home sweet home

We’re finally home from our trip out to Utah! The wedding was beautiful, we went some fun places, and made some great family memories. Hopefully I’ll be recapping everything and sharing my photos in the next few days, but here’s a little sneak peek (our first photo in front of the temple as a family of three)!_MG_7674

We took a redeye flight back to Virginia at 1 am on Tuesday morning, and then visited with my parents for the rest of the day before driving home. We finally drove into town around 11:30 pm. Our internal clocks still seem to be on Utah time (which is strange because after my last trip out west, I had no trouble at all adjusting either way).

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on the last plane home!

A certain four-legged someone didn’t do so well without us home… Thankfully, Ben and Brittany (who were puppy-sitting) are probably two of the most patient people ever and went above and beyond to help us take care of Jax. We ended up boarding him at the vet (after he chewed through his crate and a few other things…), and I was so excited to go pick him up this afternoon. He is definitely happy to be home._MG_8811Kaya is also loving being back in her own space and playing with her own toys. This is the first time that we’ve come back from a trip where I can definitely say that she knows this is our home and is happy to be here. It’s so fun to watch her enjoy everything she loves again.

journey (back) to utah

Kevin and Tori are tying the knot on Friday, so we made the trek to Utah yesterday! Luckily, modern transportation actually means the “trek” is a drive and a flight (or two) that can all be accomplished in one day.

We tried to help Kaya wait for a nap until we got in the car and on our way. She did nap, but only for an hour. She was happy for a short time before she was fussy and needed a nursing/play break.
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My parents live close to the airport, so we visited with them for a little while before my dad dropped us off. My mom even made us dinner (and muffins to take on the plane)!
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Last time we flew, Kaya was mostly easy to entertain and put to sleep, but this time, she was even better! She loved looking out the window, staring up over the seats and just smiling and waving at everyone. She slept for most of the second flight (about 3.5 hours) all cuddled up with me. I soaked in all her precious baby snuggles.
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By the time we got in and settled, we didn’t fall asleep until about 2 am (which is 4 am back east)! Today has mostly been about relaxing and goofing around with Michael’s parents. (I might have also had a Greek gyro… And Kaya tried her first French fry!)
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flying with kaya

I have to admit… I was pretty nervous to fly with a baby. My vivid imagination conjured images of tears, screaming, and a whole mess of bodily functions happening at the worst possible time.

Luckily, Baby Bird did really well! There was, of course, some crying, but overall, she tolerated flying both to and from home like a champ.

We left from Newport News, Virginia (pictured below), had a layover in Atlanta, and then finally arrived in Salt Lake City!
PHOTO_20130423_101314The way home was the same route, just the opposite, and it was a red-eye flight (meaning we flew through the wee hours of the night). I was even more worried about keeping her content on this flight, but it was actually even easier than flying during the day- she just slept the whole time! We made a little bed by laying blankets across our laps, and she surprisingly slept pretty soundly.PHOTO_20130423_133906By the way, when I’m talking about this Utah trip, “we” refers to Kaya, my mom-in-law, and myself. Michael’s cousin, Brianna, flew me out west to take her wedding photos, but Michael had to work, so my mom-in-law was awesome and came to help with Kaya (but she might have been a little persuaded by the prospect of almost-endless baby cuddles)!PHOTO_20130423_102645