The closer and closer we got to the day Johannah was leaving on her mission, the more Johannah reminded us that it felt like she was dying.
That's right, dying.
She had a bunch of "last time" requests: she wanted to go roller-skating "one last time", she wanted to watch Supergirl "one last time"; she wanted to eat chicken divan "one last time". In the end, she said it felt like these were deathbed requests, and in the end, she had a point. Maybe it's healthy to admit that serving a mission will be the death of selfishness (which is a good thing)...and fun (which is kind of sad).
Seeing as John and I don't really get to do anything with Johannah ever (seeing as she's always in Utah working and studying), we were more than happy to fulfill many of these requests. After all, they usually include us and the family, and I can't think of a happier way to spend last days.
Thankfully, there were some other people who wanted to fulfill her wishes also. The Mechams made plans to come to Johannah's farewell Sunday. Yes, they actually bought plane tickets out and spent a day with us. This is what I'm talking about, people, when I say that I think of some of our friends as more family than my own family. Being willing to fly out for our girl? Priceless.
There was also the business of figuring out a date when Johannah could speak in church. I'm glad we were on top of this, because in the end, there was only one possible Sunday due to our own schedules, ward conference and Fast Sunday. I let the family know that January 22 was THE day, and if they wanted to continue their membership in the Kennedy Klan, they'd better drop all commitments and be there. :-)
I honestly can't remember if it was my wish, or Hannie's, but we ended up heading out one Wednesday morning to the Washington DC temple. Turns out, she hadn't been back since she took out her endowments in May, so it was perfect. Between trips to Utah, and this trip, and our future trips to the Philadelphia Temple and the Orlando temple, Hannah titled us #templebuddies. Perfect. <3
Next, Hannah wanted a day trip to Philadelphia. All of my kids have such good memories of that city, even though we've only explored a small part of it. That's what happens when I'm driving three kids to three different lesson locations during rush hour Philly traffic! People ask me why I do it, and I can say now, why not? It's been some of the best bonding time for me and my kids over the years. I'd never take it back.
After dropping Glo off at her lesson, we decided to head to Hard Rock Cafe, but when we stumbled across a place called "Burgerfi", and Hannie's favorite food on planet earth is a hamburger, it was kind of a done deal. I even asked the people when we walked in if the burgers were worth it, and they promised me they were. And goodness, they WERE delicious!
We still went to Hard Rock, but only for dessert. We split a hot fudge sundae.
We were headed somewhere else (I honestly can't remember where), but we stumbled upon the Rothman Ice Rink in front of City Hall. For some strange reason, Hannah thought she wanted to ice skate.
Now let me tell you, I have tried a bunch of various activities throughout the years and there are two activities I never wish to repeat: downhill skiing (I gave it three solid days and hated every minute of it, despite learning in the Swiss Alps on an inappropriately named mountain "Engelberg"), and ice skating.
Ice skating has never proven its worth to me. It's pure misery whether skating or falling. Maybe that's why I watch every minute of every Olympic figure skating broadcast. I know I'm missing something, but I can't figure out what. Hannie however wanted to do it, and since she never asks for anything, I was game to fork over the $15.
After one lap, she was exhausted, but Hannah is nothing if not motivated when pressured (don't we all know her deep competitive streak, family?). I told her that she had just skated a $15 lap. After that, every lap around she would recalculate the price. I think she ended up doing 7 or 8 laps which, I guess, proved the activity's worth :-)
She might have kept skating...or she might not have--I don't know--but we had an appointment at the Philly temple, so we had to leave. We booked it over there, changed into our church clothes in the car, and headed in. It was her first time (and my second) doing endowments in that temple, and goodness, it's so beautiful. The walls are painted with scenes from the wilds of Pennsylvania, and most of the pictures in the temple reflect the historical status of the city itself. It's so beautiful.
Another wish of Hannie was to play with our bell choir "one last time". She played for a couple of years, and she's always happy to substitute when she is home (which is basically never). Our choir director, Gail, is of course over the moon anytime Hannah comes home! It was sad, knowing that this honestly is Hannie's last time playing since we won't be in State College when she returns home from her mission.
Next wish? Roller skating. Hmmm, I'm sensing a theme here :-). Johannah worked at Penn Skates for several years through high school. Like I said before, Johannah is one motivated cookie, and when I told her that we should host a party there for the family on her farewell weekend, she worked it OUT! She headed over to talk to her former boss, and instead of paying the $400 private party fee, Hannie worked a deal that we could come and have the entire rink to ourselves for $6/person. She just asked that Mark and Hannah work the concession stand, the skate rental counter and the music for our party which of course wasn't a problem at all since, like I said before, they worked there for year. What an awesome deal!
