Utah Trip Part 3

Saturday and Sunday: Brad’s brother Greg, his wife Sally, and their kids arrived while we were sleeping. It made for a very fun weekend. Brad’s brothers Mark and Doug came over with their families and the kids had a terrific time with their cousins. Leah even played a toddler version of tag with her cousins Katie and Kameron. It was adorable. Sean fell in love with his Uncles Mark and Doug who coaxed belly laughs out of him. After thoroughly wearing Sean out, his girl cousins took turns holding him while he slept.

I was grateful that Greg and Sally were willing to make the trip down; I love spending time with both of them. Poor Greg had a hard time winning Leah over and it was my fault. The first time she saw him was Saturday morning when I tried to hand her over to him to go swimming in Grandpa’s swim spa. She was very upset that a strange man tried to hold her and wouldn’t look at him the rest of the weekend. Poor Greg.

Sunday evening Ally stopped by with her new fiancée and showed me her shiny new ring! We got to catch up and spend some time just chatting. I’m very excited for her future; Jeff is a keeper. You can’t really go wrong when you meet as temple workers, now can you?

Monday: Grandma took the 3 of us to the Children’s Museum in Ogden. It was perfect for our little toddler. She loved running around, trying on costumes, riding horses, gardening, coloring, playing instruments and just being with Grandma. There was so much to do there, all of it was interesting to Leah, but, more importantly, it wasn’t overflowing with people like the Houston Children’s Museum always is. It was lovely.

 

Leah the Cowgirl

Waving to the rodeo mannequin

Smiling in her Pocahontas dress

Being crowned by Queen Grandma

Such a cute off-kilter little princess

Running her kingdom

Sean's contribution to the activity

Deciding on her next decree

Leah finally let Sean have a ride

Tuesday: We played at home with Grandma and Grandpa and I made dinner – the least I could do for my wonderful family and all they do for us. That evening Joanna came up with her boyfriend and I got to spend some time with them. They even helped me bathe Sean and put the kids to bed. I love that wild child.

Wednesday: Our last full day in Utah and we spent it in Salt Lake. First we visited with my dearest friend Liggs and her little man Wa’akea. I got to see Papi Ligget for a little bit too – no one gives tighter squeezes than Papi. It was a priceless morning spent with my friend. Leah and Grandma walked around outside and Liggs and I chatted over babies. I’m so sad we forgot to take pictures, but that morning lightened my heart so much. I miss Liggs immensely. I’m trying hard to convince both Liggs and Patch to move to Texas. Hmm. We’ll see.

After our lovely visit, we met my friend Hsin Yao in Temple Square. She’s working for the Church and finishing up her PhD at BYU but took the time to wander around the beautiful square with us. We took some pictures and enjoyed the perfect fall weather while chatting. Heavenly.

Leah loved the fall colors and weather

Hsin Yao and Seannie

What a nice looking group

We took TRAX back to the Little America Hotel where we ate lunch with Brad’s Aunt Liz. I love that lady; she’s been all over the world. She’s also an author and told me that she’s dedicating her latest book to Mom Reynolds, which is awesome, especially since her publisher’s decided on a spicy title for it. Mom had a good laugh on that.

I am so grateful for the time the kids and I had with our family. Sean and Leah are growing so quickly that we jumped at a chance to visit our family so they can remember their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. The greatest treasure we have on earth is that of our family and I thank my Father in Heaven every day for those wonderful people.