A Warning

I've stated this before, but let me reiterate - If you see my children and me boarding a flight, take a different one. My trip to Utah in August just confirmed that we absolutely cannot arrive anywhere on time. If Billy is accompanying us, everything will go smoothly, but if it is just me and the kids, avoid us at all costs! Things started well on the morning of August 28th...we arrived on time, got checked in just fine, boarded and took off on time...it was when the pilot announced about an hour before we were supposed to land that, due to weather delays, we could not land in Minneapolis, and we did not have enough fuel to continue circling until they granted us permission, so we were diverting to DULUTH. Once landing in Duluth, we sat on the runway for an hour. Minneapolis then approved us for landing, so we flew back, landing around 6pm, and since our connecting flight had departed at 5:30pm, we were rescheduled for the 9pm flight, which had been delayed. We originally would have landed in Utah at 7:30pm, or 9:30pm central time. The night continued with almost humorous delays. Fore example, at 9:30, a pilot and two flight attendants boarded our plane. The third flight attendant never showed up after numerous pagings. At 10:23, the crew was past the hours that they could fly, and they all had to get off the plane and we had to wait for another crew...finally, around 11:00 I guess, we left Minneapolis. We landed in Utah at 1:30 am (3:30 am in Columbia). It was enough for me to decide I was boycotting flying.

But alas, despite the delays, we had a blast in Utah! Just like the Texas trip, we still did not get to see everyone we wanted to see, but we enjoyed the time we had, as the photos show! Brody woke up from his nap one afternoon with more than a few hairs standing on end, so his Komo took the opportunity to spike his ENTIRE head, thus the 'do showcased here!













We also visited the Utah children's museum, went on a picnic, played the piano, and helped Komo and Komobu (Aunt Linda and Uncle Chad) pick tomatoes in their garden.















I was also very excited to FINALLY get to meet our friends Pat and Alexa's twin boys! The boys were born in May, five days before Brody, and although they were born at only 28 weeks, you would never know it now! I tried to get a photo of the three of them together, but trying to capture three active one-year-olds was an impossible feat. This is the only one where they all appear in the same frame. Colby and Austin were happy to step closer to examine the camera, and while they were occupied, Brody chose to eat everyone's snacks off the blanket!! (you'll probably have to click to enlarge the photo to see Brody - he's behind Colby's arm) After seeing them in action, I think it is amazing Alexa EVER gets a photo of the two of them together! :)

We're also very excited that, while in Utah, Brody decided to start cruising!! At one point, he was cruising around his playpen and was so proud of himself that he sat down, clapped a few times, then stood up and continued! Since returning home, he has 'cruised' around the coffee table, couch, chairs, and anything else at the right height! He even demonstrated his new ability for his physical therapist who was very excited! Equally exciting for my family is the fact that Billy's travel season is over until January, meaning we get to have him home for the entire fall! Since he was gone all summer, we have several mini-vacations planned this fall, including visiting John and Misty in Virginia, heading to Disney for a week (our big trip), staying in Gatlinburg, TN for a weekend, and then going to Texas for Christmas in December! We should have a plethora of photos to share over the next few months!
PS - to make posting more time efficient, I've given up on trying to 'layout' the photos and text - any of you who have tried to do this know that it is a case of trial and error, putting them in, posting, making changes, etc. etc. So, this blog may be messy, but at least the info is posted!