Mario got a work email sent to my phone for some reason. I opened it up and saw that the military was looking for few people to go TDY to DC for a few days to attend a seminar. I got really excited and asked Mario to apply so that I could go too. He didn't want to apply because it had a lot of prep work before the seminar and he was busy applying for an ROTC command job. I begged him to apply anyway. He finally called and asked for the info to apply but never sent in his application. A couple weeks later, he received an email saying he had been selected to attend the seminar. He called me from work one day and said, "Heavenly Father must really want you to go to DC because I was selected without even applying."
I was so excited. We had been sealed in the DC temple 22 years ago and have only been back once and the temple was closed for cleaning that week. So this was my chance to go back to that temple. Eric was available to watch the boys Friday thru Sunday morning but was leaving Sunday morning for Kansas City. So we hired Savana Moore to come watch the boys Sunday morning thru Monday afternoon when Eric would be back. Then I flew home Tuesday morning and Mario stayed until his class was done on Wednesday.
Mario's old Bishop from Miami lives there now and so he offed to let us stay at his home. So we stayed with his family Friday and Saturday night until we could move into a military paid hotel on Sunday night. What a wonderful family. I loved the Carleton's. I had only briefly met them twice before, but I feel like I must have known them in the pre-existence. There was something that was so familiar about them. I felt like I had known them my whole life. They had such a huge impact on Mario in his youth. I think it is very possible that I knew them before coming to earth. I don't know if I have ever felt that way before about anyone.
They loaned us their nice bikes and car and set us loose on the city. That was the perfect way to see the sites. They just happened to have a temple trip set up for the singles ward that he's the Bishop of right now on Saturday morning. So we attended the temple with them. What a wonderful experience to be back in that temple. I was nervous because the temple lost power that morning and was running on generator. But they didn't cancel our session, thank goodness.
Some highlights from our trip were going to the temple, eating at a Cuban restaurant with the Carletons, my 35+ mile (beautiful) bike ride to Mount Vernon by myself while Mario was in class, seeing pandas at the National Zoo, and eating at a Brazilian steakhouse in downtown DC.
I can't express enough gratitude for the Carleton family. They were instrumental in keeping Mario on the straight and narrow path. Sister Carleton was pregnant and on bed rest with her sixth child I think when Mario went to live with their family as a teenager. She could have easily told him that he couldn't stay but she took him in and showed him a wonderful example of a good LDS family. I am forever thankful. I told her that I think they changed the whole trajectory of his life with their selfless act.
