saying that he is right now! Kyle will be going on a mission next summer for our church and has been preparing for that! Life is continually evolving as he gets older! I am blessed to have Kyle as my baby brother!