So, Nicholas relapsed right before and right after I arrived in UT so instead of returning on Sept. 30th when we had originally planned, Taylor and I stayed some additional time. In fact, Taylor is still there, but that's another story.
A lot of the time was spent dealing with Nic's stuff but I was able to do some more visiting with friends and a lot of time just trying to relax with family.
So a recap: Got to have a couple of hours with sweet baby Oscar at friend's Kirt and Jerry's. While I was there a board member from Plan B Theatre came over (as well as actor friend Jason Tatom). Tami, from the board, is a retired psychologist and gave me a lot of good insight into things. We talked for a good long time but the thing that really stuck with me was "never let your child think you've given up on them". Basically, when things look the worst, you need to have an ally....someone who believes in your ability to succeed. Just what I needed to hear at just the right time. The timing...a God thing.
Jessica's birthday kind of got lost in the shuffle (It was the same day as Kristen's wedding) so I did at least drop her by a cupcake at work and may or may not have sung to her in front of everyone! Paige had a birthday the next day and Mom & dad celebrated their wedding anniversary at Kristen & Jase's open house in St. George! It's clearly a popular week!
Once Tom arrived we had a short window to do a lot of things but while most of the extended family had gone to St. George for the wedding open house down there.....we sat through THREE of Jessica's softball games on a cold Friday night. Fortunately we had mom and & dad's warm coats & blankets...plus leftover sandwiches from the wedding reception to keep the team energized. They won all three games!
Before Tom left we drove up Trapper's Loop to the Shooting Star Saloon for Star burgers with Craig and Denise. It's kind of a tradition. Pretty ride, and good cheap food!
It's elk hunting season in Utah so the guys were getting ready to head to the mountains. Mom and I decided to ride up with them to drop dad, the truck and trailer off then come back down with Jeff and Karen. Because of everyone's work schedule they're all going up at different times. It took a full day to get up there, get set up and get back down, but it was a beautiful ride. Dad stayed up by himself to just enjoy the quiet I think. Craig and Ryan went up and Craig got a big moose elk that nearly killed them trying to get back to camp. The three of them came down Sunday then Dad, Jeff and Ryan went back up after a couple of days. Haven't heard if they got anything else....but there was 4 inches of snow by the last day.
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| Their gorgeous camp spot |
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| Nixon went too. He clearly loves wearing my sweater! |
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| Selfie in the mountains |
We had a sleepover at grandma's with Jess, Sara and Robyn one friday night. We watched the end of the BYU game then Pitch Perfect while Paige went to see Rick Springfield in Wendover. I took them home the next morning early to get to soccer games and Jess, mom and I went to Aunt Lucille's 90th birthday party in Morgan. I love the drive up there. So pretty....... We also had lunch at Steph's cafe then drove up Trapper's Loop and down Ogden canyon to Rainbow Gardens for a little shopping!
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| One morning a deer was standing out behind mom and dad's shed |
Went to visit with my friend Sue Campbell and see her darling house. I used to do a bunch of voice over work for various companies she worked with and we became fast friends. She's had her own share of rough times and I love that we can always laugh and cry together.
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| Lisa and Teri Selfie |
Got to see Lisa, Phil and Sue when we went to Alpine Church then grabbed bagels and chatted at Einstein's afterwards. I miss Sunday's with those guys!
Mom and dad watch Nixon on Mondays so we got a lot of fun time with him. He LOVES driving the car but especially the truck. He gets in, turns all the buttons, adjusts the mirrors and could happily play there for some time. He also likes my piano. Mom played too while I was there so I'm glad it's getting some good use until I have room for it again. Also grateful it's not sitting in the storage shed with a bunch of stuff crammed on top of it.
Speaking of the storage shed. Once again, I packed up Nic's stuff from the room mom and dad had set up for him and stored in their basement. Lydia's mom had a bunch of furniture (including a king sized bed) that belonged to Lyd that she wanted Nic to have so Craig and Dad helped me load all that into Craig's truck and cram it into the shed as well. If he ever has his own place he'll certainly have plenty of furniture.
Back to Taylor. So when he and I flew in and while we were waiting for our luggage......I saw Taylor scanning the airport. Suddenly Mariah appeared (the Altoids he was popping as we landed should have been my first clue) and this was basically the last we saw of him except for rare appearances at the wedding dinner and reception. He was laid off from his job a couple of weeks before we left DC so now he's trying to decide where his journey takes him from here. He's thinking of moving to NYC for a few months with friends. We'll see how that plays out......
Really, most of the time if I wasn't needed elsewhere....I just hung out with mom and dad. They have an incredibly s...l....o....w computer so I would go over to the ultra-cool library by their house to use those.
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| Cool cafe and coffee place with internet connection in the booths |
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| Meeting areas in library |
Mom and dad have a Mexican market near them that they love with incredibly good prices on produce. Had to check that out.....
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| More ball games with Jessica (she plays with 2 different teams) |
Overall, it was a difficult trip and a joyous trip. Lots to celebrate but still many things we need to overcome. I'm grateful for parents who welcome us home any time we need it. Much time was spent just watching tv...old movies, Frasier, LDS conference, me with my cross-stitch, mom with her knitting or just running errands and chatting. I'm blessed to have such a great extended family who step in and help us whenever we need it. Will be returning to Utah mid-Nov for another court date for Nic. Sigh.
So I had to fly US Airways back to DC to get a decent price. Because they charge for checked bags I decided to carry on my luggage. Whoa! Apparently 2 Yankee candles look like liquid in containers when going through the scanner. One search. Apparently a bag of coins looks like....well, metal. Search number two. I had strategically placed everything in my bag so it would be squished enough to get in the overhead but no......now the TSA had done a little re-arranging and US Airways decided it was too big to carry on. Thus, it was checked at the boarding of the plane. However, I didn't realize I was supposed to pick it up THERE when we landed. Probably because when I asked the attendant...."Will my bag follow me to Baltimore?" and he said "Yes." I don't know....I took that to mean it would follow me to Baltimore. However, when we changed planes in Philly onto this little thing with propellers......apparently my bag actually just went on with the other plane to Dallas/Ft. Worth. Alas. My bag showed up 24 hours later. At least they delivered.
