It's been a long-awaited two years! I feel like everyone's missions go by fast besides my family. It definitely has felt like 2 years since Grayson left. I flew to Utah so that I could be there to welcome Grayson off the plane and hear his homecoming talk!
There was quite a crowd at the airport. Grayson had a huge group of high school friends who had signs, cookies, and hugs to share. The Goulding family (they are a big bunch) along with my family were at the airport! It was so fun waiting with everyone in the lobby. We had a good time watching other families welcome their missionaries home. Most of these families were crowding the exit and giving their missionary hugs over the glass. That doesn't seem like the most comfortable reunion. Missionaries are trying to hug family members while being yelled at by airport security and other travelers leaving the airport. Not our jam. We chose to wait in the waiting room. we had a huge space all to ourselves! I had my mom's big Mickey hands-on and of course we brought the BEST DAY SIGN from my mission homecoming. Graham was tracking his flight and we all were getting antsy once we saw it landed on the arrival screen.
Grayson was so calm and gentle when he got off the plane. We were all screaming his name and waving and he just calmly walked over and gave my mom a big hug. It was so sweet. I know he had some struggles on his mission but I am proud of him for sticking through it. We all took turns giving hugs to him. Of course, Callie grew the most and had the most jaw-dropping change. All the feels coming home from a mission. Grayson looked just as I remembered. But I could tell his heart was different. He had just the experiences he needed on his mission.
His friends were sure excited to see him. They missed him so much. One of the girls was bawling her eyes out when she saw him again. It was tender watching him reunite with everyone. Welcome home, Grayson!
We stopped at a yummy Mexican restaurant in downtown Salt Lake to eat. Our first meal with returned missionary Grayson! Over our meal we talked about his mission and all the things that we all experienced over the past 2 years. So much has happened for everyone!
President Ritchie from the stake came over to release him that night. He asked Grayson a ton of questions about his mission. It was sweet hearing him talk about the experiences he had while in Chicago. It reminded me of my mission a ton. Sometimes you just get homesick for your mission. That's not really something that goes away. I enjoyed watching Grayson and Poe reunite.
After his release, we went to Dairykeen for some shakes! The place was packed when we walked in. We ordered our shakes and fries and found a table just out of the rain. Our buzzer went off and the boys went to get the shakes. They came back with several large shakes, a kid's meal that was missing the toy/main dish, and tons of fries.. We were disappointed because we went for the birthday cake shake and we didn't get that with this order. We looked through the window back at the front and saw our order there and everyone looked confused as to whose it was. We snuck right up there to get our real order. And with that, we had double the shakes and fries. Grayson said this would be when the missionaries text the CIM miracle thread a picture of the extra food! We all laughed but I think we were also all secretly really happy. #miracles
A ton of family came to see Grayson speak. He hadn't even been home for 24 hours! I loved all his stories and hearing how his testimony was strengthened. Since serving a mission myself I love hearing other people talk about their mission experiences and hear them talk about their love for scriptures and Jesus. He did such a good job. After we got a group picture outside. I think Graham is the only one not in the photo. When I asked him where he ran off to after church he said he needed to blow his nose quickly it was running. I thought Aw yes, that happens sometimes. We enjoyed subs and chips in the backyard.
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