Boys in Utah, Girls in Texas

Twice a year Andy heads up to BYU to recruit employees for Ernst & Young. Rachel and I use to join Andy on these trips. Audrey went once with just Daddy. And it was Ian's turn this past weekend. Not many dads are willing to take their little ones on business trips, but Andy is. It's nice because Ian's able to spend time with the Smith grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Once the little ones are weaned and are still under 2, it works out great. This particular time was special, because Ian got to help celebrate Liam's 1st Birthday with him. So fun! I didn't even get a chance to really miss Ian. I got lots of pictures sent to me (excuse the quality of phone pictures):

Enjoying some play time after traveling Friday morning:

Uncle Ken time:

 

Hanging with Uncle Nate while Daddy's at an event on Saturday:

 

Meeting Bentley on Sunday:

 

Pyramid with Daddy, Isaac, and Presley:

Mastering the stairs with Papa on Monday while Daddy's off interviewing:

Playing, playing, playing:

 

Playing with Liam one last time before flying home Monday:

 

Here are the pictures Andy took...

Liam and Ian being introduced again on Liam's birthday:

Ian loved being pushed around in this wagon that normally holds blocks:

 

  

Watching the birthday boy open presents:

 Enjoying the birthday spoils with Liam and Presley:

I love this picture! Supposedly Liam went pretty crazy with his cake. It went everywhere, on the floor, on the wall, on him, etc... And then you can see Ian in the background with his fork.

 Okay, he gave up on the fork idea:

 Playing at the King's house on Sunday:

 

 

Having fun back at Papa and Grandma Smith's Sunday evening:

 A not-so-happy picture with Grandpa Mills - I think he was exhausted and headed for the bath.

Unfortunately the trip did have some hiccups. Late Friday night Liam went to the doctor and had bronchitis. So, Ian didn't get to spend as much time with his cousin. On Monday afternoon they came over for a little bit. But everyone was being cautious about spreading the germs. And then the big hiccups were on the way home. 

First hiccup... Andy's about to get on his flight from Salt Lake City to Denver. He decides to go change Ian's diaper. Well, it's a major mess. Onesie gets thrown away... As Andy's cleaning everything up Ian also just pees all over the changing table. He hasn't done that since he was teeny tiny... So, Andy puts Ian's PJs on a little early and they head for their flight. Andy calls me and tells me about the little incident. I couldn't help laughing. The flight is running late, but Andy has a 90-minute layover in Denver, so we're hopeful.

Second hiccup... A little while later I log on to the computer and realize that Andy's flight left really late and he's going to have about 8 mniutes to get to his next flight. I make some phone calls. NO ONE can do ANYTHING for them. They can arrange for a wheelchair, but that's it. Andy had been upgraded to first class. I watch his seat be given to someone else. Andy calls me 2 minutes past the time his Denver flight should have left. The plane with still there, but gate was closed. Later we find out that the luggage actually made it. So, Andy and Ian are stuck in Denver for the night. He goes to talk to them. They don't give any help to the people in front of him, but then the man sees Andy with Ian and gives him a hotel voucher. Either way, he would have gotten a hotel room, but it was nice that they showed some compassion. So, Andy and Ian (who's exhuasted because he didn't sleep at all on the SLC-DEN flight) head to the hotel. They get about 5 hours of sleep before they have to catch their 6 am flight. Quite the adventure! Andy's quite an amazing dad to take it all in stride. He was so calm through it all. I would have lost it. I mean, I was losing it back at home. But then it's different when you're a woman traveling by yourself. It would have been scary. I'm glad it was Andy and not me. And I'm glad it all worked out in the end. 

Ian slept the whole flight from Denver to Houston that morning. When the arrived home I expected Ian to be all excited to see him. He just STARRED... It's like he was either really mad at me or he didn't know if it was really me. It was quite odd. And he really wanted his daddy. Andy went to work and came home later that night a bit early (7 pm) so the girls could see him. Ian was thrilled Andy was back. I think he was worried I was just going to disappear again. Ian took an awesome 4-hour nap that afternoon and then he was good to go. I'm so glad he got to go up and spend time with so many who love him. He's one lucky boy!

So, how did our girls' weekend go? Well, it was nice. It was nice to not have to schedule around naps. It was nice to run errands on Friday with just Audrey. It was nice to have children who could dress themselves, feed themselves, strap themselves into their car seats, etc.. It was fun to go see The Croods in 3D on Saturday afternoon: 

We painted nails and had movie nights and made a gigantic egg wreath:

 

We had fun, but we did miss our boys. It's always good to be one big, happy family again! 

