More Utah Highlights

Before I move on from our trip to Utah, I just wanted to mention a few more highlights:

-Going to the temple with my 3 married sisters was amazing! Having all four of us sitting together all in white, it was such a special experience.

-Meeting my little niece Brooklyn for the first time was awesome! She is so stinking cute, I couldn't hold back the tears the first time I held her. What a blessing it is to be an Auntie!

-Seeing my little sister Sarah who is pregnant too and due just one month after me! It was so fun talking about pregnant stuff, going to Babies R Us and baking cookies to fulfill our pregnancy cravings.

-Seeing Teya get completely absorbed in watching the Justice League with her uncle Tau
-Watching Teya play with her Aunties, Uncles and Cousins.

- Eating at Rumbi Grill, Macaroni Grill, Training Table, and other great restaurants.

-Having soooo many babysitters to help out with Teya! It was so fun being able to go out to lunch, go to the temple, and go shopping without having to worry about finding a trusty babysitter.

Utah trip!

Sorry I haven't blogged in forever! We've been in Utah for the last week spending time with old friends and both sides of our family. Taber had to go out for a leadership conference so Teya and I came along so we could see my family. When Taber's family found out we'd be there, they decided to come in too from Colorado and Arizona. It ended up being a wonderful fun filled reunion for everybody! The posts below cover some of the highlights of the trip. Enjoy!

Pool Time!

One of the best parts of staying at a hotel is going swimming! Taber took Teya down to the pool and she never wanted to get out. She was a little frustrated because the pool didn't have a shallow end so she had to be carried the whole time. She was kicking and paddling and trying so hard to escape and swim on her own, but we didn't dare let her since she's never had any kind of swim lessons. I think she just thought she could walk around on the bottom of the pool and have a good old time.

Piggy back in the pool

Auntie Regan's Birthday

We got to celebrate Teya's auntie Regan's birthday while we were in Utah. I went to party land and decked out the hotel room in sweet birthday decorations. I also made sure to get plenty of fun party favors for all the kids, including hand clappers, noise makers, party hats and bubbles. We made a lot of noise and a huge mess, which in my mind made the party a huge success! Teya still thinks that every time we sing happy birthday we are singing to her, she even tried to blow out Regan's candles. One of these days she'll figure out that every birthday party isn't just for her. ; )

Regan, me, and Mama Rigg partying with the grandkids
Taber with his whole family
Papa Rigg, Taber, Regan, Brett and Mama Rigg

Kangaroo Zoo

Right down the street from my parent's house is the neatest place called the Kangaroo Zoo. It is basically just a huge building full of blow up slides and jolly jumps. Teya is a little jumping bean so we usually go there several times when we're in Utah. This trip was no exception. We hit the Kangaroo Zoo twice, once with my family and once with Taber's. Teya had so much fun with all her cousins, and especially loved bouncing around with her Uncle Brett.

Teya with her Uncle Brett and cousinsMe and my sister-in-law CJ with my newest nephew River

Aspen Grove Leadership Conference

This last week we got to fly out to Utah for Taber to attend a Leadership Conference up at Aspen Grove. I'm a little sketchy on all the details, but I believe it was put on by BYU and featured a lot of great speakers, including Stephen Covey. Taber really enjoyed the conference and gained a lot of great insights into leadership and organizational behavior. His favorite part though was reuniting with his friends from MBA school. Even though they're all spread out across the country now, it was so fun for them to get together and catch up.

Taber, Sarah, Pat, and Matt
My favorite HR people in the world. : )

Business trip tag-a-long

Taber had a business trip this weekend just outside of Atlanta, GA, which is about a 4 hour drive from where we live. He travels a fair amount for his job, and every time he goes out of town I miss him terribly. So this time I decided that Teya and I were going to tag-a-long so we wouldn't be lonely without him! It was a quick trip, we we left Thursday morning and got back around midnight on Friday. Still, I'm so glad we went with him because even a couple nights apart bums me out.

Taber was doing some benchmarking at another plant where the HR manager had also graduated from the BYU MBA program. It was nice because while Taber was working I was able to hang out with the other manager's wife and her three adorable girls. We reminisced about the being the wife of an MBA student and how much we loved Provo and BYU. It was also so fun for Teya because two of the girls were several years older than her, ages 8 and 5, so she got a taste of what it would be like to have big sisters. They pushed her on the swings and let her piggy back on the tricycle. They helped her go on the slide and caught her at the bottom. It was fun for me to be able to sit back and watch instead of being the one helping her and carrying her around. Teya had so much fun, she cried and cried when we finally had to leave. Here are some pictures of her having fun with her new friends.

Friends in town

Last week we had our friends, The Lunds, stay with us for Easter weekend. Matt and Taber went to MBA school together and graduated a year apart. Now they both work for General Mills. Matt actually worked at Taber's plant before we moved out here, so he and Ali are the ones who helped us get settled in Murfreesboro before they got transfered and had to move.

Anyway, it was so nice to have them in town. Ali is a food lover like me, so we had endless conversations about all the places we love to eat and then of course, went to eat at a few of them! The best was on Saturday night we got a babysitter for our kids and went out to a nice restaurant just as couples! We went crazy and ordered appetizers, huge meals, and then shared 3 desserts!!! It was one of the happiest nights of my life. : ) Seriously though, it was so nice to have a meal without kids and to have great company and lively conversation.

Teya enjoyed the company too. They have a daughter her age who has stayed with us before and the two of them have a blast together. Add Teya's buddy Anna, the little girl I watch, to the mix and the three of them were so entertained they didn't even want to leave the house! So thank you Lunds for making the long drive down to be with us, and yeah for friends, food, and couples dates!

Foiled egg hunts, belly kisses and sick tummies

This year I was really excited for Easter because Teya is actually old enough to get into it a little more. Last year she was just starting to walk and managed to grab a few eggs during our family Easter egg hunt, but this year I was sure she would be an egg hunting champion. Unfortunately, things didn't go quite how I hoped.

On the morning of the Easter egg hunt we got Teya all dolled up, loaded her in the car, and drove the 20 minute drive to church. On the way there she was really fussy. I just thought she was being cranky but figured she would cheer up once she saw all the kids and the eggs.

When we got to the church they had everyone meet in the gym for a little Easter message before the egg hunt. When we took our seats in the gym Teya, who is normally miss independent, wouldn't let me put her down. She kept saying things like, "I baby please (which means hold me like a baby) Mommy hold me, I want night night! I go home." I was definitely worried at that point, but then I started getting really nervous when she said, "Belly hurt Mama, ouchie belly, kiss it peeze!" She was lying in my arms at this point and lifted up her shirt for me to kiss her belly. I knew it wouldn't make the problem better but I kissed that little belly anyway wishing mommies really did have the power to heal everything with a kiss. After a few more minutes of whining and begging for kisses I put her down to grab something from my purse and just as the opening song started she puked all over the floor. Taber rushed to her side, picked her up and grabbed her easter basket just in time to catch the next round of puke. The poor girl kept throwing up all the way out the door.

We got things cleaned up as best we could and then left before Teya got to see one Easter egg. We felt so bad that she had to leave, but she was actually in a much better mood after getting that out of her system. She kept saying "I sick, Daddy fix it! Daddy wipe it! sick all better now!"

Despite feeling better in the car, her tummy was sick for the rest of the day and she hardly ate a thing. Luckily her bug only lasted about 24 hours and the next day we had our own little Easter egg hunt in the house to make up for missing out the day before. Watching her run around the house and giggle as she picked up eggs, all the sick tummy trouble was forgotten and Teya still ended up having a very fun and happy Easter.