Back to the Warmth of Home

I was in conversation with my boss back and forth on Monday morning, double-checking that they weren’t going to depart early that day (I had a hunch they wouldn’t).

Because I didn’t want to try to drive to Salt Lake in this type of weather!

Luckily, he said we wouldn’t be leaving until the afternoon (it ended up being almost 10:00 PM), so I was able to wait for this stuff to burn off.

Even better, my step-dad had to drive up earlier than me. He called me to let me know where the bad foggy spots were, and it really helped my drive be an easy one to head back to work today.

It’s been such a fun and productive weekend in my hometown!

Soon, I was back at the airport and waiting to go home. It was extremely cold today, and I didn’t feel like standing outside for long to take some pictures.

I’ve always come to the same FBO since flying these past six years, but this particular building has changed hands three times!

It was a great place to sit in the lobby today for some people-watching and book-reading!

Because of events going on near Salt Lake City, this place was packed and busy! I love seeing a few dozen giant airplanes on the ramp!

They must have had a reason to come here…it’s fourteen degrees. Who would want to come enjoy that type of weather for no reason?!

As you can see, the afternoon came and went. But my boss was nice enough to keep us updated on the times. It’s so wonderful having someone who lets us know what’s going on!

Gulfstreams were a dime a dozen today. There were some big, beautiful, and expensive airplanes everywhere I looked. Had it been sixty degrees warmer, I could have called it a pretty good day.

Could have.

After making sure that Gladys was ready for our flight home, this is where I spent most of my time. I got to talk to some fun people while waiting, too.

My boss kept apologizing for the delays, but it gave us a chance to grab some dinner. El Capitan and I both agreed that there was only one place that we wanted to eat.

I love this place! And so does Guy Fieri, since he’s been here for Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. Very delicious, affordable, authentic Mexican food. And boy, was it good!

Right across the street was Leatherby’s Family Creamery. I was almost tempted to eat my dinner here instead, but then I remembered that I had been shivering for nine hours nonstop. Eating ice cream just didn’t sound like the best remedy for that.

But I’ve eaten here before…(don’t look at this if you’re hungry or like caramel sauce).

Dinner at the Red Iguana was just wonderful. The food was good, but I got to do something that I’ve always wanted to try!

This place is always so popular, so we had a twenty-minute wait at 4:00 PM on a Monday evening. We were talking to some people outside while waiting to be sat…a lovely husband and wife, and they were friendly and fun. They were sat almost immediately, and I jokingly said to come get us if there was room at their table.

And…they did! We were invited to eat with them, and it was so much fun. Great conversation, great food. And, secretly, it was a dream come true for me! I’ve always wanted to eat with strangers like that!

Yes, I’m weird.

The shredded beef tacos weren’t all that bad, either.

Late that night, we left the cold behind and thawed out at home. It was so cold that we had a annunciator come on during flight that the passenger door was open. I knew that it was locked and that just the sensor was misbehaving because of the cold, but it still got my heart a pumping.

What a great five days in Utah. I loved that I got to spend so much time with my family, and that we were able to can some chicken and tie some quilts.

Thanks for having me, family! I miss you already, but I hope like nothing else that the next time I come for work, it’s much warmer!

People That I Love – Hometown Edition

My weekend in Nephi has been wonderful so far. We’ve canned some chicken and quilted up a storm. Now it’s time for a people post.

Even more important, it just so happens to be people that I dearly love.

This cutie pie is Brynn. She is so much fun and so smart. That trait must run in the family.

And she gives this look a lot, which always cracks me up. Look at that long, beautiful hair!

My younger niece, Nora, never quite warmed up to me all weekend. I warmed up to her plenty, especially with blueberry remnants on her cute little chin.

But this perplexed look was about all I got from her. Maybe a camera is scary?

Luckily, she is so cute that even her perturbed looks don’t make her any less loveable.

And her beautiful blue eyes. Charloe’s other two kids have big, brown eyes. But Nora is our blue-eyed girl.

It was a full house for a few days. Lots of playing, eating, reading, and laughing. I really like this group of people, by the way.

Sorry about the lighting on this one. This handsome young man is my sixteen year-old brother, Parker. He just got his drivers license and his first job. Parker is an aspiring writer and loves being creative. Parker is really caring and supportive.

This is my youngest brother, Kip, who is fourteen. He is the athlete and baseball All-Star who just so happens to be good at school. He’s cute and funny, too.

Yes, sometimes you really can have it all.

This is my oldest nephew, Corban, who just turned eight. This is the kid who had the solar system memorized at the age of three and can tell you anything and everything about all forty-four presidents. He is a smarty-pants for sure.

Now, if we could just get him to eat some vegetables…

My wonderful step-dad got lots of loving time with Brynn since she loves books. Every time we turned around, she was asking someone to read some Berenstein Bears to her. I was happy to oblige a time or two, since I love those books, too!

Even Nora joined in on some of this fun throughout the evening.

Until dinner arrived, that is. And then we all got a little distracted.

We phoned our order in to Reed’s Drive-In, and then Charloe drove down to pick it all up. A nice, greasy, home-cooked meal from our favorite local drive-in? Yes, please!

I haven't had these “English Chips” in years, but they were just as good tonight as I remembered them from my teenage years. And that, my friends, is fry sauce to accompany such healthy treats tonight.