I'm not going to lie. It was one of the most fun times I've had in a very long time. Just our family (the Kennedy Kore and Beth and her kids and Grammy). We played whatever music we wanted, and we played all the skating games. John was terribly worried about me falling and hurting my back, so I skated around with a penguin for a good hour. However, I used to be a mad roller skater, and actually roller skated every day after school for years, and at every party, and at weekend rink skates. So, I do believe I was the fastest penguin skater every recorded, but eventually, I let go of the training wheels (and John's anxiety) and just skated. Of course, I thought I was so funny, but nobody bothered to take a picture of me :-(
The games were super fun. The numbers game, sharks and minnows, and Limbo. Unbelievably (or believably if you know him well enough), Mark WON Limbo! Yep, all 6' 5.5" of him :-). And since we were combining the weekend with Ethan's birthday, and Ethan wanted a Harry Potter birthday, it was 100 points for Gryffindor!
In the end (and as real customers began filing in), we decided to have a Skee Ball tournament also. I would just like to say that Hufflepuff had this thing in the BAG! Yep, Rebecca and I took first and second place in that tournament, and walked away with 200 points!
We also took advantage of the concession stand. John was the leader of the Pufflepants House (complete with Hootie as the mascot), and his team member, Reid, won the numbers game so it was Sno-Cones all around for them. And thankfully, Pufflepants shares with Hufflepuff :-)
And one of the best parts was seeing how everybody chipped in to help everyone else. Experienced skaters were helping all of the inexperienced Pufflepants skaters, no matter how small. #family
Finally, the biggest wish of all. A trip to Harry Potter World!
Yes, Johannah had been asking for a trip for several years, but it was just never in the cards (she is honestly the busiest person I know). So, we had a couple of days in between her farewell and her actual leaving, so we caught a plane down.
John went all out, making sure it was the easiest, most fun trip possible. We stayed at Cabana Bay, a fun, retro Universal resort, so that each morning we got early entrance into the park...and only needed to take a short shuttle ride to get there.
The girls and I arrived the night before John did (because he was on call and coming the following day), but we were up bright and early so we could take full advantage of the early park hours.
And we booked it into the park, because we had one goal: Hannah wanted to be "chosen" at Olivander's Wand Shop.
We figured if we showed up when fewer people were there, she would stand a better chance. However, I shouldn't have feared. She walked in with the tears still running down her face, and she popped right up to the front. After the door closed, Olivander walked by her, looking for an assistant. I figured she wouldn't be chosen, but then he reached the end of the line, and began walking backwards and stopped right in front of her. She could hardly contain her excitement and happiness! I was (no surprise) crying for her. It couldn't have been more perfect.
There is just something so special about the first time anyone walks in Harry Potter world. It feels so real, and for all of us who wish it was, it's the closest thing we have. I knew Hannie would have a strong reaction as she walked around the wall, and it was so touching to watch:
Of course, after visiting Ollivander's, and buying the wand that had chosen Hannie, we set off to use that wand. Thankfully, Allison had sent us with hers also, so the girls had a good time (as did John and I). Turns out, my wand skills are rather good, and when nobody else could work a spell, I would get a chance and could usually make the spell work within a time or two. Glo would use the excuse that she was using a wand that hadn't chosen her (since it was Allison's) :-)
One of the best parts of the trip was that because we were up so early and in the park when there weren't many people there, we were OUT of the park quickly also. Since John had bought us a meal plan, we would get in the park early, ride all of the rides (even taking the train between the two parks), head over to The Leaky Cauldron for lunch, and be out of the park by noon. We then either headed back to Cabana Bay for naps or for swimming. Then, we had time to do things in the evening (like back into the park when John arrived on Monday).
I only mention all of this because I've struggled with finding a good rhythm in theme parks before. I associate them with long lines, and heat, and a lot of misery. I've gone for years, but I kind of dread it all now. However, having this new system, I LOVED being there, and I would do it all over again. Plus, there's nothing like Harry Potter world.
The second day was fun too, because John was there with us from the beginning. We were all owning every moment of it all, and I thought it was the cutest thing, seeing the girls walking into the park in the morning, ready to go!
I love my husband. Have I ever mentioned that?
One of the best pictures from the trip:
The girls tried on quite a few clothing items, figuring out exactly how they wanted to spend their saved dollars. In the end, they went with the classic, wool sweater, perfect for those cold Floridian winters :-). Poor Hannie knew when she bought it that she wouldn't be wearing it until after her mission, but she took it anyways.
