Coming Home

One of my favorite parts of my Utah trip was coming home to my sweet family.  Lincoln came into the baggage claim with me and gave me a huge hug.  He said that he wouldn't trade me for a million gold bars.

Harrison's face lit up so big and wide when he saw me.  Just priceless!

Jackson had fallen asleep in the car, but when we got home he was so excited to lead me through a maze they had created as a welcome home gift.  There were lines of stuffed animals and arrows that wound me around in the kitchen and living room, then up the stairs to a little bag of goodies they had left for me.  Man I love these boys.

The Farm with Kindergarteners

Our buddies for the day

Everyone had a turn milking the cow - what a patient cow she is - with busloads of children doing that all day long!

I thought I would get a kick out of milking my first cow too, but found it to be way too familiar.  I think my milking days are over.  moo

The piglets liked to chew on shoelaces.  

Jackson's favorite part was the pony ride... I suspected it might be because he mentioned in one of his blessings on the food recently that he sure hoped he could ride a horse at the farm.

He freaked out and dropped his baby duckling.  Not a proud mom moment.  He said that he got him with his claws...
ummmm, ducks have webbed feet...

Amazingly enough, he did better with the chicks, which actually do have sharp claws.

and the chicken wins the cutest picture of the day award...  which I know will make Jeff happy.
 (he is trying to convince me we need pet chickens)

These girls were so funny.  The first one had a terrified look on her face until her  mom pointed the camera at her and she completely transformed into an immediate smile.  I loved the variety of chicken markings.

The most interesting thing about today was how much all of the adults (myself included) cringed as we watched these kids handling the animals, especially the babies.  I just kept thinking about how we can't watch the animals being mishandled without feeling pity for them, but we would happily stop off for a chicken sandwich on the way home without thinking twice.

The Weekend

Saturday I took one of Dayna's girls with me to the zoo while her sisters were busy with friends and soccer.  We met up with Barb, Pam and Corey's family.  Nice to have a chance to spend a little more time with them!

 Sunday after church our college roommate Cindi and her husband Randy (who was roommates and mission companions with Dayna's husband Jason) came and had dinner and a lovely evening with us.  It was so fun to see them again and meet all of their little ones.  I keep up with them through her blog somewhat, but it was great to see her again in person!  When she mentioned how long it had been since we had seen each other it made me feel really old - almost as old as we were when we met as freshmen.  Yikes!

Micah's Reception

The reception was beautiful and the cake was awesome - looking and tasting - pistachio!  What a surprise to see a green wedding cake.  I loved it!  It was a lovely evening (luckily all of the rain that poured in the morning went away!) and I thoroughly enjoyed spending it with family... especially some extended family I hadn't seen in such a long time.