Birthdays and Baptism and Snowfall...Oh My!

We only do "friend" birthday parties every other year with our kids, and try to plan a fun trip or outing as the birthday celebration the year in between...In fact, in past years, Madelyn and Joshua have always shared their birthday from opening presents (by their own choice) to taking turns blowing out candles on the cake. They were young enough that this was fine by them, and was easy on us! HOWEVER...Times, they are a'changin'!

Due to some unforeseen circumstances a couple months ago, our plans for March changed dramatically. We were preparing for Parrish's mom and my parents to come for Madelyn's baptism, but ended up hopping the flight ourselves!!! On March 17 we left Alabama and flew to SLC. We arrived late at night, and enjoyed a few precious hours of sleep in the cleanest Motel 6 EVER! (We had previously determined that we wouldn't pay more than $50 for the few hours we would be in a hotel that night.)

The next morning, Josh's birthday, we drove to Sandy and met my brother's wife for breakfast! It was so fun to meet Amy and Ellie...who happened to be visiting from Arizona for the week. (Next time we will plan ahead and might even get to see Craig!) From there it was on to Idaho Falls where we spent Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday at Nana's. The kids enjoyed homemade birthday cake (well, due to the late hour on his birthday, Josh picked out some lovely cupcakes at Albertson's), playing in Nana's basement (wishing all along that we had one [ME TOO!]), and were properly spoiled during the duration of our stay!

On Saturday morning we woke early and made the 2 hour trek to Burley. We arrived earlier than expected and were thus instructed to drive around until Mom was done at the grocery store...so the kids got the big Declo tour past the elementary school, junior high, high school, etc. which took all of three minutes. We drove up to Farahlyn's old house, and I shared a few precious stories from growing up. At which point, we couldn't drive around any longer...we had just spent too much time traveling...so we went to my parents' house. There we were surprised to find that Matt and Alicia had made the drive from California to be there with us! Thank you so much guys! We know what a sacrifice that was! So with Alicia making the trip, I saw all but three of my siblings over the course of our trip!

Madelyn's baptism took place at the Declo Stake Center and was perfect! Lots of family and friends were there (even Farahlyn came up from Logan just for the day)!! It was perfect!

The rest of the day was spent at Mom & Dad's celebrating all of the March/April birthdays, and just plain having fun! The grandkids got to drive Grandpa's tractor...Grandma had a pinata...and they all had a blast playing on "the playground." It was such a fun day, and we were so happy to get to be a part of it this time!

The next day, being Sunday, meant church...which was made more difficult for anxious children by the arrival of a good amount of snow that morning. We finally got them dressed and ready for church with the promise of playing in it afterwards. Mom even let me drive her brand new suburban to church!!!

Within minutes of arriving home, the kids were changed into multiple layers to compensate for their lack of snow clothes, and out we went to make snow angels, build snowmen, and have a snowball fight! I don't have pictures of the sledding, but the kids went sledding, and when the snow was worn away, they continued to sled in the mud! It was a fun day, and my kids were happy as clams even as they watched their snowmen melt over the next couple of days!

We spent Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday in Burley, and on Tuesday evening left for Logan. We had dinner that evening with my sister Tammy and most of her kids...it was lots of fun! And from there, we headed to Farahlyn's to spend the night. I love it when our kids get together because they get along famously, and even as I repeatedly tell them to go to sleep, I am secretly thrilled that they are enjoying each other so much that they are still awake late into the night! Not that Farahlyn and I were very good examples...we finally went to bed around 2am, having spent that last few hours trying to catch up on everything we could think of!

On Wednesday morning, we left early to meet Maegan and Mindy for breakfast, (our departure was again hindered by the arrival of a wonderful blanket of the white stuff which the kids would have stayed and played in for hours if we had let them), but we perservered and were off again for an afternoon spent at Temple square. As always, everything was beautiful there! Joshua enjoyed reading the plaques at the statues, the new presentation on the family was enjoyed by us all (except for Dallin who chose to leave early on account of ...well, he doesn't really have to have a reason). Anyway, it was a fun afternoon, and just long enough for two parents, three youngish children, and weakened cold thresholds on the part of all involved.

That evening, we left the kids in Layton to be babysat by the older kids of one of Parrish's good friends while we all went to dinner. It was so much fun to meet most of the guys that Parrish went through Young Men's with, and to hear them swap stories about scout trips gone wrong and even some gone right! We laughed and laughed, and practically had to tear ourselves away when we knew that school-night bedtime was upon us (for everyone but us that is...)!

Following dinner, we followed another of Parrish's friends to his home in Sandy where we stayed our last night before flying back to Alabama on Thursday. It was a whirlwind trip, but we felt so blessed to have been able to see so many family and friends who mean so much to us! Thanks to everyone who helped make our trip so wonderful!