And one of Glo's favorite things from the park? Pumpkin juice. It's basically pumpkin pie in a bottle, and since she chooses pumpkin pie for birthdays (instead of cake), it made perfect sense. And yes, she brought the bottle home with her.
This is going to sound ridiculous, but I kind of liken the feeling of being in Harry Potter world with being in the temple (I know, major downer here, but it's TRUE!). Everyone in Harry Potter world is there for a reason. People are dressed in their house colors, and we're all united by something we love. Too, it's peaceful in there, despite all the people. There's beautiful music playing, it's shady (from the Floridian rays), and it feels like a different world. Every time we left HP world and went back into Universal, everything felt so common again. People walking around in bootie shorts, and tank tops, and just not united at all. It's hard to explain, and I don't think I'm doing a very good job, but there's a definite feeling when you leave the beauty and magic of Harry Potter world.
And speaking of the temple, we took Hannie to the Orlando temple too. I'm so glad we ended up going too, because almost the entire session was empty. It makes me so sad to see that, because I would give anything to have a temple close by, and so many people have the Orlando Temple and don't go. However, I don't want to throw any shade, so I'm just grateful that we could go.
Okay, back to the story.
Another "last"? Hannah wanted to go to Medieval Times.
I love Medieval Times. It's always such a good time, but only if you really play into it (think Halloweekends). We had the blue knight, so it was rather fun to yell "GO BLUE!" In the end, he let us down, and salt to the world was being beaten by a knight dressed in white, grey and red. BOOO....
I was so happy when Hannie was chosen as a "fair maiden". I'm not so sure about her photo-bombing sister, looking at this picture! ;-)
Finally, and this is jumping ahead of the story, I wanted one final family Kennedy picture. It kills me that it will be another 18 months before we are together again, especially seeing that we Kennedys have basically mastered the family selfie. So, the last day we were in Michigan (and two days before Hannah left on her mission), we went outside the church and snapped a couple in the parking lot. Mark, Ethan, Rebecca, Baby and Allison had to stay in Michigan, and we needed to leave for PA, so this was it. Of course, Mark was snapping away before we were ready!
And one last picture with "Cupcake" :-)
That's right, dying.
She had a bunch of "last time" requests: she wanted to go roller-skating "one last time", she wanted to watch Supergirl "one last time"; she wanted to eat chicken divan "one last time". In the end, she said it felt like these were deathbed requests, and in the end, she had a point. Maybe it's healthy to admit that serving a mission will be the death of selfishness (which is a good thing)...and fun (which is kind of sad).
Seeing as John and I don't really get to do anything with Johannah ever (seeing as she's always in Utah working and studying), we were more than happy to fulfill many of these requests. After all, they usually include us and the family, and I can't think of a happier way to spend last days.
Thankfully, there were some other people who wanted to fulfill her wishes also. The Mechams made plans to come to Johannah's farewell Sunday. Yes, they actually bought plane tickets out and spent a day with us. This is what I'm talking about, people, when I say that I think of some of our friends as more family than my own family. Being willing to fly out for our girl? Priceless.
There was also the business of figuring out a date when Johannah could speak in church. I'm glad we were on top of this, because in the end, there was only one possible Sunday due to our own schedules, ward conference and Fast Sunday. I let the family know that January 22 was THE day, and if they wanted to continue their membership in the Kennedy Klan, they'd better drop all commitments and be there. :-)
I honestly can't remember if it was my wish, or Hannie's, but we ended up heading out one Wednesday morning to the Washington DC temple. Turns out, she hadn't been back since she took out her endowments in May, so it was perfect. Between trips to Utah, and this trip, and our future trips to the Philadelphia Temple and the Orlando temple, Hannah titled us #templebuddies. Perfect. <3
Next, Hannah wanted a day trip to Philadelphia. All of my kids have such good memories of that city, even though we've only explored a small part of it. That's what happens when I'm driving three kids to three different lesson locations during rush hour Philly traffic! People ask me why I do it, and I can say now, why not? It's been some of the best bonding time for me and my kids over the years. I'd never take it back.
After dropping Glo off at her lesson, we decided to head to Hard Rock Cafe, but when we stumbled across a place called "Burgerfi", and Hannie's favorite food on planet earth is a hamburger, it was kind of a done deal. I even asked the people when we walked in if the burgers were worth it, and they promised me they were. And goodness, they WERE delicious!We still went to Hard Rock, but only for dessert. We split a hot fudge sundae.
