Thanks to jet lag the kids have been sleeping in the past few mornings, so I have a few minutes to write about our Utah trip while it's still fresh on my mind. It was wonderful to visit family for a few weeks--it had been over a year since we were last in Utah. And while it's good to be back on the East Coast, I have been a little melancholy thinking about home, hoping that it's not too long before we make it back there again.
Now for way too many phone pictures that should have been divided into several different posts. Excuse my laziness.
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| Maddie in heaven with my cousin's dog, Snoop. |
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| Allie and I at Fischer and Ike's birthday party. |
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| Grandma and I at Brooke's baby shower. |
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| I'm pretty sure he's teaching her naughty words right about now... |
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| At Jake and Livy's science fair. |
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| D found this old hat of my dad's and wore it everywhere, even to bed at times. It earned him the nickname "Indiana Dave." |
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| Like I said, everywhere. |
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| Enjoying the mild February weather in Grandpa's backyard.. |
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| Brooke was a beautiful guest of honor at her baby shower. |
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| Individual fruit pizzas were served for dessert the night of the baby shower. So cute! |
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| Davis loved giving hug after hug to all of his Utah relatives, including Grandpa Mike. |
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| Tea with Grandma Mary-Ann. |
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| More tea party. |
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| Frenemies and cousins, Harper and Maddie, at Zuppas. |
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| Fisch and Beck and the birthday party. |
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| Cousins Addie, Harper, and Maddie, vying for Snoop's attention. |
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| Our traditions HAFB museum visit. |
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| Hermana Marrero and I after breakfast at Kneaders. |
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| Two of my favorite girls and mission buddies--Kandis and Linda. |
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| Making his dad proud by becoming a fan of Grandpa Mike's ribs. |
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| Cooking with Rapunzel |
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| ...and Grandma. |
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| Davis loves Aunt Shelly! |
Highlights of the trip:
- The reason we flew home in the first place, Corey and Jed's wedding!
- Riding the train and visiting the Planetarium with Grandpa Lynn.
- Play dates with cousins--tons and tons of play dates.
- Red Mango! Zuppas! Cafe Rio! to name a few.
- Isaac and Fischer's double birthday party. It's great to have a cousin that's just two days younger than you.
- Sleepovers every night while staying with Ryan's sister and her family.
- Raiding Shannon's pantry (it's a chip buffet in there) every night that they weren't home.
- Brooke's baby shower (in her words, "I think this is the first time I've been the only guest of honor at a party." It's rough sharing a wedding day with your sister).
- Cooking in my mom's awesome kitchen.
- Tea parties with Grandma Mary-Ann.
- Playing the wii with cousins.
- Being able to attend my family's annual Academy Awards Party. Even better that I won! My parents have been hosting that party for over 20 years and I'll finally get my name on the golden statue.
- Dinner sans kids with Ryan and his family to celebrate his and Devin's birthday.
- A trip down south to spend the morning with Grandma Ruth.
- Baking with my sisters.
- Having breakfast with my mission companions. It had been over 10 years since I'd seen Hermana Marrero. She was such an influential part of my time in the Dominican Republic and visiting with her was really special.
- All the late night chats with my parents after the kids were in bed. Ice cream or Fro-yo was usually invovled.
- Dreading flying home by myself only to have all three children sleep through it. Whew!
- Watching the kids run through JFK airport when they spotted their dad. Everyone was excited to see him after two weeks apart. How did we ever handle months and months apart last year?
Lowlights of the Trip:
- When I got sick (really sick) on the flight into SLC. It took over 24 hours to fully recover that airsick ride.
- Watching Davis figure out how to climb out of a port-a-crib, then a full-sized crib, and finally a full-sized crib turned around backwards and pushed up against the wall. I'm so not ready to let him loose in a big boy bed.
- Isaac's wii addiction. Withdrawals were inevitable.
- Not taking hardly any pictures with Ryan's family--what was I thinking?
- Missing out on a visit with my dear friend Mandy. A girls' trip is essential now!
- Saying goodbye. We've done it so many times that by now it should get easier. It doesn't.
It was a great trip and I am so thankful for our wonderful families who made it so memorable. While I do get a little tinge of sadness when Maddie tells me she wants to move to Utah forever to be with her grandparents, more than anything I am so happy that we have family wonderful enough to miss.
3 comments:
I agree, it never gets easier to say goodbye. I miss the Oscar parties. I think I drive Chris crazy with all my reminiscing about how awesome it was. No one really understands unless they've been to one. :) I think you and I need to go on a girls trip, wouldn't that be great? Let's do it! Promise me you'll think about it.
I love going home to Utah and visiting with family and friends. And while in theory it should fill my cup and I should leave feeling full and happy to have been...sometimes (and by sometimes I mean always) I go through post trip withdrawls. I can't help but think of all we miss out on being many states aways. I try to be positive and be grateful that we have great family to miss. But I still have a pity party for myself. I think what is really hard sometimes is the not knowing when you'll be going back. I feel like that every time we leave. But either way looks like a fun trip!!
I'm so glad you got to take this trip! I only wish we could have been there too. I miss seeing you guys. When can you come live in our basement again? :)
Sounds like you fit in as much fun as humanly possible. I totally understand how Red Mango, Zuppas, and Cafe Rio have to be priorities on a trip like that. :)
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