QUICK Utah trip

Friday morning I got up veeeery early and flew to Salt Lake City to go to Mindy and Erik's temple sealing. When they scheduled their sealing a few weeks ago I knew I had to do everything I could to be there.  Allen had gotten bumped from one of his flights from ABQ to Seattle a few weeks ago and we got a hefty credit from the airline so it worked out perfectly. We used part of it to fly my mom down from Denver on Thursday so she could watch my kids and then to buy my ticket to SLC.

My sister picked me up at the airport and drove me to the temple. Not only was it amazing to see Mindy sealed to her sweetheart and then to watch their baby be sealed to them (talk about an incredible, tear jerking moment!), but it was even more special because Elder Holland performed their sealing!!! I was able to sit in a room with 20 other people and hear an apostle of the Lord speak to the family for about an hour. I could have sat there for hours listening to him. I won't say much about what he talked about since most of it was personal to the family and sacred but the spirit was stronger than I've ever felt in my life.  He was funny and eloquent and completely down to earth. It was such a privilege to be there and a memory I will cherish for the rest of my life.

 Mindy and me outside of the temple:

After the sealing we went to lunch and then hung around SLC until it was time for me to catch my flight home. I got home at about 1:00 a.m. (after getting off on the wrong freeway exit on the drive home because I was so tired!) and crawled into bed. I am so grateful that I was able to be there for Mindy's special day and grateful that my mom was able to help me out to make it happen!

Washington Trip

Last week I flew by myself with all 4 kids up to Washington. I was super stressed about the flights but the kids did great and it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. They were all so excited to fly and it was fun to watch their excitement. The older kids haven't flown since we moved to Arizona and Addie and Emery had never flown before. I had prepared very well and had a ton of new activities for them to do, a gazillion snacks and had my iphone/ipad/iTouch for the older kids to watch movies and play games on. 

 We were lucky that MS bought Emery her own seat so my hands were free to deal with the other kids if I needed to. She was a trooper and didn't mind flying at all.

I decided to fly into Portland since that is close to where my sister lives and she very, very graciously offered to watch all 4 kids so we could spend a few days getting things done in Seattle without them. My kids were thrilled with the arrangement since it meant more days with their cousins. Allen and I drove up to Seattle on Wednesday morning. We spend most of Wednesday looking at a few preschools for Addison. On Thursday morning we did a walk-thru of our new house. I LOOOOOOVE our new neighborhood and especially love that we are in a cul-de-sac with lots of kids around. I like the house a lot and we found out that the owners recently relocated to another state and are looking to sell their home this winter. It might work out perfectly for us if we decide we like the house enough to buy it. We also signed up for a gym membership, looked at another preschool and got our older kids signed up for swim team and sports.

That evening we headed into downtown Seattle to play. 

Some friends from here told us about a Cajun restaurant we wanted to try. Oh.my.word. This meal was easily one of the best I've ever eaten! We bought the 4 course meal and everything was incredible and I took a picture of every course (not all included here). Allen with the fried chicken jambalaya:

My crab and grapefruit salad:

We also had boar sausage with fontina cheese, crawfish beignets, gnocchi with deep fried arugula, shrimp gumbo, bananas foster and pear tart. After our meal and so stuffed it wasn't funny! The ambiance was incredible and we felt like we had stepped into old New Orleans. 

Friday morning we went to a session at the Seattle temple and met my cousin for lunch. We then went back into Seattle to watch Avengers in 3D Imax. It was a great movie and so fun to see it on a HUGE screen. One of the many perks with Allen's new job is $3 tickets to any movie. Sweet! After the movie we headed back down to Portland to be with the kids for a few days. It was a very full 3 days in Seattle but we got a lot done. I still haven't picked a preschool for Addison and I'm not sure what I'm going to do about that situation. PS in Seattle is VERY expensive (as in equivalent to a car payment every month expensive) so I'm still exploring my options.

My sister, her husband and two oldest kids left for Hawaii on Saturday morning so we had her younger 3 girls all day Saturday. We went to a nearby lake and let the kids play for a couple hours at the park and hiked around the lake. I almost can't believe I'm moving to such a gorgeous place! As Allen and I went out running in Seattle I was stunned at the beauty of the area. I'm sure we'll get used to it and know it comes at a price (rain!) but it took my breath away while I was there

 Learning to skip rocks:

 Cheesy baby! Please stop growing up!!

 This picture cracks me up as it was a wrestling dog pile on Allen. There is a reason he is the all time favorite uncle!

We took all 7 kids out to eat a couple different time and while the kids did great (for real!), we got TONS of looks from people trying to figure out how many kids we had and if they could all possibly be ours. It could be possible if we had two sets of twins (thank goodness we don't!)

 We flew home Sunday morning and the kids did great again on a very busy travel day. I'm so grateful my sister was so willing to help us out with the kids even though she was incredibly busy and stressed herself. It was so nice to spend a few days alone with Allen and get some things done for the move.

This is the big week! Our packers show up on Friday and then again on Tuesday. Our truck is loaded on Wednesday (next week). Thursday the cleaners come in and Friday is the last day of school. Busy couple of weeks coming up!

