Spending Time with Family

Out of all the time I was able to spend in Utah, spending time with my family was the very best. It was my favorite.

I especially loved that I got a break from holding Marco all the time.

And Lily sure loved all the attention that she received from Grammy and Papa.

Not only that, she got away with murder at their house.  

She played with all the toys and left them out everywhere.  

She was able to play the piano as loud as she wanted... 

She at ice-cream every night, stayed up way past her bedtime, and watched so much TV.  She loved all the spoiled attention that she received.  And I was grateful that she received so much attention.  In fact, Lily felt so secure and safe that for three Sundays in a row she fell asleep in Grammys arms. I never realized how difficult 1:00 church would be because it's right during the hours of nap time. When kids are ornery, I have found myself complaining about my church being at 9:00 or 11:00, but after spending three weeks doing 1:00, I'm not going to complain anymore because I have it easy in comparison with the 1:00 time. 

And while we were in Utah we relished in eating at our favorite restaurants (Cafe Rio, In and Out, Blue Lemon, MOA Cafe, Zupas, and JDawgs).

And while we were in Utah, we experienced many firsts...

Marco tried eating for the first time.  

It was the first time I found my name on a "Share a Coke."  Normally I find really bizarre names, because all the normal names have been purchased.  But I lucked out and found my name for "first time ever." Unfortunately, I forgot it and left it in Utah. Sad face. 

It was the first time I got to go for a ride in my Grandpa Dunham's vintage 1930s car.  There is no air conditioning, no seat belts, no horn, and no blinkers.  The blinker situation was interesting - every time Grandpa had to turn the car, he stuck his hand out the window to indicate to the other cars that he was going to turn.  He drove down from Salt Lake, and while the normal drive takes 30-40 minutes, driving at low speeds in this car took about 90-120 minutes to make the journey down.  That's about three to four times as long!

While I was in Utah, I also decided to change things up a bit and get my hair cut! I took off 16 inches and immediately fell in love with the lightweight, breeziness of my new hairstyle.  (However, it has been quite a difficult adjustment in North Carolina with the crazy insane humidity.)

Saying Good-Bye is never fun.  Father's Day occurred while we were in Utah, and Michal had to travel home immediately following sacrament meeting.  I felt so bad that his Father's Day was a trip back to North Carolina instead of spending more time with Lily and Marco.

Michal was sure sad to go, but I have to give this husband of mine huge props.  When I came home, after being apart from him for about ten days, he had the whole house cleaned top to bottom, and the yard front to back.  Everything on my (my) to-do list was completed and I was able to relax and recuperate from the flight and traveling back home.  Not only that, but I had TWO dozen roses waiting for me on my nightstand and some Lilies in the kitchen the next morning.  

While Daddy was away we decided to go and do things that he wouldn't have enjoyed doing or didn't really need to be present for.  Our first stop was to see Nana Dunham.  

I had never considered my Nana "old."  Even though she is 105 years old, she's pretty put together.  But this trip, she showed me that she is really starting to age and her memory isn't as sharp as it used to be.  She had a hard time remembering me (not Michal though) and my children.  I have to cut her some slack though because she has a lot of people to keep track of.

2 children

10 grandchildren 

26 great-grandchildren

13 (almost 14) great-great grandchildren

(plus all the spouses which haven't been counted).

Later that evening, we decided to have 'Family Home Evening' in the park.  And let me tell you, Lily was in heaven.  She did not want to leave.

She was so hesitant to go down the slides, but she kept marching up there and acting like she was going to slide on down.  She tried tricking Grammy into going down with her, but Grammy didn't fall for her tricks.

Unfortunately, I did!

And while we were in Utah, we went on lots and lots and lots of walks.  Some were at the crack of dawn, others at evening time. There is just one thing that North Carolina lacks, the beauty of Utah's Mother Nature.  The sunsets are stunning and breathtaking, the mountains majestic, and everything else in between is beautiful.  

(This particular picture was taken on a 3 minute walk from my house).

Right now Utah is in a drought and there are water restrictions imposed on houses.  You can only water your lawn twice a week before the hours of 10 am or after 6 pm.  When my parents days were opened up, we took full advantage of "watering"... and a little bit of playing in the water.

The days we couldn't play in the water, we hijacked the Sirrine's new swimming pool and kept cool from the dry summer heat.

Here's a cool story, while I was in Utah - I got photos taken at FotoFly studios.  I was sharing the photos with my parents and asking them to help me select some favorites.  After looking at all the photos, my mom went upstairs and pulled this photo out of a scrapbook.  

It's an old photo of my Dad when he was about a year old.  I think that he is the mirrored image of Marco.  

