Driving David to the MTC

In September, we needed to deliver David (now known to us as Elder Bowen) to the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo. We spent time planning out our trip. Allie debated whether or not she was willing to miss a few days of school. But she made up her mind once she listened to us plan our meals!
We packed Elder Bowen up and stuffed our trunk full of his supplies for the next two years and headed out.
Anyone who has driven across the Nevada desert knows what the scenery looks like, but if you haven't we are willing to share the experience with you!

Here you go. . .

Oh wait! Not everyone get this special view! But, it is what I saw for miles and miles and miles and. . . well you get the point. But I'm sure you'd rather see the landscape.

What? You can't get enough of it. Don't worry. I took another picture so you can enjoy it once again.

Notice, it IS different.

But there was much more to look at. If I looked to my left, I saw this cutie!

He drove the entire time. Both ways! And all around town. I kept him awake (except the parts when I was sleeping, when I am pretty sure he was alert.)
This is what Elder Bowen looked like. . . he was having gaming withdrawls. It's hard to change your ways when every waking hour (slight exaggeration) is spent playing game boy, watching television (even when your mom says NO), playing some other gaming portable gaming system that you bought with your money instead of saving up for your mission that your parents have no idea that you bought even though your bank balance was in the negative. . . where was I? Elder Bowen thought he'd catch a few winks

But since I am sneaky, I also caught a photo of him ALMOST awake!

Taking photos of Allie was more of a challenge. She has a tendancy to not cooperate when a camera is pointed her direction IF it's not her idea. (I wonder who she got that from?) Since I was sitting in front of her, I had to angle the camera in what I thought might be the right direction and click. I thought I did pretty well!

Allie did not taunt Elder Bowen any more than he might have teased her. She brought her game boy and played it right in front of him. He might have been envious had he been awake!

As we got closer to Salt Lake City, the landscape changed SIGNIFICANTLY. See. . .it's not totally flat! And there are buildings and most likely people!

While I did not plan on pulling out my camera again until we got to the MTC, Elder Bowen insisted that I take a photo of him in front of the Christus statue (even if it meant a second trip there. . .good thing our hotel was really close to Temple Square)

Nice parting shot of a boy who will return a man putting his life on hold for two years to do the Lord's work, don't you think?