Utah Easter

So, off to Utah and all my mom's family. Going to Utah is very bitter

sweet for me. It's great to see Adam, my younger brother, friends, my mom's sisters and brother, and most of my cousins, but being around all of them reminds me so much of my mom. Her sisters and her all shared similar attributes, varying in each sister. Aunt Lorraine and mom have the same hands, I hear my mom's voice at times when Aunt Yvonne speaks, mom's love for her grandchildren in mirrored by Aunt Karen, and her unceasing laughter is echoed by my Aunt Tammy. I cherish them all so much for who they are to me, and what they have become to my children; placeholders in their lives of where Granma once was. Women to teach them about the woman who holds a special place in their hearts. Angels on earth to fulfill the role of one who cherishes Livi and Aaron's childhood wonder and play. 

We met up with Dad and Gee when we got to Voni's house to have an early celebration of Gee and Adam's 25th birthday. A lot of the cousins were there and ALL 5 sets of aunts and uncles were there! Pretty impressive. It was fun, as always to visit with everyone. And like always, my younger cousins kept the young great grandchildren in heaven. (On the ride up I wasn't sure where we were going to stay that night. I asked the kids if they wanted to stay at Sean and Liz's or at Aunt Voni's. Aaron emphatically shouted, "Aunt Voni, Aunt Voni!" Okay, that was settled.) Livi got to sleep with Gee, which is pretty customary on trips like this, and Aaron bunked with me. 

8 o'clock the next morning, Livi and Gee were coloring Easter eggs. Angie and Dad were

 to drive home Saturday so Angie wanted to get some of the festivities in before she left.  Too bad The two of them were up 'til one in the morning laughing. (Angie blamed it all on Olivia.) Our cousin Chloe came over to watch and Uncle Adam came over to join in the fun as well. Livi found a new art medium... eggs! 

I think she ended up doing 3 dozen, at least, over the course of the day. My younger cousins, Alyssa and Natalie, hid eggs for the younger ones (Chloe, Jacob [both cousins],

Livi and Aaron) and gave out paper bags for an egg hunt. Sean and Liz's little girl Kate (the kids' "cousin" according to Olivia) even joined us for the festivities. All the kids had a blast. It was a great day.

That night we had dinner with the Williams' and spent the night there as well.

Easter morning.

We attended Easter Sunday church with the Williams' in their ward after "opening" Easter baskets. The kids were excited to see their new jump rope (for Livi) and spill proof bubbles (for Aaron) and of course all the candy. For church Livi wanted to wear the same blue Easter dress that Gretchen had given her last year. It fit, and this Easter she actually felt good enough to enjoy it. She also got to wear her special gloves that my mom had given to her for her 3rd birthday. After church we went to Tammy's for a snack and then had  an egg hunt at Yvonne's. 

The Easter bunny told Uncle Randy where the eggs where, so he was able to help. The kids really enjoyed being able to find

some outside in the "warm" 65 degree sunshine. The kids then hid the eggs for Adam to find. Adam was always the last one to find the eggs at home, this year was no different. Aaron grew impatient and started finding them for Adam. Aaron did prove to be quite the little egg finder. He surprised all of us at how aware he was.

Easter dinner was spent at Aunt Karen and Uncle Bill's house. Adam and a girl friend, Erika, joined us for the evening. It was a very nice way to spend the afternoon/evening. We were able to talk a lot and reminisce about my mom. Aunt Karen had little Easter baskets made up for

the kids, and as usual made me cry at how aware she was as to the TLC my kids' need from another Grandma. Uncle Bill even got tears from me when he pulled Olivia onto his lap so she could open her birthday present from them. So special.

 

The meal was fabulous and the company was even better. Their 3 girls were there, Kira, Anna, and 

Andrea, which are always fun to chat with. Anna's 4 beautiful toe-heads kept my kids entertained.  And for dessert, individual bunny cakes for the kids and sherbet angel cake for the grown-ups!

Monday the kids and I played with Liz, Kate and Dylan for a while. The kids enjoyed the sunshine and Livi learned to jump rope! We picked up Adam and took him out to lunch for his actual 25th birthday. We went to Five Guys, a burger joint from the east coast. On the phone, when I told Bill where we had eaten for lunch, he said that he had eaten there the previous night. It's like In and Out with thicker patties, grosser fries and more expensive. The idea of the restaurant is the same. Good burgers though. It's always so much fun for me to be able to talk with my brother, the kids adore him. Aaron refuses to call him anything except "Uncle Adam" which comes out sounding like, "Unka Agam".

Monday night the kids and I had plans to stay with the Lovell's, some friends of ours a bit further north, in Sandy, but things didn't work out and we were able to stay with the Williams an extra night, which the kids responded to with , "YEAHHHH!!!" We made one of my favorites, beef stroganoff, for dinner and I didn't even taste it. I was sick. I never threw up, thank goodness, but I sure wanted to. UGH! I didn't know what I was going to do the next day driving home.

I got a good night's rest, but, I'm never sick. (We always joke that everyone else can get sick, just not mommy.) Wow, did it wipe me out. 1 1/2 hours into our drive I could not stay awake, it's about a 6 hour trip. I didn't know what to do. I did recognize the overwhelming evidence that I was not going to make it so I finally gave in. I pulled off on a non-service exit, parked the car and told the kids mommy needed a nap. They were not to touch the doors or windows no matter what happened. If they saw anyone they were to wake me up right away. I was out in a matter of minutes. I didn't even unbuckle the kids from their seats. They watched their movie and didn't complain once. When I woke up about 30 - 40 minutes later, all they said was, "Mommy, I'm sorry you're sick." They were great. We stopped and ate some lunch, I was feeling a bit better and then finished our trip home. 

The kids make traveling so easy. They were fantastic there and back. It's great to be able to take advantage of distant family living so close. We love when we get to visit everyone there!