Utah

If you follow my Instagram you know that I was in Utah this last weekend. I got to meet my new nephew, William, and visit with family and friends. It was so fun! I have been looking forward to this trip since Holly announced she was expecting. That's a long time to wait, but it was worth it.

Denver on my way to SLC. Everyone was wearing Broncos jerseys. Apparently they were in some big game this weekend...

Baby!!!

Emma spent a lot of time taking awesome pictures. I imagine she will have an awesome blog post at some point with a lot of really professional looking pictures. 

One of the most special family outings we had was to the Provo City Center temple open house. It is gorgeous!!

Breakfast after the open house.

Emma spent some time doing hair cuts and fixing hair. She was in her element.

I totally got permission to post this picture. Love that crazy lady!! 😄

Mom took me and Emma to BYU for a Norman Rockwell exhibit. I love his work, so this was a lot of fun.

We got ice cream at the Wilkinson center after, and then we wandered around the BYU bookstore for a while.

More hair cutting.

I got to cuddle with a babe while his mom got her hair cut. He was hungry, so I had to keep him happy.

Sunday was William's baby blessing. Then we had breakfast back at Holly's apartment. After Gared pulled out a game and I got to play Rage with his family. They are a hoot. I can't wait to play again some time.

Proof that I beat Gared. I might be a little competitive.

Monday morning I had to say goodbye to my sister and her little family. That was hard. I miss being with my sisters and parents. Family is a wonderful thing.

Sisters should not live so far apart.

Luckily my mom and I were able to fly out together. After a (far too) short visit with our friends the Arhets we were off to the airport. I wish we could have spent more time with the Arhets. Sister Arhets is one of the best examples of kindness I know. She says everything with a smile. Brother Arhets is wise and kind. He has some of the most interesting stories and I remember listening to them as a youth and being a little amazed at his life. They sent me a most loving letter of concern while Peter was sick a couple years ago when I was in a really low and angry place. My reply was short, and probably not very grateful, but I later considered their words very carefully and had a change of heart. Love and prayers go a long way to helping people, I think. I am grateful for their love and prayers. 

My mom and I were on the same flight to Phoenix last night. We got to sit next to each other, which was fun. I remember being a kid and thinking it was so fun to fly standby and get a seat away from mom. Now I am so happy to have a seat next to her. I was a very foolish child. Haha!

Phoenix looked exactly as I always remembered it. I think the only times I've been in Phoenix are when my family took road trips to California and we drove through Phoenix in the middle of the night. We'd come up over a hill and suddenly there was this giant blob of lights. We'd drive through and suddenly hit the other side of Phoenix and be totally immersed in a dark desert again. And that is Phoenix, Arizona for me. Bright lights in a black desert.

I got home really late (or really early depending on how you look at it). The kids and Jonathan were waiting for me at the curb outside the airport, and I loaded my suitcase into the car at 2:00 a.m. They were all asleep, so I drove home since I was well rested after a four hour flight/nap.

It was a short weekend away, but so fun. I miss my family so much. I would like to be closer to them. Maybe I will be soon. We shall see.

Ice Skating

We went ice skating with the cub pack a couple weeks ago. It's funny, we've been here for five years and we've not take the kids skating at all. Every little town has a little skating rink they make in their parks. It is so fun to watch the skaters, but we've never gotten skates and gone. After this pack event we decided that needed to change (just in time for the warmer weather and no ice or snow, but that's another story).

Andi managed to enjoy it once she glued herself to my hand. David never got the gliding concept, but he managed to keep his balance most of the time and would get started, but he never let himself glide and would end up just racing down the rink for thirty feet before wiping out in royal fashion. Peter wanted to be carried the whole time, but he managed to get around pretty well while Jonathan held his hands.

After skating for a couple of hours we headed home. We got hot chocolates on the way home to warm ourselves up. It was tasty, and the kids were happy to have a small reward for all of their hard work at the rink.