Spring Break in Utah

We enjoyed a lovely time in Utah for our Spring Break this year. It is always a holiday when we get to visit family for more than a couple days. I was able to leave early Monday morning, like ready to leave at 8:30 am! That is a record for us since we have to finish shoving stuff into the van and make sure nothing very important was left behind. The weather decided to swing towards to frigid end making Spring feel more like January. Can't travel without some sort of drama. This trip the van tire sensors kept triggering every hour or so. I was worried about it since the wind was extremely strong and visions of a tire blowing and spewing kids all over was forefront in my mind. So every time the sensor went off I stopped to check the tire pressure, once off the side of the road and 4 times at a tire shop. The pressure was consistent except for the first time, although the balance was off and got worse towards the end of our trip. Once I stopped at Les Schwab and let the little girls come with me inside. I had the tech swing into the driver's seat with the three older kids as unsuspecting victims to my "joke." Amelia gave him a strange side-long glance thinking he was going to drive off with them. He only drove to the side of the shop to check out the tires. That was a bit of comic relief for me during a stressful time. We made it to Charity's home without incident (except the constant stopping). We chatted for an hour before heading down to visit the Grandma Lances. Grandma Debbie fed us a delicious meal of spaghetti straight out of my childhood dreams. If you're not aware spaghetti is one of my absolute favorite meals, like lick the plate kind of meal. Grandma even made cute sheep shaped bread rolls for the kids. Grandma Jean is looking much stronger and healthier than the last time we saw her. She is amazing. We arrived down to the Eagle Mountain Lances with another tire sensor ping (stoopid tires). We riled up the John Lance kids before setting up ourselves for bed at James' home. 

Tuesday the house was filled with dulcet tones from ukuleles and voices raised in sweet teenaged song. The kids enjoyed a crazy day filled with cousins. Jana and girls came down so we organized an impromptu Easter egg hunt using Mary Henderson's large plastic egg collection. I went to Walmart for candy and Courtenay chipped in fun favors. The little kids are so fun to observe! Their joy is quite contagious. Inside the house many games of checkers were played using a set Grandma Debbie gave the kids. Uncle John spent some time outside playing catch with the older kids. Everett is in LOVE with a new sport. Justin had good news from Idaho: the fridge compressor was replaceable. Our fridge has a new lease on life for only $250. That price tag is much better than the cost of a new fridge. Thank goodness the compressor was still under warranty. 

Wednesday was quite the same, just lots of play outside with cousins. The boys were enthused to sleepover at Everett's while Emmie and Penny slept over with the girls. I worked on editing photos part of the day using my fancy laptop. I initiated a Portugal Lisbon South sister's reunion for Wednesday night. It morphed from just a couple Sister's eating at a restaurant to Marilyn hosting it at her home potluck style...and lots of sisters! I was so grateful for an evening with 10 amazing ladies that I love so much. During dinner we went around the table one at a time giving updates and telling fun stories. Some ladies brought photo albums for everyone to enjoy. We are all at varying stages of life doing many things from raising small kids, to earning Master's degrees, to changing hearts through service. I was delighted to sit next to Shannon, one of my favorite (and hardest) companions. I felt quite self-conscious because of my weight, it's quite embarrassing to be so large. Love and peace filled our evening instead of self-doubts. We are all miracles! My kids went to bed since I stayed out past 11 pm, a real plus for meeting at Marilyn's home. 

Thursday we left home around 9 am. The boys chose to stay with Everett Lance and play Minecraft at home. The girls enjoyed a morning of thrifting at Kid-to-Kid, Savers, and DI. Mia was not in a super mood, she was quite cranky. Sometimes she needs her space! Her mood greatly improved with a snack and some liquid. I scored quite a few more books for my kid collection. Mia, Lia, Evelyn, Josie, and I had a girlie date at Red Robin! Yum. I was able to take photos of baby Hugo Smuin after lunch. The girls stayed outside to play with the Smuin girls. Mia and Stella had a great time together, I am glad for long-lasting friendships. It was challenging to do an entire baby session masked up in a sweltering house! The best part was visiting with Shane and Meagan. They offered to pay via Venmo or Yeti (products). Shane is the regional rep for Western USA. I chose a fun portable Yeti bag as payment. The kids watched the new Crood's movie with fun snacks after dark. Justin drove from Idaho and arrived around 9 pm. Everyone squished on the floor, Everett was bent out of shape since he lost his mattress privileges. 

Miekka told me some terrible news she saw on FB. My good friend Sarah Johnson lost her oldest son Bridger in an unfortunate ATV accident while the family was on vacation at Pink Sands. He was only 15.5 years old when he passed away. My heart is aching for the Johnson family. I still cannot believe he is gone, gone too early and quickly. I don't know what to say or do for Sarah. I watched the funeral via FB, it was a lovely service. The outpouring of love for the Johnson's goes to show that humanity is still very much intact. Sarah is the most gregarious, loving, happy person I know. 

