Welcome to Pennsylvania

My Aunt Carolyn came to visit last week and we had a wonderful whirlwind of adventures. The first day we chatted a lot and she rested after coming in on a red eye. Thanks go to Topher for picking up my phone and taking this picture.

The next day we toured the Martin Guitar factory. I took very few pictures, but here's a little proof we were there.

On Wednesday we trekked up to the Priesthood Restoration Site. It was soooooo cold and light snow fell a few times while we toured the homes of Joseph and Emma Smith and Emma's parents. Sophie reminded me that we had hand warmers in the car, so I ran to the parking lot and grabbed a handful as the tour took off without me. I caught up and quickly handed out our expired, but still functional, warmers. I was thankful that we had this small blanket in the van. We turned it into a hood for Topher.

One highlight was running into one of the sister missionaries that served in our ward last year. She was visiting her old mission with her parents. We had planned to be there an hour earlier, but were running late. If we'd come when we planned, we would have missed her. I think our tardiness was a tender mercy.

On Thursday we drove into Philadelphia and attended the Temple. Then we met up with Aunt Carolyn's friend and walked to eat at the Reading Terminal Market and then see several historical sites. We saw Benjamin Franklin's grave, the first Quaker church in the US, Christ Church (and George Washington's pew), and the Great Essentials (the US Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Articles of Confederation) in the West Wing of Independence Hall.

Bryan took on all of the dinner responsibilities and kept us well fed. It was great not having to worry about that.

Do As I'm Doing

We had a dinnertime visit from Uncle Jordan, Aunt Leah, and the cousins tonight! They were on their way home from a trip and stopped to eat with us and to chat for a bit. I was so busy talking that I didn't take any pictures. Thankfully, Sophie borrowed my phone and took these of Zariah and Maverick. Legend was there too, but he was busy playing with Topher and didn't join in the picture taking.

Thanks for being such a fun cousin, Sophie. And thanks for visiting, Jordan and Leah!

From Here to There to Here

Last week I flew from my local airport to Chicago, from Chicago to Denver, then from Denver to Idaho Falls. I now know that the Chicago airport has a dinosaur in it.

I also learned that United gives these gluten free goodies out as a snack.

Here I am with one of the people I came to visit, my youngest brother, Isaac.

It snowed while I was there. I was not pleased. I had to use my hotel key envelope to scrape the frozen stuff off my rental car. When that turned into a pulpy mess I resorted to just shoving the snow off with my arms.

My sister-in-law Falisha and I went to an art museum that included these lovely pieces. The combination of art and the written word really speaks to my soul.

She and I also enjoyed walking along the Snake River.

I took advantage of staying in a hotel less than a mile from the Idaho Falls Temple and walked over to do a session on Saturday morning. It was lovely. I especially appreciated that the weather cooperated, this was the nicest day we had while I was there.

On Tuesday I flew from Idaho Falls to Denver in a tiny plane.

As soon as we landed in Denver I took my phone out of airplane mode and discovered that my next flight (from Denver to Chicago) was delayed. Then as I exited the plane it was delayed even further. By the time I was in the Denver airport my next flight had been delayed so much that I was going to miss my connecting flight to get home.

I texted Bryan to update him on what was happening and we tried to find a solution. The United app gave me the option of rescheduling to a flight that would change my arrival time from 9:33 Tuesday night to 11:15 Wednesday morning. I didn't want to do that.

I decided to walk to my gate, even though the flight was so delayed. As I went I noticed a gate saying the next flight was going to Philadelphia. I had the thought that I needed to get on that plane. I tried to call United customer service and was bumped to a text conversation with an AI. 

When I got to my gate I saw that my Chicago flight was next, followed by a flight to Philly. I opened the app again and this time it gave me the option of a video chat. I was put through to a person almost immediately. I explained that my flight was delayed so I was going to miss my connecting flight. I said that if I could get to Philadelphia I could get home. I asked him if I could move my seat to the later Philadelphia flight. He said that plane was full, but there happened to be a flight to Philly leaving at 1:40 that had space that he could move me to.

It was a few minutes after 1:00 at this point.

