So much to catch up on! So here we go...
*Note* For fear of this post being 20 pages long I will only write about the big stuff...
As crazy as I am, I attempted, and survived, my very first trip- ALONE- with Hailey. Needless to say I was terrified, stressed, freaking out, all of the above... But I did it.
We left bright and early Friday, June 22 for Salt Lake City. Ryan drove us up and dropped us off at the Indy airport. As soon as we got up to the desk to drop the luggage off I noticed Hailey had pooped. ALL OVER THE PLACE. The biggest blowout to date. Seriously, more of it ended up in her pj's than in her diaper. It was such a mess. The lady at the desk was so nice though. She told me to go and take care of her in the bathroom and she would look after all my stuff. After I started to clean Hailey off in the bathroom she gave me another surprise. I had just taken her diaper off to put a new one on and she peed all over the place! I have the world's leakiest baby! So needless to say I stuck her in the sink and rinsed her off. I literally was almost in tears. Within the first 5 minutes of our trip everything had gone wrong already. I called Ryan to fill him in and he reminded me that it was better this was all happening now instead of on the plane. SO TRUE! I finally got Hailey clean and realized that I left her clothes with all my luggage. So I carried naked (well in a diaper) Hailey through the airport to finally check our luggage in.
After I got some clothes on her, we were off to security. Thankfully the airport wasn't busy at all so we got through security just fine and quickly. As soon as we got to the gate it was time to board. Everyone was so nice and helpful. Unfortunately the flight was full so there were no empty seats to spread out our stuff. After the fiasco in the airport everything went smoothly. Hailey did amazing. She ate right before we took off and fell asleep for almost the entire trip. I'm so thankful too because that was the part of our trip I was most terrified for. I was so scared I was going to have a screaming baby the whole way there. Which is just crazy. Hailey is such a good baby! But still, I was scared.
Once we landed I did what any "southern California girl" stuck in Indiana (don't judge me, I will forever claim it) would do and that was go straight to In-N-Out. So delicious! All the delicious food is probably my favorite thing about Utah, or traveling in general. We then hung out at Grandpa Gottfredson's and got settled in.
The next day we woke up early and headed to the temple to witness Sadie's wedding. It was so nice to be able to attend a wedding because I sure don't remember a thing that was said in ours! The sealer made the comment that at a funeral there is only one person that doesn't remember a thing said, but at a wedding there is two! Sad, but true! The sealer was really funny but also really good. I learned quite a bit! We then proceeded to have a very busy day running from the luncheon to the reception and then to Aimee's that night to stay. It was really fun to catch up with Aimee and her family and see my cute nephews and niece. They are growing so much!
Then the next day Melissa came up and we all spent the day together. Later that night I went to my Grandma's and spent the night with Taylor who came from Vegas. Her girls loved Hailey! I had so much fun staying up and talking with Taylor. I really wish we lived closer. We always have so much fun together. The next day we went to a park and just hung out while the girls played.
Taylor then dropped me off at my friend Sara's house. As always, it never seems like any time has passed when we get together. I got to (almost) spend her birthday with her. It was so fun seeing her! She is so stinking cute as a preggo. She is 6 months pregnant and way cuter than I was! We stayed up way too late, as always, just talking and catching up. She didn't have air conditioning so we went out a bunch to stay cool. We got to go to the pool which was so fun! We got Hailey's feet in the water and she seemed to like it after awhile. I wish we would have had the bathing suit I got for her earlier so she could have really gotten in. We also made necklaces and did a "spa" day. Which basically means we put masks on. Just like old times! We attempted to watch the Newsies once and actually succeeded once, while pigging out on Oreos! My kind of night :) I wish we could have had more time together. But unfortunately our time together always has to end too soon :(
Thursday Ryan's sister came and picked me up to go to St. George. I had never been before so I was really excited. All of Ryan's family went down there to spend the weekend. Gary and Eric even took off work and played with us!
Friday we went out to Gunlock Lake and went wake boarding. Between Gary, Ben, and Nate all teaching me, I was actually able to get up! It was awesome. I sure didn't look cute once I was up and I didn't stay up long, but I got up none the less :) That night my dad came to St. George to drop my little brother Will
off with my step-sister, so I got to see him for a few minutes. It was
nice being able to give him a hug and get a little time with him. He
surprised me by telling me he gave Jay the day off that Sunday so he
could come spend a few hours with me. I hadn't seen him, Cali, and the
boys in such a long time!
Saturday we went to the Big Rock Candy Mountain, which yes, it really did look like rock candy. There we went zip lining and white water rafting on the Sevier River. SO FUN! It was a bunch of class 1 & 2 rapids with two class 3 rapids and a 4 foot drop. The class 3 rapids were so fun! I'm such an adrenalin junkie. I want to take Ryan and go through some bigger rapids next time!
Sunday we went to sacrament meeting which was fast and testimony meeting... All I'll say is that it was the most awkward meeting of my life! Old people need to not tell childhood stories... at least when they aren't church appropriate! Enough about that though haha. After, Ryan's sisters and I left and went back to Gary and Gina's to get dinner started. Jay, Cali and the boys came over and spent a few hours with me. I miss them so much! I wish they hadn't moved away. The boys have gotten so big! Westin is so big now. The last time I saw him he wasn't even 1 yet and now he is almost 2! Gavin was a little scared of me but he somewhat warmed up to me by the time they left. I'm grateful that they were willing to drive and say hi to me. Cali just LOVED Hailey!
Monday we went to Zions to go hike the Narrows. It was a really pretty hike. Unfortunately it didn't start off the way I would have liked. I forgot the wipes back where we were staying and I forgot Hailey's bottles in the car... almost an hour away from where we were hiking. Smooth move mom... So I had to nurse Hailey in public which I'm SUPER uncomfortable with. But you gotta do what you gotta do. Hailey started crying as soon as we started so I had to carry her up which wasn't too bad. The Narrows hike is partly through a river so once we got to the river Hailey stayed with Gina and off the rest of us were. It was so pretty but unfortunately you are looking down almost the whole time (so you don't slip on a rock in the river, which I did anyway) that you miss most of the scenery. Everything worked out just fine that day though. And I only fell in the river twice! :) When we got back to Gina, she told me a baby squirrel was trying to go home with us... it had climbed in my diaper bag and she had to scare it off! When we weren't having fun outdoor excursions we were just hanging out and playing games. That's where all the quality time together happened. Tuesday bright and early we left and headed home. This is an adventure all on its own... my leaky child decided she had to poop... all over the back seat of the car while I was changing her. I did have a changing mat down thankfully but a bit still got on the seat, on my shirt sleeve, and all over Hailey. It was SO GROSS. The girl can poop haha. But we did manage to clean her off, finally. The rest of the car ride went smoothly after that.
The next day (the 4th of July) we had to leave. Before we left Hailey surprised us by rolling over for the first time. She rolled twice from her tummy to her back! I'm so proud of my big girl. Almost right after that we had to pack up and head out. Hailey screamed the whole way to the airport but was an angel in the airport and on the plane. THANKFULLY. Again, I was stressed but it all worked out.
We were so exited to see Ryan again. Two weeks without your spouse and as a single parent is a really long time! We definitely miss everyone in Utah and definitely miss all the fresh raspberries Grandpa picked for us! But there is nothing like being home and sleeping in your own bed. And being back with your husband! Next time he's coming with us so we can have fun together as a family :)
*Pictures to come later... I'm too lazy to load them all now.
