December 2011: Utah

Mike's last final was December 13th; We were Utah-bound the 14th. This time in the air! A couple months earlier, Mike found some incredible non-stop Delta flight prices. With partial skymiles we had, and the really good ticket prices, we were able to buy 4 round-trip tickets for $260! Yeah. Incredible! It probably won't ever happen again, but wow, it was nice! No packing/unpacking the van. No planning 2 days of meals, treats, and travel entertainment. No dealing with hotel room non-sleepers. Heavenly. The girls did great on the flight. Both Mariah and Elaine approached me before the flight to tell me they were both excited and a little scared to fly.

There were extra seats on the flight to Utah, so Sally got a carseat (hallelujah!). Elaine and Mike sat together, with Mariah across the aisle, with an empty seat next to her (perfect), and Sal and I sat behind Mariah. M wanted me to hold her hand during take-off but ended up telling me, "I don't need that anymore" about half-way through the ascent. Later, both she and Elaine said they loved how it felt. Sal also did great.

Just over an hour later, when the girls heard the captain saying we were beginning our final descent into Salt Lake, Mariah whipped around with this astonished look on her face, and said, "We're in Utah already?!" An hour and half on a plane is a whole lot nicer than 20+ hours and 2 days in a car. Too bad Sal's almost 2, and we realistically will not be doing that again for a very long time.

Our first stop was Grandma Orva and Grandpa Paul's. The girls love playing and reading at Grandma's house. I love it because they have room to breath and aren't constantly at each other's throats. They seem to enjoy playing together more there than at home.

My mom ended up having surgery on her ankle and knee the second day we were there, and recovery did not go as smoothly as planned, so she was down much of the time, but we still managed to visit, and it was nice to be there to help out.

Sally found some finery in the Christmas decorations.

Sunday dinner with Gibbs.

Elaine is 5 weeks older than Orva. They're a great pair!

Elaine and Orva wanted Mariah to read to them. They looked like this for about 30 seconds.

Then this:

And this (notice Sally's feet on the couch below Elaine):

 Uncle David is great with his nieces!

Christmas book from Grandpa Ray and Grandma Jody.

Christmas Eve we moved over to Grandma Shaunna and Grandpa Jim's, where, even with wedding plans going on, we were able to find time to relax and enjoy each other.

Gingerbread houses! I can't believe I didn't take any pictures of the houses!

 Goofy Sal climbed into a shopping bag. Mike made a swing out of it until one of the straps broke.

Mike and I got away for a night! Thanks, Babe, and thanks, Mom and Dad for watching the girls. They (Mariah especially) still talk about how much fun they had "when you and Dad were dating."

And then we came home. We were not so lucky on the flight home; it was full to capacity, which meant we wrestled with Sally the whole way home. I'd still take it, though, over 2 days in the car!

We had a great trip! More specifics to come:

Party at Grandma Jody's

Christmas Eve at Gibbs'

Christmas Day

Alli's Wedding

But in the meantime, here's a great partial video of my Dad singing happy birthday to Mariah, as only he can!