Me and the girls.
I was fortunate to have great flights on the way out. Both were early to their destinations, and not even close to full. I got in to Salt Lake early, so I was able to hop on the earlier shuttle to Idaho Falls. Major bonus. I had arranged with my dad and sisters for them to pick me up. We decided to go out to dinner that night, seeing how it was a very special birthday for my mom. Fifty years old, can you believe it??? OK, not really, but in many social circles, she could totally pass for it! My two sisters and their husbands and one of my nieces got me and the kids to the restaurant, and we waited for the birthday girl. When she walked in to the restaurant, my dad covered her eyes and walked her over to our table. He took his hands off her eyes and said "Surprise!" I think the look on her face was a mix of confusion and perhaps fear. Her response was, "What are you doing here?"
It took a while for her to recover from the shock. I wish I had taken my camera into the restaurant so I could have captured the moment.
It was a very fun trip. I think it was as much of a present to me as it was to my mom. We spent the week staying up too late, shopping, and playing Canasta....which of course my Mom not just beat me at, but walloped me. My sisters, Jenni and Erica live close by, so I was able to spend lots of time with them, too. Maryn loved the attention she got from Grandma and Grandpa...and it didn't hurt that there was a big jar of candy sitting out on the counter. We were spoiled over and over with good food, cookies, and having nothing to do but relax and forget about any schedule. I love being at my parents' house.
Maryn helping Grandma make chocolate chip cookies
A typical picture of my dad
Grandpa, Grandma, Maryn and AileeAfter six days in Idaho, the girls and I went down to Utah to spend the rest of our trip with my other two sisters, Jill and Marybeth. Maryn has a blast with her cousin, Hudson, due to a similar love for cars. They spent most of the time together, pretending to be butterflies, watching movies, putting together puzzles, and of course playing with cars. I had a great time neglecting my kids and hanging out with my sisters. I think the only downside to this whole trip is the fact that I come from a family of junkies. (That's junkies as in social junk food eaters) It's not game time unless there is food involved. I can't say for sure in pounds how much weight I gained, but boy I sure can feel it, now.
We had really nice weather while we were there, so one afternoon I took my girls and Jill's two youngest kids across the street to the park.
Hudson was super-fast on his scooter
Savannah taking Ailee down her first slide--she loved it
Just a cute picture of Ailee
Tasting the wood chips....yum, yum!
We had a great time on our trip. It was a really nice break for me, and I love being around my family. It's mentally rejuvenating for me and makes it so I can come back and face the world again. Thanks, Mom, Dad, Jenni, Jill, Erica, and Marybeth for letting us come out and take over your time for a while. We appreciate everything you did for us, and we can't wait until the time when we live a little bit closer!
I have this console. It's a pretty cheap piece of furniture (I put it together, myself), but I like it. We bought it a long time ago, but I have never done anything to it, and it has remained unfinished. Initially I wanted to stain it because I prefer the wood grain to paint. However, I don't feel like making a trip to Lowe's, and I don't want to pay for stain and sealer, and I don't want to deal with the mess and it's clean up. Well, I do have a can of primer and black paint left over from when I