Utah

We’ve almost been home for a week from our trip – and a glorious trip it was! As soon as we crossed over the security line at the airport we were met with a wall of family members ready to…hang out with Emily.  I’m afraid there just wasn’t enough of her to go around during this trip, but she at least got a pretty good introduction to family.

Hanging out with Aunt Mindy.

Andrew’s family got Dominion for Christmas and we were happy to help teach them how to play.  With every good game a large amount of candy follows – Jelly Bellys in this case which require careful sorting to avoid the really gross flavors.

The first few days we were there Emily was pretty sure she didn’t want to take naps.  We were pretty thrilled when she finally conked out in her Aunt Hannah’s arms.

Aunt Kimberly was the first awake each morning and was a huge help with Emily.  Andrew went snowboarding with his dad on Friday morning and to the temple with his mom on Saturday.  I loved having the extra hands and Emily loved the company, especially during tummy time.

Andrew pulled out some of his old piano music and put on a little concert for Emily.  LOVE!

Friday evening we headed over to Emily’s great-grandma Jackson’s home.  It was such an enjoyable evening just talking with Grandma Jackson and fun to have her meet Emily.  The occasion warranted a four generation Jackson picture.

Andrew snapped this picture because we caught Kimby sleeping in the exact same position that morning. Emily takes after her aunt.

Emily love everywhere :)

On Monday all of the Utah residents had to return to school and work.  We took the opportunity to go see the movie that everyone had been raving about: Frozen.  Andrew found a 2 for 1 deal with a medium popcorn.  It turned out to be family day so the three of us got to see a movie with popcorn for $3! We really enjoyed the story and the music.  Emily slept during the first half hour or so and then was happy to watch with us.  Andrew did save the day by changing a really full diaper during the movie on the floor by the door where there was some light.   By the time the movie started there were probably 10 people in the theater total, but we enjoyed having the place to ourselves for a little while.

Emily with her Grandma Jackson.  With all of the excited aunts around, their time together was a bit short.  I was pleased that I caught a moment on camera as proof that they did see each other.

Saturday evening we had a big dinner with Andrew’s family and two other families that they have known for many years.  We played The Game of Things (I won!) and just talked about life.  Emily’s lack of naps was catching up to her so we said good-night a bit earlier than usual.

Sunday evening we had a Jackson sibling Christmas.  This mostly meant that Emily opened presents – or Andrew and I opened presents for Emily.  She received some very CUTE clothes, a Snoopy stuffed animal, and lots and lots of books (I am thrilled about this development and they have been read everyday since we returned home).

Monday evening we had a group date with Andrew’s and Aimee’s friends from high school.  We played The Game of Things (I lost!) and had brownies and ice cream.

Aimee and Emily hung out during these evening events; clearly Emily was worn out from all the activity!

On Tuesday we headed down to the Provo/Orem area.  We started with lunch at Thai Drift with an IT Training co-worker of ours and her husband.  It was fun to catch up and Emily got along famously with them and didn’t mind hanging out with us for 1.5 hours.

We then went to my grandma’s home, my home away from home.  Emily was a bit fussy that day (and night – we didn’t get to go to bed until after midnight and then we were up at 3am again) but she was able to spend a few minutes being held by her great grandma.  I not-so-secretly wish we could have stayed there for a few more weeks at least.

Emily took a short nap in the children’s room.  I played and slept in that room, on that bed, many times during my childhood.  It is fun to see her in a place that is so dear to my heart.

Hanging out some more after a diaper explosion while we cleaned up. This was the only explosion of the whole trip!

Tuesday night we had a pizza party at my grandma’s home with my aunt Angela, my cousin Andrew, my cousin Frankie, and her two daughters.  It was so fun to see everyone! The girls were soooo cuuuuute with Emily! I need a 4 year old to hang out with her all the time just for the cuteness of it.

On Wednesday we went to BYU and gave Emily a little tour. We visited with more friends from our time at IT Training, I talked with an old roommate, and Andrew met with some professors.  We then headed up to visit our neighbors in Sandy and it was strange to not be able to just be able to walk downstairs and go home.  It did my heart so much good to spend time with dear friends that became part of my college family while we went to BYU.

On our last day we went to Fat Cats where Aimee and her husband Patrick work for a night of bowling and pizza. Emily slept through the first game and woke up partway through the second. It has been about two years since Andrew and I went bowling so we were a bit rusty.  Andrew started off with a strike though so I had to really step up my game and got a spare.  It kind of went downhill from there in the numbers, but we had a lot of fun.

We ended the night with delicious bread twists, pizza, and a hot cookie with ice cream on top (can’t remember the fancy name for that dessert).  It was the perfect end to our time in Utah.

Our travels home were eventful.  It didn’t seem that exciting at the time, but as I started going through all of the days events it appeared rather epic.

Highlights from the trip home in chronological order: