Utah trip 2012 part 2

We are very excited that Brigham City is getting a temple. It is a beautiful temple and there is a great feeling about it.

Heidi loved my dad. When they picked us up at the airport I was taking her out of the Ergo to put her in the car and out of the blue she reached for my dad. It made me so happy. She has a lot of stranger anxiety lately, but she wasn't afraid of him at all. She just snuggled right up to him.

Heidi playing with Michelle, Elizabeth, and Ellen in the backyard:

highlights of my Utah trip--a travelogue

Last week I took a trip to Utah and had such a great time. My parents are coming to visit us in a few weeks, but I felt like I needed to see my brother and sisters and my grandparents, so I decided to make the trip with a newborn baby by myself. I thought it was so interesting that people were impressed that I was travelling with such a little baby, because I thought it was really easy. Try travelling with Kevin--even when we took him to Utah at about 5 months he was bouncing off the walls. With Heidi all I had to do was feed her and hold her and get her to sleep. I just put her in the Baby Bjorn and that left my hands free for my suitcases (which hook together) and backpack and her car seat.

On the way there I had one long flight to Phoenix and another short one from there to Salt Lake. On the long flight I was very fortunate because I ended up in the same row as another mom with a lap child and another lady, but they asked the lady to move because there are only four oxygen masks per row, so the other mom and I got to share the empty middle seat. The extra space was awesome. I wasn't quite so fortunate on the long stretch of the flight home, though, because the person in front of me reclined her seat (I know, I should have asked her to put it back up). I know plane seats don't recline much, but space is really nice to have when you have a little baby, and it's already pretty cramped on airplanes.

My family picked me up at the airport and took me home. It was so exciting to see them. It was the first time I had been home for a year and a half. On the way home I was really surprised to see that they are still doing construction on I-15! I was also briefly amazed at how expensive gas was there, except then I remembered that gas is actually even more expensive here.

My sister Michelle (16) had stayed home instead of coming to the airport. When she came out of the house to greet us, I started to say, "Hi, Michelle," except then I realized I was looking up at her and I said, "Holy cow, you're taller than me!"

I'm already missing the water. It tasted so good, even when it wasn't very cold. I guess the minerals in the water are different here in NC. I always have to put a lot of ice in it before I like it. What I really miss is the well water we drank at our old house in Idaho.

Elizabeth (my eleven-year-old sister) was so nice to let Heidi and me sleep in her room. Heidi didn't sleep very well the first night for some reason. She kept waking up every couple of hours, and normally she only wakes up once in the middle of the night. She did better the next few nights.

Ellen (my seven-year-old sister) loves Heidi. She loved helping me take care of her, from diaper changes to dressing her to entertaining her during tummy time. She's a natural mother already. She did a good job holding her, and Heidi even slept in her arms a few times. When Heidi took a nice long nap one afternoon, Ellen kept saying that we should check on Heidi again because she might be awake. Everyone enjoyed meeting and holding Heidi. It was great to be able to ask who wanted to hold her whenever I needed a shower or wanted to have both hands to eat.

Ellen holding Heidi--she was so excited that Heidi slept on her.

Most of the time we just spent time at the house talking and spending time together, but we did do some fun things together. On Wednesday we went to the bishop's house and picked apricots, and then we spent the afternoon canning them. We tried making apricot sauce using the strainer, but Ian (my 9-year-old brother) was the only one who liked it. It was like baby food. My grandma also brought over some green beans, which we snapped and canned.

On Thursday I went with my mom and Ian and Ellen to swimming lessons. It was the last day, so they were doing tests and also did some races. Ian and Ellen both had friends who were also taking swimming lessons, and they invited them over to play afterwards. In the afternoon Michelle got a text from Melissa (almost 21) saying that she was on her way home from BYU. When Melissa arrived, she told us about a recipe for Orange Chicken that was really good, and we decided to have it for dinner, so we went to Walmart to get the ingredients.

Heidi has lots of headbands, but most of them are a little too tight and they leave a mark on her head, so I'm afraid they hurt her head. But she has one that is plain pink with no bows that works really well, so while we were at Walmart I bought two packages of little bows that have clips, so now I can clip them onto the plain pink headband, and they look adorable. I could easily have spent $20-30 on clips if I didn't have any self-restraint--but I'm way too cheap to go that far. I'm excited to have lots of little bows to put in her hair. I'm even thinking of going to Michael's to get some supplies for some flower clips . . . except I'm starting school on Tuesday.

On Friday my mom had a job interview for a position as a music teacher at an elementary school. The day after I got home she found out that she got the job! I am so excited for her. While she was at the interview she asked me to make pizza dough so we could have pizza for lunch. Melissa cleaned some things in the kitchen and talked to me while I made the dough.

