So we are driving through the desert just having casual conversation when my husband proceeds to tell me that his parents are in Utah...WHAT? Oh and his sister who has a new baby we have never met and who lives clear in North Carolina is also there...EXCUSE ME? I mean if Darren's parents are a mere 3 hours away why wouldn't we go to see them? I just wish that I had known a little earlier that they were all in Utah then we could have planned a little better. But it worked out!
Grandma Wright is such an inspirational lady. She still lives on her own and has ultimately taken care of herself. Darren's Aunt lives around the block and obviously does a lot for Grandma especially now. She had a little stroke recently so she needs a little more care. Still to sit and visit with her she seems perfectly healthy for a 95 year old woman. We have always tried to visit her when we have been in the Provo area. She loves to watch the little ones and seems to really understand how truly special they are. She even receives emails and has spent so much time compiling family history. Not just the pedigree but the stories. I am so glad that we made the trip up.
And without further delay...here she is! Rylee! Our newest niece. It is sad to think that we wouldn't have even met her until she was 1 1/2 had it not been for our little surprise trip to Salem. She is so beautiful and so good. We were there for a long time and she never cried. Even when she was hungry she just tried to eat everything in sight...but no tears. I am so happy that we got to see her and play with her.
Darren is especially close to the Andersons. He spent 3 summers living with them while he worked summers in Boston. Mikaela (in the hammock with Darren) was just a baby when Darren lived with them. When we first got married we moved to Boston where they were living at the time. We stayed with them for the first 2 weeks of our marriage (minus the honeymoon). They are such a great family and we miss them so much. During that summer Kristen and Paul went to Italy for their 10Th anniversary. Darren and I stayed at their home and took care of their 4 kids. I became so close to them especially during those 10 days. I have such great memories of those little kids who have now grown so much. Moving from Boston was so hard especially because we knew that we'd rarely see them. Paul, Nathan, and Kelsye had already gone back to North Carolina this trip so we missed seeing them but it was great to see the other girls. We love you Andersons!
It was such a beautiful Sunday afternoon. We played and played and visited in Darren's aunt and uncle's backyard (which by the way is a grandchild's dreamland). It was nice to not have anywhere to run off to. The kids all got along so well and ultimately spent most of their time in the sandbox...pretending to make eggs of all things. It went on and on for so long. I had no idea that making eggs was such a popular subject for pretend play. Taegan seemed to be the foreman while the others were the workers. Brittlyn reminded me of Nathan when he was about her age. She and Mason especially got along and it reminded me of how much Nathan always entertained her when she was a toddler.
Brittlyn teaching Mason how to "belax" as Mason would say. Now he often stretches his little arms out and slowly places his hands behind his head while crossing his ankles and says "I'm just belaxing". It's funniest when I am in the middle of changing his diaper...funny kid!
More Salem to come tomorrow.
2 comments:
what a nice surprise to add onto your already fun trip! Glad you got to see more family and friends, and that Mason sure is a crack up! Glad you had time to just hang out and Belax!! hahaa
i love to "belax." sometimes i probably "belax" too much! your pictures of the hot air balloons are awesome! maybe we will have to attend that event sometime.
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