We were headed somewhere else (I honestly can't remember where), but we stumbled upon the Rothman Ice Rink in front of City Hall. For some strange reason, Hannah thought she wanted to ice skate.
Now let me tell you, I have tried a bunch of various activities throughout the years and there are two activities I never wish to repeat: downhill skiing (I gave it three solid days and hated every minute of it, despite learning in the Swiss Alps on an inappropriately named mountain "Engelberg"), and ice skating.Ice skating has never proven its worth to me. It's pure misery whether skating or falling. Maybe that's why I watch every minute of every Olympic figure skating broadcast. I know I'm missing something, but I can't figure out what. Hannie however wanted to do it, and since she never asks for anything, I was game to fork over the $15.
After one lap, she was exhausted, but Hannah is nothing if not motivated when pressured (don't we all know her deep competitive streak, family?). I told her that she had just skated a $15 lap. After that, every lap around she would recalculate the price. I think she ended up doing 7 or 8 laps which, I guess, proved the activity's worth :-)
She might have kept skating...or she might not have--I don't know--but we had an appointment at the Philly temple, so we had to leave. We booked it over there, changed into our church clothes in the car, and headed in. It was her first time (and my second) doing endowments in that temple, and goodness, it's so beautiful. The walls are painted with scenes from the wilds of Pennsylvania, and most of the pictures in the temple reflect the historical status of the city itself. It's so beautiful.Another wish of Hannie was to play with our bell choir "one last time". She played for a couple of years, and she's always happy to substitute when she is home (which is basically never). Our choir director, Gail, is of course over the moon anytime Hannah comes home! It was sad, knowing that this honestly is Hannie's last time playing since we won't be in State College when she returns home from her mission.
 |
| Gal and Hannah |
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| Hannah had a couple of different positions in the choir, but in the end, she was at 1B with Doug. |
Next wish? Roller skating. Hmmm, I'm sensing a theme here :-). Johannah worked at Penn Skates for several years through high school. Like I said before, Johannah is one motivated cookie, and when I told her that we should host a party there for the family on her farewell weekend, she worked it OUT! She headed over to talk to her former boss, and instead of paying the $400 private party fee, Hannie worked a deal that we could come and have the entire rink to ourselves for $6/person. She just asked that Mark and Hannah work the concession stand, the skate rental counter and the music for our party which of course wasn't a problem at all since, like I said before, they worked there for year. What an awesome deal!
I'm not going to lie. It was one of the most fun times I've had in a very long time. Just our family (the Kennedy Kore and Beth and her kids and Grammy). We played whatever music we wanted, and we played all the skating games. John was terribly worried about me falling and hurting my back, so I skated around with a penguin for a good hour. However, I used to be a mad roller skater, and actually roller skated every day after school for years, and at every party, and at weekend rink skates. So, I do believe I was the fastest penguin skater every recorded, but eventually, I let go of the training wheels (and John's anxiety) and just skated. Of course, I thought I was so funny, but nobody bothered to take a picture of me :-(
The games were super fun. The numbers game, sharks and minnows, and Limbo. Unbelievably (or believably if you know him well enough), Mark WON Limbo! Yep, all 6' 5.5" of him :-). And since we were combining the weekend with Ethan's birthday, and Ethan wanted a Harry Potter birthday, it was 100 points for Gryffindor!
In the end (and as real customers began filing in), we decided to have a Skee Ball tournament also. I would just like to say that Hufflepuff had this thing in the BAG! Yep, Rebecca and I took first and second place in that tournament, and walked away with 200 points!
We also took advantage of the concession stand. John was the leader of the Pufflepants House (complete with Hootie as the mascot), and his team member, Reid, won the numbers game so it was Sno-Cones all around for them. And thankfully, Pufflepants shares with Hufflepuff :-)
And one of the best parts was seeing how everybody chipped in to help everyone else. Experienced skaters were helping all of the inexperienced Pufflepants skaters, no matter how small. #family
Finally, the biggest wish of all. A trip to Harry Potter World!
Yes, Johannah had been asking for a trip for several years, but it was just never in the cards (she is honestly the busiest person I know). So, we had a couple of days in between her farewell and her actual leaving, so we caught a plane down.
John went all out, making sure it was the easiest, most fun trip possible. We stayed at Cabana Bay, a fun, retro Universal resort, so that each morning we got early entrance into the park...and only needed to take a short shuttle ride to get there.
The girls and I arrived the night before John did (because he was on call and coming the following day), but we were up bright and early so we could take full advantage of the early park hours.
