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:
Hanging with Uncle Nate while Daddy's at an event on Saturday:
Meeting Bentley on Sunday:
Mastering the stairs with Papa on Monday while Daddy's off interviewing:
Playing with Liam one last time before flying home Monday:
Liam and Ian being introduced again on Liam's birthday:
Ian loved being pushed around in this wagon that normally holds blocks:
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.
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!
No comments:
Post a Comment