Wednesday evening I stayed up late watching Gilmore Girls and making last minute preparations to leave. Corey of course worked through the whole evening. When he got home he woke us up, we got ready, and off we went! The drive to Chicago went off without a hitch. We had been missing each other quite a lot so it was nice to have a chance to catch up. Even the airport that everyone told us was the largest mess in the United States...
"Make sure you are at least 3 hours early!" they all said...
was as smooth as a babies bottom. We arrived, and within a half an hour we were ready to board the plane. Little tip: travel with a stroller! There are special lines! We were through them all in less than five minutes whereas the poor saps without strollers were stuck in line for days.
We didn't mind being so early. Gram had bought the boys brand new backpacks filled with goodies, and we were in an airport... a wonderland for little boys. We walked the terminals... We looked at shops... And most importantly: the boys stuck their noses to the glass and happily watched the planes do their thing! We had snacks, we had eachother, it was a pre-vacation delight, and I'm sure we'll do it the same way next time!
Then it was time for the actual flight.
They were both so cute...they loved it just as much as we had hoped they would.
Aly was a tiny bit nervous I think. As the plane took off he said to me: "I'm okay." a few times. He looked so small in his seat! It reminded me of when Jack used to say "It's okay." over and over. What cute little boys!
I hadn't been terribly emotional that morning, but I may have had a few tears when we saw I-15... a few more when we saw the U's campus... and then when the flight attendant said "... for those of you who are from the Salt Lake City area: Welcome Home." my heart did a little twist... I looked over at Corey, repeated the word: "HOME!" and that kind of put me over the top.
At the airport we were surprised by Aunt Dee, Aunt Shir, Ashley Kayleen and Katelyn who came with Aunt Nat to pick us up! They brought balloons and love, and hugging them was the most warm and homey feeling of all!
If you can believe it I didn't take one dang picture the rest of the day. We were home in Utah! Who has time for a camera?!?
Some highlights from the rest of the day include:
Arriving at the Larsens home where we stayed during the trip and seeing all the Larsen kids one year older! Each and every one of them looked different!
Watching the boys play with said Larsen children. They were on cloud nine!
Getting to brush our teeth and change my shirt after a long day traveling.
Cal, Whit and Ada arriving!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! There aren't enough exclamations to say how we felt about that!
Getting to hold and kiss and snuggle Ada and watching my brother be a dad and my Whit be a mom! They were as sweet and perfect at it as I knew they would be!
Getting to see the really neat book that Ada's birthmom Emily made for Whit's Mother's Day present.
Enjoying a fabulous Chef Salad dinner and homemade bread (a perfect dinner after traveling) that Aunty made for us, with my Larsens and C&W.
Chatting like no time had ever gone by with Cal and Whit.
Aly pointing to his chest and telling Whit "...and the plane was ours."
Watching sleep over come Corey who had been awake for... well... too long.
Knowing when Cal and Whit and Ada left I would still get 3 more days to spend with them!
Talking Jane Austen and Jane Eyre with Alise.
Aunty and Uncle and Cousin Aerika coming home from Aerika's hair show after all 3 of my boys were in bed and getting to talk and be with them stuffing envelopes for Kyle's work... It was just like old times when I lived with them, and I couldn't have loved it more. It was the absolute perfect way to end my first day of coming home.
3 comments:
Ah, that's so fun! I hope you had a good visit and got all filled up with Utah stuff again to last you until your next visit!
Henry has loved looking at these pictures. He loves talking about Jack and Alaster and how they went on a plane and then he gets excited when I tell him he's getting on a plane for UT, too. He wants to be just like them.
In fact, the other day I was teaching Henry what obedient means and I said, "You know what? Jack and Alaster are obedient boys. They listen to their mom and do what she says." He then caught the idea that being obedient is cool.
Ashlee :D We loved having you here :) sorry I was crazy tired and distracted and frustrated when I came home :P but I loved having you here and I miss you two and my nephews so much :'( I am going to be starting another blog about my life not just hair stuff :) and we need to talk more I miss you and you have insight I feel I will be needing soon ;) things are getting serious with my boyfriend and I want you opinion on things :) anyway I love you very much :)
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