Utah Day 6 & 7 - the End

Earlier in the week, I texted Nicole to see if there was any way we could meet up with Alyson while we were here, and she is always so willing to bend over backwards to make it work if at all possible. She has a pretty crazy work schedule where she works five graveyard shifts a week, but she said they could meet us for breakfast Friday morning after her night shift. So I found a little café in Ogden, which was about exactly halfway for us. We met there at 9 AM on Friday and had an extremely delicious breakfast and got to hang out and chat for a couple hours. I SO wish we could see Alyson more. Sort of breaks my heart that we can't, and it breaks my heart that there is division and separation with her and Carly. But I am also so grateful that she is still able to see us occasionally and that Nicole understands how important family is to Alyson, when she really doesn't have to do that at all.















I will admit, after breakfast on Friday I really hit a wall. I became very mentally drained. It didn't help that I slept hardly at all the night before. But I felt myself crashing a little bit. I laid down for a little bit and try to regather my brain, but I had to be honest and tell Lyndsy and Carly that we were rearranging our plans a little bit and could not have lunch with them like I had thought. We ended up getting takeout Café Rio and eating it at home. And then Jeannine and I took Jordyn, Lexi and Peyton out to Stansbury (which is about 45 minutes away) so they could spend the night at the Gertson's house. After we dropped them off, we visited Lynda at work at the ER. Tucker was at a U of U basketball game with Neal, it was only about 6:30 and we realized that we had no plans and no kids and no husbands! That's as rare as it gets! So we decided to stop by the mall and pop into a few stores. Even though it was technically Black Friday, the crowds had died down and it was no big deal. There is a Sephora in the mall and since I am up obsessed with make up, we had to go in there for a little bit. I had to show her the incredibly pigmented lipstick that Beth and I had found, and we put them on as a joke...but the sales ladies were walking by trying to tell us how much they loved the lipstick on us!


Tucker and Neal got to see Kevin Livingston, who I remember coming over as a little boy when we were first married and hanging out with Emmi while we played games. He has a heart condition and they didn't know if he would even live to be an adult, but he certainly wasn't supposed to exert extra energy with his heart. It's pretty miraculous now that he is a cheerleader for the University of Utah!



After browsing around the mall, Target, and getting a frozen yogurt, we came back home and Carly was there waiting for us. She came in and had some leftover turkey and we visited for a while. Soon, Neal and Tucker got home and we all visited for a while longer. I had to turn in about 1 o'clock when my brain was shutting off!

The final day arrived, and the girls were out at the Gertson's. Tucker and I started to pack up and and since Jeff and Emmi were coming in a little bit later, they brought the girls for us around noon. We chatted for a little while and finally got in the car around 1:30 to depart back to California.





It's always difficult to say goodbye. It makes your heart feel split in two places. I am so thankful for the 12 years of memories that we have had to do this. And each time we leave, I have a sense of gratefulness knowing that it's possible for it to never happen again in the same exact way. Life always changes that's for sure. We love our memories in Utah, and all of our visits, and I'm thankful to have in-laws who are kind and supportive and loving...and unconditionally accepting of us!


I wouldn't say it was "fun" for Tucker to get a ticket about 30 minutes after we left. I just had to breathe deeply and let it go because, lets face it, what's the point in getting all mad?


Cute, tired, sleep deprived girls. Ready for the 12 hour journey!


This picture is rare, and not one that I see almost ever. The girls only fall asleep in the car if we are driving after midnight.


(So I have been madly trying to update my blog, and I have spent the last four hours of our drive home from Utah doing the last 10 or more posts. This is my disclaimer, just in case anything doesn't make sense or is sorely missspelled! You get the gist!)