Wednesday, October 26, 2016

I'M HERE

Soooo I didn't die or anything, this keyboard is kinda weird so i'm trying my best. I really like it here and everyone is really nice helpful and friendly. My companion is Elder Eldredge from Arlington Texas sooooo yeah thats cool....also my p days are Tuesdays.

I gotta go but I love you bye,
Elder Olsen


Tuesday, October 25, 2016

The Best Worst Day!

Hello everyone! I'm Garrett's sister, Aubrey. I'll be running this shin-dig while he is on his mission. We would have my lovely mother do it but she isn't what we like to call "tech savvy." As for my dad, he already has 99 problems so a blog can't be one (that's my way of saying he's real busy!). So you're all stuck with me, you lucky dogs who will read Garrett's blog!

So today was awful. Wonderful. Sucky. Amazing. Horrible. And terribly awesome. It truly was the best worst day ever. Garrett, Dane (my handsome husband for those of you just joining us), and I all had a sleepover in the living room last night. It was really fun! Dane passed out pretty quick and Garrett and I stayed up all night talking. It was a great way to spend our last night together. We laughed and cried and talked about pretty much everything. For those of you who don't know Garrett is one of my favorite human beings on this earth, so I've been emotional to say the least. 

We woke up at 6:30 AM and started getting ready for the airport. Garrett...oh sorry, ahem...Elder Olsen, was up and ready to go. He was all business and just ready to be out the door. The rest of us not so much. We stopped at the golden arches for breakfast (because we're so fancy!) and it ended with my mom spilling ketchup all over herself. For anyone who knows my mom, they know we should have stopped her right there because 1. She's a spiller on a good day...when she's not in a moving vehicle. 2. Ketchup is red....yeah, not pretty. The Elder and I just rolled our eyes and laughed. 

When we got to the airport it was bawl fest 2016 (not us at this point, we held it together for the first 20 minutes). There were SO many missionaries and their families already saying goodbye. It was kinda like watching a depressing Mormon film where you don't get to see the happy ending because it happens two years from now. 



We checked Garrett's bags in and then found a corner to hang out in and people watch.




It was great that we got there at the crack of dawn so that we could spend a few extra minutes together and just hang out. Garrett seemed so happy, excited, and ready to go.




















Yes, yes we took a lot of pictures. We just know as Garrett is gone he's going to lose all the fat he has so we had to capture him as the chubster he is. As we were waiting until we had to say goodbye my dad got talking to a few other missionary dads and we found someone going to Garrett's exact mission! It was pretty exciting! They instantly hugged and acted like they were long lost friends. His name is Elder Carey, we talked with him and their family for quite a while. Keep in mind that during this whole airport experience our cute Elder kept on forgetting that he still had one carry on bag. He could not keep a hold of that thing.


Finally, it was time to say our goodbyes. Like any person who has a strong grip on their emotions I held it together and only shed 10,000 tears. Could've been a lot worse, but I'm tough.




I guess we need to remember the ugly pictures too. After Elder Olsen gave my mom her last hug he handed her a note, and told her not to open it until after he was gone. 


Elder Carey finished saying his goodbyes a little bit before Garrett and waited for him so they could go through security together. Garrett ran off to meet him and left his carry on bag sitting there with us. My mom called after him and told him that if he didn't remember it he would lose it somewhere a long his way to Colombia. He grabbed the bag and ran off to his next adventure!




My mom opened the note and inside was her and my dads first "clue". Garrett spent the last few days (really he planned it for a couple months) getting a scavenger hunt ready for my parents. He wanted to give them something that would take their minds off of the situation and let them have some fun. I tell you what...he gets all of his thoughtfulness from me (; haha just kidding! But really ever since he got his call he has been so aware of how the situation must be so hard for our parents. He loves them so much and this was such a great gift for him to give!


Her face when she found out what was happening is my favorite!


So we left the airport and started our scavenger hunt! I'm posting the clues so my parents can have a place to remember them. Most of them are inside jokes so you probably will think that we're really weird when you read them. 

He did not spell you're right or ma'am...Good thing he won't need English for two years anyways.
Also I had nothing to do with the menstruation comment but it did give me a chuckle. 

My parents were good little guessers and went right for the glove box when we got to the car. 

I do want full disclosure and honesty with all my...(I mean Elder Olsen's) followers and readers, so I feel obligated to let you know that this picture was staged. I forgot to get one the first time so I made them look in the glove box later. 

Clue #2. This was left in the glove box. 


Literally as we were pulling out of the airport we got a call from the TSA saying that Garrett Olsen had left his bag in the security line. Oh. My. Good. Gracious. The little turd was already disobeying his mama! They told us that they would call Garrett to come down but that they could not personally deliver the bags to him. My dad ran in the airport and he could hear them paging Garrett. By the time he was talking with the security ladies the bag had been picked up. So hopefully it was Garrett that picked it up....

We drove back home to where the next clue took us. Garrett hid this under the trophies in Ty's old room. 


This is where we find clue #3 which stated...
When Garrett opened his call he had four or five months before he was supposed to report to Colombia, so my mom was constantly telling him to get a job. She really wanted him to work at Fiiz. It was entirely selfish though, we all know she just wanted free diet coke. 

