Sharing the Love

What a great time we had last week with my dad being in town.  Olivia was scheduled for appointments at the oncologist office every day of last week (except Monday) with Tuesday being an 8 hour day, so Dad agreed to come down and help out. Originally we weren't even sure if Bill was going to be in town, turned out he was for the majority of the week, but it was great to have dad here regardless. I don't think I could ever get tired of seeing the reunion the kids have with him at the airport when he comes in for a visit. Aaron's little legs can't run fast enough and Livi's loves can't last long enough. She would snuggle with her papa 'til the end of time. We picked him up Saturday afternoon, after which we picked up a sitter for the kids and Bill and I took Dad to The Cheesecake Factory for a belated birthday dinner. And of course we had to order dessert! Yum! I strayed from the cheesecake path and was not disappointed in the least with their Strawberry Shortcake!!! It was Dad's first time there and he seemed to have enjoyed it as well. True to himself Bill ordered the Snickers Cheesecake and thoroughly enjoyed the indulgence. Sunday we all enjoyed a nice day at church. Not only was it nice to have my dad there but Bill also! Wow! What a special day. Sacrament meetings are still very hard on dad, understandably so, and it didn't help that the whole meeting was spent singing hymns which we could always catch mom doing, even if she didn't realize it. All in all, a good day. Monday was fantastic, Bill surprised me with having the day off, so we all went bowling. Dad has joined a bowling league as of late, which is so great for him to get back into something he enjoys so much and I was doing considerably well until Bill puffed up my ego and I leveled out. Olivia, after bowling the first couple of frames with our help decided she wanted to do it by herself. She bowled a 49! And Aaron...oh cute Aaron. He had to be like Livi. He would stand up at the line and push Bill or I away saying, "No, Gaggy(daddy), me go". He would've done great had he not fowled on practically every frame. We all had a great time. We ended the day with homemade chicken pot pie, which is now a staple in our meal plans and a special treat for Papa, Carmel Pecan Crunch Apple Pie! YYYUUUUMMMO!!! 

Livi did very well on Tuesday. She was receiving a new type of chemo that's re

ally hard on the kidneys so they had to insure proper hydration, hence the long day. We arrived at 9 and left at 5! We were kept busy with crafts and iPods and visitors. Karen from upstairs came and we played an intense game of Old Maid, and then Stephanie and Todd McMillan came to visit. Bless his heart, Todd was much more interested in the game consoles than playing cards with Livi, but the thought was there.

Wednesday was the best. We got to share our love of the canyon with Papa. In all the times he's been here, we've never had the chance of going to Red Rock; the kids were insistent this time. Even Aaron says, "hah-king (hiking) Re' Rok!" Who can resist. It was beautiful weather and a great chance to see some new sites. This time we parked at the second site in and hiked back down behind a huge boulder where we found a large sand pit practically untouched, that day, by humans. 

It was neat to have dad there to help identify the different animal tracks that we discovered in the soft red sand. When we saw the prints of a bird I asked Olivia, "What animal do you think made those prints?" She thoughtfully responded, "Umm, maybe a chicken!" I was impressed

 that she thought bird at all! Other prints that we saw were: a large cat of some sort, a snake and...Livi and Aaron prints? It was lots of fun to see the kids so excited about sharing this special place with their papa. Aaron discovered his love of the camera and even "posed" for the camera. It was also great to see Dad's

youthful side come out when he had to climb on his hands and

feet to the top of this rock because of how steep it was. It was also really fun to see him relax. After he learned our ritual of free exploration (with obvious limits) he 

didn't try to reign Aaron in. (There's really no point in trying. He's cautious when he needs to be and he's confident in how his body moves.) Olivia was great and climbed the steep rock almost completely on her own.  We are so glad to have spent this time with my dad. At one point Livi said, "Grandma would've loved this place." I think that's one of the many reasons that I love it. Mom loved the outdoors and adventures.

Bill left Thursday to prep Reno for President Clinton's appearance, he would be back on Monday. In turn, Dad and I packed the car Friday morning and headed to Livi's 4th and final appointment of the week in hopes of good blood results. We hoped to beable to continue our trek north to my cousins mission farewell in Orem, Utah.  Obviously from the next post being pictures of us in Utah we were able to go. 10 minutes into the trip north the kids were needing all sorts of attention so we pulled over and dad drove the rest of the way there and back again the following Monday. The kids would've been just fine except the portable DVD player was having issues...thank goodness for iPods! They each had their "own" and got to watch what they wanted. Aaron was happy watching his 1 episode of Backyardagains over and over but when Livi decided to take a 3 hour nap I indulged him in some variety and passed Livi's Pod to Aaron. It took us a quick 5 hours driving only 5 mph over the limit and the kids did great! Both ways! Thanks a ton DAD!