Birthday Pilgrimage - Part 1

Despite possible evidence to the contrary, let it be known that every year since Aubree turned 4, I've offered to throw her a big friend birthday bash.  And every year she asks, "what are some other options?" 

This year, after offering once again to host a party, she resolutely countered, "I want a family birthday party."

"Great!" I thought, "that's easy!"

But she wasn't finished..."I want an aunts and uncles and cousins family party."

Uh oh, not so easy.  

I began to explain how her aunts and uncles and cousins lived far away and probably couldn't all come up to visit, and then I had a flash of inspiration - maybe we could go visit them!  She's spoiled like that. 

Truth be told, I've been looking for an excuse to trek to Utah, and all the pieces fell into place making this a perfect excuse opportunity.  

Aubree was thrilled to be returning to the land of her birth.  In the weeks leading up to the trip, we spent a lot of time talking about the different things we'd do during our time in Utah.  On one occasion, I told Aubree that we could spend a day touring the BYU campus.  "Great!" she responded enthusiastically, "I really want to look around one more time to make certain that's where I want to go to college."

Bryce was also excited about the impending trip, though I don't think he could quite grasp what was involved.  After trying in vain to convince Aubree that we should hike to Utah for her birthday, he decided that for his birthday we could hike to Utah.  On the second day of our long drive, Bryce suddenly piped up, "I changed my mind!  I don't want to hike any more!"

We began the first leg of our travels late Thursday afternoon and only drove a relatively short distance to Richland, WA to stay that night with Karen and her family.  We'd just found out that they'll be moving back to North Carolina (boo for us!), so it was extra nice to be able to spend a little bit of time with them. It was short-lived though, because we left the next morning for our super-long drive day.  

This trip was about as long as our drive to Yellowstone, but promised to be much easier and more enjoyable because Mark came too.  Unfortunately, not long into our Friday morning drive, Mark was hit with a massive migraine.  He spent a long, unenviable day alternately burying his head in a pillow, then battling the ensuing nausea.  Bryce recalls fondly how we "had to stop on the side of the road so Daddy could puke-up."  Truthfully, he handled it much better than I would have and with all our recent travels, the kids are becoming road warriors.

We stopped for the evening in Boise, ID to visit some of our good friends from Florida, the Hawkins.  We got to meet their beautiful new baby, Madilyn and have a yummy dinner and playtime for the kids.  It was a much-needed break, but all too soon we were back on the road for the final leg of the drive.  

I had grand visions of the kids falling quickly to sleep and Mark and I able to spend a quiet and peaceful few hours listening to audiobooks and talking.  Ha ha!  Mark's headache continued and the kids had an extremely difficult time falling asleep.  After a couple hours of crying, Mark decided we should stop and get a hotel.  

Ultimately, we pushed on and everyone finally fell asleep.  Mark woke up around 9:30 pm feeling much better, which was a tender mercy because that's just when we hit slushy roads and I was feeling fatigued and tense.   

We finally made it to my sister Kira's home in Springville around 1:00 am and fell, exhausted, into bed.

It was such a whirlwind of travel, I apparently didn't do a very good job of taking pictures.  We made up for it the rest of the trip...

** We've had a busy extended summer of traveling.  It didn't seem like so much until I sat down and calculated that in a four month period, we were gone for 5 weeks!  Mark teases me that as soon as one trip is done, I have to immediately start planning our next trip...  California anyone?

Royal Weekend

Labor Day weekend we had the perfect excuse to make the short drive to Royal City to visit some of our favorite friends; the Franks were baptizing their oldest daughter on Saturday, and blessing their new baby boy on Sunday.  

Since so many of the extended Frank family also came for the momentous occasions, the Frank home was filled to capacity, so we got to stay at the Allred home instead.  What a treat!  There is always something fun to do at the Allreds and numerous some ones to do it with!

Bryce and Aubree especially love playing at the pond (can't say I blame them!).

With all the Frank family visiting as well, there were even more kids and friends with which to play. 

And quite a crowd to watch BYU win their season opener.

