Simply US: Part Deux: Utah

From January 19-23, Brenna and I went to Utah to visit Aunt Tiercy. We had a great time visiting and spending time with the Hadlocks!
On the way to the airport, 2 exits away from the airport I realized that I did not have my license with me! I mean who does that? I am soo particular about that-I always check 3 or 4 times that I have everything I need; how did this get past me? I was amazed and miserable at the same time. Andy was so great; he simply turned around and headed back although I know it was the last thing he wanted to do or had time to do. He got us to the airport at 4:00 when our flight was leaving at 4:35! Luckily we did not need to check our bags and we just had to go through security and get to our gate in 20 minutes. We were so lucky that there were only about 4 people in front of us in the security line. So as we were walking quickly to the gate, I heard that they were trying to leave early. Brenna and I began to run. We made it by the skin of our teeth.
Our trip to Utah was uneventful. Thank goodness. Uncle Steve met us at the airport with dinner. We were so happy to see him. We had a great time talking to him on the way to their house. I was so glad when I found out that Tyler and Ethan were still up! It was so great to get big hugs from them. I wanted Tiercy to show me the house and when we went into Laney's room, we couldn't help but kiss her awake! It was so fun to see her too.
The next day I was having lunch with my friends from college! How fun it is to have these friends in your life that you don't see for a while and then you can pick right back up like you never left each other. We laughed and had a great time! I seriously think we sat there for four hours, long after we ate, just talking and having fun being together. We ate dinner at home that night with the kids as Steve had a late night work event! We had fun and I liked being able to talk with the Hadlock kids. Alayna had attached herself to Brenna. I don't think Brenna minded at all. And I would hear them giggling and laughing in her room. Ethan would sneak into their room to make the pair a trio! They were cute together. I went upstairs at one point and found them all on the Kindle fire watching a tv show. It was cute to see their heads snuggled together.
On Friday, I went out to lunch again (this time Tiercy didn't go) with Gayle and Marianne! It was so much fun again, sitting and talking, sitting and talking! And again it was as if we had never skipped a beat! Of course, we felt like Karlee and Carrie needed to be there. It was fun to hear about her children and what they were doing. Marianne and I also shared stories of our children. Unfortunately or fortunately, our children gave us lots of fodder and lots of laughter! Seriously, when I sit and talk with Gayle, it makes me want to move near to where she is. I love having her in my life. Later on after Tiercy picked me back up, we went and did some boutique shopping. I love the boutiques in Utah! They have the cutest clothes! Tiercy and I had fun trying on clothes. Brenna even picked out some really cute clothes.
Saturday morning we woke up to snow, snow and more snow coming down! It was really thick but not really sticking. We hung around the house. Tiercy and I were working on her scrapbook and the kids were hanging around the house playing the wii and watching tv! The one thing Brenna wanted to do was take Tyler and Ethan to go see the movie "We Bought a Zoo." She loves that movie more than words can say! She wants to share it with everyone she can. So we took the whole Hadlock family to the movies. Now, what was new and interesting about that was that when we bought our tickets we were able to pick our seats! Seriously, a place where you can choose the exact seats you want to sit in. Who knew? It was great. We got candy and drinks and sat back to watch a great movie. I think they liked it. I hope they liked it.
After movie, we went out to dinner at Cafe Rio. I think that is one of the Hadlock's favorite places. It doesn't really compare to anything like that at home, but it was delicious!! I wish we had one here. At Cafe Rio, the kids got a little restless and so I decided to give Ethan my camera to take pictures. He loved it! He took some pretty fun pictures; I could tell he was having a good time with it. Tyler wanted a turn too and so he had one! THe pictures were great and giving them the camera allowed us adults to talk a little more! And of course, you can't have dinner out without dessert! The consensus was Maggie Moos! What's not to love about it.
Sunday was church and it was fun meeting all of Tiercy's friends. We played a game called Wits and Wagers that was fantastic. It appealed to all ages and even Laney could play it. It pretty much is a game of giving your best guess to a question that centered around numbers. For instance, what percentage of teenagers text every day? Seriously, so fun!! Steve made a killer dinner of pork ribs and I was so happy to eat them one by one, licking my fingers after wards. Thanks Steve for making dinner. Sunday was hard because I knew we were leaving Monday. We celebrated Tyler and Ethan's birthdays! They were surprised and excited; they didn't expect it. We gave Ethan a BYU pillow pet and we gave Tyler money because he wants to buy an ipod. I went to bed early hoping to get back on east coast time.
We got up early and Tiercy took us to the airport. Good-byes are always hard, especially with my sister. What was a little surprising was that I didn't cry so much this time. I was equally sad and didn't want to go home as Tiercy. But I was ok or so I thought! It was only when I was sitting at our gate and our plane pulled up to our gate that got so teary!! I had to call Tiercy one more time to say good-bye! It was hard, but I did it! So, I won't say good-bye, I'll say until next time!