Before we left, we were able to see my brother Sam a handful of times.  Lily loves playing with Mad-din.  They both enjoy the same things and it was so fun to watch them play together.

Saying good-bye to Michal was a piece of cake compared to saying Adieu to my parents. I knew I would see Michal in a little over a week.  I don't know the next time I'll get to see my parents.  I hate good-byes, and it doesn't make it any easier when my mom cries!

I was the most nervous for my flight home.  I was so so so nervous for what to do when Lily needed go to to the bathroom, or I needed to change Marco's diaper.  Luckily, I sat by an angel on the flight back home.  I crawled over her 5 times on our 3.5 hour flight.  And she was totally cool about it.  She held Marco when I needed to get Lily under control, or held Lily when I needed to nurse Marco.  Lily was a little restless because I didn't have anything there to entertain her.  I was over-prepared with snacks and changes of clothes... and I thought I was prepared with my iPad and having enough shows for her to watch.  But when we got in our seats, I immediately pulled out the iPad and it was dead.  I about cried.  What was I going to do?  How was I going to handle this?  Luckily, my angel came to my rescue and not only did she help me with my kids, but we had great conversation the whole way to Charlotte.  She even shed further light and knowledge on subjects that have really been bothering me lately.  I think it was a divine blessing I sat next to her and truly hope that all Moms get someone like Jenny to share a flight with when they are husbandless and have children to handle.

Overall, our trip to Utah was:

wonderful

busy

fun

exhausting

adventurous

and

lovely.

Thanks Mom and Dad for letting us come and crash at your place.  I love spending time with you and can't wait until I find a great deal on airfare so I can come back and spend some quality time with you.

Utah Friends

While we were out in Utah, we were lucky enough to have lots of friends reach out to us and want to see us! We knew that we couldn't see everyone, so we just saw the people who wanted to see us!

We had a fabulous dinner with the: 

Kinghorn family. 

We love, love, love the Kinghorn family.  They kind of feel like an extension to our family.  They love us so much and there's nothing that feels better in life than feeling loved.  

And Lily fell in love with their kids.  Grace was so cute and drew a million pictures for Lily while Sam protected her and made sure that she wouldn't get hurt.

We made a special trip to Salt Lake City to eat at the Blue Lemon, and lo-and-behold, I run into a dear favorite mission companion: 

Katie Bastian.  

Pro-piano player, singer, dancer, (pretty much everything she wants to learn how to do, she becomes a pro at it). Every photo we took together was photo-bombed by someone (ahem... Michal or Lily). But look at how adorable Lily's photo-bombing is... she is crying her eyes out because she wanted to take a picture with me.

Heather Collier 

(new last name - Valerga, but she will always be Collier to me)... met us for lunch at the Blue Lemon.  (And, oddly enough, actually knew Katie Bastian also!) We were so excited to meet up with Heather and see her cute, adorable, well tempered little boy, Hank.  He has more hair than Lily!  

Heather is always so full of surprises, smiles, hugs, and great stories.  She has such a special, special place in my heart and I am so, so grateful that we have remained friends throughout the years.  She is someone that has always made me feel like a better person and is able to see the good in anyone or any situation.  I have a lot to learn from her and consider myself blessed anytime we get the opportunity to meet up.

Joy Hansen 

is another one of our favorites.  I feel like anytime we get together our conversations pick right up from where we left off.  She has such a great outlook on life and really loves my husband like a mother.  She kept him in line when they worked together at Fidelity.  We owe Joy countless times over and these visits never seem to quite make up for the times that she's helped us out.

The Rodriguez family.  

Take all the nice comments I've said about anyone on this post, squish them all together into a Blurb book and that accurately describes the Rodriguezes (es? apostrophe s? Kristina help me out here!) I love, love, love this family and feel like everyone should have another couple to hang out with in the ward like the Rodriguezes... Rodriguez's... Kristina and Ivan. 

To this day, if Michal and I are ever having an argument over some scientific (or not-so scientific) fact... we always end the argument by saying, "Let's call Ivan and find out who is really right." Only we never actually end up calling Ivan.  Seriously, Ivan's a genius.  And so is his wife.  I kinda relate more to her, but I think that she has as many talents as hairs on her head.  Every time I spend time with her I am blown away by all the things that I learn.  I kinda feel like she is wonder woman and super man combined into one. After I talk to her, I always feel so empowered to take on the world.  Now that is a good friend!

And their cute little boy Max is only a few months (2.5) younger than Lily.  She was hitting on him the whole time!  It's a good thing that he was such a good sport about getting a lot of attention from a girl.

Miss Melisa.  

