saturday

saturday morning was supposed to be palling around (to see chris's grandma and then have lunch with my aunt libby) with mom and the kids but friday night after lisa's show, mother started feeling sick and spent the rest of the night (until morning) throwing up and feeling terrible.  sooo, we were initially hoping it was just some dinner that didn't sit right but it became apparent that it was some sort of 24 hour bug.  so saturday morning abigail and brady and i slept in til 9 or so but then discovered that mom was sick and i'm not authorized to drive the rental car (and dad was at church training all day... their reason for the visit to utah).  so then i was going over as many options as possible of how to best use our remaining hours in utah.  the thing that worked out was calling chris's aunt (see... i married into the family and just treat them as my own) and explaining the situation.  so she came by the hotel to pick up me and the kids and we all went to grandma virginia's house for a nice visit.  i am 100% in love with chris's grandma virginia (my father in law's mother) because she is absolutely adorable.  her voice is sweet and her mannerisms are sweet and she's funny (my favorite is that she always says "i'm going mental" because she's lost much of her memory) but really because she is an absolute saint.  really, everyone that knows her will tell you the same thing.  when we were deciding potential names for abigail, we were trying to figure out a way to name her after grandma virginia.  but with a name like belva virginia... it wasn't happening.  but brady's middle name is robert (for grandpa hillier) so that's our link to these precious grandparents.

anyways, grandma virginia lives alone now and can barely see.  i can only imagine how lonely that must get.  i wasn't aware she knew i was going to stop by, but when i went to her house and saw this on her calendar, my heart melted and i was so grateful that i was able to find a way to get the kids and myself over for a visit.

yes, hillier is misspelled.  and yes, that is her last name too.  i told you she's precious.

 

 

chris's aunt is always giving abigail tons of clothes and dresses and stuff and this time she brought clothes and shoes but also this minnie mouse hair set.  brady's is the curling iron.  they had fun with it while we were visiting.

now tell me this isn't the sweetest thing ever.  and see grandma virginia's shirt?  when we got out of the car abigail was freaking out because she and grandma have the same shirt.  she was talking about the sweater she was wearing in this post.  love it.

i adore this woman.  through and through.  her heart is really as pure as they come and she is one in a million.

and then we got back to the airport at 12:30, just in time to check in on my mom in the hotel room and get our stuff to the curb to wait for my aunt libby to come pick us up and take us to the airport.  the plan was for all of us to go out to lunch... but i guess hitching a ride to the airport is second place.  

this was the setup i used to single handedly get all of us and our stuff to the counter to check in.  that cheap stroller doesn't steer with one hand (especially with 100+lbs of stuff on it) so i was awkwardly squat pulling the stroller (by the carseat) and my rolling carry-on bag.  and i got plenty of audible "she's got her hands full" comments from people amused by the spectacle i was putting on.  also, i asked abigail to stand by the bag and smile.  this is what she gave me.

have no fear.  brady was doing fine under there!

and i'm so sad i missed temple square!  next time for sure.  maybe i'll even take advantage of the free shuttle!

 my honey and mark, john, and nate arrived at the other end of A, so we waited by the escalator for a minute and met up with them.  abigail was thrilled. 

honey told me all about his crazy week (because this was the first time we'd actually talked all week) as we drove home... with a quick stop by the office so he could pick up a few things.  of course both kids passed out in the car.  and going right along with tradition, brady woke up when we arrived and abigail stayed fast asleep.  i let her keep sleeping in the garage for an hour or two and finally unbuckled her and carried her up to her crib.  she woke up when i put her in but was fine once i brought up her pink nalgene sippy (ocd much?) and... slept until 9 am the following morning.  almost 16 hours straight.  this trip wore her out.  brady, on the other hand, didn't go to sleep til after ten.  and woke up at 2:30, didn't go back to sleep for 45 minutes, and then was up again by 9.  that kid.

when we got home, i started the search for my keys, which i'd put in a "safe place" during the trip.  emptying out my purse looking for my keys, i found the rest of my ruby snap cookie and was just savoring a bite when...

i got this text.

fyi, i did NOT text her a picture of my mouth.

 but really, i am soooo craving another maris right now.  apparently you can buy the frozen dough balls and bake them yourself... which is what lisa was eating.  a little less expensive... and you can eat it hot.  mmmm.  

 

 

and then i called lisa up on the phone and made her talk to me for an hour.  because i missed her so badly.  and because i have a hard time returning home from trips.  it's always extremely bittersweet for me.  and christopher wasn't there to comfort me (when we got home and i was looking for my keys, he realized he left his ipad on the plane in the pocket of the seat back in front of him.  so he had to call the airline and go back to pick it up.  annoying mistake but thankfully it wasn't lost for good!

so that's a wrap!  this took way too long but 24 hours after our return... and my whole three day trip is documented!  now i can relive it whenever i want!  i'm already trying to figure out when i can sneak away to utah again... who knew it could be so insanely fun out there?!?!  i'm in love.