Holly x 2

About a week before my birthday, my sister Holly called and asked me if I wanted to come visit. Since a ticket to Florida was not on my (realistic) list of things to purchase in the near future, my response was somewhere along the lines of, "yeah right." Nonetheless, the price was right... and I was celebrating my 27th (yikes) birthday at my favorite bbq joint, Sonny's.

Forget the meat (which, actually, is amazing). Sonny's sweet sauce = heaven in a bottle.

Jack loved it, too.

Holly, famous for her birthday cakes, sprinkled mine with thread, buttons, a thimble, and a bow to top it off (all, of course, disinfected with rubbing alcohol… which Holly is also famous for). Who could ask for more?

The only thing that would've made the day better was my hubby. But, Holly was a good alternative. It was wonderful.

Jack had never met his cousins from Florida before, and Ty, the newest addition to the Douberley family (born just three months earlier), I had yet to meet.

He and Jack were the same size.

Since he and Ty were both in 0-3 month clothes, there was no need for me to pack anything for Jack. So I didn’t. Cannot tell you how convenient it was.
We especially had fun enjoying the warm weather (while my house was enjoying its first week of cold weather) at a few different parks.

Jack loved the birds.

Bree and Robby. I love these cuties.

The kids loved listening to music...

And I enjoyed watching Holly read the scriptures with her kids. She's an amazing mother.

But most of all, I enjoyed being with one of my most favorite people in the world.

So, other than at the airport and on the plane, we enjoyed ourselves. Things went okay after my dad dropped us off (other than my back aching about 20 minutes into our journey through security) until I had to pee. As you can imagine, it's difficult to manage using a toilet with a child strapped to your front in a Baby Bjorn.

For some reason I can't quite remember, I decided against a stroller. That was mistake number one. Mistake number two, apparently, was deciding to bring more than six jars of baby food in my carry-on. I think they threw away about ten jars, while tearing apart the carfeully packed bag I had spent the morning working on. I wanted to cry. And punch the man. I did neither.

However, we made it. And sat next to wonderful people on every flight. I can't even say how grateful I was... especially to the two grandmas I sat in between on the flight home. Jack was happy to keep himself busy moving across the three of us. I kept a binkie with me at all times, with plenty to spare (I think seven) for the many times they fell on the floor, on every flight. I'm quite surprised I still had them all at the end of the trip.

Jack's first plane ride...

It was a wonderful trip, despite what my brother-in-law Tim thought. (Who I didn't capture on my camera, I'm just realizing.) And though theme parks are always fun, getting to see and spend time with family is more than I could ask for. It doesn't happen often enough.

So, when Holly mentioned over the phone a few weeks later showing up on my doorstep to surprise me, my response was similar to the first one. "Yeah right." Unbeknownst to me, a trip was in the making... and a week after that, on my doorstep she was.

My sister Heather was one of two people to know she was coming - and she made the tour around the valley to surprise everyone. It was wonderful - and, because it was a last-minute ticket purchase, she pulled it off. It was awesome.

I'm sure my reaction was a bit dramatic... screaming and not paying attention to the baby in my arms as she walked in the door. I wouldn't doubt if Jack's left ear has permanent damage.

I was lucky enough to be the first surprisee, so I was in on the rest of it. We visited our brother Taylor at Gandolfo's, where he works. His sandwiches are unreal.
She made my mom cry when she answered the door to see them standing on the porch, and made my dad fall to his knees in happiness, holding his grandchildren tight.

I got Chris to come over after work. It was difficult... I finally had to say I had a surprise for him. His response was, "It better be food." Holly and Tim were patiently waiting on the couch, waiting for him to discover them amongst the rest of us. It took him a second, seeing as how they look like they belong there. It's because they do.

I unfortunately didn't document a lot of it, but we had a week of family fun and loved every minute of it. Nothing special, just time together. There's nothing better.

Despite the fact that Heather's tongue is actually touching my face in this picture...

I love these girls. We're not together often enough... and I'm always hurting from laughter when we are.

We miss the Douberleys, and wish there could be surprises on both our ends more often. I'm just so happy they were able to come! Seeing them once a year is a treat, let alone twice in two months.

So, until next time... see ya later, sweetheart!