My Three

Life just gets crazy some times and I am so grateful for moments like this to help ground me:

At the end of the day, all that really matters is if I met the needs of these little ones. Some days are better than others at achieving that goal. But there's always tomorrow...

Patriotic Parade

Rachel was in a Patriotic Parade at school this morning. Why a Patritotic Parade in the last week of March? I'm not sure. But it was still fun to go see how hard she had worked on learning all the songs they sung. It was better than the award ceremonies they do at the end of the year. Audrey, Ian, and I really enjoyed it!

Here's Rachel parading in:

They sang several songs and there were some speaking parts as well. Here's a video of the last song, which was Rachel's favorite. (Please excuse the shaky video, Ian was on my lap by now trying to escape.)

 

After the program the parents were able to take some pictures. Here's Rachel with Riya (her on again, off again friend).

Cute sisters matching! Audrey insisted on putting on her 4th of July outfit from last year as well.

Rachel and Delaney (a good friend):

My Patriotic Girl (and her poor swollen allergy eyes):

Spring Break

The kids and I enjoyed Spring Break up at my parents'.  It was nice to get away, be spoiled by my parents, and have help with the little ones. Until about mid-May we don't see much of Andy, so it's always nice to have somewhere to go and to be spoiled. Grandma had to work, but Papa was around to entertain. He soon learned that once he emerged from his bedroom he was on duty. The girls either wanted some outdoor activity or Ian just wanted him to carry him around or play with him. We definitely kept Papa busy! We also enjoyed the evenings and weekend with Grandma. The girls always get so excited to go up and see what new toys have been collected for them to play with. The weather was pretty close to perfect while we were there. Our travel day up there was a bit chilly, but after that it warmed up nicely. We had lots of fun inside and outside. We even made it to Chuck E. Cheese one day. Here are some pictures of our adventures:

One day Papa offered to pay the girls a penny for each "pokey thing" they picked up. Rachel earned $1.17 and Audrey earned $0.84.

Counting with Misty and Ian helping:

One night we had a fire in Papa's fire pit and enjoyed roasted marshmallows. This is so my type of camping. We enjoyed a campfire, but went back into comfy beds. :)

Audrey with a mouthful:

The girls enjoyed making cookies with Grandma one day:

The next day we decorated them. This was the first time I'd ever let them do everything by themselves. I was impressed by their frosting skills. It goes to show, I should let them do more, more often. I'm usually just too worried about the mess. It's not like it was that hard to clean up and they probably decorated 25 cookies each and LOVED it!

There were also lots of tractor rides. Ian LOVES the tractor. 

And of course the girls do, too... What's not to love????

Love this view with four very special people to me:

On Saturday we went into town and played at a park. Everyone had fun. This blue tunnel was perfect. I covered one end, Grandma covered the other end, we had Ian trapped and happy, and we could just visit. The girls really enjoyed the merry-go-round.

Since Ian still isn't walking he spent a fair amount of time inside with me. He's at that hard stage where he won't sit on a blanket outside and it's hard to let him crawl around and ruin his shoes and pants. He still has plenty of fun inside and got into plenty of mischief as well...

Grandma's cupboards aren't as easy nor as comfortable to sit in:

 

We decided Ian needed to sport a helmet to protect him from potential falls (like when he climbs up on stools).

Ian really wanted Max to be his friend and Max doesn't really want to be anyone's friend... Misty really wanted to to be Ian's friend, but Misty's still a little too big for him. One day Max was being pretty good about Ian bothering him:

One morning I heard the girls chattering and this is what I found:

They are such good girls. Ian was sleeping in my bedroom, so I had told them that if they woke up before Ian and I to just play quietly until I came out. So sweet and so obedient! And then there's Ian. Not so obedient, but so CUTE and proud of himself!!!

 

Ian did spend a lot of time in the swing. When he wasn't on a tractor ride or a stroller ride, he was in the swing while he was outdoors..

We actually drove home on St. Patrick's Day. I knew the morning was going to be busy with loading up the kids and my parents heading to church. So, I asked my mom to make green, 4-leaf clover pancakes on Saturday, March 16th. The girls loved them!

I have to include a picture of the sunset on our last night there. Rachel was so excited about the colors in the sky and insisted on taking a picture with my phone. It's not the best picture quality, but you get the idea...

 

We enjoyed our little escape for Spring Break. One of these years Andy will have a job that will allow him to travel in March. It's such a nice time of year to travel. I'd like to make it to the Grand Canyon, Andy's never been. March would be an awesome time of year to do that. So, some March it will happen... For now we'll enjoy being able to spend time with Papa and Grandma Michaelson during Spring Break. (They can always join us when/if we ever make it to the Grand Canyon.) Thanks Mom and Dad, for making our week so enjoyable!