Taking a bite out of the Big Apple

Our recent trip started with a tight flight to Utah for a wedding.  We thought all our plans would be down the drain with all the flights filling up, but with only 8 seats on the plane, we managed to claim 5 of them.  We had a wonderful family BBQ in the COLD Utah weather.  We enjoyed all the festivities of Meggie's wedding.  I found a kind friend to watch Mariah outside the temple so I could enjoy the sealing.  As much as we tried, Mariah wouldn't take a bottle, so I was scared to leave her and nervous that she would be bad, but she did great.  She is smiley and happy and goes to sleep fairly easily.

  We enjoyed the luncheon and then headed back to Lehi to be with our kids for a few hours before going back to the reception.

We packed for our trip to NYC, but once again, the flight kept dropping seats throughout the day.  There were only 7 seats left and we were numbers 4-7 in line.   At 11 pm we headed to the airport still not knowing if we would actually get to NYC or if we would be back in Utah with the kids for the weekend.  We ended up getting on, but they bumped Mariah to a lap baby.  I was very concerned because I have never flown with a lap baby, let alone on a red eye flight.  She nursed and fell asleep and we put her on the floor and she slept the whole flight.  The baby sitting behind us, unfortunately, did not sleep . . . at all.  The poor exhausted mother!  But we were exhausted too.  We had a 20 min layover in Charlotte and luckily the gate was close so we caught the next flight no problem.
By the end of this 24 hour period, We were transported by
1. Car
2. 2 planes
3. 3 buses
4. 5 subways
5. bike
6. boat (water cruise around Manhattan)
any other transportation we missed?

Mariah stayed in her carrier most of the time or we held her. We got the NYC pass and tried our best to get to every attraction.  We had a water cruise (after an annoying hour long bus ride through Manhattan traffic).  We went to the MET and saw many amazing art works.  We strolled through central park becoming completely lost.  The trip to the Empire State building was shorter because we had Mariah in a stroller.  We got to see Times square in the day and night time.

We stayed at the apartment building of a friend and so we got to see a glimpse into actual NY life.  This family has 5 kids in a 2 bedroom apartment!  Wow!  We are spoiled out west!  We finally crashed at midnight (9 p,m our time) after almost 48 hours awake.  We slept solidly and Mariah cooperated as well.

We slept in until 9 am (only 6 am our time and ate breakfast with my mission companion and trainer Tiffany.  she is seriously my hero.  She is the kindest, most thoughtful, spiritual giant.  It was so fun to reunite and connect with her again. I am so inspired by her goodness and love.  We headed out for another long and full day in the City.  This day we hit the 9/11 memorial, Wall street, Trinity church, Moma(the art museum was NOT our style, but we liked the rain room!), Rockefeller square, top of the Rock, NBC studio and finished out the day at the wax Museum at Madam Tussard.   The New Yorkers loved Mariah, when she wasn't covered up and sleeping, she was smiling and grinning and happy so everyone loved to look and ooh and aah over her.  It was fun to interact with more people because we stood out with a baby.  Dave was amazing to push the stroller and carry it up and down staircases/subways/etc.  I was nice to have a place to put things so we didn't have to carry them around.  I love riding the subways and seeing the many different people in the city.  This place is so busy, crowded and different than anything you can imagine on the west coast.  I loved visiting, but I'm not sure I could live there. We had a great dinner with Tiffany and her family.

We were hoping for one more day in the city, but Dave had some pressing things at work that he HAD to be back for and since flying stand-by is so unknown, we tried to get home a day earlier.  Unfortunately, the flights were SO full.  We tried looking for connections through every major city we could think of (even if it was out of the way).  the only route that looked good was through Charlotte and Dallas.  We are always hesitant to do connections because of so many things that can change the outcome of the flight, but that seemed to be the best option, so after only 3 hours of sleep we woke to pack, get a taxi to the airport and started our journey.  The first flight was an easy one to catch, but once we got to Charlotte we found that the Dallas flight filled up and we already knew that most every flight we had looked at was completely full and overbooked.  We started to panic a little.  We listed on several different flights and hoped that people didn't show up so we could have their seat.  There was one seat left on the Dallas flight so with a minute to decide, I took the ticket and ran down the jet way with Mariah.  Once I got in my seat I started to realize that I was alone, with a lap baby, without a binky (I LOST IT!!) and was headed to Dallas (not my home).  I was very nervous and scared that we shouldn't have split up.  Fortunately, Mariah nursed fell asleep and I was able to lay her down and I FOUND the binky.  I could not have felt happier than at that moment.  The binky made all my fears disappear and I felt calm and slept for nearly 2 hours.  When I landed, I found out that Dave had made it on to the flight that was overbooked to Phoenix!  They bumped someone to the next flight and gave him a voucher, and when another person didn't show up for the flight they had one seat open.  When the stand-bys in front of Dave didn't show up, he got it! I was so happy.  He wouldn't have taken the seat if I weren't safely on my way to my destination, so I was glad we chose to split up.  Now, I had the option of flying to Phoenix for free on US airways or paying $15 on American to fly straight to SLC to get my kids.  After a stressful time trying to list on the flight (Dave was in the air so he couldn't help me),  I was listed and actually got an empty seat next to me so I could take the car seat on!  It was wonderful!  I really didn't like my experience on American Airlines as much as I've enjoyed US Airways, but maybe it is because that is what I am use to.  Mariah once again slept the entire flight!  She is SUCH a good baby!  Getting to Utah and seeing the kids felt great.  The day went better than we planned (with lots of stress in the middle).  I was so happy we got to see NYC (Dave's first visit) together.  We sure pack a lot in a few hours and I love that we are both happy to travel that way (we get more trips in but they are much shorter).

