With all the craziness of moving and trying to figure out what school the kids would go to I did not realize that their school start up date was TEN DAYS after all the other schools! With this pleasant surprise of extra time we decided to take a trip to ARIZONA! I have been so sad that my Grandma Smith has never gotten to meet Bailey. The life of a responsible, busy adult sucks sometimes. Finally the timing was right and we booked flights for the kids and I to Phoenix! Daddy had to stay home and work. Not fun! But we are very grateful for all that he does so we can do all that we do. My parents and little brother were in town at the same time, so that was a huge added bonus!
My kids LOVE flying. Spoiled! Every one of 'em! Bailey, Braxton and I sat together and McKenzie was across the aisle waiting to find out who would sit by her. She was very excited about sitting next to a stranger, because she is a social butterfly, and weird! Three tall, young, handsome cowboys, hats and all, came sauntering down the aisle and I saw her eyes widen with excitement. SHOOT ME NOW! WE ARE SO HOSED WITH THIS KID! One sat by her, the not cute one, and he slept the whole time... bahaaaa. The other two sat behind us. Why is this important? Because they were in our ear shot as they flirted with the flight attendants about the rodeo they were flying to and the hard life of a lonely, tough cowboy, etc. One of the "tough cowboys" apparently was not a fan of flying. He can risk his life riding a bucking bronco, but throw a little turbulence at this kid and he LOSES HIS MIND! He was white as a ghost and death gripping the arm rest when the flight got bumpy. To add insult to his injury, my THREE-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER sat directly in front of him with her hands thrown up in the air on the big bumps giggling uncontrollably between squeals of delight, "WEEEEEE... IT'S LIKE SIX FLAAAAAAGS!!!" All the excitement got to her and she crashed hard shortly thereafter. I love sleepy pictures : ) We had a layover in SLC - ANOTHER BONUS! Grandma Bowman and Great Grandma Buttars met us at the baggage claim to hang out and chat until our next flight. It was so sweet of them! I'm so glad they came! We had a great time and the kids got to tell them all about their flight. Then it was on to Phoenix! I caught Braxton multiple times pretending like he was in a fighter jet shooting down enemies (insert full boy sound effects here). It was a riot! I caught a picture of him in the act. At PHX the kids loved the cool plane suspended above the escalator. We almost tripped at the bottom because we were all staring up at it. The red rocket is our sweet Mazda ride for the week. MAN that thing was comically tiny.
Oh my goodness. Words cannot describe the feelings and memories that come back to me as soon as I spot my first palm tree. Pulling in to Grandma's driveway I am simply flooded with emotion. I absolutely love this place and all that it has meant to me in my life. I am so excited to share it with my children so they can start building their own memories here!
The kids were immediately smitten with Grandma. How could they not be? Every time Bailey walked by her she would sneak a quick hug. It melted my mamma heart pretty dang good! I am so thankful for all of the extended family members that took the time to come by and hang out with us. We got to see The Squire family, The Springer family (our kids hit it off right away and played for HOURS!), Cheryl Smith, Butch & Michelle Watkins (Butch recruited Kenz to make him koolaid just like he did to me every time he came to our house when I was a kid), Brandon and Christie Watkins (they brought their dogs and my kids "babysat" them for hours). Bailey just loved my cousin Megan! She still talks about her all the time... how sweet she was, what great hugs she gives, and how many cookies Megan's mom and dad snuck Bailey when I wasn't looking LOL! Bailey also loved Grandma's little dog, Sophie. Usually she is terrified of all dogs except her own, but not Sophie!
M Y K I D S A R E F I S H ! ! ! ! !
The first morning at Grandma's house they woke up at SIX AM READY TO SWIM! Oh my heavens. They swam EVERY day we were there except for Sunday. Kenz even got comfortable swimming in the deep end! It's just so cool to me that this is the same pool that I LIVED in at their age. I had all kinds of pool stories to tell them - like how every male in the family (including their uncles, their grandpa, and their DAD) would sneak out and jump off the second story balcony into the pool without Grandma knowing. I love this pool and I love that my kids now love this pool!
