Finals

Well you guys.  Last week was finals week.

 And, I am alive.

 Significantly less presentable, but alive.

 And, I think I did ok.

 But I definitely feel like this.

 And this.

Peace out.

Visiting Pickle's Office

The next morning we spent some time in the park.  Can I just say, that Utah weather is so different!!!  It was warm while we were there.  Up in the 100s occasionally.  But when you stepped into the shade, it actually made a difference!  And at night, if you were out after dark, you got cold!  So weird for us Alabamians!

 After the park we got to go eat lunch and visit at Pickle's office.

 She showed us around the production floor where they make medical appliances.

And Danny Boy may or may not have wanted to pet Jonamon's growing hair really badly.... 

 When lunch was over, we gave hugs and left Pickle to finish the work day.

 While we waited for those with, you know, jobs, to join us, we did some fun stuff with Grandma.  If you can't tell, my kids LIVE to craft with Grandma.  They have some pretty hefty expectations, but she always comes through!

 For dinner, we had an abbreviated reunion with my dad's side of the family.  Unfortunately, since my grandfather on that side passed, it seems that Grandma's mental status is declining rapidly.  But it was fun to visit with the Aunts and Uncles that came, and my kids really enjoyed hanging out with my cousins...  who would be their 2nd cousins?  1st cousins once removed?  I can never remember!

It's a good thing that you don't have to remember actual family relationships to give hugs :)

Father's Day in Utah

I know, I know.  What kind of person takes her kids away from their dad for Father's Day?  I guess that would be this one :p  Don't worry.  We celebrated with him before we left.  And we made sure to call and skype and text and all of those things.  But that meant that on the actual day, we got to do other things as well.

 Like visit my Grandparents.  I didn't know at the time, but this would be one of the last times that I saw my grandfather alive.  

 And everyone hammed it up for a picture :)

 Kari got to spend a little bit of time with Grandma Pat...

 While everyone else played around them.

It's funny.  I played in that room as a child.  With those same, exact toys.  Seriously, the ones that haven't gotten broken are the Same.  Exact.  Toys!  Probably in the same way, while my parents visited and while I was clueless.  Somethings never change :)

Chalk Art Festival!

From belly dancing at the park we headed to the chark art festival.  It has something to do with DannyBoy's work in Utah Foster Care...  Sponsored by it?  Participating in it?  Fundraising for it?  I don't remember.  I just remember that La and her family get to go every year, and this year we got to go with them!!!

I had the kids get a picture with their favorite :)

Kaitlyn's

This cool one from Moana! 

 This is one of my favorites!  This past February, I bought a picture frame at Disneyworld that looks a lot like this.

 Kari liked the finding Dory picture.

Kelsey liked this one because it had a lot of food.

 It took a while for Dylan to find his favorite.  I am not sure he knows who the character is...  I don't.  But he thought it was cool.

 There was also this fun biking sculpture that everyone wanted to play on.

 Because, when one person fake bikes...

 ...Everyone does!

Utah Belly Dancing!

After driving for days and getting in at dinner time, I was more than happy to put the kids in their beds.  I knew we had a full day planned for that first Saturday in town.  First on our agenda was heading to the park....

... to see Aunt Pickle do her belly dancing recital!!!

Pickle had taken a 12 week belly dancing course, and they ended with showing off for everyone :)  It was fun to see the hard work she put into it pay off.  She was one of a group of friends who signed up for the class, but the only one to follow through and finish, as well as go to the recital.  The other dancers with her are "fillers" so she wouldn't have to dance alone.  She did such a great job!

She was nice enough to share her cool jingly belt with the girls too!

It really was fun to have the whole group there to support her.  Don't mind the finger...  It wanted to be in on the fun too ;)

That was only the beginning of the day!

Driving Out to Utah!