And plenty of wonderful adults willing to make every activity a special event (pay special attention to the last five seconds of this clip - I've watched it fifty times by now and it still makes me laugh every time).

On the Road Again...

A couple months ago, my sister called to invite us to join her on a trip to Yellowstone to celebrate her husband's BYU graduation.  "Count us in!" I quickly agreed, thinking it sounded like a grand adventure.

The original "Plan" included Mark accompanying us, but unfortunately, he was needed at work because another coworker was on a three-week trip to Europe.  Boo!  

The revamped plan involved lots of pit stops along the way to make a 16-hour drive with little kids more palatable.  

I'm tempted to think I did something remarkable by taking on such a "daunting trip" solo, but every time my mind moves in that direction, I immediately think of the pioneers.  Suddenly, sixteen hours in an air-conditioned mini-van, with my kids all safely strapped into their comfortable car seats, with bags overflowing with food and snacks, and no poisonous snakes, howling wolves, attacking Indians, or unexpected snow-storms to thwart our efforts, seems downright appealing!

We left on a Monday morning and drove 4-5 hours to our first pit stop in Spokane.  Mark made us a stack of Cd's full of books on tape and music to help keep us entertained.  With the novelty of traveling and plenty of fun things to listen to, the drive passed rather uneventfully.  I was pleased and surprised to discover that Thane travels extremely well.  In fact, over the course of the following week, he proved to be my best passenger; he slept on occasion, but generally kept himself happily occupied chatting with his siblings and playing with anything within his grasp.

In Spokane, we stayed the night with Mark's Aunt Kathy.  I'd only met Aunt Kathy once before - 8 years ago - so I wasn't exactly sure what to expect from our visit.  She was wonderful!  The kids loved playing on the swing set in the backyard and enjoyed getting to meet their second cousins, Quinton and Ethan.  Kathy treated us to a buffet dinner, which was a smash-hit with 5-and-under set (okay, and the adults too).  It was fun to catch up with Kathy and get to know her better.

Before we left, Kathy gave Aubree a pseudo-American Girl doll, which Aubree quickly named Rachel.  For the rest of our trip, Aubree insisted that Rachel be considered a member of the family.

The next morning, after a filling breakfast, we left for the second, and shortest, leg of our journey.  After only 3 1/2 hours of driving, we reached our friends home in a little town outside Missoula, Montana.  I'd never been to Montana before and loved the scenery on our drive.  Bryce kept telling me, "Mom, Jesus made all of this for us."
While traveling, we kept ourselves occupied by playing endless games of 20 Questions, I Spy Colors, and Counting Colors (a game Aubree and Bryce invented where they count cars of different colors).  Additionally, I brought along my tapes of Great Mormon Women.  I grew up listening to and loving these dramatized accounts.  I was hoping Aubree was old enough now to likewise enjoy them.  She's not, but I liked them, even if it meant wiping tears from my eyes as I drove.

When we arrived at the Teeples' home, Sarah had a slip-n-slide set up in the backyard, which also meant she became my kids' best friend.  They immediately changed into swimsuits and spent the afternoon running and playing in the water and getting to know their friend Evan again (their family moved from Seattle to Montana a couple months ago).  

what? you don't use shovels on your slip-n-slide?

When the kids went to bed, I had very good intentions of going to bed early since driving is ridiculously tiring.  Instead, Sarah and I stayed up late talking.  I decided the only thing I don't like about Sarah is that she moved too far away just when we were becoming great friends.  I learned a lot and have a lot of neat things to ponder after our discussions.

Wednesday morning we geared up for our longest travel day yet.  We stopped briefly in Butte, MT to pick up some supplies and have lunch at Wal-Mart.  When I was checking out, the cashier asked, "Are you new here?  I don't recognize you."  Seriously??  I guess I never realized Butte was that small of a town.  

By the time we reached West Yellowstone, we were all pretty sick of being stuck in the car.  Alas, we still had an hour and a half drive through the park to get to our camp site.  At least then the kids were occupied with looking for animals.