This is Jackson Springer, Braxton's long lost brother! They look so much alike! He is my cousin Katie's kiddo. They sat and talked baseball, watched baseball, and threw the baseball for HOURS! It was so funny! The bottom pic is my super weird son who insisted, when we walked to Coco's for brunch one day when it was 113 degrees outside (not an exaggeration), to order HOT CHOCOLATE! I am sweating just thinking about it!
Very convenient that my baby brother Matthew's 17th Birthday was Saturday while we were in town. Even more convenient, Justin Timberlake was also in town! Of COURSE I had to get tickets for a birthday bash date night with big sis and JT!!! Words cannot describe the amazingness that is a JT concert. Mind blowing is putting it lightly. It was absolutely incredible and worth every penny. We had so much fun! I am so grateful for Matt and I love him to pieces. I am so glad I got to spend his big day with him this year - it has been a long time since I have gotten to do that. Love you little bro!!!
OH - THE BOTTOM PIC!!! HILARIOUS!!! WE FOUND WALDO OUTSIDE THE SHOW, LITERALLY!!!
Sunday we got to go to church with Grandma! We got some great pics with Grandma in our Sunday best. The best part of the day... Grandma leaned over as Sacrament was coming to an end and asked if she could take Bailey over to meet her friends. Of course I said yes. Grandma grabbed Bug's hand, ditched her walker and practically ran to the other side of the chapel to see her friends. It was so sweet and so funny how fast she moved! She is amazing!
Sunday afternoon we found a big box if random family pictures in Grandpa's office. They ranged in age from pics of when my dad was a kid to when Kenzie was a toddler! We spread them out on Grandma's bed and my mom, Grandma, the kids and I looked through them and talked about family memories for hours! Braxton was hooked! He was taking pictures of his favorites with his Nintendo DS. At one point he said "I LOVE GENEALOGY!" Grandma chuckled and had a huge smile on her face. It was one of the best times I have ever had with Grandma. I can't get enough of the old family stories from her past. My very favorite - "Grandma, how did you meet Grandpa?" Grandma worked in a salon and with her best friend, whose mom owned the salon. They kept bugging her about meeting their brother, Howard. They finally met and Grandma was NOT interested at ALL! Grandpa stopped by every day trying to convince her to go out with him. She said he had a whole lot of facial hair and she hated it. She thought she finally found a way to get rid of him... "Shave that mess off your face and I will go on a date with you." She thought she would never hear from him again. The next day Grandpa came in to the salon all dressed up, handsome, and CLEAN SHAVEN! She was shocked and stuck! She laughed as she retold the story, "Now I didn't have a choice! I HAD to go out with him!" And the rest is history : )
The night before we left we got to hang out with my crazy cool cousins, the Mortimers. I so wish we lived closer to these kids. they are so much fun and my kids adored them! They brought out a giant bin full of legos and the kids were in heaven! We got to hear them play some of their instruments (these kids are ridiculously talented just like their mamma and daddy!) We had a great time. I wish we could have stayed longer and I hope we get to visit again soon!
Before we headed to the airport we took Matt and visited the Mesa Temple, where my mom and dad were sealed! It was just as beautiful as I remembered. My cousin Katie met us out there to give us hugs before we headed home. It was a great way to end our trip!
When we would head home from Grandma Smith's house when I was a kid she would always have goody bags and a five dollar bill for each of us to spend on treats or toys on the way home. She has not changed, except she has apparently accounted for inflation! She gave each kid a crisp twenty dollar bill as we were saying goodbye. THEY FLIPPED OUT!!! They don't ever have that much of their own money to spend at once. Big shocker - the girls didn't even make it to our GATE before they spent it all. Bailey bought a cute ballerina baby that she named after Great Grandma Smith. Meet Baby Lucy! Kenz bought a walking piggie and Braxton saved his money for a Grimlock Transformer he had been folding laundry and doing dishes for for WEEKS! He was $7 short when we went to Arizona and he was the happiest kid on the planet that he could buy his toy without taking out the trash any more!
Saying goodbye to Grandma was so difficult because I have no idea when we will be able to see her again. The kids and I cried the whole way tot he airport :( I am so grateful that we were able to come. As always she made us feel like the most important people on earth. Her home was our home. It was a trip the kids and I will never forget. I hope we can come back sooner than later. WE LOVE YOU GRANDMA!!! THANK YOU!!!
