April 4, 2010

 

April, 4, 2010

Dear Family and Friends,

I am finally getting to write the letter for the last two weeks.  The good news is that it will be much shorter because of my lack of a memory.  At the beginning of the week that we left, I spent most of the time trying to clean the house and pack to leave.  Wednesday morning I went to help in B-man’s class.  They were having a big day learning of Kenya.  I helped the students make a shield and a mask in Kenyan style.  Later that day we finished the last minute preparations to leave.  Just as we were getting ready to go we did spend a bunch of time trying to find some lost gift cards.  After giving up hope, M checked again in a spot we thought had been checked and found them sitting there in plain site.  We were so happy to find them!  Everything went very smoothly at the airport.  We made it through security, but then had to wait a little for a delay.  I thought the flight would be easy.  It left just after their bedtimes, and so I assumed the boys would fall asleep and that would be the end of it.  I was sorely mistaken.  The main problem was that there was no seat for J.  So I had to hold him the entire flight.  J likes to be held, but NOT while he is sleeping.  I spent as much time standing holding him in various states of sleep/wakefulness as I did in my seat.  I got to know the flight attendants pretty well, and also every single person on that plane knew me.  It was exhausting.  It also meant that B-man had free reign while I was gone.  He was happy to watch TV. at his seat (thanks Jet Blue) and he even got comfortable enough to start ordering his own drinks.  Because he was so into the TV, and I couldn’t really move when sitting down for fear of waking up J B-man never went to sleep.  It was slightly a nightmare.  I was exhausted and ready to go to bed by the time we got to M’ house.  Luckily everyone slept in at least a little.  I think I found any excuse to be in bed the next day.

Thursday was a recovery day.  We also made an excursion to look at fabrics for a quilt that M’ parents are going to make for us.

Friday afternoon M came flew and made the drive to his house.  We spent the afternoon working on various yard projects and B-man loved the sunshine and some of the neighbor children.  That afternoon we made two more runs to the fabric store to finalize the decisions for the quilt.  The boys (M included) were very patient with the long decision making.  That night after the boys were in bed we played personal preference.

Saturday the grandparents were at the temple all day, so our little family went on a little excursion.  We drove to the Point Bonita lighthouse and the “Batteries” that were nearby.  We first walked to the Batteries.  B-man loved them, and the view of the ocean off of them was incredible.  To make it even more perfect there was a family of boys there with light sabers.  After several blissful moments we then walked to the lighthouse.  It was a pleasant easy walk, and we were so happy to have absolutely perfect weather.  You never know what the weather will be near San Francisco.  We had to wait for our turn to cross the little swinging bridge, but then we walked across and explored the lighthouse.  B-man kept trying to look for sharks.  We did see some Harbor seals, but no sharks.  After leaving the lighthouse we went to check out the Golden Gate Bridge.  The boys actually put a foot on it before we went to the car and headed back.  We made a stop on the way before finally making it home.  That night we had a fun pizza dinner and then played more Personal Preference.

Sunday was a pretty quiet normal day.  M sang in the choir, and after church we came home to have dinner and spend time together.

Monday morning we got up and got organized to go to Sacramento for the day.  We first went to the train museum that was downtown. It is in a fun little old town section of the downtown.  At first we were a little worried that B-man would be done with the museum after ten minutes, but then he settled into the museum and we were able to explore and enjoy the trains that they had on display.  After leaving the museum we treated B-man to some candy from a little store nearby.  We bought a few pieces of candy, very hopeful that they would be delicious, but they were gross!!  We were so disappointed.  We then headed to Deseret Industries to pick up M’ brother Samuel and spend some time with him.  We had a great couple of hours with Samuel.  He was very patient with the crying baby and general craziness that comes with our family.  The only complaint was how quickly the time went.  Too soon we had to head back home and get everything ready.  After a lot of effort at finding the ingredients, that night we had a tasty fondue dinner.  We also had a small FHE where we sang some favorite Primary Songs.

M was at the conference for the next few days in San Jose.  Back at his parents house we had a few very lazy and relaxing days.  We worked on the quilt.  Played with Legos and blocks, and watched a lot of Star Wars. 

With M back, we decided to go to the Jelly Belly Factory while Grandma was at a meeting.  Our only problem was that we forgot that it was the Friday before Easter and Spring Break.  There was a line more than an hour long to go on the factory tour.  B-man really wanted to go on the tour, and kept pointing out how patiently he was waiting.  We kept trying to “buy” him off so that we wouldn’t have to stand in line.  Finally we found the winning combination.  We had to buy him lunch and let him watch Star Wars.  It was totally worth it.  That night after the boys were in bed we were introduced to “Foyle’s War” a series done by the BBC.  We are excited to get the rest of the episodes from our library.

Saturday we got up and had a relaxing morning.  But then we also watched the morning session of Conference.  After the morning session we dyed Easter eggs.  B-man had a lot of fun with the eggs.  Then he ran with Grandma to the Jelly Belly factory to see if the lines were any better.  They were much shorter and they had just enough time to go through the tour before coming back home for the afternoon session.  That night we had dinner and then M went to Priesthood while Grandma went to another meeting. When M got home we packed watched more of “Foyle’s War” before going to bed.

Sunday was a busy day, and not our typical Easter.  We got up and way too soon M had to be off to the airport.  I was able to watch the morning session of Conference, and then in the time before we had to leave we did about a million things.  A mini egg hunt, finish packing, pack a lunch, pack the car, etc…  Then M’ mom drove us to the airport.  I was SO nervous for the flight, especially after our previous nightmare of a flight.  But I knew I would get there, and I said a lot of prayers.  Let me tell you, prayer works.  We made it through.  J had been sick the last several days, but somehow he was okay on the flight.  Things did get a little dicey in Chicago when we had a two hour delay, and then just as we were landing he lost it again.  But it was so much better in so many ways.  B-man put together a few little Lego sets I had bought and played with them really the whole time.  It was so wonderful. There still were never seats for J, but we made it.  We got home very late again, way past midnight, and were grateful for M picking us up, and a bed to collapse into.

We love you all!

R, M, B-man, and J