She is my soul mate slash friend slash alibi slash (insert adjective here). I just love and adore this girl beyond words.  Melisa is my go-to gal for anytime I am having an "Alexander horrible, rotten, no good, dirty, bad day." I don't know what it is about talking to her... but I am always lifted up  whenever I have her around.  She is another person that will remain my friend throughout my lifetime.  I would do anything for this gal, and I feel that she's the same way.  Melisa was an answer to so many different prayers.  And she's also one friend, who when she tells me about trials that she's enduring, I feel like I am able to learn the same lessons by what she encounters.  It's almost like I have this bizarre vicarious bond with her and I "get" what she's going through, without actually having to go through it myself.  Anyway, I love her and my life is so much better with her as a part of it.

The Sirrine Family.  

A trip to Utah wouldn't be complete without spending some time with the Sirrine gals.  They are some of the kindest people I have ever met.  Every time I'm with them they make me feel like I'm a part of their family.  Whether an older sister, an Aunt, or a cousin - I always feel like at home when I'm around them.  I have shared some happy, happy times with them.  Even though they moved in when I "technically" moved out, I'm so grateful that they have made me feel so welcomed whenever I stop by to visit.  They are the embodiment of really reaching out to others to make them feel welcome and loved.

And while I visited a lot of people, I didn't get the opportunity to take an pictures with the following individuals.

Brooke Blair
Hands down Brooke, everyone needs a friend like Brooke.  She is the best coach, therapist, friend, alibi, and sidekick.  She is one of the most non-judgemental people that I have ever met.  And she loves people for who they are.  She never, ever, ever tries to change people... but she has this compelling, almost hypnotizing, way of helping you understand and see things from a different perspective.  You often hear the phrase, "She/He'd give you the shirt off his own back." But would they really?  Brooke would.  She is like a little angel that sits on my right shoulder and helps coach me to do the right things, but she is also an angel in the sense that times that are the darkest for me - she shows up because she is listening to the spirit and knows when I need a friend.  Michal loves, loves, loves to tease Brooke... pretty much about anything controversial.  And she's such a good sport to put up with his pestering.  He teases Brooke by saying that if women could be General Authorities, she'd be the next one called.  But I have to agree with Michal... she is so christlike and has such a deep profound understanding and love for the gospel, that she would be a great "General Authority." (Relief Society General Authority maybe?)

Katrin Martin
One of my highlights of coming home to visit is visiting Katrin.  Every time I get together with her I learn something new. She has all the coolest baby toys, products, gadgets, gears, etc. and I get so jealous of all these super intense, rare, unique, clever finds that she has for her darling little boy.  I feel like I am in this "elite" club of "people who know about cool things for kids" whenever I hang out with Katrin. She introduces me to so many neat things. And she is German. How cool is that? No one understands my husband's passion for all things German better than Katrin. She is able to laugh, and blush, and smile, all at the same time and Michal just eats it up because "its German." Getting to know her has been a huge blessing in my life and I'm so glad that she puts up with my crazy busy schedule and still finds room in her heart to love me and be my friend. She deserves the very best and as she strives for this I can't wait to see what things she will achieve.

Thanksgiving Point - Museum of Curiosity

On Friday, June 26, Lily wanted to play with her cousin Madeline.  So after an appointment at Fotofly, we headed over to their house and down to Thanksgiving Point to check out the Museum of Curiosity. 

Upon arriving at this museum it reminded me of Winston-Salem's Children's Museum... but about ten times bigger!  As soon as we got to the entrance two buses pulled up and dumped off about 70 children aged 7 to 14.  It crowded the museum, and made it hard for our cute little toddlers to get the interaction and play with things in this museum.  It seemed like they had to wait in line to enter any room and were constantly being bumped by older kids. I felt so bad because I knew how bad they wanted to play, but with so many older children it made it more of an obstacle to get the interaction or "curiosity" out of them that toddlers need. No one's fault except for the museum's for allowing such older aged kids to dominate the play space. 

Regardless, I felt like there were a lot of activities where we got lucky and no one seemed to be interested in them at the time.  Take for example the green room.  We had so much fun pretending to be in the jungle with Dinosaurs or in the deep ocean swimming away from sharks.

And these cool little doors were placed all over the museum.  I bet there were about 20 of them (and Lily only found a handful), but you could lift open the door and see what it was hiding.  It was a little game just for them since they are little people and notice things like that better than us adults who are always too busy rushing from one activity to the next.

In addition to music, green room, and hide-and-seek doors, we found a dancing room and a "comparison room."  In the comparison room you could stand atop a scale and it would compare your weight to jaguars, hippos, or grasshoppers.  Or you could jump and see how high you jump in comparison to various animals.  There were about ten different comparison stations, each with different elements of comparison - no two being alike.  