*I will write about our Yellowstone adventures in an upcoming post - I'm still sorting through the 3.2 billion pictures.*

We stayed at Yellowstone for three nights and started our return trip Saturday afternoon.  Again, we stopped at the Teeples' home in Montana.  By this time, I think I'd started to get numb to driving long distances.  The kids were getting sick of sitting next to each other and their good humor (and mine) was wearing off.  Needless to say, I was glad to pull into our friend's welcoming home.

We tried to leave early Sunday morning, but couldn't pull ourselves away.  Still, we made good time across Montana and Idaho and were on track to reach church in Spokane by 12:30, which would give us enough time to have a quick picnic lunch before Sacrament meeting.  Then we ran into traffic and road construction.  That's when I learned (or remembered) that I'm not as patient a driver as I'd like to think.  Grrrrr!  

We got to church just a few minutes before Sacrament meeting began.  I threw snacks into my backpack and we snuck in the back, half-hoping no-one would feel the need to try and be-friend us.  We only stayed for the first hour, then had our postponed lunch on the lawn.  Then, back to the car for a few more hours to visit the Allred/Frank clan in Royal City.

As always, we love, love, LOVE Ashlee and all her family.  They are such great examples of generosity and acceptance and Christ-like living.  Visiting with them is such an inspiration.  We spent Sunday evening at Ashlee's parent's home with all the extended family and assorted friends and visitors.  Aubree immediately hooked up with Gracee, Kate, and Jaelyn, and they ran bare-foot around the yard picking raspberries and playing little-girl games.  

Bryce found a fast-friend in Maggie (who called him "Blyce"), and they too found countless ways to entertain themselves.  At one point, they wanted to go play outside.  "Sure," I told Bryce, "but make sure you stay with Maggie, she knows her way around here."  

A little while later, Maggie came back inside and Bryce wasn't with her.  I sought him out. "Bryce!" I complained, "I told you to stay with Maggie!"

"But Mom," he explained, "I DID stay with her.  She just didn't stay with ME!"

The next day we spent the morning playing at Ashlee's.  I think my kids could have happily stayed there forever.  "Blyce" and Maggie spent their time jumping from the couch onto love-sack, over and over and over...  

Aubree, Gracee, and Jaelyn pulled out their American Girl dolls and entered their own little world of make-believe.  

We spent the afternoon having a picnic at the Pond.  Bryce impressed me by being fearless.  He freely played in the water and even asked to go down the slide into the water when none of the other kids were doing it.  Then, he did it independently.  Well done!  He loved it there.

Of course, Aubree loves anything to do with water.  She also played and splashed and even hitched a ride on the kayak.

Finally, it was time to come home.  It's fun to travel, but also great to be home.

Tour de Texas: North Houston

Memorial Day morning we packed up and said sad good-byes to our friends in South Houston.  The plan was to drive to North Houston and spend the afternoon with good friends, the Rogers,  then continue on that evening to our next destination - San Antonio.

Mark and I became friends with Brandon and Kathy while living in Wymount at BYU.  We bonded over BYU football games, Kathy's homemade cookies (and homemade everything else), and a shared fondness for the name "Aubree" (their oldest daughter is also "Aubrey").  They moved to Houston shortly before our Aubree was born and I hadn't had the chance to see them since.

 My kids weren't quite sure what to expect visiting people they'd never met, but the Rogers children (all 5 of them) are kind and generous and smart and outgoing.  My three were swept along with the happy tide. Everyone talked and played and laughed and feasted on fresh-picked blueberries.  

After lunch we headed over to their neighborhood pool and enjoyed a fun afternoon in the sun.  Aubree and Bryce frolicked in the kiddie-pool and we were reminded of what it was like to live in a hot, sunny area (it's still too chilly to want to go swimming here in Seattle).

Thane wasn't feeling very well (day 2 of a fever that, at that point, I still thought was a result of his MMR vaccination), and alternated between wanting to jump around in the water and wanting to be cuddled close.

When it was time to leave the pool and get ready to say good-bye, Aubree sighed, "Oh! I wish we could stay longer, I'm having so much fun!"

