Visiting a Land Far, Far Away

Hello from Utah! It has been such a nice week so far. My brother decided late Sunday evening to accompany my Dad and I to Utah to visit my sister. Charloe has two cute little kids (Corban and Brynn), one of which I hadn't seen since my wedding! John is busy with school and work, so I justified running away to Utah for a few days! We left early Monday morning and made great time, though I didn't enjoy the drive as much as I should. It was beautiful scenery, great snacks and fun company, but I just can't sit that long and be normal! We arrived in Annabella (a tiny town just outside of Richfield where Charloe lives) at 3:15 PM, even after stopping for half an hour for fuel and food. Charloe and her husband, Brian, built their gorgeous home about four years ago. She has it so perfectly decorated, and it's HUGE! This was only my third time seeing it, but it never ceases to amaze me at how beautiful her digs are!

I told Charloe to have a list ready of projects she wanted help with while we were here. Luckily, she took me up on it and put us to work! Tuesday was full of projects inside the house and out, including organizing her storage room, cleaning out the laundry room, organizing the pantry (not forgetting to categorize and alphabetize, of course...you know me!), and recreating the linen closet. I had an absolute blast! We got so much done, which really helped her day-to-day life! And it is so fun to finish projects that give instant results and satisfaction! Thanks for putting me to work, Charloe!

Wednesday was an absolute dream, of which I will write separately.

Thursday, I went to work on the exterior door trims that my Dad had scraped and sanded on Tuesday. When painted the first time four years ago, the wood was still green and would not keep the paint. So I spent the day putting two coats on the trim of her deck door and garage door! They look so nice, and I can say I am officially not a painting virgin any more!

Friday was our lazy day, with all projects completed. We went into "town" and ate delicious Chinese food before going Christmas shopping for the kids so my Dad could get their presents. The Mexican postal service isn't exactly stellar, so he gets everything for them while he is in the States. After arriving back at Charloe's house, we had Stouffer's lasagna with corn and homemade garlic toast. It was a very good meal, but I swear we have eaten constantly. My type of vacation!

Saturday was our drive home, but it seemed to go more quickly than the trip to Utah six days earlier. I was able to get some of my belongings out of my parents' way, and now I have my high school yearbooks again! I am still debating whether to show John...

It was an incredible trip, and I sure enjoyed time with family. That really is why we are all here.

Brunch with Pops

My Dad is visiting from Mexico where he has lived for the past four and a half years. He comes up every six months to see his kids and grand kids. Since he was in town, we thought we would celebrate by visiting our family-favorite for breakfast in Phoenix, First Watch. As usual, it was very delicious. The company must have been even better, because even after the food disappeared from the table we stayed to visit for another two hours!

I couldn't decide between pancakes or a Belgium waffle, so I went with an omelet. Sometimes when I order, I am schizophrenic! Luckily, it is a safe bet with anything from the menu, and breakfast was very good. It was fun to catch up with our Mexican dweller!

I will get many more opportunities to catch up next Monday when Dad and Micah set out on a road trip to Utah to visit my sister, Charloe, and her two kids. I absolutely hate road trips, but I am sure snacks will help alleviate that strife. During the dreaded eight-hour drive, I will not be able to resist thinking about how this exact trek would only take forty-five minutes in my airplane! Maybe I am supposed to learn patience? It will be a great week, and I am looking forward to it. I love any chance to spend time with family.

One Day of Work

I hate to sound pathetic, but it was actually a pretty rough time. Have you ever experienced a day when everything seems to go wrong? That can describe my day at work today. I got up early...5:30 AM for a 7:15 AM departure to Las Vegas with Big Boss and two additional passengers. We never know what to expect with him, and today was no exception. The passengers showed up with no bags, so I figured out pretty quickly we would be returning that same evening! I had packed my normal week bag and had lugged it all over before loading it into the airplane! Better safe than sorry! The flight to Las Vegas was only 45 minutes, but we got held up for 20 minutes on the ground in Phoenix during the morning rush. It was unfortunate because Big Boss had to be at Caesars Palace at a specific time, but he handled the delay well (there is nothing the pilots can do about it but wait!). As we got closer to Sin City, being bounced around the entire time, we heard wind shear alerts for our runway. Loss of 20 knots, followed by a gain of 15? Yikes! Wind shear is a sudden change in wind direction or speed, and it makes landing a little more fun and challenging. It was Terry's leg, and he handled it like a pro. It was sure bumpy! Yeehaw!

After landing and getting a cab for the passengers, I hung out at the Atlantic FBO. When our stomachs started growling, Terry and I decided to hit the Strip for some lunch. We found out that P.F. Changs was in the Planet Hollywood Casino and was only about ten blocks from where we were! So we hopped into the crew car and wandered around inside the casino and mall until the restaurant opened. It was so windy and cold! There were lots of people exploring the Strip, but they were bundled up in jackets and hats. I am rather proud that I, the Phoenix girl, wasn't wearing any of that! Lunch was delicious...honey seared chicken from their lunch menu, which also gave me some hot and sour soup and white rice. We split the chicken lettuce wraps to begin our meal. I was so hungry! John "made" me Chex cereal at 5:30 that morning, but it had been way too long! The Chinese food tasted great.

We headed back to the FBO and waited for the call to return home, keeping a close eye on weather in both Las Vegas and Phoenix. Believe me, returning home in the same day is pretty abnormal for us. It was nice! But an estimated 4:30 PM arrival in Phoenix got side-tracked when they decided to put a ground stop at Sky Harbor Airport. That means nothing takes off or lands! Which meant we wouldn't be given clearance to leave Las Vegas until the ground stop ended! On three separate occasions, with engines started and ready to taxi to the runway, we were told a new ground stop had been initiated, and we would have to wait yet another hour. Big Boss arrived at the airplane at 3:30 PM, and we weren't able to finally take off until after 7:30! It was a frustrating evening, being delayed because of the weather in Phoenix. The valley was experiencing high winds, which naturally results in dust storms that lowered the visibility. I love being based in Phoenix, but the controllers are certainly not used to dealing with weather since it is only experienced five times a year! So they practically closed the airport and made us wait. We finally touched down at Sky Harbor at 8:30 PM. On the north runway, of course, because that provided a much longer taxi to our base hangar! When we shut down at Swift, an airplane was starting up next to us and created lots of noise, preventing my passengers from walking to their cars and finally heading home. It was like that all day...little things went wrong that all added up to be pretty entertaining (or annoying, depending on how tired you are when you look at it)!

I was exhausted by the time I pulled up in my driveway. After reading scriptures together with my husband, we crawled into bed. Waking up early makes John have a long day, too. But he was glad to have me home, and I was glad for the day to be over!