Crash!

Our flight home was at 12:50 a.m. Tuesday morning. It was an early flight, and I guess that is why we got a deal on tickets. When it came down to it, I wondered what I had done. I put the kids to bed at 9 Monday night. I woke them up at 11:30. We said goodbye to Grandma and headed to the airport. We checked two suitcases and had two carry-on suitcases and 5 bags and backpacks (plus 5 sleepy kids). The ticket lady gave my dad a pass so he could come back through security with me and the kids. I thought that was a huge blessing. He walked all the way to the gate with us. When we got there, we were the last ones on the plane. The ticket man said that there probably wasn't room for all our carry-ons and that they would check some for free. So we did the other two suitcases. Another blessing. We said good bye to Grandpa. We had the very back seats. Never again. It was very loud because of the engines and the stewardesses. They were talking and smashing cans the whole flight. The seats had TVs on them and so that distracted the kids so they didn't want to sleep. The flight was about 3 1/2 hours long and the kids slept a little. We got to Atlanta about 6:30 a.m. Eastern Time. We had a two hour layover. We spent it having some breakfast and a few tantrums. Someone would decide to just sit down right in the middle of the airport. No worries. We had two hours. We rode a train between the concourses. It was a funny sight for all the business people. I was the only one tall enough to hold onto a strap. So I held on and the kids held onto me. Well it took off very fast and the kids went flying and then it stopped and the kids went flying. It brought a few smiles to some faces. The kids thought it was fun. The flight home was uneventful. The kids slept more on this one. But it was only 1 1/2 hours long. Brent was in class having a test so he couldn't come pick us up. So he arranged to have a sweet lady, Dana Shaw, in our branch be there for us. She drove the Suburban so we would have enough room for people and stuff. We were so excited to be back in Florida. It was a wonderful time in Utah. I am so glad that I could see family and friends. But there is nothing like being together as a family. Goodbyes in Utah were sad, but not as nearly as sad as in January. Florida wasn't quite unknown and we had Brent waiting for us. We came home to a cute sight. Brent had decorated with a banner, streamers and balloons. He is so thoughtful. We were so glad to be home with him again. We missed him, but I think that he missed us more.
And then we CRASHED!!!

Everyone had a nap and even went to bed at a decent hour and slept though the night. It did take a couple of days to get used to the time change and lack of sleep. But we have all adjusted now. We had a great time. Wesley had a lot of fun with the Smiths. He went to scout camp, had sleep overs, went to Bear Lake, went to a water park and played hard. Janiel was able to see Jenna, Whitney, Maddy and cousins. We were able to have lot of picnics. We went to the mountains and went on hikes. We went to parks. The kids walked Missy with Grandpa. The kids played in the sandbox and on the swing set. Wes and Noah built a tree house. We attended birthday parties. We visited with Great Grandparents. We went to the movies three times (got to love dollar movies). We went swimming. We ate dinner at friends' and families' houses. I made apricot jam and sewed an appliqued runner for the top of the piano. I went to the temple with my parents. I went out to eat without the kids with my parents. We got haircuts. I got a speeding ticket. We went to a candy factory. We wore out the road between South Jordan and Lehi. And we got to be with the people that we love dearly. Wow. That is a lot packed into 5 1/2 weeks.