I was thinking that Mariah is going to have a crazy life.  She has already been to Hawaii, New York and Utah 4 times and isn't even 3 months old.  I bet most full grown adults haven't been to all those places.  We sure love the benefits of this job . . . even if it does shorten our life because of the stress :)


Thanks to my mom and dad for watching our toddler and pre-schooler.  We kept thinking how difficult life in the city would be with little ones.  Thanks to my in-laws for hosting us and taking us to the airport.  Thanks to Tiffany for feeding us and finding us an apartment to stay in.  Thanks to US Airways for flying us across the county.  I feel very blessed! 

Family life

Mariah is growing up so quickly.  She is a great baby.  Usually she sleeps a 7-9 hour block each night goes right back to sleep.  She is smiley and easy to please.  The kids still can't get enough of her, which still scares her, but someday the attention and/or the fear will wear off, right?

 This is at the Dr's office for Mariah's 2 mo. appt (early June)  Jackson and Hallie would not leave her alone and I finally embraced the moment and snapped a shot.  Poor third child!

 Swimming at Mesquite Groves.  It was only 104 that day but the water felt great!

 Daddy reading scriptures with the kids.

 We went to the Children's museum twice one week (US Airways employees got in free) luckily, I got to spend time with another US Airways wife/friend and also Sandra was in town for the day!  So fun for the kids and for mom too!

 We threw a Mr. Incredibles party for dad.  Partly for his birthday (late) partly for Father's Day (early) and mostly for the kids.  We played 'golf (pin the ball in the hole), basketball (dunk, dunk, hoop), airplane standby (musical chairs), volleyball (with balloons) and watched the Incredibles and ate ice cream cake.  It was such a fun night for our family!

 For Father's Day Jackson gave dad a kid shaving set so Jackson could shave with Daddy.

 Dress ups are ALWAYS happening in our house.  This was a particularly unusual day :)

 Jackson loves cuddling his sister.

Mariah's Blessing Day

 We were planning a trip to Utah to take Dave's nephew from Houston to see his Grandma.  We realized that much of my family would be together.  We also realized that having a blessing in Arizona in July or August would be no fun at all.  So with only a few days to plan, we decided to go ahead and have Mariah's blessing in Utah at my parents home.  My brothers Shane and Ryan were able to attend, along with Carly and Doug. . . who announced they are expecting again in December! Dave's parents and brother, Tom were also able to be there.  We missed Michelle who was nursing a sick husband and a sick self as well.  We also really missed my sisters who are serving missions.  It will be a long couple of years without them. 

We are still waiting to know what Mariah will be like.  She is a pretty normal baby, not too fussy, not too perfect.  She is sleeping 7-9 hour blocks at night which is pretty amazing.  She sleeps fairly well during the day too.  Since Hawaii, I have let go of my strict 3 hour feeding schedule and just fed her when she seems fussy.  sometimes it is after an hour, or 2 and sometimes it is 5 hours between feedings.  She just weighed in at 13 lbs 2 oz at her 2 month appt -85th percentile, I think she is growing just fine.  Her length was 24 inches, in the 95th percentile.

Jackson and Dayton haven't seen each other in a while, but they had fun together.  We wish we had more time with them!

How Jackson feels about being sick . . .

The Big Island Day 4-5

Sunday
Jackson was up at 5:00.  We got ready for church and headed South.  The kids were screaming and growling at each other in the car.  Instead of trying to stop it like we did yesterday, we just let them go crazy.  The fought a little, but had fun too, we just had to endure an earful and not get annoyed by it.  We went to the temple, but the grounds were locked so we only got a few pictures.

We attended church South of Kona in Ke'ei ward.  Our neighbor's brother was bishop there so we said hello.  After church we went to "the place of Refuge"  This was peaceful park with ancient Hawaiian buildings and boats to see. Hallie was melting down so I took her back to the car while Dave and Jackson finished exploring.