Friday morning we spent an hour at the park. The older kids played Among Us at the park! They all had tasks and assignments to complete. The littles zoomed about flitting from station to station, Charlie and Josie played together more this trip. We met up with Jana, Jeremy, and Charity at Cross E Ranch for an afternoon with Baby Animals! Thank goodness I had a tube of sunscreen...our winter skin is still thanking me for packing that particular item. Baby Ksenia is an absolute doll! She is a gorgeous baby. We split into groups and really did not stay together for the afternoon. There were too many distractions to stay as a large group and visit. Justin (that big softie) paid extra so Josie and Evelyn could ride the ponies. Josie chose the pony with a colored mane! The kids rode on a hay ride, barrel ride, and played in the slide area. As far as animals we were able to visit with baby chicks, bunnies, and goats. Evelyn was thrilled to see a derpy llama. We also saw baby cows and other adult animals. Josie and Evelyn stayed floating plastic pigs down the water gutter and pump game. Justin got a dozen fresh apple cider doughnuts to revive our energy. 

Saturday morning before conference the kids searched for their Easter Baskets! Mr Bunny came a day early! He did a good job hiding the baskets, took the older kids a while to find their treasures. Josie ate her chocolate bunny in about 5 minutes flat. We gathered for General Conference in the main living room. Amelia brought out the $30 worth of fuzzy socks I bought as a fun Conference craft. The kids stayed amused, quiet, and busy for all 4 sessions making plushie characters. The Easter baskets helped keep the little ones quiet. We had a good laugh during Elder Uchtdorf's talk because he said "Among Us" 8-9 times as the kids sewed up Among Us characters. Sister Jone's talk "Essential Conversations" was an epic call to parents, stand up and be leaders! 

Justin and I left right after morning session for a lunch date at Shane Co. Justin wanted to update my wedding ring since it does not fit and the style was not my flavor anymore. We also wanted to commemorate a fresh start and commitment we recently made. I was not really into the rings I saw online, felt out of sorts as well. Then I spotted a cute flat band with white and green sapphires, the rep added two small bands that made my heart flutter! Since we were trading in my wedding ring we had to spend the same value of the ring to get the value of the ring as credit. I felt extra fancy choosing a green ring, a pink ring, and two pairs of real earrings! Justin was even cuter as he got excited about my choices. That is a man right there! We grabbed lunch as the next session started. I enjoyed listening to Elder Holland speak. The evening was gorgeous so the ladies congregated outside to chat while the guys attended Priesthood session. Emmie and Evelyn played Pioneers for two days straight! They gathered wood, built pretend fires, washed dishes outside, and lots of other fun pretend play. Evelyn did not whine about boredom for an entire week, that is a gold star in my book. 

Easter Sunday! The day to remember the Our Savior LIVES, He overcame death and sin. We dressed in our fun Easter Sunday clothes to remind ourselves of reverence and the Sabbath. The kids once again quietly sewed and played during the sessions. Uncle Shawn showed up for a few minutes between sessions. The most memorable was President Nelson announcing 20 new temples, most in the far corners of the world. If that is not a testament of the gathering of Israel I don't know what is! Miekka needed a people break for the afternoon. It does get taxing to have so many people invade your quiet home; I am grateful the Lances let us visit. Justin headed home between sessions to get ready for a new work week. Jeremy and Yulia arrived around the last session of Conference. Baby Ksenia was the star of the show! She turned a year old the day before. We had a lively Easter dinner with the local Lance family. Rudy smoked a roast, James smoked a ham, and everyone else kicked in sides for lots of food. We are lucky to have so many family members in Utah. I packed up most of our stuff so we could leave early Monday morning. 

On our way home we stopped quite a few times. We stopped to visit the Smuins again (and pick up the cooler). We stopped to give the Grandmas a hug. Grandma Jean gifted Amelia an heirloom necklace of a heart locket. Wow! Scott gave the kids copies of a dragon and owl he drew several years ago. Hugs and kisses before we were on our way. It was almost lunchtime when we passed Brigham City. I messed my cousin Kathryn on a whim to see if she could meet us for lunch! She was free so joined us for an hour reunion. The kids were quite patient while we chatted and caught up over salad. I stopped at the Seagull book next door mostly to buy pocket editions of the Doctrine and Covenants for our Temple table and devotionals. I walked away with two dresses, layering shirts, and baptism jewelry for Evelyn. The new dress I got is so pretty and perfect for spring. We were on our way home finally! Of course the weather turned strange as I drove home. Once again it was blustery and windy, throw in snow, sleet, rain, and such for another interesting drive home. My fingers ached for a day after we arrived home. The kids were anxious to see Dog Vader and Justin! Justin had dinner ready for us of BBQ chicken ands baked potatoes, that was a relief. Justin rallied the troops and had the bags unpacked and laundry started. I went grocery shopping for the week since the rest of our week was an insane mess, there was not another available day to shop except Monday night. We hit the sack around 10 pm with the house settled, bags unpacked, and groceries put away.