Travel Log Part 3

Sunday, June 19. Fathers Day. We got ready and walked to 9am church. Emily fell and bloodied her knee and elbow and Andrew got some blood on his shirt. Nathan spit up a little bit on the walk and then when we sat down he covered Andrew and himself. I stayed with Emily all of church in nursery and chatted with another visiting mom. Andrew got brownies and ice cream for Father’s Day and Nathan diaper leaked on him. His shirt told the story of true fatherhood in the course of three hours. I chatted with Derick and then Brian until Derick left at 2:30 to go back to Idaho and Maddie went back to Logan. When Emily and Andrew woke up from their 2 hour nap we went and hung out with Mindy and the rest of Andrew’s family in Orem and then headed to the Westovers for Family dinner at 5. Emily and Ariana are becoming fast friends, although Emily corrects us and says that they are cousins. They played on the slide and see- saw together before and after dinner. Sam and Kimby went out with them after dinner and played all sorts of fun games. Andrew and Sam picked a bucket of cherries with Andrew standing on top of the ladder and pulling the branches down for Sam to pick from. It was terrifying and I did not stay to watch.

Monday, June 20. We woke up tired and had a slow starting morning. I baked bread and went on a short run. Nathan took a long nap to make up for lots of late nights and not sleeping. Kalin came over and she and Emily played together and did lots of “scooting” on the pink and green scooters. Christine went to BYU Gymnaatics camp and Brian spent a good portion of the day getting ready for his big trip to New York City tomorrow. When Nathan woke up we went and got the stroller tire fixed and Emily tried out a balance bike which was so fun to watch. We went to Deseret book next and then came home for much needed naps. In the evening we had a Blomquist dinner and we all gathered at Grandma Blomquists: Uncle Cary, Aunt Angela, Kalin, Aunt Melinda, Katie, Mom, Brian, Andrew, Emily, and Nathan. After we ate we walked over to the Nabrotzky’s home because they had just arrived moments before from England. Nathan was in heaven with all the toys on the floor and Emily patiently waited for her turn on the trampoline. I went out with her for a bit and then Andrew took a turn and the two of them had a blast together. Emily’a static charged hair was the talk of the party. Andrew ran the kids home and I drove with grandma blomquist when Nathan signaled he was done at 8. Bless his heart we’ve been keeping him up way past his bedtime too often on this trip. As of today, Nathan has officially figured out forward movement. He inchworms, wiggles, planks, hand and knees rocks himself across the room. I’ve never seen anything like it, but that determines fellow knows how to move.

Tuesday June 21: Andrew and I went to the Provo City Center temple together. We left around 9 after putting Nathan down for a nap and went to the10am session. It was exactly what my heart and soul needed and a special treat for Andrew and I to actually go in together. When we got home we did lunch and naps with the kids. I took a power nap and then joined my mom upstairs looking through Grandpa Blomquists slides. Most of the pictures were scenery, but we did find a few from when my mom was a little girl and they are absolute treasures. Around 3:15 we got a text from Brian to pray (he just flew to New York City in the morning) so Mom, Grandma, and I all kneeled down and said a prayer. Aunt Michelle called and said we could come over and chat for a few minutes so I left Andrew with sleeping children and joined mom and grandma. Brian called once we arrive and we spent the next 30 minutes on the phone with him trying to get him out of a uber car that over charged him and took all his cash until Uncle Jonny walked in and miraculously saved the day. We rushed back to grandma Blomquists house and Andrew, Emily, Nathan and I went to a dinner with Andrew’s former roommates and wives. It was a fun evening and we stayed for about an  hour and a half and then I took out exhausted kids home so Andrew could catch up a bit more. It was another late night but a good day.