And we booked it into the park, because we had one goal: Hannah wanted to be "chosen" at Olivander's Wand Shop.
We figured if we showed up when fewer people were there, she would stand a better chance. However, I shouldn't have feared. She walked in with the tears still running down her face, and she popped right up to the front. After the door closed, Olivander walked by her, looking for an assistant. I figured she wouldn't be chosen, but then he reached the end of the line, and began walking backwards and stopped right in front of her. She could hardly contain her excitement and happiness! I was (no surprise) crying for her. It couldn't have been more perfect.
There is just something so special about the first time anyone walks in Harry Potter world. It feels so real, and for all of us who wish it was, it's the closest thing we have. I knew Hannie would have a strong reaction as she walked around the wall, and it was so touching to watch:
Of course, after visiting Ollivander's, and buying the wand that had chosen Hannie, we set off to use that wand. Thankfully, Allison had sent us with hers also, so the girls had a good time (as did John and I). Turns out, my wand skills are rather good, and when nobody else could work a spell, I would get a chance and could usually make the spell work within a time or two. Glo would use the excuse that she was using a wand that hadn't chosen her (since it was Allison's) :-)
One of the best parts of the trip was that because we were up so early and in the park when there weren't many people there, we were OUT of the park quickly also. Since John had bought us a meal plan, we would get in the park early, ride all of the rides (even taking the train between the two parks), head over to The Leaky Cauldron for lunch, and be out of the park by noon. We then either headed back to Cabana Bay for naps or for swimming. Then, we had time to do things in the evening (like back into the park when John arrived on Monday).
I only mention all of this because I've struggled with finding a good rhythm in theme parks before. I associate them with long lines, and heat, and a lot of misery. I've gone for years, but I kind of dread it all now. However, having this new system, I LOVED being there, and I would do it all over again. Plus, there's nothing like Harry Potter world.
The second day was fun too, because John was there with us from the beginning. We were all owning every moment of it all, and I thought it was the cutest thing, seeing the girls walking into the park in the morning, ready to go!
I love my husband. Have I ever mentioned that?
One of the best pictures from the trip:
The girls tried on quite a few clothing items, figuring out exactly how they wanted to spend their saved dollars. In the end, they went with the classic, wool sweater, perfect for those cold Floridian winters :-). Poor Hannie knew when she bought it that she wouldn't be wearing it until after her mission, but she took it anyways.And one of Glo's favorite things from the park? Pumpkin juice. It's basically pumpkin pie in a bottle, and since she chooses pumpkin pie for birthdays (instead of cake), it made perfect sense. And yes, she brought the bottle home with her.
This is going to sound ridiculous, but I kind of liken the feeling of being in Harry Potter world with being in the temple (I know, major downer here, but it's TRUE!). Everyone in Harry Potter world is there for a reason. People are dressed in their house colors, and we're all united by something we love. Too, it's peaceful in there, despite all the people. There's beautiful music playing, it's shady (from the Floridian rays), and it feels like a different world. Every time we left HP world and went back into Universal, everything felt so common again. People walking around in bootie shorts, and tank tops, and just not united at all. It's hard to explain, and I don't think I'm doing a very good job, but there's a definite feeling when you leave the beauty and magic of Harry Potter world.
And speaking of the temple, we took Hannie to the Orlando temple too. I'm so glad we ended up going too, because almost the entire session was empty. It makes me so sad to see that, because I would give anything to have a temple close by, and so many people have the Orlando Temple and don't go. However, I don't want to throw any shade, so I'm just grateful that we could go.Okay, back to the story.
Another "last"? Hannah wanted to go to Medieval Times.
I love Medieval Times. It's always such a good time, but only if you really play into it (think Halloweekends). We had the blue knight, so it was rather fun to yell "GO BLUE!" In the end, he let us down, and salt to the world was being beaten by a knight dressed in white, grey and red. BOOO....
I was so happy when Hannie was chosen as a "fair maiden". I'm not so sure about her photo-bombing sister, looking at this picture! ;-)
Finally, and this is jumping ahead of the story, I wanted one final family Kennedy picture. It kills me that it will be another 18 months before we are together again, especially seeing that we Kennedys have basically mastered the family selfie. So, the last day we were in Michigan (and two days before Hannah left on her mission), we went outside the church and snapped a couple in the parking lot. Mark, Ethan, Rebecca, Baby and Allison had to stay in Michigan, and we needed to leave for PA, so this was it. Of course, Mark was snapping away before we were ready!
And one last picture with "Cupcake" :-)
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