Home is.....

One of Weston's favorite things to do at Grandma and
Grandpa house is to put together and take apart all of
Grandpa's instruments the clarinet, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone,
and bagpipes. He must have done this 100 times. Bless
Grandpa's heart to humoring him.


Weston with his favorite Aunt Keri.

Getting a few pointers on picture taking like how to point the
camera at actual people.

I would like to change the old saying a little bit to say home is all the places the heart is. We spent the last six weeks in Utah visiting family and friends. It really was a wonderful visit. So many sweet moments...... I would like to share a few, in no particular order.....

We made trip to Logan to visit my grandma Joyce she has progressive dementia which is taking her memory and other things along with it. Growing up I would always stand next to her at the piano and we would sing, old time songs, opera, musicals, hymns, everything. It was always a lot of fun even if it would go on longer than you has planned. She has forgotten lately that I sing and when we visited I sang for her 'Danny Boy, which was always one of her favorites. It was like a new experience for her to hear me sing just for her and she was thrilled. Every time we leave Utah now I just accept that it may be the last time I see Grandma and this was a good note to end on. I wish I could have sung for Grandpa one last time, but the words got stuck and only tears came. I sung for him later, I think he could hear me.

Ben and I started work on a CD together of baby songs like 'Blackbird', 'Over the Rainbow', etc. He has quite a setup and we had so much fun together. It was almost like a dream come true to actually be singing and recording, I always wondered how those earphones felt that they show on movies. It was an exhilarating experience. Thanks Ben.

So this may sound like a dumb thing, but the day before we left I got into a water fight with my dad and it was brutal. I made him surrender his big water gun and trade me for the puny one I started out with and he came back with a vengeance, a three gallon bucket to be exact. I felt like a little girl again. Thanks Dad.

We went to Bearlake with Kyle's family, and mine as well. It was such a great trip. It was so fun to see all the little boys going crazy on the beach, Elijah even ate part of the beach. I think my favorite part was that the people I love the most were all in the same place at the same time.

When we said our goodbye to the nephews after the first week, I was so touched even to tears when my nephew Alex gave me a hug and just hung on for a long time. We love Ethan, Alex, and Connor so much and enjoyed the time we got to spend with them.

Mom and I went for a long walk all around Farmington. We used to do that almost every Sunday. Back then we would talk about current boyfriends, school, and everything that seemed so important to me at the time. Our conversations have changed a little bit, but I still enjoy spending time with my mom just talking and walking and being. Thanks Mom.

Kyle's extended family has many daughter in-laws who get together now and then for a GNO (girls night out.) While I was in town we all went to see 'Mama Mia' at the huge screen Jordon commons theatre. It was a lot of fun, even though the show was a little racy. I love Abba music, in fact sometimes I like to pretend I am Abba. The highlight of the evening was when Patty and her sisters after spending a suspicious amount of time in the ladies room burst though the door in line singing and dancing to 'dancing queen.' It was hilarious! Thanks Patty

One evening, the one where Michael Phelps won the 8th gold, my sister in law Keri and I sat on the back patio and chatted about life and all its possibilities. I never had a sister, and always wished I had, it has been fun to do sister things with Keri. She is such an amazing woman and so much fun. Thanks Keri.

Kyle's dad is now retired and gets to spend time doing things like checking stocks,and golfing, and checking stocks, and playing with the grand kids, and checking stocks, you get the idea. :) Anyway my favorite memories of Grandpa Terry are the ones where he is playing guitar and Wes and Elijah are just glued. Their favorites are 'Little White Duck' and some other drinking songs that I can't remember. It is so cute to see them get so into it. Thanks Terry

So now we're home again........we spent the day unpacking yesterday, fixed a flat tire in one car and a clanking noise in the other and still haven't figured out how to get 6 weeks worth of bird stuff of the hood of our cars, but we were all happy to see our own beds. We were happy to reunite with friends at church today, it was a crunch to stay all three hours, but we did it. Weston got to play with his friend Carter and they were so happy to see each other that they bit each other, it's hard to know where 3 year olds are coming from. ....... So this is home here in Milwaukee. And home is Utah too. Home is wherever my boys are.