Posted on his last Tuesday in Sacramento

When Benjamin went up and sat on the stand before Sacrament Meeting, I (Benjamin's mom) saw that he was wearing a beautiful lei. Knowing that he would be mobbed by friends afterward, I dug out my camera and signaled for him to come out to the lobby for a picture. He complied reluctantly and only allowed one shot.

Thanks to the wonder of Facebook, here is a picture of Benjamin with the friend who made the lei,  Silivia Fifita Taukei'aho (Fita Leka).  

Sunday evening we had an Open House.  The house was FULL of wonderful family and friends who came to offer Benjamin their love and support.  I failed in picture taking, so you just have to take my word for it that there were a lot of people and a lot of good food.  I do wish I had taken pictures.


His sister Debi took this great picture of him.  They were having a shoot-out.  We win!

This is one of the very few pictures I took at the Open House.  The funny thing is I didn't even know that these people were there. I asked Benjamin later if they had made it.  I had randomly grabbed my camera looked for Benjamin and clicked.  The other young man in a white shirt is also Ben.  A returned missionary and a good friend of my Benjamin. At one point Sunday evening, we had at least 3 Benjamins in the house.  Good name. Good guys.

This table was laden with fruits and veggies Sunday night.  Now it is the staging area for suitcase packing. How is he going to get everything in two suitcases and a carry-on?  Do we have everything he will need?  Do we have enough? Too much?  I bet he is going to have to pay excess baggage fees.  whew!