Blessings Come in Small Bundles

What a wonderful, gone-too-soon weekend! My family was in town for the blessings of the two new babies in the family. We had such a lovely time together! It always is over before we know it.

Thursday

My sister, Charloe, and her family arrived in town on Thursday evening after driving from central Utah all day. Thanks to her new car DVD system, the two kids in the back seat had a great trip and only had to stop for a bathroom break every five minutes or so. To celebrate their arrival, we met up with them at Oregano's for a late dinner. T'liese, Joe, and Evan showed up, as well as Jeff, Megan, and Mayla. It was fun to watch as Charloe finally met these two babies! I doubt it will stop me from sending her pictures via text every time I get to visit them, though. Dinner was delicious for most, but all children present were incredibly tired. That made waiting for a deep-dish pizza to cook almost unbearable! Mayla was so tired that Jeff and Megan ended up getting their dinner to go! Sometimes I found myself sitting alone inside the restaurant while crying babies and running kids got some energy out of their lungs outside (John was home finishing homework so he could play the rest of the weekend). We parted ways shortly after 9:00 PM after leaving our mark on the restaurant patrons forever.

Friday

Charloe had come a day early so she could take her space-loving five year-old to the Children's Science Museum and Planetarium. Corban was so excited for the day to begin that they went without us! I arrived at T'liese's house and got to hold little Evan while she showered to get ready. It is tough sharing babies that are usually all mine when I am around! T'liese, Evan, and I met Charloe's family at the museum in downtown Phoenix, just in time for some lunch from the small cafe on the premises. Megan had gotten us admission for the day and even some passes to the 12:45 PM presentation of an interactive planet show. As the astronomer asked questions to the crowd, we heard Corban answering each one under his breath. What a smart kid! Afterwards, we wandered around the museum, trying to find room to explore among several school classes in attendance. It made for some good people-watching to see awkward teenagers trying to impress other awkward teenagers! Boy, I don't miss those days at all. It was a nice afternoon of learning for the kiddies, and soon we were all on our way back to our houses to rest for a few hours (hey, if they get naps, so should I!). I headed back to Mesa to wait for my man to arrive home from work.

We left for Phoenix around 5:00 PM to arrive at my brother's house just before six. We waved to Megan as she left to pick Jeff up from work just a few miles away, and we walked into the house to find my parents with baby Mayla! They had just arrived from their long trip from central Utah and were gushing over a beautiful baby dressed in a white onesie and a blue skirt. So adorable! Of course, no one could get enough of her. It only took twenty minutes for her to realize she didn't know any of these crazy people and wanted her mama! Charloe and her family soon arrived, and so did Jeff and Megan. We headed to Fuddrucker's to eat some dinner with the whole family! T'liese, Joe, and Evan met us there. The burgers were so yummy, and not a soul who got a milkshake complained! It was fun to be together as a group, but the evening ended early because of some tired kids.

Saturday

It isn't too far from the truth to say our weekend revolved around where we ate! I took Mom to Crackers a few months ago when she was down, and she could hardly wait for Merrill to try it! So we all met at Crackers for lunch on Saturday. I finally got breakfast there and was NOT disappointed. Holy cow, I would go there right now for some pancakes! They were perfect! (At least, I think the thing under all that butter was a pancake...) Then we headed to Costco for an hour so Megan and T'liese could finish shopping for the post-blessing dinner. The folks from Utah don't have a Costco close enough for them to utilize, so we had fun showing them the store and wandering around for nothing. I almost bought South Pacific to complete my Rodgers and Hammerstein Collection, but I put it back at the last minute! After Costco, we headed to the Legacy Golf Resort to swim and lounge at Charloe and Brian's hotel. The kids had fun...maybe a little too much fun, judging by Brynn's swimming suit. We watched and tried to soak up some sun before heading inside to chit chat while Mayla finished her nap. It proved to be too small of a room for sixteen people, so we piled in our cars and drove two miles to T'liese and Joe's home. While the boys played bocce ball outside, the girls watched and waited for the pizza delivery guy to knock. It was a fun day spent with family, and I almost got some much-desired sun.

