Trip to Utah

We just got home from an AMAZING trip to Utah! The boys and I went up without Hank (for the last time, I might add). My brother Tony drove up with us. I don't know what I would have done without him on that drive. He and I were both a mess. Between all the mishaps and tickets and screaming babies and potty breaks and so on and on, the 400 mile trip took us 9 excruciating hours! Luckily everything after that was nothing but bliss.

We were able to stay with my mom in her cute new condo. Her home always has such a warm, happy, feeling to it. Grayson kept commenting on how much he loved Grandma's "BIG house". I guess compared to our little box, everything else seems huge to him. He loved being able to see his family! It's funny to see him get so confused over my sisters. He knows immediately when he sees them that they are aunts, but he calls them all different names. He love, love, loves his cousin Max. As a matter of fact, he woke up just this morning crying, saying, "See Max" over and over again. You would never know of his fondness for Max when you see them "playing" together. Grayson is such a tease and does anything he can to get Max to scream. Once he has the reaction he wants he looks at me, knowing he's in trouble, holding back a little triumphant smile. But when Max is gone, he misses him so much.

We all miss our family and wish we lived closer. I don't know how I will ever convince Hank to move to Salt Lake, but I've got to. I'm totally open to any suggestions anyone might have on how to accomplish this. Whenever we go to Salt Lake, the time passes by WAY too fast and there are always family and friends we wish we could have seen, but didn't. This trip I finally got to see my sweet friend Jamie. It's been way too long since I've seen her. It was so nice to catch up and see her sweet boys in person. Colton asked me, "Can you believe how big I've gotten? Can you even believe it?" He also had a really hard time understanding Grayson. He came up and asked me, "What is he saying? I don't even know what he's saying. Why does he speak Chinese? I never lived in Chinese. I don't even understand Chinese." What a doll! I love you Jaimes and your darling boys!!

Grayson jumped on his first trampoline! He was addicted from the moment he got on. I was a complete wreck, but he could not have been happier. The first tramp didn't have pads on the springs or a net, so I thought he was going to paralyze himself every time he fell. Luckily our next tramp experience was much better. Jamie had both a net and pads! This time we were BOTH able to enjoy the experience.

I love how attentive my family is. Patty was over every spare second wanting to hang out and play games and chat. My busy sister Ness was the same. I always feel a little guilty because I want everyone to miss work and come hang. I hope they don't get in trouble. Their bosses probably despise when I come into town. I'm such a time monopolizer. But I honestly know that it's my sweet boys that get them all to come over. I didn't even see my brother Dan, but he saw my boys a couple of times. I know my fam loves me, but Grayson and Preston are the best part of the package, by far!

We were sad to leave, but the boys were SO amazing on the trip home. Happy Mother's Day to me! Tony wasn't with us this time, so I was really nervous. Both boys took long naps and were very well behaved. Just outside of Beaver, UT, Preston got a little fussy and Gray was a little restless too. It was perfect because I was getting sleepy and needed a break too. So we stopped in Beaver only to find that Preston had a HUGE blowout! We went straight for the bathroom. I have to say...I despise onesies when this happens. How are you supposed to get a onesie drenched in diarrhea off of a child without spreading it everywhere?! I'll tell you...YOU DON'T! So I'm trying to get him clean without making too big of a mess all over the changing table and my changing pad (yeah right). No amount of wipes could remedy this situation so I took him to the sink to wash him off. The water was cold and there were no paper towels, only REALLY intense air dryers. When I got him back to the changing table, I really felt like I had it under control. The worst of it was over. Anyone who knows me (and has Facebook), knows that I have been bombarded with comments at the grocery store and everywhere else of how I look like I have my hands full. I know people are being nice and trying to be helpful, but it always makes me wonder if they think I'm a total wreck. So, while in Beaver, as all of this diaper drama was going on, a little old lady who was missing a leg and was in a wheelchair, wheeled her way right next to me and said, "oh dear, do you need some help?" Ouch!! There went all my confidence! Here I thought I was doing SO well with the situation, but apparently not.

Needless to say, we made it home in one piece! Hank took his lunch break right when we were pulling in to town, so we were able to see him before we went to bed. We ALL missed him so much. Grayson started crying about 15 minutes out of Vegas, "See Dada. Hold you dada. See Dada". I love my life and I love my family!!