Friday evening we ate dinner at my grandparents' house. I was really looking forward to my grandparents meeting Heidi, and we had a really nice time. Grandma made roast and potatoes and gravy, my mom made rolls and no-bake cookies, and Elizabeth made homemade brownies that tasted just like they were from a mix (which, in my opinion, is a good thing). My Aunt Maria also came with a couple of her daughters for a while. We had a good time talking. My grandpa said of Heidi: "Well, she's a dandy . . . a keeper, as they say. We haven't had one yet that wasn't."

Dad and Heidi (with Ellen)

Every night I intended to go to bed early, but I always ended up staying up late and talking to Melissa, Michelle, and Elizabeth. The good conversation was worth the lack of sleep, though.

On Saturday I went with Mom, Elizabeth, Ian, and Ellen to Shopko. Elizabeth needed a shirt to go with a jumper she sewed for 4-H, and I was running out of diapers for Heidi. I found some shirts that were on sale that I liked, so Ellen and Elizabeth held Heidi so I could try them on. I'm slowly building up my supply of not-maternity clothes again.

At some point during the day, Ian got wet playing outside in the water. When he came in, he combed his hair with a side part, and a while later Mom saw him looking into the mirror, and saying to himself, "I think I'm pretty handsome!" (He is.) Ian and Dad went together to get haircuts that afternoon. I think it's a fun thing for them to go get hair cuts together.

In the evening we went to a stake party. There were sloppy joes, corn on the cob, salad, and watermelon for dinner, and then there was a talent show and swimming afterwards. The sound system wasn't great, and most people didn't really listen to the singing, but it was still fun to be there as a family and meet some of my parents' friends.

Mom holding Heidi at the stake party

Sunday was church. My parents' ward definitely has a different demographic than our ward. Most of the sisters in Relief Society had already raised their families. In the evening there was a ward ice cream social held down the street from my parents' house. There's a man in the ward who likes to make different kinds of homemade ice cream. Apparently he made bacon-flavored ice cream once--Elizabeth says it's really good. This time there was banana, cherry, and "Barocky road." (The pictures should explain what Barocky Road is--apparently the person who made it got an email with this in the message.)

We took some pictures on Sunday:

Back: Elizabeth, Michelle, Melissa, Me (holding Heidi); Front: Ellen, Ian

All of Mom and Dad's female descendants!

Ian wanted a picture of him holding his cat, Fox. (There's also another cat named Lottie.)

The last night, Ian wanted to sleep in Elizabeth's room with Heidi and I. It reminded me of when he was little and he would come up to my room in the middle of the night and climb into my bed with me.

Monday afternoon was when my plane left, but I wanted to see Ryan's two sisters who live in Utah, so I went to Eliza's house for a few hours that morning. Ryan's mom was there visiting, and Becky came over with some of her kids. I was really glad that I took the time to go see them, and I felt grateful that even though Ryan wasn't there I still felt like I belonged and was part of the family too.

Heidi was excited to be reunited with her Grandma Tanner, who she met for the first time a few days after she was born.

Heidi meeting two of her cousins, Lucy and Henry. (I love Henry's hand on her knee!)

The lady who sat by me from Salt Lake to Chicago Midway was really nice. We ended up talking quite a bit. She told me about her son who was going to boarding school in Provo. Her husband had passed away a few years ago, and her son never really dealt with it, and she felt that the therapy program at this boarding school would help him. She said she has a lot of respect for Mormons and really appreciates the loving and safe environment her son has in Utah. It would be cool if her experience with her son being in boarding school in Provo led to an interest in joining the church.

It was so great to come out of the airport and find Ryan and Kevin waiting for me. I was sad to leave my family in Utah, but I had really missed Ryan and Kevin. It actually took me a second to recognize Kevin because for some reason I was expecting a smaller version of Ian. Kevin was really excited to see me, and he also was happy to see that the baby was back (so he does like her!). He wanted me to put Heidi right in his lap in the car seat.

Heidi had a couple of victories while we were in Utah. I got her to take a bottle for a full feeding twice while I was there, which means she'll still be able to eat while I go to class. Maybe I can even consider going to the temple sometime soon. I had been starting to worry because we had tried several times to give her a bottle and she would only take about an ounce under protest, but now I think it will be okay with a little more practice. The other victory was that one time she found her thumb and sucked it until she fell back asleep. I caught it on camera. I know that if she becomes a thumb sucker we'll have to deal with giving it up at some point, but she wants so badly to find it that I still feel happy for her. She hasn't found her thumb again since, but I often find her staring at her fists, trying very hard to figure out how to get one in her mouth instead of whacking her eye.

And that's about it. I've been back since Tuesday and I'm still trying to get unpacked. My mom and I got out a lot of my old dresses that I wore when I was a baby, and they still look really nice, so it will be fun to dress Heidi in them. I'm pretty sure there aren't enough Sundays for Heidi to wear all of her dresses.

