Eliana and Mom come to visit!

Eliana and Andrew's Mom came to visit for Spring Break! We LOVED having them here...we just loved having them here so much we forgot to take very many pictures. And the pictures we did take are in no particular order. 

We decided to go up to Philadelphia and stay Friday night. Mom is teaching 5th grade right now, so US History is at the front of her mind. While we had seen a lot of the sites, it's always fun to see them with new visitors.

We stopped at Lore's Chocolates and picked up some Easter treats. So yummy!

 Mom and Aunt Debbie (Debbie and Kent came to Philly, too! SO MUCH FUN!)

We took them to the Baltimore Museum of Art, one of our favorites!

This is how Lydia felt about church on Easter Sunday, "Let's get out of here!" And we did. She naps RIGHT when church starts, but she WILL NOT nap anywhere but her crib. So when she had a major breakdown and couldn't be calmed....we just went home. 

Helping Grandma with plans for Debbie and Kent's yard (the actual reason they came out).

Who knew the BMA had such a killer gift shop? Seriously. Best place to buy kids toys and books. 

Chillin' with Grandma so Mom and Dad could go to the temple. 

If you ever go to Philly, you MUST go to Franklin Fountain. SO worth the line. And the price. It's just adorable. Andrew and I walked down on Friday night after we had put Lydia to bed. It was probably past 10 pm and we felt like such rebels. (not to worry, mom was with Lydia.) I mean, how often to parents get to go out at 10 pm. NEVER.

Lydia, asserting her independence at Independence Hall. 

We went to Tennessee!

A few weeks ago Andrew went to Austin for SXSWedu. He was gone for about a week, and he left on Sunday.

On Sunday one of the girls I visit teach asked if I could give her a ride to the airport, in DC, the next day.

Lydia and I didn't have much going on, so I said sure. We could do that. Monday I woke up, and thought, "As long as I'm going to DC, I might as well keep going to Tennessee to visit Brent, Amber et al. So I texted Amber, and she said come on down! So we did. :)

One of my favorite things about the trip was just sitting and talking to Elli and Sammi. They would say the funniest things! One day Elli and I were just sitting, and out of the blue she professed her love for Uncle Will. I tried to recapture it, but it wasn't nearly as funny. She then wanted to interview me.

It was Dr. Suess Week at school, and Sammi was particularly into the crazy hair part of the celebration. She did her own hair, and came with me to Walmart. 

Elli on her way to Ballet. Such a serious little dancer. 

Sammi reading. So Awesome. One thing that is particularly fun at Sammi right now, is that she identifies my relationship to her dad much more than she identifies my relationship to her. This leads to her saying a lot things like, "Your brother....."

For instance:

A: What are you going to have for snack today?

S: Your brothers favorite. (Which lead to microwaving pretzels in an effort to create chex mix. "He loves this. Sometimes I sneak fiber in with all the other tasty things.")

Upon seeing a string of Christmas lights still on the house:

S: Your brother is so funny! He stood on a ladder to put the Christmas lights on the house! He is so tall, he doesn't even need a ladder. 

A: The roof can be hard to reach though, Sammi.

S: Do you know how tall your brother is? I mean, his arms can reach half way across the table.

She paricularly loves when Brent and I are in the same room. "A brother and a sister!"

And because Sammi had her picture taken, Elli wanted hers taken, too. So cute!

Proof that I brought Lydia along. 

We went to Utah.

 Lydia helped me pack. Well, she really got out ALL my workout clothes...while I packed. 

 Miracle of miracles, the flight out to SLC wasn't full, so the little lady got to ride in her carseat! Heaven on earth for mom. 

 Just checking out the view.

Grandma had some super fun Lydia-friendly apps for her to check out. Which would you choose: Broccoli or Ipad? 

First day up on the slopes. Heaven on earth.  

 Lydia out for a walk. 

 Lydia's view on the walk. 

 skiing. 

Olivia wore this scarf one night to dinner. It was so adorable.  

 Lydia continues to practice taking things out of drawers. 

Mom helped me fix a nagging split in my finger with super glue. While the split was fixed, other problems were created. 

Going to BYU-I to visit Caitlyn. I don't know whey people complain about Rexburg. It was 45 and sunny with no wind while were there. ;)

 Visiting with Grandma Coy!

 This is how we spent A LOT of our trip. I got a sinus infection, and Lydia was teething. But what better place to be sick that at grandma's? I mean, you have someone else to fix your food, and several people interested in taking care of your baby.

 Oh, and we continued to empty drawers of all sorts.

 My last day there, Maren and I went up to Solitude. Maren had never skied before, and she was awesome!

 Since Maren is a beginner, they set her binding SUPER loose, and her ski kept coming off. On our second run I attempted to fix it. That ended poorly. Luckily I knew Mom had some super glue at home (from previous experience) and we just super glued this all up, with no other fingers getting involved. :)

I own a snowboard people. And I am still terrified everytime I go. I only snowboarded the last hour of our trip, and it was really fun, but I still much prefer skiing.  

No ski trip is complete without a yuuuuummmmmy treat after. So we stopped at Bruges Waffles and Frites for authentic Belgian Waffles. You need to go folks. You NEED to.  

 On our way home!

 First day up. Pictures do weird things sometimes in blogger. 

Sleeping baby right before I had to wake her up to go to the airport. 

Great trip. Next time the sinus infection is not invited. Neither is the teething. But otherwise, we'd do it all again in a heartbeat. 

Our First Inauguration

Hanging out at Debbie and Kent's: Pre-Departure (Kent was sick. :( So he stayed home. )

Riding the metro. Checking out DC.

Ready to Roll! Bundled up, and Snuggled in.

Catching a little shut-eye.

"Only free carrots available on the Mall! These prices not available in sotres anywhere!"

Group Self Portrait! In front of the White House.

Yum, This GMO-Free carrot is yummy!

Waiting for it to start! We found our spot on the Mall!

Hanging with my cute dad!

It's starting! This is when things got interesting. Our Jumbo-Tron stopped working the minute Senator Schumer stood up. BUT at that exact moment the girl behind us also went into shock. So Nurse-Aunt Debbie sprung into action to take care of her, and Andrew helped carry the girl to the medic tent. So we missed the ACTUAL Inauguration.

Then we wanted to walk to the Capitol, to see it up close. But we had to take a serious detour. This lead us to the staging area for the Parade. It also lead us to a hotel where we could change Lydia's diaper. And Aunt Debbie thought it best if we stayed for the Buffet Lunch. If Debbie ever wants you to spend the day with her, don't hesitate, just go.

The Capitol! (Good thing Debbie was with us, she provided the prop. :)

This is the ingenuity of American's at work. There is a til of charcoals in the "baby seat" that kept the pretzels warm. Awesome. 

Snug as a bug. All day. She was such a good baby!

Big Flag. Little Flag. Union Station headed back to Debbie's, where we pulled up the Inauguration and watched President Obama's Speech. Don't worry, when we got home, I pulled up Kelly Clarkston and Beyonce and found pictures of the Obama's at the Ball. 

SUCH A lot of walking. But with our Smart Wool Layers, we were just the right temperature and had such a great day! Loved our first Inauguration. Although, next time, we hope to actually see it when it's happening.