Brandon and Kathy immediately offered to let us stay the night so we could continue to talk and play.  So Aubree got her wish.  

Aubree was in friend heaven; she alternated playing with each of the three girls - Aubrey (9), Emma (7), and Kirsten (5).  When she learned she could sleep in their room (and read before bed), she bounced with excitement.  

Around 9 pm, Aubrey R. quietly slipped out of her bedroom.  "Mom," she called calmly, "I need your help.  There's a cricket loose and it's jumping on Aubree's head." 

Bryce also had a great playmate - Miles, who is just one month older.  Where Bryce is deliberate and cautious, Miles is adventurous and eager.  They balanced each other well and spent a substantial amount of their time racing cars on Miles' track.

Unfortunately, we did have to leave the next morning to continue our adventures.  Kathy sent us on our way with a scrumptious breakfast of blueberry pancakes and we were left with a 3 hour drive to consider the irony that by visiting, we only miss them more.

Tour de Texas: South Houston

A Tale of Two Friends (x2):

When we moved to Florida, Aubree was three months old.  Our first friends in our new ward, Matt and Sarah, also had a little girl, Rachel.  Rachel is one month older than Aubree.  Despite being babies, Aubree and Rachel became friends.  It seems ludicrous to think of now, but I have memories (and picture-proof!) of them playing and talking together.  

Unfortunately, our friends moved across the country shortly after Aubree's first birthday.  Since then, Aubree and Rachel have seen each other twice - once when they were 20 months old and once when they were 3.  Both times they immediately reconnected.  Now that they're five, I was curious to see how their reunion would play out.  Would they be more reserved?  Would they still get along?

After our long day of travel, we walked into Sarah's home around 7 pm.  Before we'd traversed the 6 feet from the front door to the staircase, Aubree and Rachel were holding hands, chatting, and giggling.  They spent the following week attached at the hip: staying up way too late talking, sharing stories from their favorite books, playing games, making new memories.  Those two girls are eerily similar, yet different enough to keep things interesting.  They encourage and inspire each other to be better.  Long lost friends.  Kindred spirits. 

 Ditto (ditto, DITTO!) for their mommas.

We had a wonderful time visiting with Sarah and Matt.  They opened their home to us, and despite the fact that we doubled the number of kids and tripled the noise-level, they were nothing but gracious.  

A few of our days we opted to stay at home and enjoy each other's company.  Since our kids all had built in playmates, it made for easy entertaining.  Aubree and Rachel were never short on ideas of new things to do or talk about (even at 10 pm when they were supposed to be sleeping).  Bryce and Mikey (also 3 years old) occasionally played together, but took a little bit longer to warm up to each other.  Bryce was thrilled with the assortment of new toys and quickly attached himself to a large fire-truck.  Thane took advantage of the fact that since their baby, Nate (the easiest baby ever!), is still too young to crawl, their house is not yet baby-proof.  Thane's favorite destination was the "technology corner."  Those Wii remotes and keyboards were irresistible!

Other days we packed up to see some of Houston's attractions.  One of our favorite stops was the Houston Children's Museum.  I've been to quite a few Children's Museums, but this was - hands-down - the very best. 

One morning we took a short drive to Galveston and spent the morning at the beach.  I didn't take my camera (kicking myself...), but it was wonderful!  I hadn't realized just how much I miss going to the beach.  Apparently, it's been too long since we've visited because we started back at square-one with Bryce.  He didn't want to have anything to do with going in the water.  By the end of our morning, he was happily sitting and playing in the water, but never ventured far from my side (that's typical, if we'd gone back the next day he would've been playing with no concerns).  

Thane, on the other hand, thought the beach was the best thing ever.  He was furious that I wouldn't let him play totally independently and couldn't seem to understand why he couldn't go in the deeper water with the big girls (who were little fish in the warm water).  I spent a good portion of the morning wiping sand and rocks out of Thane's mouth.  Yum.

