The Final Rewind

One day you're in the arms of your loved ones.... and the next, you're 1900 miles away and void of all babysitters. And Eclipse has opened!(!!!!) And you contemplate making your kids sit through an afternoon viewing while your husband's at work and not telling anyone about it. But then you remember your kids aren't 13 and would be traumatized by all that hotness - so you take them to Monkey Joes instead.

Father's Day dinner at Nanna Teresa's and Bubbas
with our favorites, Uncle Brent and Aunt Katie
and the dearly loved, Grandma "Popcorn"

It was the interaction between my kids and their grandparents that pleased me most. The photos above offer a glimpse of the laughter Henry would spew forth whenever he was near his Bubba. Teresa spent time playing game after game with Eliza, took the kids to the neighbors to jump on their tramp and visit their puppies.

We spent an evening at Grandma Flegal's (a.k.a. Grandma Popcorn's) house. Her roses were in full bloom and looked oh so lovely. Sitting in her living room I thought back to when we first moved into her basement. Eliza was seven weeks old at the time. Henry "came home" to that special place from the hospital. Four months after his arrival a moving truck came and hauled our belongings to South Carolina. Henry has since passed the age Eliza was when we made our big move.


FLASHBACK!!! Summer 2008

We love our grandparents!! Sure, having a nearby babysitter is great... especially when anticipating the birth of a new child. For the record, I don't have plan A (or B or C) set in place for when I go into labor with our upcoming arrival. Aye, Aye, AYE!!!

More than the convenience of family, it's the way they watch your children as they play. The adoration they hold for our kids is like no other. Thank you for loving, tolerating, missing, spoiling and teaching our kids.

I'd like to conclude my Salt Lake City love fest with a few more collages detailing a few other highlights.Oh my dear friends... how I love these ladies.I felt lucky to participate in the play dates, lunch and dinner's out and phone conversations. Flying home I felt regret for the friend's I missed seeing... Tami, Nauvoo Hogs, Keersten, Emily, Whitney, insert YOUR name here, please forgive me.

Time with the kid's cousins at Tyler's birthday party, the zoo and Nana Marie's are all fun memories.I went to the temple twice. The first was to walk the grounds with my children. The second was to serve in the temple with my brother Matt. Driving there, we talked about his amazing fortune in finding his bride to be and how happy they'll make each other. I went out to lunch with the future Allison Mays (funny we share a name, right?) and left wishing that she and I had an opportunity to do that weekly AND that I had closer access to Barbacoa.

The "big outings" were great. But looking back, it's the little ones that mean the most. Until September, we'll be missing you.

I now return this blog to it's regularly scheduled programming.