Thanksgiving at the Lake

The lake house is the perfect getaway. It's just a two-hour drive away. With no TV, Internet, or computers it makes for a very relaxing long weekend. The weather was perfect. We ate great food and enjoyed each others company.











I love the picture of Leah sleeping on David's chest. She never falls asleep like that so I was very surprised when I found them.

I guess all the Thanksgiving excitement combined with running outside and riding bikes took it all out of her.

Auntie Em

Or Lemily as Leah calls her. Emily is the perfect aunt, sister, and friend. She is so selfless and caring and willing to help. She is also sooo much fun! If there is a party, Emily is there. More often than not she is the one hosting it and getting everyone together. She has an infectious laugh, and is always up for an adventure. Naturally, the girls just love her.



We started planning our trip to Utah before Sarah was even born, and Emily offered to fly back with me so I could stay longer with the girls. We are so grateful for her help. She took time off work to stay with us, and I couldn't have asked for a better flying buddy.

Flying with kids is never fun, and I was especially nervous about our late flight back. Leah had been going to bed around 5:45 or 6 pm in Utah, which was the exact time that our flight took off.

Now, I was smart enough to know that she wouldn't sleep, and she didn't. We were lucky to have two empty seats next to us, but unfortunately we were sitting about 10 rows apart. Knowing that Leah would be extremely tired and as a result very emotional, I decided I would stay with her. Emily would hold Sarah.

We prepared as much as we could before the flight. We put on pajamas, changed diapers, and handed out snacks. We boarded the plane last so Leah could run around as much as possible, and we could try to get Sarah to go to sleep. We boarded. I held my breath.

Leah settled in pretty easily and made an immediate friend with the person sitting next to us. I could see the back of Emily's head, and she seemed to be doing well.

As soon as the fasten seat belt went on and the plane started to prepare for take off, I heard Sarah start to cry. Oh no, I thought. I shouldn't have even worried, because less than two minutes later Emily had her fast asleep with a little rocking and her binky. Emily is a natural at taking charge of situations like this where other people might panic or worry.

Overall, the flight went really well. At one point, when Emily came back to say hi to us with sweet Sarah sleeping in her arms, she kindly told me I had a raisin stuck to my forehead. Great. I also managed to sit in silly putty. I guess it must have looked pretty bad, because a lady behind me on the escalator politely tapped me on my shoulder to tell me I sat in something nasty.

Sunday Morning

My parents have church at 1pm, which means the girls are dressed in their Sunday clothes by 9am. I wanted to get a picture of the two of them together.

Sarah was up for it.


Leah wanted to take the picture. Here she is saying "Smile Sarah."


Of course once Sophie joined us, she turned her attention on her.


We leave tomorrow, and I'm not looking forward to the flight. My sister, Emily, is coming with us. Thank goodness!

Our flight here was great. The flight wasn't full so David and I both had aisle seats next to each other with empty middle seats next to us. Sarah sprawled out on one middle seat and slept, while Leah sat on the other one admiring the jewerly and painted nails of the sixteen-year-old girl sitting by the window.

Lots of Visits with Family

Papa and Gama Carrier

Newly retired and loving life!

Fries, Hot Chocolate, Naps, and Legos

I think Leah had fries for lunch three days in a row.


She also tried hot chocolate for the first time and loved it.


Sarah loved the swing.


She spent lots of time building stuff with legos.

Halfway Mark

It hit me, as we were planning out our activities for the rest of the week, that our trip is almost over. The time has gone by so quickly...

When we return to our normal lives, I'll post lots of great pictures. In the meantime, here are a couple of the girls enjoying Grandma and Grandpa's bean bag chairs in the nice warm house. It snowed yesterday, and there is more snow predicted for tomorrow.

Leah is upset, because she wanted Sarah to sit in it all by herself.





After Leah was satisfied with seeing Sarah pose for a picture in the bean bag chair, she let Grandpa get her situated. He put in the Disney movie Ratatouille. She didn't make it past the opening credits, but he ended up watching the entire movie.

Sophie

Leah spent most of her time looking after Sophie. She would anxiously await for Sophie to come upstairs in the morning, and then she would say, "MORNING Soph!" with a huge smile. She took her on walks, made sure she had water, and lots of exercise. She pretty much chased her around all day.

Great Grandmas

I'm so glad my girls were able to meet my Grandmas. As one of the oldest grandkids on both sides of my family, I cherish the few pictures I have with my great-grandparents, even though my memory of them is very vague.

As far as Grandmas go, these two ladies were the best. They loved all of us Grandkids, and they always made me feel special.

Meet Billie Lou Croshaw Carrier.



Interesting fact: Her parents wanted to name her something else. Her Grandpa changed it to Billie Lou when she was blessed as a baby.

When I was growing up, her house was always stocked with oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, red licorice, and scotcheroos. She encouraged us to be creative, and always had an endless supply of paper for us to draw on.

While her memory isn't as good as it used to be, she still is always able to bring a smile to my face. Leah played with tiny green animal figures hidden in blocks and alphabet puzzle pieces at my Grandma's feet, while Grandma recounted how she had four kids in five years. I might have heard it a few times, but I didn't mind.



Meet Betty Jean Warner Sides.



Interesting Fact: She is a twin and the oldest of eight children. Her twin sister was very prissy and boy crazy. My Grandma was not. In fact, when they were 16 my Grandma tied her twin up to a tree in an attempt to thwart her intent to run off and get married.



Grandma Sides lives just around the corner from my parents, and we often wandered over to her house when we were craving something sweet. There was always vanilla icecream in the freezer, and more often than not a homemade pie on the counter.

She loved to cook. Up until last year or so she canned every season--peaches, tomatoes, beans, mustard pickle, chili sauce. I guard her cinnamon roll recipe as a family secret. Everyone wants a copy of it when I make them around Christmas time.



The last year has been a tough one for Grandma Sides, her physical health is deteriorating. As a result, her kids made a difficult decision to move her to a very nice assisted living center where she gets 24-hour care. We tried to visit her everyday. Leah had fun eating her licorice, butterscotch candies, and vanilla wafers. I might have enjoyed eating them even more than her.

Hogle Zoo

The weather was perfect, and the zoo was nearly empty.

Leah was speechless almost the entire time, except for when she insisted on riding the giraffe. I'm always quite surprised at how much she loves animals. Even as a baby she was naturally drawn to them.

Pure Happiness

Beautiful Utah Autumn Weather

The weather here has been beautiful. We've spent lots of time outside at all of the nice parks in Kaysville playing basketball, going down slides, and feeding the ducks.

David had to go back to work, and we miss him so much.



We hope to go to the zoo before the weather starts to get chilly.