Wednesday June 22: woke up early and washed diapers and made a grocery shopping list with Andrew. He went to Macey’s and I got the kids up and ready for the day. At nine we went with Mom, Grandma Blomquist, Aunt Michelle, Austin, Jacob, and Linsey over to see the trailer Uncle Cary has been fixing up to sell. He has made it a beautiful home and if we had a piece of land I would buy it to live in without a second thought. It has three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen and living room area. We returned to Grandma Blomquists and put Nathan down for a nap and Kalin and Emily played together while Andrew and I made lunch. Mom and I went through books we wanted to buy with our exercising points. Andrew and I packed and loaded up the car to head to Grandma Jacksons. We arrived about 2:30 and Emily and Arianna spent the rest of the day playing together. They spun around (Emily discovered she can spin on her stomach on the hard wood floor and Ariana tried to figure out how to join her and eventually settled on just spinning on her feet), discovered ants and talked with them before they were vacuumed, played on the small slide, played outside after dinner, typed on the keyboards and talked on the phone, and played with Potato heads. They get along great and it is so fun to watch them together. After dinner Aimee and I went to Costco and smiths to get ingredients for a big baking day and also mixed up dough for sourdough bread.

Thursday June 23: I woke up before everyone and had some reading time after my usual routine. The book thief is so intriguing I use all my spare moments to read. Aimee and Ariana arrived around 7:30 and the three of us went on a run. The rest of the morning was spent baking while Emily and Ariana played and Nathan explored the front room and Andrew worked on a 3D printer problem. We made (and devoured) sourdough bread, granola, and energy balls. I read a stack of books to Emily and Ariana until Nathan woke up from his nap and then Andrew went and did I spy with Emily for awhile.  We let the kids play until around 2 and then did naps before heading to Castle Park to meet friends. We hadn’t seen the Monks since they moved to Florida 1.5 years ago so we were thrilled they had a few moments to see us and catch up for a bit. After we got home we sent Emily and Ariana outside to play in the sprinklers. It took a lot to get them to warm up to the idea so Aimee, Grandpa Jackson, and I were just as wet as the girls as we taught them to run and jump through them. Eventually we went in and left Emily and Ariana filling the plastic plane with dirt and spraying it off with water. After dinner we tucked Emily and Nathan in bed and went to Hale Center Theater with Sam, Aimee, and Patrick to see Big River. Andrew told me about this play when we were dating- specifically about how the stage had water underneath it so the raft was actually floating around. It was incredible. When we got home at 10:45 Ariana was still going strong and Nathan had joined the party. It was a late night, but totally worth it.

Friday, June 24: I spent the morning packing up and said goodbye to Andrew who went to the airport around 3 to head to New Orleans for a conference. We made it to Provo around 10:30 but arrived at an empty house. Uncle Cary’a car had broke down and Grandma and Mom went to help. We drove a few blocks over to Aunt Michelle’s and picked raspberries from her garden before hoping in the car to head to BYU. We hung out in the Smith Field House for 1.5 hours watching Christine do beam and vault. It was so fun to see her and the other girls. Nathan was exhausted because he hadn’t napped yet so we left at 12:30. I put Nathan in bed by 1 and he didn’t wake up until 5. Emily played with Kalin in the afternoon and I did laundry and general cleaning. Uncle Craig had arrived on Wednesday but this was our first time seeing him. Mom and Christine got home around 3 and Aunt Michelle popped over a bit later. I repacked the car and drove to Salt Lake for a Jerusalem reunion. There weren’t a lot of us, but it was so good to catch up and see friends that I hadn’t seen in years and reminisce about our time there. I can’t believe it has been five years, but with all of the children present I suppose it would have to be. At 8 we headed to Grandma and Grandpa Jacksons house. They were the only one there that night so we enjoyed spending a quiet night with them. Grandpa Jackson had just made muffins and Emily are one outside while he works and I put Nathan to bed. Emily and I hung out with them until close to 10 and then fell into bed.

Saturday, June 25: Got up and packed the car again. Nathan, Emily, and I left at 9:30 and drove to temple square (with excellent parking directions from Jenny). We met Christine, Austin, Jacob, Zack, Matthew, Linsey, and Kalin in the south visitor center and wandered around with them for an hour while we waited for everyone to come out of the temple that was attending Robert, Cathy, and Ruthie’s sealing. It was good to spend that time with family. We saw Grandpa Blomquist and Grandma Judy who came up from Richfield. After pictures, Christine drive home with me to Grandma Blomquist’s and helped me watch kids, get the car unloaded, put Nathan down for a nap, and get lunch. When mom and Grandma Blomquist got home I took a solid hour nap. Late afternoon we all worked together to get the car loaded for mom and Christine’s return trip home. After dinner mom and Christine went grocery shopping and I put the kids to bed. At 8:30 Mom, Christine and I went to Aunt Michelle’s for an hour. Christine joined all the cousins outside while Mom, Aunt Michelle, and I hung out on the couches and talked.