Right Now

Watching... Touch - Keifer Sutherland's new show - it is great. I get the chills and/or cry every time I watch it.

Drinking... still 1 gallon of water every day. Blech. And almost always a diet Coke with fresh lemon from Sonic. It is my reward for getting in my water.

Wearing... shorts, tees and flip flops while I still can!

Eating... nothing ;0) Saving my calories for my trip to Seattle next week

Listening... Popcorn Bopping. Remixes of favorite primary songs. I'm trying to be very cognizant of the music my children listen to. This one is cute and fun

Avoiding...mopping my kitchen floor. Again. My baby is a very very messy eater.

Wishing... for the next month to go by FAST and smoothly so we can be together as a family again.

Thankful... for my beautiful friendships here in NM.

Craving... fish tacos

Reading... To The Rescue - Thomas S. Monson's biography. Loving it. I'm so impressed with him but equally (more) impressed with Sister Monson. He has had demanding callings their entire marriage (Bishop at age 22, Mission President at age 31, General Authority at age 36) that is one strong/supportive/amazing woman!

Wondering... how I will fare flying to WA alone with all 4 of my kiddos in tow

Needing... a good nights sleep. I do not do well sleeping alone and go to bed way too late when Allen isn't home. I'm tired all the time.

Dreaming... new house purchase in the near future! yay!

Loving... gorgeous weather and being outside. We're having a hard time coming in at night and getting to bed at a decent hour these days.


{My next post will be my 700th post. Crazy! Maybe I will have to come up with something fun to celebrate}

BYU Women's Conference

 I convinced my mom and sisters to sign up for BYU Women's Conference with me this year. I haven't been in about 10 years and I've been wanting to start a tradition of going together every year! We had so so so much fun together! We attended classes, ate, shopped, ate, visited friends/family, ate, stayed up way too late every night and had a great time.

I flew to Utah on Wednesday night. I met my mom at the airport and then my sister Nicole picked us up. We headed straight to In N Out where we met my sister Teresa with two of her kids. I haven't had anything remotely close to a burger and fries in about 4 months so this was especially YUMMY to me.

 Afterwards we made a quick stop at the Sweet Tooth Fairy for cupcakes and then headed down to Provo to check into the dorms. It was cheap to stay in the dorms and honestly it was a blast. Transported me back in time almost 20 years to my freshman year at BYU.

Thursday morning the conference started. We were able to attend a variety of classes on parenting, marriage, various callings, spirituality, etc. It was so hard to choose which of the excellent classes to attend. I took pages and pages of notes and felt the spirit so strongly. There is something about being surrounded by 20,000 women with the same beliefs and values that is so uplifting and wonderful. I found myself in tears many times just overwhelmed by all the good women out there trying to raise their families and live their lives in righteousness.

We did a lot of shopping at the BYU bookstore where I spent a small fortune procuring hoodies for everyone in the family. I almost brought this home with me because I think it's hilarious. Wouldn't have fit in my suitcase though!

 After classes we hit cafe rio for some dinner and then got a shake at Iceberg (where have you been all my life?). Teresa headed home for the night but we went to a great concert put on by Deseret Book and BYU. It was amazing!  I'm sitting here trying to put into words everything I felt on this night but I can't do it justice. It was a moving and beautiful experience. Words fail me.

 Friday we attended more classes and I loved hearing from Elder Andersen and his wife at the closing session. So much goodness that I wish I could have bottled up and carried home with me. We met my BFF from high school, Camille, with her newest sweet baby for dinner. It was so fun to see each other even though we keep in pretty close contact.

After dinner and some delish Red Mango we went to see my aunt, uncle and a few cousins which was super fun! There are so many people to see in Utah and sadly never enough time to see them all. I found out my cousin is moving to Seattle to work this summer and I am excited to see him and "take care" of him!

Saturday morning we checked out of the dorms and went to the creamery to try to find some mint brownies to take home with us (I ate one every day I was in Utah!). We didn't find brownies but we did convince the manager to open the ice-cream counter for us so we could have it for breakfast. Two huge scoops for $2 was a little piece of heaven (if you can't tell we didn't exactly eat healthy during this trip - after months of being careful it was glorious!)

After ice-cream we blitzed and hit as many fun boutiques and shops as we could between Provo and Sandy. We met up for lunch with my sister, brother, his girlfriend (not pictured but we loved her), my niece Rachelle,  her husband Jon and baby Dalton at BlueLemon. You Utah peeps have got it made with amazing/cheap food and shopping. Jealous!!

Siblings!

We did a tiny bit more shopping before heading to the airport to fly home. I am so grateful that we were able to make this weekend happen. I really, really needed to take time out of my crazy life right now to have a break and refresh myself spiritually. I came home determined to be a better mother, wife, friend and Latter-Day Saint. We are already planning next year's conference weekend!

Big thanks to Allen for holding down the fort here at home. Emery started walking the morning after I left - of course - but Allen made sure to take lots of video and email them to me so it was almost like I was here! I missed my kids a ton and was happy to get home to them.

{PS all pictures are from my iPhone. While I LOVED not lugging a camera around with me all weekend I am definitely missing my high quality pictures!)