Flights, Family, and Freezer Meals

Johnny and I had the awesome opportunity last week to travel to Denver and spend 5 days with Jami and her family.  We had so much fun!  Danny stayed home with Claire and Sophie, and needless to say they had a blast as well.  Their adventures will be covered in a separate post.

Johnny and I left early on Thursday the 8th.  Our flight was leaving Burbank at 9:35 am, so we were up and on the road before 6:00 am.  With the exceptions of Claire getting carsick, we made it to the airport without any trouble.  It was really hard for me to say goodbye to Danny and the girls.  Mostly the girls.  I've never been away from them for so long!  Admittedly, I shed a few tears while we stood in line for security.  We made it to the gate and met a sweet couple that was flying with their 1 year-old son for the first time as well.  We made sure to sit by them, that way no one would be certain whose kid was doing all the screaming. ;)  They sat a row behind, and we ended up sitting next to a really sweet lady who was on her way to play with her 1 year-old granddaughter.  She was so patient with Johnny's in-flight antics, and such a tremendous help to me.  A thousand blessings on her house!  Johnny got a little fussy on the descent, but other than that we both endured the 2 hour flight just fine.

Jami and Lily picked us up at the Denver Airport right on time, and it was so fun to see them!  Jami looked so cute!  She really does wear pregnancy well.  And Lily looked so grown up!  We headed back to the house to see the other kids and get ready to go to Tali's track meet that afternoon.  Tali ran the 1.5 mile race, and cut her previous time by over 30 seconds!  I was literally in awe...I don't understand this whole running business. :)  Once we got home from the meet, we had about 30 minutes before Jami, Rose, and I were due at the high school for Megan's Encore Group Mystery Dinner Theatre.  It was at about this time that I truly began to appreciate Jami's incredibly hectic life!

Megan did an awesome job!  She played the prissy, over-indulged daughter of a rich man...the man who ended up being murdered...or was he murdered at all? ;)  It was so crazy to see her up on stage.  I literally remember changing her diapers.  Time really does fly by!

Tali was a sweetheart and babysat for Jami and I while we were at the Dinner Theatre.  When I came home, these two cute boys were having a ball together.  

Bowen was so patient with Johnny.  He literally followed Bowen everywhere he could, watched intently, and tried to do exactly what Bowen did.  It was so fun for me to watch!  Bowen is the only one of Jami's kids that wasn't around during at least one of the times I lived at their house, so sometimes I feel like I don't know him as well.  We fixed that.  Bowen was my helper with Johnny, but he also took time out of his busy schedule of mischief and mayhem to help me wash mushrooms for Chicken Cacciatore.  That gave us some time to talk about what it means to be four years old, and how to spell B-O-W-E-N.  :)

Speaking of Chicken Cacciatore, the purpose of my trip to Denver was to do something to help Jami be ready for the baby.  She'll have plenty of help from her kids after Chance gets here, so she wasn't going to need me then.  I love to cook, and Jami could take it or leave it.  SO...I decided to come and get her freezer stocked with meals.  On Friday, we spent the morning finishing up the shopping, and I got the prep work for the meals done (ie, dicing, chopping, slicing, etc).   We did end up getting one Chicken Cacciatore in the freezer and one White Chicken Chili as well.  Jeff came home from his business trip that afternoon, and we enjoyed visiting after dinner out by the fire pit.

Saturday was our cooking day.  Jami and I were in the kitchen non-stop for almost the entire day!  It was exhausting, but gratifying.  I couldn't have worked so hard if Ace hadn't done such a wonderful job entertaining Johnny.  At one point, Johnny wanted to follow Ace and his friend Will outside to play.  Once I let him out, he wasn't content until he was on the patio chair, kicking his legs and eating chocolate...just like the big boys.  It was too cute!

I also couldn't have done it without my sous chef Lily.  She was an awesome roasted-red-bell-pepper-skin-peeler!

Yes, that's me in a chef's coat.  And never have I felt more deserving of it! :)  We started the morning out by making our breakfast freezer foods.  We made a double batch of Breakfast Taquitos and a double batch of Ham and Egg Mini Quiche Cups.

While Jami and I were slaving away in the kitchen, the kids were going about their Saturday business and happen to document their craziness with my camera...

I love those crazy kids!

Once we got done with all the cooking, we spent the evening enjoying the outdoors...and sitting!  Jeff and Jami's backyard is just amazing.  Johnny just loved being out there.

All said and done, by Saturday's end we had Jami's freezer stocked with 12 meals, 4 of which were breakfasts.  Not too shabby!

Saturday evening was spent talking by the fire, which might have been my favorite part.  I took advantage of the time with Jeff and Jami and asked them all my parenting questions.  The first one being, "How the heck are we supposed to do this?!"  They gave me some wonderful advice and facilitated a change in perspective that I was sorely in need of.  They're the best big brother and sister ever!

Sunday was a quiet day, which we all enjoyed.  Jeff and Jami's Stake Conference was that morning, and we all took a little nap when we got home.  Then we enjoyed BLTs while watching some of the news coverage from September 11, 2001.  Sunday was the 10 year anniversary of that terribly tragedy, and it took on a new meaning for me.  Explaining what happened to my 10 year-old nephew reminded me of how I felt 10 years ago.  We ended the evening with some cookies, but we let Megan do most of the baking.

And all too quickly, Monday dawned.  We had one more day of fun before Johnny and I headed home that evening.  Jami had an OB appointment that morning, and then the two of us and our boys headed out to do some light shopping.  Then we dropped the boys off at home for Jeff to watch, and Jami treated us to pedicures.  This was my next favorite part.  Just some time to chat with my sister.  Priceless.  Well, for me it was priceless.  For Jami, not so much.  She paid. :)  Then it was off to the airport to fly home...

I was excited to go home, since I missed Danny and the girls like crazy.  But I didn't want to say goodbye to Jami and her family, either.  Again, there were a few tears as Johnny and I made our way into the airport.  Jami has always been such an amazing example to me in life, in the gospel, and in motherhood.  Jeff has been there for me through thick and thin over the last two decades, literally, and helped me be a better person for all of it.  I owe the two of them more than I'll ever be able to repay.  I can definitely say I'm their biggest fan!

Once I wiped my tears and got through security, the real fun began.  The flight home was by far the worse 2 hours I've ever experienced as a parent.  Despite my best efforts and planning, Johnny had a complete screaming, melt-down fit for over half of our flight.  It.  Was.  Horrible.  I cried while he screamed and flailed. I tried to be nice to well-meaning flight attendants who were NOT helping.  I wanted to get off that flight more than anything!  But we made it, and aside from smeared mascara, we were no worse for wear.  

Danny was there at the curb with a big smile on his face and that charming (and incredibly handsome) sparkle in his eye.  I think he missed me! ;)  Johnny and I were delighted to be with our family again, and it eased my heartache from saying goodbye to my sister.  We finally made it home and in bed just before midnight.  It was a whirlwind 5 days, and an absolute joy!  I'd do it again in a heartbeat. 

*Addendum:  I must say something about my wonderful husband.  I hatched this scheme about going to Jami's on my own about six months ago.  When I approached Danny about it, I expected him to be concerned about the money it would cost, or my time away from the family.  But he didn't bat an eye.  He booked me a ticket and told me not to worry about a thing.  He put his life on hold to take care of our girls, and made sure I had a good time.  If only every woman could be so lucky.  Thank you, Sweetheart!  You truly are the best!