On Saturday, some of our other Florida friends, the Millers (who recently moved to Texas, too), drove down for a mini-reunion.  When we added their 5 kids to the mix, it was nothing short of (semi-controlled) chaos.  Megan, the oldest (10) did a great job of directing the play of the younger kids.  They discovered a play cleaning set and spent a tremendous amount of time vacuuming, mopping, sweeping, and "cleaning" the house. I think I'd like to hire Megan to direct play at my house too!

We had hours of fun playing and reminiscing, topped off by a scrumptious barbecue grill-out (must use correct southern terminology...).

The time to say good-bye came WAY too soon. I'm already trying to plot and figure out when we can see them again.

Royal Visit

During our week with Karen & co., we snuck off for a couple days to visit some of our most favorite people (the Allred/Frank clan) in Royal City.  Ashlee and Tyler were our neighbors and close friends when we lived in Wymount.  We've also been blessed to meet Ashlee's parents and all her siblings (there are 8 kids - 5 girls, 3 boys - just like my family), and they're all just as amazing as she is (and that's saying something!). 

When we arrived Wednesday morning, we headed over to Ashlee's parent's home where the whole clan had gathered for an Iron-Chef omelet competition.  As soon as we walked in, we were swept up and made to feel like part of the family.  Watching the cook-off was highly entertaining and the idea behind it is so fun and one I want to remember just in case we're ever that adventurous:

There were two competitors (Ashlee's dad and the town mayor - a close family friend), three judges ("Judge President" [Stake Presidency member], "Judge Bishop" [the ward Bishop who happens to also be the oldest Allred sibling], and "Judge Master" [the ward Scout Master - Tyler]), the host (one of the sisters who has a gift for commentary and hilarity), and one chairman (5 year-old grandson, who took his role very seriously).  Each chef cooked three different type of omelets (they made enough for the judges and all the spectators - Yum!) and were judged on presentation, taste, and use of the main ingredient (egg).  So fun!

After the Breakfast (with a capital "B!"), we trooped over to the Frank home so the little kids could nap.  Aubree made an immediate connection with Ashlee's daughters, Gracee (7) and Jaylen (4).  They bonded over American Girls, penguins (Aubree and Jay had matching stuffed birds), and hangman.  Bryce was a bit smitten with their youngest daughter, Maggie (2).  "Mom," he told me, "I like Maggie."  Guess what Maggie had gotten for Christmas?  A tent, WITH a connected tunnel.  After Bryce and Maggie exhausted themselves crawling through the tunnel 5,000 times, can you guess what they did?  Yep, completely filled the tunnel up with anything not nailed down (I'm pretty sure Bryce was the ring-leader in this case).

After naps, we decided to put our winter gear to the test (there was SNOW on the ground there!) and go sledding.  Clearly, farm-folk know how to do sledding right.  We went over to Ashlee's friend's home where the driveway was so long and steep, our van couldn't make it up the hill.  Next to the driveway, they'd created a looonnnnggg sledding run (1/4 - 1/3 of a mile, maybe?).  A pick-up truck made the rounds picking kids and adults up at the bottom and hauling them back to the top to start over.  Impressive - and a little too intimidating for my little neophytes.  Mark found a much smaller hill to use for their first attempt.  Oh, and did I mention that it was COLD and windy and COLD?

 

 On only their second run, Bryce ended up with a face-full of stinging snow and he was DONE.  He came in the nice warm house with me and Thane and discovered an electric train which he found much more enjoyable.  Aubree tried to make a snowman, but the wind had whipped away all the moisture from the snow so it wouldn't stick together. She and Mark also came in the warm house not too long after Bryce.  I guess our Florida blood hasn't thickened yet.

Tyler made us tri-tip for dinner, which is another great reason to be back on the West Coast - tri-tip, Yum!  Their three girls scarfed it down.  My kids wouldn't touch it.  The little vegetarians don't know a good thing when they've got it!

The following morning Ashlee's dad gave us a personal tour of his Dairy.  Aubree had been so excited about being able to visit the dairy, but when we arrived her excitement quickly turned to misery.  "Ahhhhh!," she cried, "it stinks, it stinks, it STINKS!" And she plugged her nose and whimpered the rest of the trip (to be fair, she's always been really sensitive to smells).

