Tuesday June 21st
We left bright and early (after I was up all night packing because, you know, I'm a procrastinator like that) to catch our flight. We were flying on stand-by, courtesy of my aunt who works for Jetblue. So very nice of her. She even flew on the red-eye and met us at the airport so she could fly back with us, should I need any help. Like I said, SO nice of her :)
Excited kiddos
We were late for our flight and rush rush rushing. We were on the train that goes through Dulles airport with only about 20 minutes until our flight was supposed to take-off.
That train is fast! And we made it onto our flight. I met up with my aunt just as they called us up as we were walking into the terminal. We got onto the flight and had the entire back row to ourselves. The kids were terrific and we were on our way! My dad and grandma picked us up from the ariport and that night we had take-out from Italian Village. Best. Pizza. Ever. MmHmm.
Later that night all of my siblings and their families came by. It was so great to see everyone, love on my neices and nephews, laugh, and also meet my new darling neice Piper. My kids were, simply put, in heaven. It was so much fun to be happy and be home.
Wednesday June 22nd
The next day we met up with Laylah's BFF (and my SIL Annette who baby-sits her) at my grandma's pool. We swam and swam. These two girls were in heaven. They were adorable, laughing and squealing like they'd never been apart.
Thursday June 23rd
This day was a work day for me. I did several client's hair, as well as some family. Before all that though, I enjoyed the gorgeous view in my parents amazing backyard. We would lounge on the deck while the kids would play, and I would snap photos. I have yet to visit a placce that beats summer mornings in Utah. Fabulous.
This kid was just happy as can be.... after a couple of days. The first few days we were there, he would cry at anyone who smiled at him, spoke to him, or anyone who simply glanced his way. He was very shy before our Utah trip.... I think he has overcome that. By the end, he was as friendly as they come, grinning and snuggling with anyone who would pick up the big lug.
I dropped Jonah off at a friend's house and when I got on the freeway to drive home, the mountains suddenly struck me with their majesty. I have often found myself longing for the mountains since moving to VA. I love the beauty of all the trees and greenery, but there really is nothing like the mountains of Utah. And yes, I took this while driving, and yes, a cop pulled up next to me right afterwards. I seriously thought he was going to pull me over..... he didn't :)
That night we celebrated my daddy's 60th birthday! Can I just say, my dad rocks?! Well, he does. I sure do love him :) We had some fabulous cake from the Lion House bakery (chocolate cream-if you haven't tried it, put it on your to-do list) but his real celebration was a couple weeks later. Oh, and yes, those are a box of my nursing pads on the edge of the picture. Awesome.Friday June 24th
Friday was kind of a down day. My mom went and picked up a slip 'n slide and my SIL Annette came over with my niece Kiersta and the kids she baby-sits, Javis and Kajia (remember? Laylah's BFF? :) and the kids had a blast playing in the backyard for hours. Laylah also had a chance to go out to the barn with my sister, Auntie Kaylie, and ride Luna. She was so ecstatic to ride again.
After some quick showers, Grandma Collette (Andy's mom) came and picked up the kids (minus M) for a sleepover at her house. They had some big plans for a camp-out that night... fun stuff.
That gave my mom and I a chance to go and shop our little hearts out up at the Park City outlets. Magnus was the best little shopper and I felt spoiled rotten getting to spend some time with my mom. She is my hero. I sure love that lady. We found so many cute things. Of course, we ran to grab a quick bite at Cafe Rio. My taste buds thought they had died and gone to heaven. It was fabulous. I had to text Andy the following picture to make him jealous:
He totally was.
My mom and I had such a fun night. Did I mention I really love her a lot? Oh yeah.... well, I do :)Saturday June 25th
I got to sleep in because the kids were gone. It was marvelous. After a liesurely morning, my mom and I decided to head to Gardner Village for some more shopping and a quick lunch at the Neighborhood Bakery. More yumminess, and more fabulous shopping. I found several cute things for my house. We headed to the Collette's at 12:30 because we were meeting everyone (people from Andy's family, and people from mine) there so we could head over to the movie Cars 2. Magnus stayed with Grandma Collette for a nap. The kids liked the movie, I didn't. It was fun anyway. At least the popcorn was good :)
Later that day the kids threw their swimsuits back on and played in the yard again. I got some more fun shots while relaxing on the deck.
Uh-oh... here comes Bear with the hose!
Uh-oh... here comes Bear with the hose!
Aaaaand, there's Daphne
Sweet little Magnus was out after an afternoon nursing sessionThat evening my brother Nate had invited us to come and watch the fireworks from the Taylorsville Dayz celebration. We love Taylorsville Dayz and they do put on a great show. Nate and Annette even brought us treats!
All of those cute little kiddos. M stayed home with Grandma Claudia to go to bed.
Love love love these guys (PS... after 3 years of trying, lovely Annette is pregnant with baby #2!! We are so thrilled!!)
All of those cute little kiddos. M stayed home with Grandma Claudia to go to bed.
Love love love these guys (PS... after 3 years of trying, lovely Annette is pregnant with baby #2!! We are so thrilled!!)Sooo, I really do not have a great camera. Plus, I'm a terrible photographer. Every time I would try to catch some awesome fireworks explosion shot, I would miss it.... it got really annoying! Here's the best I got...
Awesome, huh?
It was a super fun night.
Awesome, huh?
It was a super fun night.Alright, well.... there's the end of week #1. Next up, week #2! I know, I know.... you just can hardly wait! You're on the edge of your seats! Well, I'm going to bed. You'll just have to wait :)
Add a Candy Bar Bouquet, and what more could a daddy want?
When we first got there we had to wait in a line (that moved super fast) for our tickets that would actually get us into the store. We were in group #7 and they said they would be calling us around 1:00 PM for our turn to go in. It was about 10 AM at the time.
This little clown guy was so hilarious and he asked Laylah if she wanted to ride his unicycle. She said yes and he picked her up and threw her on his shoulders, hopped up on his unicycle, and took off. My heart was in my throat the whole time, until her feet were back on the ground. I got a video of it too. I won't put it on because... I squeal a lot. It's embarrassing.
We waited an hour to have the girls' faces painted
It was worth it. Gorgeous girls!
After that we were ready to be done in the activity tent, so headed over for lunch at California Pizza Kitchen. Afterwards we picked up cupcakes at CakeLove. Yum.
By then they had called our group # to go into the actual store. It was so much fun in there! Even though I'm not a fan of crowds, I have to admit that the energy and excitement was contagious. I wanted to buy everything in the store for my excited girls! Luckily, we had had a little chat before going in about how they had brought their own money and I wasn't going to be buying them anything. If they found something they loved that they couldn't afford, they could put it on their Christmas list.
We only had one little melt-down from Daphne who wanted a Bitty-Baby so badly that she could hardly stand it. I reminded her several times that she could ask for it for Christmas and then she finally settled on a little dog named Pepper. Laylah was able to find some accessories and pj's for her doll, and I had two thrilled little girls on my hands. 