Sierra’s Baptism

At the beginning of August, I was just thinking about how much I would love to go to my niece Sierra’s baptism. Michael and I have always said that even though we live far away we want to make things like baptisms and blessings and stuff a big priority. It’s been a bit of an expensive summer for us, and I didn’t know if it would be possible. I had prayed about it somewhat and thought about it a lot, and one morning, just before my sociology class, I found tickets for $100 a person round trip to Salt Lake over Labor Day weekend, the weekend of Sierra’s baptism. I was thrilled. Although I knew that Michael had another trip to Turkey planned and wouldn’t be able to commit, I bought tickets for me and the kids. I was disappointed when I found out that Michael’s trip was put off until the week after we returned, but it worked out okay because a Dave Carr, a good friend of ours that lives in Arizona now, came into town and got to hang out with Michael and play games all night.

Anyway, the boys and I had a really great trip. They are champion travelers. We had a great flight. The only bad thing was that we had a three hour layover in Chicago. Trying to entertain a one, four, and six year old in an airport by yourself is not fun--trust me. We finally ended up walking up and down the airport. Alden walked on the moving walkway and raced me while I pushed Thobe and Hyrum in our Instep Safari double stroller. If you have two small kids, I highly recommend this stroller. It turns on a dime, you can go really fast without any problem, and you get a lot of comments. I can't tell you how many people stopped on me on that trip alone and asked me what kind of stroller I have and if I like it. I love it! Anyway, the boys even got me to buy them happy meals, which is something I rarely do--Dad is the parent of choice when it comes to buying happy meals. Also while we were in the airport, I let Alden call Michael. It was funny to see how many heads turned when they heard this little blond haired, very American looking little boy chatter away on the telephone in Spanish. It made me laugh. Anyway, we arrived in Salt Lake at 11:30 local time, so we were really tired! We were all thrilled to see Grandpa and Aunt Amy who picked us up and took us to my Uncle Barry and Aunt Judy's house where we slept that night. My uncle and aunt have a gigantic basement. When we opened the door after walking down the stairs, Alden walked in and said, "Oh it's so comfy in here." It was really nice to lie down on a bed and sleep for the night.

The next morning Uncle Barry and Aunt Judy fixed us eggs and pancakes with a special choke cherry syrup. It was really yummy! Then we went to Aunt Kristi and Uncle Ryan's house where we stayed the next couple nights. The boys were so excited to see all their cousins, aunts, uncles, and of course, Grandma. Davin, Alden, and Noah were inseparable the whole time we were there, as were Thobe and James. They really had such a great time all playing together. It really makes me want to live closer. My sister-in-law Lindsay wrote about them in her blog and has some of the pictures she took while we were there (Lindsay is an incredible photographer by the way). I would highly recommend looking at those pictures. Click here to see Lindsay’s pictures that she took of my boys & their cousins. I didn't realize how much I missed everyone until I read this. I cry every time I look at it.

Anyway, Sierra’s baptism was nice, and I especially enjoyed spending time with my family. I love them so, so much. I love being able to see extended family as well as my immediate family. I am really, really blessed to come from the family that I do. I loved being able to talk to my parents, sisters, brother, and their spouses, to play with and watch my nieces and nephews play, and to just be together with them. I really am grateful that I was able to go. My sister Emily even did my hair in cornrows. That was fun too. Even though it was a really short trip (we left Friday night and came back Tuesday morning), we also got to see Michael's sister Michelle and her family which was so much fun too. I love being able to spend time with them too. I even tried sushi for the first time and LOVE it! I don't think that will be my last time eating sushi.