WARNING: This is a large, unwieldy, stream of consciousness post. Please do not expect it to have smooth transitions or an overall theme. I pretty much just typed what I wanted around the pictures, which were taken in chronological order. Enjoy!
James flew for the first time this last Friday. I was really anxious about how it would go and was relieved when it went better than I had imagined. We arrived early in the morning at Newark airport and made it through security without a problem. James got a lot of smiles and enjoyed charming his public. We were surprised by how many people were willing to strike up conversations with us because of James. It was nice but a little unnerving.
We let James try out a hard cookie on the plane ride to Utah. He was awe struck by the flavors and seemed to analyze the chemical makeup of the cookie as he slobbered away, gumming it with an intent expression on his face. Since then he focuses right in on food, especially once he sees me eating it.
James did pretty well although he did fuss a little in the middle of the flight. He was rescued by Sister Kelly, who is in our ward and was also on the flight. (It's a small world after all....) The descent was hard on his ears but he only cried for a short time and then was his normal happy self. Pheww! We were glad to have arrived.
We picked up our rental car... or should I say minivan? We had requested a compact car but got upgraded to a minivan because the compact cars were all out. We felt like an established family driving around in it. Fun.
This is us in front of Sizzler. We were very hungry after our trip and it was great to eat and see friends.
From Left to Right: Daniel, Charity, James (A-1 bottle), Margaret, Renae
We were amazed at how much the Budge kids have grown! They seem to have become miniature teenagers overnight. They are all taller and have each developed more individual personality. It was nice to see them. James was in awe of all the big kids. Caleb took a shine to him on the first day and started bringing him Lego blocks to play with. The rest of the kids commented on how cute he was and on how sad it was that he 'can't do anything' yet.
Grandma Chapin was also there, taking care of all the important details like food and laundry. She was happy to see James, and us too. She took very good care of us and it was such a nice visit. We stayed with her in a camping trailer in the side yard and had a great time catching up. It was a really nice camper and now Daniel and I are dreaming up our own 'dream trailer'. Hee hee.
Here's our baby basket case.
In the trailer, relaxing.
We were pleased to have James meet Matt and Cryssy. Matt says that James took a shine to him because they both have the same hair cut. Cryssy was able to get a lot of 'baby-therapy' because James was very happy to have her hold him.
Tall, dark, and handsome.... Daniel was an immediate hit with all the girls.
James took a page from his cousins and got very much more coordinated over the weekend. So much so, that he was able to wrestle some with his dad.
Once we booked our trip we began to realize how many other people we know who live in Utah. During our weekend we were able to meet up with a few of them. I was happy to see Renae, Margaret, Wendy, and Christie.... and to have them meet Daniel and James. We had such a good time catching up that I didn't want to leave. It was nice to hang out with them and to visit. We only wish we could have seen everyone. Friends are truly precious.
How big is James? This big....
Despite his intriguing encounter with his hard cookie, James is still averse to some solid foods-
Die banana!
We also got to see Cameron, one of Daniel's school buddies. He and Daniel had fun talking about design, school, old friends, etc. Apparently, he was really happy to see Daniel...
This is us with my friend, Christie. She's the programmer that I want to be like when I grow up. Her recipe program is amazing!
Me and Renae:
Renae, Charity, Margaret, James:
We took a driving tour of Provo on Monday. Here is the house that Daniel lived in during college:
The beautiful Provo temple:
Here's Hurricane Hannah tearing through breakfast:
The Howell's and the Budge Parents:
We arrived at the end of the second week of school for the Budges. Nathanael is in the 6th grade, Sari is in the 5th grade, Bekah is in the 3rd grade, and Rachel is in 1st grade, and Cryssy is in the 7th to 8th grade (as the teacher!). Cryssy is one of the math teachers at the charter school that the kids are going to. I am very proud of her. She is getting her certificate at the same time that she is teaching. The school administrators were impressed with her resume and, no fools, offered her a job when she applied this summer. She is loving teaching and sharing one of her favorite subjects, math, with kids. Although there are many more meetings than she is used to, the job is a blessing to her and her family.
Cryssy and the kids going off to school. Bye! We'll miss you!
We had a very very very long day of travel on Tuesday to get home. It really made us appreciate being home when we finally go here. We left Tuesday morning, got through security, and got on our plane. Unfortunately, our plane never left SLC. We sat during the flight check, and then another flight check because it had failed the first brake check. Then we waited for the mechanics to come and do a manual check. Which it failed. Then we waited while they did three more different tests, to make sure it had really failed. People were leaving the plane like rats jumping ship. Daniel was one of those rats. He got us on another later flight so when the flight attendants said to get off the plane (without admitting that they were cancelling the flight) we had a plan 'B'. We had hoped that the delay would mean that we could see my sister in Dallas during the layover but that time got eaten up by the many failed brake checks.
James was a very good baby during this time. We, and everyone around us, kept him entertained. The only problem was that he did not get any sleep during our three hour sit. We trooped off and got on our second flight ......and then our third flight. When we arrived in Newark our little guy was limp and sleepy in my arms. Poor baby. He seemed very happy to finally be in his car carrier and then home when we got there. It was 3am. He's been making up on his sleep during the day since then.
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