So my last post was all about the endless rain and snow. The sunless days and temperatures hovering in the 40’s….
… and then it’s like May wanted to make up for lost time and jumped us into the 90’s! Overnight the plants have all bloomed. Our mud rooms have our winter coats hanging next to our swimwear. And I kid you not, one morning I woke up to the heater on and by the afternoon I’d had to switch the a/c on. This is typical Utah weather, but NOT Iowa. We normally have long temperate Springs that slowly transition to summer; it’s lovely. Also to note, our summer highs are typically around 85 at the hottest and we are HUMID. So… anyway, not complaining because we LOVE being outside. But just shocked! Ha ha.
So, for the past two weeks we’ve been on the for nonstop. Lots of traveling actually.
Last weekend Travis and I traveled into Utah for the briefest of time. We came in Friday night, had all Saturday, then flew back super early Sunday morning. My favorite parts were walking around a nursery with Travis and hiking the Y with Mackenzie. Sorry family that we missed you this time! And funny enough, we had to have about 5 different families come in and help watch our kids/handle extracurricular activities while we were gone for 36hrs! The thing I was sad about was that Maddix was asked to speak on Mother’s Day Sunday and I missed it everyone messaged me how proud I should be because he did such a great job.
This weekend we left Friday at lunch, as a family, and drove to Omaha, Nebraska for a ward temple trip; Maddix’s first time through the temple. It’s a 4hr drive and the kids know not to ask for movies or it prolongs how long they get one. Travis turned on the Hamilton soundtrack with the intention of skipping through a few of his favorite songs; however, Maddix and Aaron became absorbed in the storyline and we found ourselves periodically stopping to explain what was going on. The girls fell asleep. Maddix fell asleep. Aaron continued forward, wrapped up in history! Did you know the sound track is over 3hrs long?? We didn’t until now! Eventually the kids woke up and at about 3hrs in we finally turned on a movie for them and finished the final few songs on our own. I absolutely enjoyed that car ride! The whole trip was amazing. What an experience it was!
We stayed in the same hotel with the Nelson’s, the Tolentino’s, and the Hammond’s. We had dinner with the Nelson’s (pizza and games in their hotel room), and then we swam at the pool with everyone until way too late. But it was too much fun to try and take the kids away to bed.
In the morning we all met up for the continental breakfast and then split. They went to the Sky zone and we decided to do the Omaha zoo (it’s been on our list since we moved to the MidWest), except that we never made it to the zoo (oops). So we grabbed Chik fil a and ate in a cute little park instead.
Everyone met at the temple for a baptismal session and Travis took Maddix through for the first time; what an incredible experience they had. Meanwhile, Aaron, the girls, and I accompanied our friends to the Pioneer Museum across the street and had a wonderful experience (albeit exhausting with the girls) over there on a tour with one of the senior missionaries. But Aaron soaked everything in. His eyes were wide and full of tears as he learned what the pioneers went through. I truly loved that experience with him. The weather was perfect. The plants were all freshly bloomed. The spirit was strong. My heart was overwhelmed with gratitude for my pioneer ancestors and for the blessing of Maddix going through the temple with two other of our youth for the first time. So wonderful.
Afterward we joined everyone at a Golden coral (you bet I didn’t eat) where the youth went crazy with drink concoctions and cotton candy… all that needs to be said.
We as a family drove to Des Moines where we stopped and bowled at Uncle Bucks Bowling lanes, and then had dinner at Olive Garden. The kids has full tummies, pj’s, were pottied, and given Dramamine… we assumed they’d pass out as soon as the movie started, it was 9:30 by the time we got back on the road. However, all of them, aside from Addie, made it home awake and absorbed into Hook. Go figure. That was also a fun car ride.
This morning, despite being up so late the night before, both girls rose with the sun …. Thank you lovely ladies…. And eventually we made it to church where again my heart was full to the brim. Bishop spoke about the weekend’s temple trip and then impromptu invited Maddix to the stand to share his testimony on the experience and I was so proud. After church Maddix was made Deacons President; his response to the calling was, “my dad will be so proud of me.” Man I love this kid! He is so strong willed and determined to make something grand of himself. This of course, comes with its challenges! And pre-teen attitude!
No comments:
Post a Comment