But I think that the girls very favorite room was the room where you could go shopping for fake food and put it in your basket.  You could then weigh all the food - and it was all proportional. For example, if you had a coconut, you could put the coconut on the scale and see how many limes equaled the weight of one coconut.  While that interested, me - the girls were more interested in seeing who could put more fruit and veggies in their basket - and then how many times they could put the fruits and veggies back in the wrong spots!  They felt so important being able to go "shopping" all on their own.  They just loved this station that it almost convinced me to make felt fruit. (Almost, but not quite!)

After we were done, we were going to head to the petting zoo, but everyone was hungry so we decided to fill up our bellies with some yummy food from Zupas.  While we had every intention of going to the petting zoo, kids had a different idea - it was called NAPS.  

So we headed back to Aunt Bridgett's house to feed Marco and go home for naps. 

Thanks Aunt Bridgett and Cousin Madeline for inviting us over to play with you.  We sure loved spending time with you and seeing how cool Thanksgiving Point was!  We can't wait to go back and check it out some more!  In fact, Lily misses you so much, every night in her prayers she prays for "Bidge-it" and "Mad-din".  She loves her cousin, and I love that she has someone to play with that loves the same kinds of things that she does!

Utah Hogle Zoo + Dinosaurs

22 June 2015

Since Lily loves going to the Zoo, we decided that one day we would take her.  With my NC Zoo Pass, I got the four of us into the zoo for $15.

When entering the NC Zoo (Africa side) the first animal you encounter is the giraffes.  Here at Utah's Hogle Zoo - the first animals we saw, were also the giraffes. I think that this was a good omen meaning the day was going to be perfect.

And Lily was so, so happy to see the giraffes.

But not so sure about the lions.

I hate to compare, but the Elephants at Utah's zoo had such a small living area compared to how large of an area they have at North Carolina's zoo.

But one thing that Utah's zoo has, that North Carolina's zoo lacks... is live shows!  We were lucky enough to hit all three (one right after the other).

The first show was the Elephant show.  They did all sorts of tricks, and the narrators explained that the elephant's participation was optional.  If they performed the tricks, they were rewarded with their favorite fruits to eat, if they chose not to participate, they didn't any fruits. We also learned that the trainers are no longer allowed to be in the same enclosure as elephants, per some sort of standard.  So all the tricks that they do there is a restrictive wall which protects the animal trainers.  But these weren't the only fun facts we learned.  We also learned how to distinguish African elephants from Asian elephants, that females dwell among each other and live in groups, how long the gestational period of an elephant is, and (something new for me): that the elephants largest blood vessels are in their ears and this is where they get their blood drawn to make sure that they are healthy elephants. 

The next show was the bird show.  You sit in this inclined arena and birds swoop and fly right over your head.  The whole show lasts about 45 minutes (with a bird flying over your head every 2-3 minutes) and you learn all sorts of interesting facts about birds.  I remember going to this show about 8 years ago with Michal and he was fully freaked out by the birds flying overhead.  But Lily loved it. In fact, her favorite bird was the owl.  Whenever we go to the zoo she tells everyone we went to see giraffes and elephants (in that order), but this time she told people we went to see the "owl - who who".

The last show was all about the seals.  They performed tricks and jumps and got rewarded with fishy treats.  After about 10 minutes Lily was bored and asked to go see the Polar Bear.  I was quite surprised that she wanted to see the Polar Bear because every time we go to the NC Zoo, the Polar Bear is hiding in the shade and is nowhere to be found.  Since everyone was enjoying the second half of the seal show... we got front row tickets to watching the Polar Bear cool himself off and do all sorts of interesting tricks in the water.  He kept on jumping in the water, diving, turning around, getting out of the water, walking into a caged home, walking out, shaking off to dry and then repeating the whole process.  We watched him "perform" this schedule about three times. I was so happy that Lily finally got to see her Polar Bear because she's always talking about it, even though she's never seen one up close and personal.

By the time we saw all the animals in the zoo, Lily was tired and wanted to go home.  She played hard and loved all there was to see.  We were at the zoo for about 3 hours, which is much longer than I normally spend at the zoo. I think that we were able to spend so much time there because the shows provided shade and rest so that we didn't wear ourselves out too fast.

And last, but not least.  When I first told Lily we were going to the zoo, I told her we would get to see Dinosaurs there.  These dinosaurs have motion sensors and when someone approaches or walk by, they robotically move and make sounds.  Lily thought it was cool to approach them until they moved, spit water, or "roared"... and then she was freaked beyond belief.  She didn't want to get anywhere near them.  The only dinosaurs she was willing to approach were some tiny ones about the size of your hand.  

Overall, it was such a fun day at the zoo.  I was so grateful that Grammy was game for coming along, it made it so much easier to have her there so Lily could see all the animals up close!