Utah Summer Trip 2013

My old pal Mr. Sandman has bailed on me tonight and for the past hour I have not been able to sleep.  Me!  Come ON!  For the past 6 months I have been achieving knocked-out-with-a-mag-light sleep in about 5 seconds.  I hadn't slept so well since my mission.  I feel like tonight's bout of insomnia is cruel because as it is, I still spend Jude's nap being fairly still to conserve all the energy so I can be the best mom I can to him while he's awake.  Anyway, since I've given up on sleep for a little while, I shall be productive in the record way.

At the end of June my cousin Kyle McOmber got married to Mackenzie!  So now her name is Mackenzie McOmber.  How awesome is that.  See?  It's not even a question.  I remember driving along in the AstroVan one day when I was in high school and I found out that Meredith is also a last name (I may have told this story on this blog before, can't remember now).  WHAT?!?!  "Mom!  What if I fall in love with a guy whose last name is MEREDITH???  What would I do??!!  I can't go by my middle name or something, I've always BEEN MEREDITH! It's who I AM!"  "Merzy?"  "Yeah?"  "Let's worry about that when it happens, ok?"  

Then a few years later I started hoping I'd fall in love with a guy with the last name Montgomery, because I thought "Meredith Montgomery" sounded quite spectacular, but of course I find myself quite lucky to have wound up with a beautiful classic like Hayes and didn't need any time to warm up to it.  

But back to Kyle and Mackenzie: Mackenzie McOmber.  Now how's that for alliteration (which I love).  

We piled into the car around noon, and drive we did.  I've decided I can stop cataloguing every moment of every road trip; they are all sort of terrible and fun in their own way, and Jude will probably never, ever, ever be thrilled about the "buckled" concept for the entire drive, but we always make it through having saved more money than if we'd flown, and alive.  All's well that ends well.  I'd forgotten that taking a long road trip while nursing is fraught with times when you need to stop but can't, and then when you can stop the baby might be sleeping, or not hungry, etc., but oh well.  We lived.

And so, here is a 3:30 a.m. presentation of UTAH: Summer 2013!

Almost there, Jude!  Almost there!  

Isn't Utah just beautiful???  I'm always so happy to come here, and I'm always so happy to return home to California, so I don't really know what to do about that.  I never want to leave either place.

Playing with Cousin L.  Jude was nicer to her than at Christmas, when he'd often greeted her with "NO NO NO!"

I can't handle all the love I have for this baby.

Uncle Robert giving a Rehearsal Dinner toast.  My mom quietly exclaimed, "He looks JUST like my Grandfather Lambert up there!" So I took a picture so she could show him later. 

I hadn't been to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in so long, and it was beautiful and great to get the weekend festivities started. 

Angie is so much fun to talk to -- Graham and I agree.

Cousin J

In heaven

Also in heaven

Ready for church!

He had 4 adults smiling at him in his high chair test drive, so he thought high chairs were great!

I loved this old Similac can!  I was looking for a pen and got side tracked freaking out about what the pens are kept in.  Jeff told me that they've used that as a pencil holder for as long as he can remember.  I weaned Jude at about 7 or 8 months and so I got to know Similac quite well a couple of years ago.

Love abounded at Paradise Cafe.  There could not be a sweeter picture.  My kids are so lucky!

And zee bride and groom!  The whole thing was beautiful.  The dinner, the sealing, the reception, I loved it all.  

Some of my girls. 

At the reception -- Jude couldn't quite handle waiting for his mum for a picture, but I love him for his rascally energy.

Mother's Lounge at church

Ah the Utah dry heat of summer.  We came in from some errands or something and Jude beelined over to the floor vent, and cooled his britches on the cool air.  Smart.  :)  I really do love dry heat -- it's strangely addicting.

And far too quickly it was time to turn right back around and drive home.  The silver lining was we got to stop in Provo for a couple of hours to visit with the Smith girls (now the Buskirk and Caffee girls).  Plus their dad, Kristina's husband, and all of the kids.  I should mention Kristina and Elise were visiting their parents who live in Provo, so the stars aligned for this visit.  We brought Diet Coke and M&Ms (these geniuses share our love of these staples), and they brought the Einstein's Bagels, the kids played, and we sat and talked and talked and didn't miss a beat.  

We can't wait to see them again!!

And then just like that we were home again.  I already miss it.