Before we headed off to Fiiz my mom changed her clothes (because of the ketchup incident). When she walked downstairs her pants were on backwards. My dad and I laughed and went to the car as she switched her pants around. When she came outside her shirt was on inside out. We laughed even harder and told her to go change. She told us no and then got in the car. She was obviously emotional form the days events and it had gotten to her head! Finally after our weird looks she went inside to switch up her shirt. I think she was contemplating just switching it right there but I gave her an even weirder look and she ended up doing the right thing and not exposing herself to the hood.

Garrett knew my parents would get a diet coke on their own if he didn't send them there, so he made this one of their first stops! Here they received clue #4.

This clue proves what a good listener our dear Elder is. 1. My mom loves Harmon's. She probably would have gone there today anyways to drown her sadness in samples and organic-crush it yourself-peanut butter. 2. My mom has been craving cinnamon bears, so there ya go!


No samples. Makes us wonder if Harmon's is going downhill. They probably just didn't realize who we were. AKA the "crazy sample people who take so many samples that it should really be called lunch" people. 

Garrett is a cuddler, this much we know! That and my parents are obsessed with apple fritters. They would always get one to share between themselves and Garrett. 




Update on how our life is at this point in the day: Mom is doing great. She only shed tears so far at the airport. My dad is switching between two or three apps telling us exactly where Garrett is, what his altitude is, what he speed is, and basically everything that you could possibly know about the flight except how Garrett is doing. Also, he's crying a lot. Manly tears though, not those other kind (; 

My mom has what we call a "secret stash" of cash. She always changes it's location and she really believes that no one knows where it is! Her kids are too smart for that and we always know where it is. That being said, after I make this post the secret stash is being moved, so none of you fans, friends, and relatives can find it. She apparently also doesn't want me to know where it is anymore hahaha




My dads face pretending he does know that my mom is stealing...oh ahem..."stashing" cash

There they found the next clue....
My mom always says that we have inappropriate conversations around our kitchen table. So Garrett thought that they would find this one right off the start but they went to his room instead of the kitchen. I found it hilarious...you had to be there though. 




It took them quite a while to find the little piece of paper tucked away in those grapes.

This one is kind of random and only my mama would understand it. Even my dad was really confused!



My mom said I couldn't take a picture of this one. The clue should tell you why!

Garrett put the clue that this one leads to down in our food storage area. When my mom opened the clue she said "Oh! I know right where this is!" and starts heading to the bathroom. I asked her why she was going there and she said "I have a peach candle!!" Okay mom....no. 

Yep it's dusty, we don't eat food storage. We just store it!


We always get Ty and Anastasia's kids to call my mom "Granny O" and she hates it. Also we call this the granny bathroom so it was a two for one. Yet my mom still tried to go to her room instead of this bathtub hahaha



One time Jarin made green bacon....we'll just leave it at that!

My mom and dad always recycle their pop cans, which is good because they drink a lot so they're really making an impact for the earth! Anyways, we always use the can money to buy drink cards on cruises! As Garrett is gone these next two years we're all going to save money and go on a cruise to the Panama Canal! We chose that cruise because it stops in Colombia. 

Anyone seen business time? If not look it up on youtube, and prepare for a good laugh. There are also many stories about the game "Bang" and why Dane and I don't play it anymore. We might get a bit competitive...




Everyone has a junk drawer right?! Well the Olsen's don't anymore because they had to clean the whole thing out searching for the next clue. 



The last place Garrett sent them to was our shed!


In the final place he put a letter for each of them and a beautiful necklace for my mama. I can't even tell you the thought that Garrett put into this scavenger hunt. The clues that he chose and the places he sent them all have hilarious memories for our family so it was a great way to make my parents laugh and take their minds of things. When Garrett first came to me with this idea he said to me "I know it's going to be hard for me sometimes, I know that. But I know it will be just as hard for mom and dad. I really don't want them to be sad, I want to distract them and make them so happy!" It really made our morning so enjoyable!


Sorry mom, but this picture is my favorite. 






The scavenger hunt did make my parents so so happy! Until they read his letters, then came the water works. 




We went to lunch at our favorite place that Garrett hates going to, Taggarts! My dad kept tracking Garrett of course. As of right now he is officially in Colombia!! I already miss him so much but I am so proud of him. He is going to be a great missionary. My next post will be his first email!!! I can't wait to hear from him!



(Update from 11/01/2016. I sent Garrett an email all about how the scavenger hunt went, this was his reply to me... hahahahahahah i love this.....i got about halfway through this email last week when one of the teachers started yelling at me in spanish hahah yeah i got my bag, they ended up forcing me to check it which i was worried about buuuuuuut it all worked out :) I hope that you have the bestest birthday ever i have been thinking about you alllll day!!! LOVE YOU. So for those of you wondering how the bag thing turned out it all ended up alright! It was probably a blessing they made him check it because he was for sure bound to lose it again. I also found it hilarious he got yelled at for trying to read my email! I sent it to him that night that he left so when he got on to write his "I'M HERE" email is when that happened)