Utah

I had the opportunity to go to Utah one more time before Baby Brother is born. Both Mackay and I had a great time! And the plane ride there was even okay. We did get stuck in Denver for a couple of hours due to weather, but she was great and I was great (if I do say so myself.) Oh, and kudos to Mackay. I got the courage up to let her stay in underwear for the plane ride--and no accidents the whole day! We were very lucky she didn't have to go to the bathroom during take-off or landings, that is what I was most worried about. She even got to use the bathroom on the airplane. Which was a mistake because then she wanted to keep using the bathroom on the airplane.

Here is a picture of us waiting for the fireworks to start. You may think it is out of order, but these were for Cedar Hills Days, which was at the end of June. It used to be July 24th, who knows why they changed it. It was weird listening to regular music, not patriotic, while the fireworks were going. Mackay was pretty tired, but she sat pretty well watching them. Five seconds before they started, I was holding her and she looked up at me and said, "Mackay close her eyes." Oops, and then they started.
Mackay and Pappa watching the fireworks.
Of course I didn't think of packing a jacket of any sort for Mackay and I, so my mom dug through some old things and found this jacket. She was so proud of it, having no idea the statement she was making wearing it around. (It says "Utah", not BYU.)
Mackay's favorite person in the world, even above Nate and I? Chad. Definitely Chad. Mackay found these matching aprons in a kitchen drawer and made Chad put it on. (She started calling him "Chaddy" while we were there--so funny! Sorry, Chad. You are the youngest, which means you never grow out of your little kid nick-name.)
Mackay and Pappa. Probably her second favorite person. It helps that she gets an unlimited amount of chocolate whenever he is around.
My mom had the great idea of borrowing a bike seat from a neighbor for Mackay to use while we were in Utah. Unfortunately, it didn't come with all the pieces, so we went to the store and got a new bike seat and helmet. EVERY night Mackay had to go on a bike ride with "Gamma" and "Pappa." And every morning she woke up needing a bike ride. My mom commented that she should stick around to keep everyone in shape.
Since Mackay loves the temple and was so let down when she didn't get to go into the temple here in Dallas we arranged to go to the Oquirrh temple open house going on in Utah. She absolutely loved every minute of it, and it was nice that it wasn't very busy when we went so we could take our time throughout. As soon as we left she was in the back seat crying about how she wanted to go to the temple again.
It looked just like the Rexburg temple, which made me miss our Idaho days!
Mackay had a run-in with Sarah, the family dog, while we were there. Chad, Mackay and I were filling up water balloons to throw outside. Mackay walked away from me for two seconds before we heard Sarah barking and growling, and then Mackay crying. We rushed into the mud room and saw Mackay lying on the tile floor and Sarah standing by her. Mother Bear instinct set in and that was the first time I have ever kicked a dog. (And hopefully the last.) One of Sarah's only vices is food dominance. Which is fine when the youngest child in the house is 13. But Mackay walked in by Sarah while she was eating and it just wasn't a good time. Sarah was outside the rest of our stay there, and Mackay was pretty afraid of her. We tried working with Mackay on getting comfortable with dogs again, so hopefully we can get a dog (and actually train it) someday. Oh, and don't mind the chocolate milk mustache.
Even though Sarah "hit" Mackay (that's what Mackay told me after), I still thought this paw mark was cute.

We got to go visit cousins while we were down, which is always fun. From Kim's house we walked to Macy's and got ice cream cones. (Actually, Mackay got ice cream in a cup--we are not as daring as Kim and Kerstin.) Afterwards, Julianna found a great deal on sandals, so the kids were entertaining themselves by playing Ring-Around-the-Rosies; Mackay's personal favorite.


We also went to "The Wood Park" (formally known as Discovery Park) in Pleasant Grove. Mackay loved being spun around on this dizzy-ing contraption. And I'm sure Emilie did, too--until she flew off.
Oh, and thanks to Kim for following the girls around! There were some tight spaces that me and my belly just weren't going to go into.
Once these two girls get over their own independence they will be great friends. I don't think either Mackay or Emilie are followers--which left them wandering around by themselves much of the time.
Nate got to come up during the weekend to spend the 4th of July with us. He got in at 12:30am, and no one knows how he actually made it. He definitely shouldn't have, that's for sure. I didn't tell Mackay that he was coming, because we weren't exactly sure if/when he would make it. And you can't tell Mackay anything exciting before it happens or you won't hear the end of it. Example: the morning we were leaving to go to Utah I told Mackay for the first time. We weren't leaving until later on in the afternoon, but she jumped up so excited, ran and got her shoes on and backpack, and was ready to go that second! So then I had to deal with tantrums, etc all the way until it was actually time to leave. So when she woke up in the morning with her dad there she was so excited! Her first words were, "It's my dad!" And then "My panda bear!" (Heart-melting!) We had a movie night a couple of weeks ago with Mackay and watched Kung Fu Panda. She loved it, and after it was over Nate became a panda bear, Mackay climbed on his back, and that is how she was transported to bed. Ever since then Nate is "Panda Bear". All day she will say things like, "Panda Bear at work."

Oh, the wonderful world of sparklers. I personally hate them. I hated them when I was little and I hate them now. Unfortunately, Mackay loved them. I was a basket case while she was holding them--I should have just gone inside and stayed there.
And this was yesterday after we got back. I was trying to make dinner and Mackay was trying to get into the tiny pantry closet. She sat down in the corner and wanted me to close the door. I tried closing it, but it was still open since her knees were sticking out. I left the kitchen to go get something, and when I came back the door was completely closed. "How in the world..." I thought as I opened the door to find her new position.
Oh, and not shown was the opportunity to see Mark and Christine from Rexburg! They were also in Utah visiting family for the 4th, so we got to go out to lunch with them one day. After we left them, we went to get into the car (my dad's car) and saw a car pulled up behind us--literally right behind us. We had parked on the side of the road in between drive ways, and another car desperately wanted to also get into the space, even though there really wasn't room. Nate got in the car to pull forward while I stood outside to see if any damage was done. He pulled the other car forward for a while before it released and they had dented the bumper (very minor). Since it wasn't our car, we had to call the police, who got ahold of the elderly couple who didn't even know they hit our car. It was a very long, painful process.

Anyway, 10 more weeks until Baby Barker enters the world! Thank you for one last Utah trip before I have to hassle two children on an airplane and airport!