Sunday

Blessing Day arrived! We met at 1:00 PM for church to start at T'liese and Joe's ward in south Phoenix. Joe did a great job giving his son a blessing, and it was really nice to see all of the men in our family join in the circle. After Sacrament, we snuck into a large, empty room in the basement to bless baby Mayla. Even though she cried through the whole thing, Jeff gave a wonderful blessing to his new daughter. Now it was, once again, time to head for some grub. This time, we went to The Mansion owned by Megan's parents who had politely invited the entire family to their home for the dinner Megan and T'liese had purchased from Costco the day before. Honey Bear's BBQ, hot dogs, potato salad, macaroni salad, chips, fruit, and lots of good beverages kept us busy for a few hours. Dessert may have been the best part, though, and I am sad to announce that I now know about the three delicious cakes at Costco (Chocolate, Red Velvet, Lemon Cooler...I am done for now!) It was fun to have Joe's family there as well. Such beautiful families and even sweeter parents. I enjoyed holding Stephanie's new baby girl, Kate. What a smile that girl has! After dinner, people slowly started to trickle out. Charloe left with her family around 6:00 PM to make it to an awaiting hotel in Page for the night. Breaking up a nine-hour car ride is never a bad idea with two kids. We hated to see them go, simply because it meant the weekend was over. After visiting with the rest of the family for a few more hours, it was time to say goodbyes and head back to our house.

It was such a great weekend, but it flew by too quickly. Now we have our family vacation in Sedona to anticipate! Come on, September!

It's Still There!

By my calculations, it has been a few weeks since I have been able to fly an airplane. Which explains my nervous twitch and constant desire for ice cream nourishment. But today I got an opportunity to at least see my airplane when I went to pick up my AED for a software upgrade. I took a couple of pictures of my baby, and perhaps even said a few kind words and patted it gently. I miss it! Look how pretty it is! And it doesn't even matter if my flaps are drooping down! That can happen when an airplane has been sitting for a few weeks, since those things are held up by hydraulic pressure supplied by operating jet engines (vroom vroom!). Without any power to refresh those things, the hydraulic fluid will eventually empty from the lines and let the flaps sag. It's not flattering, especially on an older airplane in need of some cosmetic surgery. But did that stop me from wanting to hug my airplane? Not at all. I really do miss it when I don't see it more often. And by "seeing it," I mean flying all over North America in it, all week, every week.

As for my mission of the day, we carry an AED/defibrillator on board the airplane. And I have been First Aid and AED-certified to know how to handle one of my passengers taking a nap slightly too seriously. Sometimes I wonder where I would be able to actually USE a defibrillator on my airplane, since floor space is pretty limited. With any continued luck, I will never have to find out. The AED was due for a software upgrade, and I was willing to do anything to look at my airplane again. So I picked the equipment up at at Sky Harbor Airport before heading to my work headquarters, The Towers, to have the company nurse bring everything up to date. I passed some lovely churches on the drive and thought I'd share. I don't go to downtown Phoenix very often, and it's always fun discovering new buildings along the way. Have I mentioned I love this town? And it has nothing to do with 85-degrees and sunny...

After the software upgrade was complete, I got a call from my sister inviting me to hang out for the day. I rushed over, knowing that having family in town all weekend would mean I would have to "share" some beautiful babies with my out-of-town sister and mama. So I spent the afternoon with Evan and kissed on him plenty.

And I am sure you can see why...

A Photogenic Building

Less than two blocks away from my home stands a beautiful building. I drive past it a dozen times a day and smile at its magnificence each time. I have been meaning to take some pictures of it for months and finally had such an opportunity last night while John was in class. The temple has been closed for two weeks for maintenance while the Easter Pageant commenced on its grounds. In honor of the reopening of the temple today, here are some shots of the first temple built in Arizona, which was announced back in 1919. Ground was broken two years later, and in 1927 the temple was finally completed and dedicated for work. It was closed in the mid-1970s for some renovations and rededicated in 1975. Inside these walls? Beautiful. It is one of the most amazing buildings I have had the privilege to visit, and certainly one of my favorite temples. I married my husband there almost eighteen months ago. Can you believe we have been married that long? And just over three years ago, I went through for myself just two days prior to watching my baby brother get married there. My sister, brother, and I were all sealed to our eternal companions in the same room over a two-year period. So I have some rather partial attachments to this building and love it greatly. I was rather happy it cooperated in having some pictures taken.