A tribute to my dad for father's day

Recently I read a note that was a sort of list of rules from a protective father to the boys his daughter was going to go out with. You come across things like this all the time in movies and songs--the father sits and cleans his guns or sharpens his knives while telling the boy not to break his daughter's heart or try anything indecent and to be sure to get her home early. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with being protective of one's children, because parents should care about their children and do their best to keep them out of harm. But there was always something about this scenario that bothered me. I'm grateful that I never had a need to worry about how my dad would treat a boy if I brought him to meet my family. I don't remember feeling a bit nervous when Ryan came to meet my family at Thanksgiving when we were dating, because I knew my family would try very hard to make him feel comfortable. I've often thought that my dad had a much better method than scaring the boys into being nice to me: First, he taught me that I shouldn't put myself into precarious situations that would hurt me, so I never considered going out with the kind of boy who would make my dad want to get the knives out. Second, he himself was an incredible example of the kind of boy I did want to go out with and ultimately marry. I knew that I wanted the loving and eternal kind of relationship that my parents have, and I knew that I wouldn't be able to find that with just anybody. I wanted to be around young men who were thoughtful and intelligent because that's how my dad is--the shallow, conceited boys never really interested me, no matter how cute they were, because they were boring and didn't value the things that were important to me. Thank you, Dad, for respecting and accepting the person I decided to marry, and for teaching me what I needed to do to have a celestial marriage.

I think the priesthood made a big difference in the atmosphere of our home when I was growing up. That was such a blessing. I can think of a few different times when life seemed to be getting really hard, and the thought came into my head that I needed a blessing from my dad. Those were special experiences, and somehow he knew exactly what needed to be said in the blessing, even if I hadn't told him what was worrying me.

My dad is strong and works so hard. For a while growing up I slept in the room beside the coal furnace, and in the winter I would watch him in the morning while he shoveled coal into it before waking me up. I probably didn't need him to wake me up, but I think I liked listening to him shoveling the coal and looking forward to him opening my door and saying good morning. He took care of the farm pretty much by himself, and he also did a majority of the yard work. It was probably pretty hard work. I remember we had two enormous pine trees in our yard, and once he got underneath them at the bottom and chopped away the lowest branches--the higher branches were still so long that they reached the ground, so both of the trees were like a house, and we had lots of fun playing under them. I thought he was brilliant because he had figured out how to do that. We all liked to go ride with him in the tractors or come with him when he irrigated--which, now that I think about it, probably took up the majority of his farming time. I guess he spent the summers walking or riding along beside the ditches setting up mini-dams and doing his thing with the siphon tubes (I could never figure out how he got the water to flow up the tube and then run down into the fields). I remember the way he smelled when he would come home for lunch--like tractors and plants and soil. I kind of miss that.

When I was in middle school and high school Dad was able to come to several of our field trips, and he even played his trombone with our pep band for a few years. I really enjoyed having him there. I've never been able to understand why kids are ashamed to be seen in public with their parents. I'm proud of mine.

Once he and I were at the Department of Motor Vehicles waiting in line so that I could get a new driver's license (we were required to get a new one at age 18). The line was very long because Driver's Ed was starting the next day and lots of people had procrastinated getting the necessary paperwork done. I found myself looking around at the teenage kids standing in line with their fathers. I could tell there was a difference between their dads and my dad. For one thing, many of the dads there were unshaven, dressed shabbily, and hiding uncombed hair under hats. My dad always has a clean, shaved face and wears clean, respectful clothing, if that makes sense. I appreciated that he puts some care into his appearance. But there was also something more about my dad that those other dads didn't have, and I think it was a different perspective about his role as my father. I think he tries to remember that his calling as a husband and father extends through all eternity. He knows that he is a son of God and that he is part of God's work. Because of that wonderful testimony, there is dignity, faith, and purpose in the way he looks and acts. You can see that difference in his face. I also know that we receive power and increased understanding by receiving the ordinances of the temple, and because my parents were married in the temple they invited that special something to be part of our family.

My three youngest siblings were born after I was twelve, so I remember their births pretty well. I like the memories I have of watching my dad holding them when they were tiny. He loved them. He wanted to be a father. So many people today don't want the burden of a family, but he does want a family. As our baby's birth comes closer, I am feeling excited to see what my husband looks like holding our son. I'm looking forward to watching them play together and seeing Ryan teach our baby about the gospel and many other things. I'm grateful that I am married to somebody who wants to have a family like my dad does.

I found some photos of me with my dad, and I thought they were so cute I wanted to share them:

The day he confirmed me a member of the church (I'm sad that the scan didn't turn out as nice as the actual photo):


I love to accompany my dad on the piano while he sings. He has a beautiful voice and loves to sing for people, and I've always enjoyed making beautiful music with my dad. At our reception on the day Ryan and I got married, Dad sang "The Men in my Little Girl's Life" and "Turn Around." That's a memory I will always treasure. Thanks to Aunt Maria for taking pictures while he sang.