James goes to the MTC

It's done!  He's gone!  The baby, the last of 9 kids, (8 of which served or is serving a mission, ya the black sheep is me) has left to serve a full-time mission for 2 years in Portland Oregon.  He first starts for a few weeks in Provo at the Mission Training Center (MTC) which is where we dropped him off on Wednesday.  But first, for traditions.  We, meaning my parents, like to take outgoing missionaries to Tucano's, a really yummy Brazilian restaurant, where you sit and they bring yummy meat for as long as you want.  They do have a salad bar with other yummy foods, but I don't like to waste my stomach space on that so I just sit and enjoy the meat, mmmmm.  Micah really liked it, this was after we washed his face that was covered in meat juice.  

The girls did too, lol.

Ki Ki even enjoyed it.

Can you tell Wall-E did too.

What a ham.

Elder Schmidt and Momma-la.

My kid's "other" Aunt, Sarah.  Malia, loves her to death.

Grandpa Shrimp (that's what Ki Ki calls him) with the girls.

The gang

James and the 10th Schmidt.

Cousins makin` daddy jealous on a Harley, lol.

After we stuffed ourselves silly, we went up to the Provo Temple to take some pics before we dropped off James.  Billy's fam.

All of us.

My fam. notice the sleeping baby, again.

The parental figures.

James really likes Stewart from Mad TV and does an awesome impression of him.  Check out this clip if you've never seen it.

"Let me do it"

"NO!"

"Off I go to serve the Lord"

Head shot

One last shot with the kids. . .

and me.

After the temple, Randy took the kids home and my parents and I went to drop of Beebit.  After Jon went on his mission, they stopped letting families go in and drop of the missionaries because of the H1N1 craze going on. So now you have to drop them off curbside and another missionary "host" helps them take their bags up to the door.  It makes for a very quick goodbye and a lot less crying.  This was a very cute shot of these two.  Made me cry a little.  

Bye Dad.

Later peeps, see ya in 2 years.

Off he goes.  Good luck Beebit, Uncle James, Jame-S, Stewart, ELDER SCHMIDT!!!!!  We love you and will miss you tons.  The Tucker house will be very quiet without you here.