The rest of the kids were much less bothered by the smell and were excited to watch the cows be milked.

 Mark and I thought the tour was fascinating.  

Having the owner give the tour was especially nice because he could answer all the behind-the-scenes questions.  We were even able to hop in his truck and drive around to see where and how the feed is stored and mixed, where the calves live, and (the highlight of the trip) the nursery for the less-than-24-hour-old calves.  Aubree was reluctant to go into the nursery, but came out beaming, "they're all so cute!  We named them!"  That five-minute jaunt turned the experience from horrible to thrilling for her (though I don't think she's anxious to return). 

We spent the rest of the afternoon back at Ashlee's parent's home talking and letting the kids play.  There were four other girls close to Aubree's age, which she loved and needed (she's really missing her Florida friends).

 The older kids kept us entertained for hours playing dance games on their Wii.  

 It was hard to leave, but made somewhat easier with the knowledge that now we only live a few hours away so we can visit more often. 

When we got back to Karen's house and were getting out of the car, I noticed Aubree was carrying an empty soda can she'd gotten while touring the Dairy.  I instructed her to throw it away when she got upstairs.  Immediately, tears sprung to her eyes, "Noooooooooooooooo!"  "Okay," I questioned, "why do you want to keep the can?"  "Because I always want to remember our visit to Ashlee and Tyler's."  I'd say the trip was a success.

Still Pregnant

I've served Bub C his eviction notice, but it turns out he's a stubborn tenant. This is officially the longest I've ever been pregnant. Yesterday, my friend pointed out that this is my fault since, "technically", I'm only a few weeks into my third trimester. My little guy must think he's still got a couple months left. One of my goals in life is to NOT have a baby bigger than my sister-in-law (whose "little" girl weighed in at a whopping 10 lbs. 8 oz.), so I hope this baby decides to vacate soon. Very soon. (As a side note - you know how you hear those stories about women who don't know they're pregnant until the baby pops out? Yeah - that could never happen to me. Look how Huge my belly is!)
In the meantime, we've been keeping busy with lots and lots of company. Some of our good friends from BYU (who now live in Wyoming) came down to Orlando for a conference and we got to spend a few days with them. We've known they were coming for a very long time (maybe even before I found out I was pregnant) and made lots of fun plans, including spending a day at Magic Kingdom. Note to self: 9 months pregnant + hot day at Disney = less fun.
The first hour we were there was scorching hot and miserable and I seriously questioned whether I would make it through the day. The saving grace, however, was that my friend Dave is considered handicapped because he has a bum knee. We discovered that the only way to do Disney is to go with someone who can get a handicap card - this allows you to automatically go to the fast-pass lanes on all rides and attractions. Waiting in lines? Non-existent! It was brilliant!

Dave & Bethany, Erin & Aubree waiting for our "fast-pass" ticket to see the fairies (thus avoiding an hour long line!)

The day ended up being really fun because of the handicap card and a nice, cooling breeze. We managed to hit all the main attractions and even got to visit with the princesses (again) and the fairies. The fairies were hilarious; WAY more entertaining than the princesses and definitely worth visiting.

As the afternoon wore on, it started to rain. "Don't worry," I knowingly told our friends, "it will probably last just five minutes or so." When the thunder and lightening started, I had to rethink my prediction. After an hour, thoroughly soaked, we admitted defeat and decided to head home. We boarded the air-conditioned bus to head back to the hotel for our cars and proceeded to freeze. Quite the switch from how we started our day!

Mark, Bryce, Erin, Jenn, Bethany, & Aubree

We got to have Jenn & Dave & their daughter, Bethany (who is just a few weeks older than Aubree) stay with us for a few days after our Disney day. That was such a blast! Bethany enjoyed playing with both Aubree and Bryce and they equally adored her. We adults got to play games until way too late at night (a tradition dating back to pre-baby BYU days) and spend time chatting and catching up.