While he changed my ticket I turned around and booked it back to the first gate I had passed, the one that I felt I should get on. That was the flight! I walked up as they were already boarding, told the situation to the gate agent, got a new boarding pass, then walked on to the new plane. The customer service agent stayed on the call with me until it was all fixed and I was walking down the gangplank.

I was so thankful that it worked out. Bryan was able to shift his schedule to pick me up and Cooper and Phoebe took over bedtime duties with Topher and Sophie (Peter was at work).

This is what the middle of the county looked like from the plane.

This is what Pennsylvania looked like from the air.

I exited the flight, so happy to be on the ground two hours earlier than my original itinerary dictated. I was waiting for Bryan at the curb outside the airport when I discovered that my third flight, the one I was going to miss, had been delayed. And delayed again. And then canceled. If I hadn't switched my flight I would have been stuck in Chicago.

I think that experience was a tender mercy.

Thanks for letting me visit, Falisha and Isaac!

The Littles

I took a last-minute trip down to my brother's house on Friday to lend a hand while my sister-in-law recovers from surgery. I played with my niece and nephew, read books with them, made dinner, chatted with my sister-in-law, visited an awesome library to the two littles, hung out a little with my older nephew when he got home from school, got kids into pajamas, tucked my niece and older nephew into bed, then rocked the youngest to sleep. It was a full day.

I totally failed to take pictures with my older nephew, but I did take some of the younger two while we were at the library, and then one during the rock-to-sleep.

I wish I could have been there longer, but I'm glad for the time I could give.

Words With Friends

A little more than a year and a half ago our dear friends in our ward moved down to Louisiana. We've kept in touch through Marco Polos, texts, video calls, Discord conversations, and video games. They came back up for a family reunion this week and took some time out to come have a distanced visit in our backyard. We were so happy for those few hours with our friends!

The Whole Gang

Paige and Emma headed off on the next leg of their adventure today. That meant we had to take some going away pictures last night.

We love you guys, thanks for visiting!

Matched

My brother Jordan and his wife Leah came to visit for the long weekend. We loved having them here. They played board games with the kids, watched movies with us, and stayed up way too late talking. It was wonderful.

Jordan and Peter unintentionally matched on their first day here.

A highlight for the kids was getting avocado face masks that Leah brought.

Thanks for visiting guys!

Instant Best Friends

On Sunday after church we had a lovely visit from my friend Liz and her two daughters. Liz was part of the epic MBASA book club that I was in while Bryan was in grad school. She was a good friend and we've kept in touch. I was delighted to get a message from her last week saying that she was visiting family near enough to come see us and asking if we were available. Of course I said yes!

Her younger daughter Adelaide and Sophie were born the same year. Sophie loved that she had someone just her size to play with. In fact, Sophie shared our riding horse on wheels with Adelaide, but was quite upset when her older sister Zara rode it. I asked Sophie what was going on and she said, "She can't ride it. It's only for little blonde girls." So I guess Adelaide's blondness earned her points as well.

Zara and Phoebe are only a week apart in age and they used to play together during those MBASA years. Neither girl remembered the other, but by the end of the reunion they had each pledged to be BFFs, were planning future visits, and were terribly heartbroken to be parted.

Phoebe was so sad in fact, at Zara's departure she dressed herself in black and announced she was mourning.

Seriously.

Thanks for visiting Liz! We loved it and looked forward to seeing you all again.

Important Introductions

Bryan's sister Melinda and her family came to visit this weekend. We loved playing with cousins at home and the park and had a fun picnic. In fact, we had so much fun, that I only pulled my camera out once.

My favorite part of the visit was when two-year-old Emma met Topher for the first time. As soon as she saw him, in her sweet, tiny, excited voice she cried out, "Baby! Baby!" It was adorable. Sam and Nathan also thought Topher was cute, but they weren't taken with him the way Emma was.

Sophie was eager to instruct her cousins on proper baby etiquette. She told them to be gentle and to avoid his soft spot and to give him kisses. They followed her directions well.

Thanks for making the trip guys! We loved seeing you!