 

Captain cooks monument in the far background of this bay

 Both kids fell asleep on the way into town.  We decided based on a friends recommendation to eat at a seaside "Island Lava Java."  This was the ONLY time we went to eat out on the entire 5 day trip.   Mariah was crying the whole time, Hallie was whiny and complaining and Jackson was hitting things with the silverware and wouldn't stop.  Hallie peed all over Dave's lap, Mariah had a blow out and Jackson started yelling.  Embarrassed and overwhelmed. We left before even getting our food.  It was too late to cancel the order, so we got it to go and ate in the car, which meant that everyone had syrup all over their shirts.  What a disaster!  We learned the hard way not to eat out on Sunday (or maybe not to take kids out to eat . . . EVER).  My friend, Chiyo, and her son met us at the hotel and we got to catch up.  I knew her on my mission, she was such a great friend and inspiration.  She lives on the island with her two boys.  It was so nice to reunite with her.  We watched another amazing sunset from the hotel and said goodnight to a very rough day.

 

Monday - we decided to try to take it easy so as to leave the trip on a good note.  It was a perfect day!  We went to Hapuna beach and finally got the great beach we were hoping for.  It was perfect sand, crystal clear water, hot weather and a gorgeous stretch of sand and horizon.  I wanted to stay all day!  Dave and I got to boogie board because Chiyo came and met us and volunteered to watch our kids so we could go out.  We both caught a few waves.




At noon, we quickly checked out of our hotel and then went to the pool for the afternoon. There was a fun slide and sandy area for the kids (although Hallie refused to play in the sandy area - she only liked the cold pool and the hot tub).  We used the rest of our food vouchers (provided because of our brother's hotel point status!) for some amazing sushi, pizza, and sandwiches from the poolside store.
We met back up with Chiyo and her husband and he took Dave and I out snorkeling while Chiyo watched the kids again.  She is so amazing and willing to serve.  She was so prepared (with food, a tent, first aid for Dave's cut foot, etc, etc. )  She is still so inspirational!  Dave and I swam with a couple turtles and lots of fish.

The kids loved watching Winne the Pooh, it was so fun to see the grins on their face.

 

Second pool experience was very short.  She did like her first experience for 15 mins.

All worn out!

Jackson loved learning to play checkers

Our hotel entrance we stayed in the Palace Tower on the 7th floor with a Ocean view!

 The dolphins outside in the Lagoon.

We then went to a shallow reef area and saw more turtles and showed the kids turtles swimming.  Finally, we went to "Spencer's beach" for dinner and a gorgeous sunset.  It was the perfect end to a trip.

 

The hotel held our bags and offered us a room to 'freshen up' in (complimentary!)  it was so nice to be able to shower off the ocean and be totally clean for the flight.  The problem was that it took a lot longer than we planned so we were so late getting to the airport, Dave had to drop me and the kids and the luggage off alone.  I was scared, but just took it slow (luckily it is a super tiny airport with lots of workers doing nothing so I had help). Still, I felt like a super star doing it all on my own.  I hauled and checked 4 bags (while the kids were in the stroller).  Then I put Mariah in the moby wrap and got all 4 of us through security (with Jackson asleep, I had to carry him AS I carried Mariah through the metal detectors.) with a stroller, car seat, diaper bag, backpack and pillows.  Luckily Hallie was awake, so she walked through.  Mariah and Jackson were out and stayed sleeping until after we landed in Phx.  Hallie took a bit longer falling asleep and cried a little.  She was so whiny about dad doing EVERYTHING for her on this trip, it made it a bit difficult, but Dave indulged her and took great care of her.  She finally fell asleep (as did I) and the flight home was too quick (I would've liked to sleep more!)  We were able to fit everything in the car (as well as an extra person) and got Dave to work and me home.  Despite the little sleep the kids were happy to be home and were pretty well behaved after I got some food in them.  Clean up from a big trip like this was a bear, but things are almost back to normal.  It was so nice to have a break from dishes and laundry and clutter control.  With 3 kids in tow it wasn't exactly a relaxing vacation  (I only read 47 pages in the book I brought and didn't even sunbathe once), especially because we wanted to see so much on this 'new to us' island.  We did a lot of packing and unpacking.  But we were so grateful to stay in such an amazing resort and not have to move our stuff to different hotels.  We had a great time and Dave is already planning another trip back to the islands - but which one?!?!

I didn't say much about Mariah, but she really was the easiest kid on the trip.  I would feed her when she would cry (even if it was more or less than 3 hours apart).  I didn't stick with any sort of schedule or routine. She had times when she cried in the car, but within 5 mins calmed down.  She spend a lot of time sleeping (or calmly awake) in her car seat.  She loved being wrapped in the Moby and fell asleep every time.  The kids didn't bother her nearly as much as they do at home (since she was hiding out in her car seat tent).  I found it was super easy to nurse in a swim suit.  Anyway, she slept for 5 of the 6 hours on the flight there and slept the entire 6 hours home (if she did wake up I was too asleep to hear her!).   I think this age is better for traveling than an older baby that has a more difficult time getting to and staying asleep.  She was a doll. 

 

Good morning Arizona!  (it is only 3 am in Hawaii!)