I decided to try a steak sandwich, which I also remember fondly from my youth. I think that I would stick with a cheeseburger next time, but this was pretty good. And the fries were something to write home about.

So I did.

Rosie was such a nice girl. She wanted to eat dinner with us but let us enjoy it still when she wasn’t invited.

Soon it was back to the living room to play and read some more!

Sitting on Grandpa’s lap while reading a good book…what more could a girl possibly want?

I feel very blessed to have such wonderful sisters, and we all get along. This is my favorite Utah-residing sister, Charloe. Isn’t she pretty? She came up just to spend a few days because I was there. That made me feel special!

Don’t they clean up well? This was us ready to go to church on Sunday morning, which happened to be Stake Conference. Parker got a suit recently…doesn’t he look nice? I got to sit by these good-lookins for the entire meeting!

My Mama is so pretty. She is one of my favorite people in the world.

When we came home from church, Mama had a yummy pork roast and potatoes ready to eat from a low-temperature oven. Talk about amazing smells when we walked through the door!

And the meat was so juicy while the potatoes were perfectly cooked. I love me some meat and potatoes! It was such a yummy meal!

It’s been an incredible weekend in my hometown. Tomorrow morning, once the fog burns off a little, it will be time to drive north to Salt Lake City once again for a cold flight home.

What are some of your favorite times spent with family?

Quilting in Numbers

While I was in Utah for work, we decided to tie a few quilts for my sister and her new baby. Of course, in order for this to be a completely enjoyable process, we invited my cousin, Dolly, over for the day. And she brought her two adorable kids.

Dolly is such a hoot. We really love when she shows up. It’s really nice that she and her husband bought a house just a block from my Mom’s!

As you can plainly see, Dolly is really shy around cameras. And this certainly isn’t the pose that I got from her when I said, “Smile!”

She is very witty and sarcastic and funny. We are glad this girl is here! Double-bonus is that she also happens to know how to tie a quilt!

Do you want to know one of the best parts of the entire weekend? My sister, Charloe, showed up with her three kids in tow. They spent a few days with us and made the entire weekend that much better!

She brought the quilting fabric, so I’m glad that she decided to show up!

Yes, we cheat by using a quilting knot guide. We tried it once years ago without a guide. Let’s just say that it didn’t win any prizes at the fair!

Dolly, you crack me up!

My little brother, Parker, who isn’t so little any more, helped by stringing us some needles. It was really helpful to just demand a new needle with thread, and it would magically appear in my hand.

The other ladies called for new needles more often than me. I guess I am more quality-than-quantity when it comes to homemade handicrafts?

Or I’m just not so good at quilting.

Isn’t this lady pretty? It was so fun to have you here for a few days, Charloe. Thanks for making the hour-long trip from your house to join us for so much fun. You made everything better!

And not just because you were also the runner to get our Reed’s Drive-In dinner!

Anyway, back to the quilts. We ended up tying two quilts today for Baby James. He was born in December in Frisco, Texas, so we’ve all grown accustomed to calling him The Frisco Kid.

Luckily for him, we made a cowboy quilt today to honor his heritage.

Isn’t it cute? It has bucking broncos on one side, and cowboy hats and boots on the other.

Don’t worry, this is completely appropriate. In fact, did you know that I wore cowboy boots to school until the sixth grade? We grew up around horses, so this cute quilt is right up our alley.

Speaking of cute, this is Cambree…Dolly’s baby girl. She was enjoying some blueberries while we quilted in the living room.

This is Brynn, my sister’s daughter, and Connor, Dolly’s oldest son. They played so well together! In fact, when Connor didn’t come right away because he was taking a nap, Brynn started to cry. She was really excited to spend some time with Connor today.

Who could possibly look at a camera when there are so many interesting toys to admire instead?

Brynn is such a sweet little gal. She is lots of fun to be around and so affectionate. She just started tumbling and preschool and turned five years old a few weeks ago!

And this is Connor. Can it get any cuter than this little boy? Even better, he is just as nice as he is cute. What a fun kid!

Dolly and Travis done did it real good by having these two babies.

Here are some more pictures of beautiful Cambree. She has such a fun personality and is just gorgeous.

Dolly was trying to get her to smile, and this was the closest we got.

But look at her hair! Isn’t that incredible?

For the sake of my future daughter, I hope that Dolly moves next door to me so that she can do hair. I am, um, not so skilled in that arena. I mean, you’ve seen my hair, right?!

We were very careful to check that all of the pins were properly removed. We learned the hard way eight years ago when we made our first quilts for Charloe’s oldest kid, Corban. She wrapped him up tight in his quilt and then had to soothe his cries. I guess one lone pin had been left inside and poked him every time he moved.

Poor little guy! It’s amazing that he turned out so well!

This is quilt numero dos. A bright, fun yellow on one side, and lots of cars, trucks, and airplanes on the other.

I approve.

Action shot!

I thought that this quilt was so sweet. And did I mention…airplanes?!

You know that is all my kids will have, right?

Cambree, Dolly, and baby Nora (Charloe’s youngest) posed for a few pictures. Aren’t all three of these girls so pretty?

And one of them is tired, too. Guess who?!

Quilting was a success. My Mama bound up the edges and sent them to Texas this week. We hope that Baby James gets to enjoy them for years to come. In just a few hours, we knocked out two quilts and had lots of laughs!

This weekend is shaping up to be pretty darn nice, I must say.