Aubree, Bethany, & Bryce providing impromptu post-dinner entertainment

We were sad when they had to go, but didn't have to wait too long for the next distraction - grandparents! I decided not to go to the all-day Space Center tour and VIP launch with Mark, so his dad flew down to attend those events as Mark's guest. Of course, there was the added bonus that they would be here just in case I went into labor and they could then watch the kids. It's nice that now my kids are old enough that they remember their grandparents and the "get reacquainted" time is significantly shorter than it used to be. Even Bryce was quick to warm up and was soon calling, "Come-on G-pa, come-on. Let's PLAY!"

Grandma & Grandpa Winters & Aubree enjoying the corn fritters at Dixie Crossroads (a tradition every time they visit)

Erin, Bryce & Mark (Bryce also loved the corn fritters)

While Mark & Grandpa were at the Space Center watching the shuttle launch, Grandma and the kids and I braved the crowds and set up camp at the river near our home. Since I clearly wasn't in labor, I questioned whether I should have gone to the launch with Mark. A short phone call where I learned he was sitting in bleachers in the sun with no backrest for hours pre-launch made me feel much better about my decision! Instead, we set up our beach umbrella and camping chairs and waited out the pre-launch hours watching the crowds and DVDs. Even that was plenty uncomfortable. The launch, however, was spectacular. Usually we're lazy and just walk across the street to watch, but since Grandma was here we made the extra effort and it was great to see it a little closer. Plus, now there are only two launches left.

Grandma and Grandpa Winters leave early tomorrow morning, but my sister Kira and her daughter Kylee will be arriving tomorrow evening! Kira's coming to help watch my kids when (if?) I go into labor. She's an angel and we can't wait to see her!

Thanks, Volcano

Shortly after Mark and I were married we had the incredible opportunity to live in Wymount Terrace (married student housing at BYU). We lived there for three and a half years. I consider those years precious, memorable, and priceless. It marks a pivotal point in my life and I believe I left a better person as a result of the experiences and opportunities we had, and because of the people with whom we associated.
A couple weekends ago we had the chance to have a mini-reunion with two of our favorite Wymount friends - Ashlee and Tyler Frank, and Karen and Jamey Gregson. The Franks currently live in Washington state and the Gregsons live in England. They decided to "meet in the middle" and come to Florida for a visit. They stayed for a week in West Palm Beach (about 2 1/2 hours south of us). Unfortunately, we couldn't stay the whole week because Mark had to work, but we did get to spend a couple of days with them - reminiscing, laughing, and renewing our friendships.

All the gang together

Mark, Tyler & Jamey

Erin, Karen, & Ashlee

The kids loved the attention they got from all the adults and we had a great time playing at the beach and swimming in the pools at the luxurious resort. After spending a couple days together, saying good-bye was difficult, especially knowing they were still having fun together (we left on Monday and they were staying till Saturday). Aubree pouted the whole drive home (she had gotten quite attached to Ashlee during our short visit), and I can't say I blamed her.
The next Saturday, however, Mother Nature conspired to give us more time with our friends. The ash spewing from the volcano in Iceland and the resulting shut down of all air travel to Europe, made it impossible for the Gregsons to get home. Though tough on them (their 2 kids and jobs were waiting for them in England), we had the pleasure of having them stay with us for almost a week.
We decided to let Jamey and Karen sleep in Aubree's room and I informed Aubree she would get to sleep on an airbed in Bryce's room. "Unless," I joked, "you want to sleep in the crib!"
Aubree quickly became infatuated with Jamey. She was glued to his side the entire week. In fact, she was so interested in Jamey, that she wasn't even interested in the "baby in my belly" - a novel situation. Jamey was so good and patient with her. I'm getting slightly concerned about her overly affectionate nature. I hope by the time she's a teenager she's a bit more reserved... Karen totally won over Bryce's affections. With Aubree and Bryce thoroughly entertained, my week was wonderfully relaxing (Karen even made dinner two nights and she's a great cook!).
We got to play tour-guide and did some fun Florida things like:
Scouting for alligators (we saw 10 on our wildlife drive!)
Observing manatees
Soaking up the sun at the beach
While we're glad they can finally go home to their children, we're sorry to have them leave. The only thing that would have made the week better is if the Franks could have been here too!