A year or two ago I had the bright that I could drive out to Utah.  Back when I was younger, my family did it almost every year.  Dad would take 2 weeks off work, we would spend 1/2 a week driving out, 1 week visiting, and 1/2 a week coming home.  We did it almost every summer.  Sooooo, why couldn't I do it?  It is cheaper to drive than fly certainly.  And if I used all the points that hubby has accumulated over years of spending nights in hotels for business, then it would be even cheaper.  Hotel = free breakfast, so that is one meal covered.  I packed sandwich stuff for lunch, so that only left dinner as a fast food meal.  I could do this!  On a budget even!  The difference between driving from Alabama to Utah and from Utah to Virginia was only 7 hours, and when you are already in the car for 3 days, 7 more hours doesn't matter.  So we would stop by Virginia on the way home.  So the entire trip would last about 3 weeks.  And I knew that I couldn't get hubby away from work for 3 weeks. so that meant I was going to tackle it by myself.  

This summer it became increasingly obvious that my grandparents were ailing, and this would be the summer to make the trip.  So, after we cleaned up the house and made sure it was listed, we packed up a weeks worth of clothing, plenty of entertainment for the kids (provided earlier for our trip to Disneyworld), and away we went!

 The first night we got to St. Louis.  And the kids got to drive by the arch!

 The hotels we stayed in generally were quite nice, though there wasn't always enough beds for everyone.  Sometimes, some of the kids had to sleep on the floor.

 It became a bit of a game to get everything inside the hotel everynight: clothes, coolers, chargers, etc....

 There was quite a bit of plains driving that was less than thrilling before we stopped for night #2 in Nebraska.

 And the kids were always happy to finally get to spread out.  Though we never got there early enough to really enjoy the hotel.  Mostly it was go go go until you drop drop drop.

 Our third day driving out was booooooooor-ring!

 I was a little bit concerned about staying awake.  I downloaded some of my favorite books (that are super long) and that was enough to keep me awake through bugs and windmills....

 And a few interesting rock formations.

 But there were times when it was pretty boring, and there was nothing to see for miles!

 By dinner time on the third day, we finally reached our destination!  La was nice enough to have dinner ready for us, and the cousins were thrilled to be able to play with each other.

The drive was not the most pleasant thing I've done, but it was certainly accomplish able.  Phew!!!

Grandpa Paul's Funeral and Thanksgiving

 The week before Thanksgiving, I had the opportunity to fly out to Utah.  Unfortunately, it was not for a particularly happy occasion.  My grandfather (my mom's dad) passed away after a decently long battle with COPD.  He was a tough old bird with 9 lives, and he is dearly loved and will be sorely missed.  My lovely hubby was able to rearrange his work schedule to take care of the children, while I spent some time with my family.  

Cute Bethany really took a shining to me, and it was lovely to have cute kids to sit in my lap, while my own were at home.

 The funeral was lovely as funerals go.  My sisters and I sang a beautiful arrangement of Oh My Father.  Of course there was crying.  But, really, he looked so much like himself, and we had been expecting it for so long, that it was a fairly peaceful experience.

It was bitterly cold at the graveside.  But thankfully I was able to borrow a coat.

 I said goodbye to my family, and flew home, and then was able to see my parents again 3 days later!!!  For a wonderfully filling Thanksgiving!

And what Thanksgiving is complete without a little football?!?

 Or without some crafting with grandma?!?  But glitter?!?!  I mean, really?!?!

I'll be finding that stuff for months!!!

Happy Late Thanksgiving!!!  May you be aware of the many things you have to be grateful for!

Selfie

Sometimes, when you give your ever present buddy your phone, just to keep them quite, you find a few gems on it afterwards.

Because everyone like to explore with their face every once in a while.

I mean, this one is a classic, AmIRight?!?!

And sometimes, when you are just not feeling up to it, and you are still in bed when maybe you could be up and doing other things, and your child is bored, you do what you can to keep them entertained.

Like let them bring games onto your bed....

And, occasionally, when there are tornado sirens going off, and you are forced to hid in the laundry room, you take pictures, because....  That's life!

And who wouldn't want to document that?!?