Into the West*

Traveling with M was a completely different experience this time than it was when we flew to New Jersey in January.

January: we dropped curb side at the airport very early in the morning, and I went through security by myself with bags and toddler.

June: We parked the car, C walked with us into the airport to help me get bags through check-in, and then he stood in the security line with us. Does getting through security give anyone else unnecessary levels of palm-sweaty anxiety? At the end of the line we learned that you can get a gate pass that will allow you to go through security and stay with loved ones at the gate until they board the plane. Whaaaaaaat? If you knew about this I am mentally glove slapping you for not sharing. They are ladies gloves, and not harmful, but I hope you're feeling repentant.

January: M was still a lap child. This is a good idea for only one reason. It saves money. Even six months ago he was active and mobile enough that keeping him on my lap for five hours of flight time ended up being a challenge.

June: We had our own seats. This made a huuuuuuge difference. I had my own space, and he had his. He got to sit by the window, have his own snack tray to drive cars on, and poke the woman in front of him (thank goodness she was very nice). I got to read a bit, talk to the person on my other side, and even snuck a snack for myself in there. When he fell asleep I was able to just lay his head on my lap, and not worry about his knees or feet bothering our neighbors while I tried to hold him. I could travel with him this way any time.

(C's aunt makes these double sided puzzles, and M is crazy about them. Flipzles. Awesome.)

January: We had a 30 minute layover that barely left us enough time to change a diaper, and rush to our next flight. M didn't have any time to stretch his legs or get a break from me.

June: We had a four hour layover. I was dreading this to begin with, but it ended up being really great for us. We found an empty terminal where M played with his toys and watched the airplanes out the window for about an hour. We walked on the moving sidewalks. We sat down and ate some dinner. We got close to our terminal and pulled out his books. Then it was time to get on our plane. He zonked during take off, and I had to wake him when we landed.

Now we are here enjoying family, having a yard, cooling off in the evening, and playing in the irrigation. Consistently spending more than just and hour or two out of the house every day has made one little boy so happy.

However, there is a man in the mid-west being very much missed.

                

*This song will be played at my funeral. One of you make arrangements accordingly.

So, About that shiny thing....

Yeah, well. The shiny thing found me. Me, lonely me, standing there in my vertical line mourning the loss of my nice circle. And then, the shiny thing, get this, flew back my direction and smacked me right in the face. Rude huh? I kind of left a big dent in my skull, but I have embraced the dent. That's right. I am happy to be getting married forever to Chesley Eugene Lewis. Here are some lovely pictures.
Awwww. Look at the sound of music shot. Just previously we had been singing about the live hills, and throwing Chesley's brother Tanner over cliffs. It was a good day.

I was being very upset in this picture because he had taken me from my family to "go to a ReAL Salt Lake game" Pfff. Well, the game wasn't until the next day. We showed up to an empty stadium. Smooooth.


This picture is from when we took a trip to Portland to visit his mission. We got to swim in public water fountains, which was basically one of my dreams. So it was one of those Walk to Rememeber kind of moments. Although I didn't get to pull my shirt over my shoulder, and have him put on a sticky butterfly tattoo. Dang. I should have thought of that.

The Simple Life

I recently had the opportunity to attend a remarkably extraordinary wedding reception. (Yes I know that those words together are kind of redundant, but it was crazy!) The father of the bride is known to make a huge amount of money, and so no expense was spared. I did not know either the bride or the groom, so I had a really interesting perspective of what was going on. Before I delve into the deeper meaning I am trying to get across here let me describe this reception to you.
The first thing I see when I walk into the driveway is a prowler with weddings gifts stacked in it. I see a blue striped photo booth with a cute girl in a little red jacket handing out tickets for the activities. Everything was bright and happy like in the movies you watch as a kid. Right behind the ticket booth was a full fledged fair sized ferris wheel. I found my inner child when I realized how badly I wanted a ride. There were game booths manned by pretty girls wearing jackets that were uniform with the one the girl in the ticket booth adorned. Little kids walked around with intricate balloon hats and vests because they had found the magic balloon lady wandering around making balloon gifts for everyone. There was popcorn, cotton candy, drink booths, icecream and more. The tables where we sat down to eat our huge meal were decorated with huge flower bouquets and hand pulled candy. There was a photo booth where you could go in as many times as you want, and it would spit out the four picture strips. There was a dance floor laid out right next to the swimming pool designed to look like a red rock waterfall. It was crazy. People walked around with expensive clothes, tanned skin, and lots and lots of long bleached blonde hair. (I think I may have been one of two caucasian girls with dark hair there)
And there we were. The Utah Four. Two country boys with their wranglers, boots, and baseball caps, and the girls in bermudah shorts and t-shirts. For the first few seconds I thought about feeling out of place, but then I looked over at Spencer, and saw his beeming countenance, and decided to be happy to be exactly who I am, and have a grand time indeed doing it. And we did. We had an absolute blast, and met a lot of great people. As we were helping clean up afterward one girl mentioned to me feeling really inferior to that atmosphere and those people because she knew she would never have anything close to that caliber of a wedding reception. I thought about it for a minute. Thought about the people I'd watched all night long, and I came to the conclusion that I wanted to be nothing like them. We had met some incredibly Chirst-like people. The families of both the bride and the groom were so fantastic to us. But as I watched the other guests at the reception, I was saddened by how much IN the world they seemed to be. The wealthy have such problems that I would never want to battle. They battle with pride in a way I hope to never understand. They battle the fight for social standing. I simply always want to be happy to be me, and to have people I love around. As I watched the men there, I was so proud to be there with Spencer who is the most humble and good man that I know. It is good to know men like him still exist.
Really, the point is, I want my life to be simple. I don't want bookoo bucks or fancy things. I like my life.