Visit to UT

As I've mentioned before, I got the very best Christmas present- EVER.  My parents flew me to UT for 5 days kid-free to see my favorite people on the whole planet.  It was so nice to spend time with all my siblings and spoil all my nieces and nephews.  It was also great to sleep in, not change diapers, feed anyone, or break up any squabbles. I could just sit back and bask in the awesomeness that is my family.

The highlight of the trip was, of course, these guys!  Kate, Matt and Mia came from London (which was why I came to UT, too).  My favorite part of the whole trip was bowling with Mia.  We went to the Bowling Alley for a burger and fry sauce (Dear TX- why can't you get on the fry sauce bandwagon- please?) and she was so cute saying "I'd like to have a go at that game."  We cheered each other and generally were goofy. She is a doll!

This girl was another highlight- I have only seen her twice in her whole life and she is so adorable. She also looks like Lu's baby twin. I loved smooshing her cheeks :)

I can't tell you how cool it was to hang out with all the nieces and nephews at once.  Sure, we missed my kids (well, everyone else did) but I loved the opportunity to just be an aunt.  Also, don't you wear mardi gras masks and crowns at all your family parties? No? Sad for you...

I remembered my deep love for sitting in Cyndi's kitchen, eatin' stuff. I plan to spend a solid week this summer parked at her counter while the kids run feral in the cul-de-sac.  That was the thing that made me most homesick (and it wasn't just the awesome chocolate and TJ's cookie butter and toe nail polish- I miss hanging out with Cyndi, too.) Plus, Sis is SO big and cute. We played Strawberry Shortcake together!

I miss Beto's steak and egg breakfast burritos SO much.  A lot of these pics are crappy, because they are from my phone. I took a lot of pics to send to the kids back in TX.  This one was Birdy's favorite of all the ones I sent.

I am eternally grateful to Kim who picked me up from the airport, took me to delish Indian food, put me up for the night and THEN drove me to Heber.  Also, her girl is so adorable, I just want to eat her- look at those lips!  I think I'll have to settle for an arranged marriage between her and Bear.  I think Kim and I would be awesome co-Grandmas.

I can't get over how big and beautiful and smart these girls are. Their Mom's are doing a great job with their newly-minted teens and it give me hope that maybe we'll survive the teen years.  I got to have a sleepover with them and it was fun talking to them about their interests- Muppets (Abby) and 1D (Lauren).  I'm glad my girls have such great cousins to look up to.  Also, I'm super, super bummed that they are too far away to babysit. Maybe this summer?

Last but not least, these two and Grace (and Cyndi's boys, who wouldn't sit still for a picture even when I bribed them) Norah cracked me up with her long, blond fake hair and she played so cute with Mia. Cubby knows the whole Gagnam dance and is energetic and hilarious.  Grace is sweet, and squishy and funny. 

Super big thanks to Mom and Dad for bringing me in for all the fun. I really had the time of my life and it was so, so nice to have a break from being Mom and RS Prez for a bit. I came back energized and ready for the new year! Also, I read TWO long books in 2 days. That is unheard of people!!