Sunday, June 26: Got ready for church and exchanged picture with mom and Christine. Christine walked with Emily, Nathan and I to church. As soon as the sacrament was over Mom and Christine left to start driving back to Iowa. Uncle Craig took care of Nathan which was so helpful during sacrament meeting. After church I did some prep for the week and cleaned up a bit. Emily, Nathan and I had a quiet afternoon by ourselves and spent time swinging on the swing outside together, reading books, and resting. I took a short nap on the floor while Emily read books nearby and Nathan crawled on the floor and did a short stint in the pack in play. We went and visited with Mindy and Grandma and Grandpa Jackson for an hour before dinner. When we got home Nathan went right to bed. I hurriedly made dinner while Emily one step away from a complete melt down. Grandma Blomquist stopped by and starting doing nursery rhymes and songs with Emily, even having her jump over a candlestick like Jack be nimble. Then they read books until dinner was ready. Emily was tucked into bed by seven and then I watched The Cokeville Miracle until I heard voices upstairs. I joined Sarah, Katie, Uncle Craig, and Grandma Blomquist for a late night chat that lasted until almost 10.

Monday June 27: Andrew’s birthday. I went running with Emily and Nathan. We stopped at a park. Emily and I played tag all the way home with Emily laughing as she ran. I talked with Andrew for awhile in the morning about his conference and New Orleans adventures while cleaning the kitchen and baking bread. Kalin came over by 8:30 and shortly after that Zack and Matthew arrived. Emily played outside with them for awhile and then play dough inside. I read with Emily and Nathan as a bit of a break and then we got ready to take Uncle Craig to the airport. We left about 11:40 and the trip went smoothly. We did get stuck for about 15 minutes right behind an accident. There was garbage spread across all 5 lanes and the clean up crew directed us around on the shoulder. Uncle Craig still got to the airport in plenty of time. The kids fell asleep on the way (after some screaming) and were very pleasant when we arrived at Grandma Jackson’s house (Andrew’s grandma) and met Andrew’s mom there. The four of us stayed and visited for a couple of hours. Emily made herself right at home and played with the toys upstairs and downstairs. She really like the ukelele that was her size and an old phone. Nathan chewed on toys and was very happy doing so. He worked really hard trying to get a chair leg. We looked through photo albums and found lots of fun family pictures and cute ones of Andrew. After we left we quickly stopped by Susie’s house that was just across the street to return a flower clip that Emily accidentally wore out out the Jerusalem reunion. We drove straight back to Provo. Emily and Kalin played until 6:00 while so gave Nathan a bath and put him to bed and then we jumped right into the bedtime routine. I read outside on the swing until way too late when the sprinklers compelled me inside.

Tuesday, June 28. Nathan was up a lot during the night so I didn’t roll out of bed until 8. We had a bit of a slower morning getting ready. Nathan threw up during the night so he got another bath. After he work up from his nap I walked the kids over to Aunt Michelle’s house and we hung out for a couple of hours. We left close to 2, Emily and I playing tag all the way home. Everyone went right down for naps, just totally exhausted. I read and talked a little with Grandma Blomqusit. Emily woke up at 4 and Nathan at 5. We then headed over to Wendy’s, one of my freshman roommates. She has two children and Emily and Nathan jumped right it. We stayed for dinner and then chatted outside for awhile while the kids played because no one wanted to go home. We finally left at 8 for the sake of Nathan who was exhausted and then made our way home and into bed. I chatted with Grandma while we cleaned in preparation for the shutter installation in the morning before calling it a night.

Wednesday, June 29. Shutters were installed. Once Emily and Nathan woke up we got breakfast and headed over to the Nabrotzky’s.  We went on a walk with Linsey, Matthew, and Aunt Michelle.  Once the shutters were installed we came home so Nathan could take a nap.  In the afternoon a friend from Jerusalem, Rachel, and her boy Finn came by for a few hours and hung out.  I got things ready for heading out to the reunion.

General play at Grandma Blomquist’s: