mission prep

Another busy day, courtesy of Ryan. ;-)

First stop was to the orthodontist to get his braces off.

We were worried that having them on for a short period of time (about 10 months) wouldn't be effective, but the the orthodontist was very pleased at how his teeth had straightened out when the braces came off. They also put a permanent retainer on so Ryan won't have to worry about anything while on his mission.

Side note: Ryan didn't want to give me before and after photos, so the above pic of the orhodontist's waiting room is all I could get. Ha!

After the orthodontist, we had a quick lunch at Kneaders, then headed down to Provo. There's a little strip mall there that has several stores that cater to up and coming LDS misionaries that's called the Missionary Mall; we actually visited it awhile back, after Ryan received his mission call, just to see what they had. Ryan ultimately decided this store could help him best:

I thought this slogan was funny. :-)

There was a lot to get, clothing-wise, for a missionary, and so we were grateful for all the help the salespeople gave us. Plus, they have different packages to help you get what you need, so that was really helpful.

I had to laugh to myself because it seemed like roles were reversed; you know how it's usually the men sitting on couches, bored, while the women shop? Well, I was the one on the couch since my fibro was acting up and I couldn't stand for long periods of time. So, Scott jumped in and helped Ryan make some decisions. I really didn't mind considering Scott had served a mission and knew what was needed. I'm glad Ryan had his dad to help him out.

And, this is what we ended up lugging home.

There's about 10 dress shirts, 2 belts, 12 pairs of socks, 2 pairs of shoes, a shoe kit, shoe insoles, 2 pairs of trousers, some garments, and other miscellaneous items. Not pictured is a suit that has to be altered, but will be ready by the end of the week.

Phew! It was a long day, but I'm glad we're getting this done. We still have to buy some other miscellaneous stuff (pens, journals, etc.), and getting his immunizations is next, but the to-do list is getting smaller. He leaves in less than a month!