The rest of Utah

After making the long trip to Utah I didn't want to turn around and drive back home.  Paul needed to get back to work so he flew home on Sunday the 24th but the kids and I stayed for a couple extra days.  It would have been nice to stay longer but we needed to get home so Leila could get back to school, we had some doctor's appointments and I had already bought stuff for their Easter baskets but the stuff was in Iowa and I didn't want to spend more money to buy it in Utah.  So we made the most of the couple days we had.  And since we are coming back in the summer we spent most of our time just being with family.  Some of the highlights were:

-Playing with cousins every single day
-playing on the playground at the school
-driving the jeep and four wheeler around
-going to the zoo
-bubble baths at Nana and Pop's house
-Easter egg hunt
-Dying Easter eggs
-Out to dinner at Cafe Rio
-out to lunch with Paul's family at Zupa's
-playing lots of games with grandparents
-playing outside
-Seeing Colin and Kara and Seth and Jenn
-Seeing Erica and her boys
-Sleeping in
-having sleep overs at Mari's house, Nini's house and Nana and Pops house

The cousins started watching a movie but all fell asleep during it.

Connie had an Easter egg hunt for all the kids.  Asher got to go first since he was the youngest participant.  He was so excited to find eggs and later when we got inside he would squeal in excitement as each egg was opened.  Leila and Grey were pros, they each found more than enough eggs.

After the egg hunt we dyed Easter eggs.  Grey was totally into it but not quite old enough to understand that he needed to be careful, he was plopping eggs  in dye, splashing it all over and getting it all over his hands.  And poor Leila only colored a couple eggs, right before we were starting she was playing in the backyard and climbing trees and she fell out of the tree and scraped her stomach up pretty bad.  And Asher was just a pain, way too busy for his own good.  I eventually just put him to bed.  

I found these two cute girls sitting in the sunshine just chatting about life.  

We went to the zoo with Erin and her kids.  She has a zoo pass and was able to get us all in for free.  It was a little chilly that day but we still had lots of fun.  

 On Wednesday we were able to get together with Erica and her boys.  They happened to be in town and they even made the trek to Sandy to see us.  It was so good to see her, it had been almost a year, its really hard to not see these friends that have been so dear and helped us survive all the years of medical school.  We have missed them like crazy and I was so happy we were able to get together.  

We got up early on Thursday and began our trek home.  Thankfully my mom was able to drive with us.  We stopped in Kearney Nebraska that night and then finished the rest of the drive on Friday.  We made it home just in time to get Leila to her ENT appointment.  The drive wasn't bad except for all the vomit.  Greydon gets car sick so we expect that from him but then Asher was either car sick or had a stomach bug because her threw up a bunch too.  By the time we got home our car was disgusting. We  unloaded everything including the car seats and got every thing washed and disinfected.   

The funeral

Paul flew to Washington DC early on Friday the 15th, I was then scheduled to fly to Washington DC on Sunday the 17th.  Paul was originally going to fly home on Sunday morning but after seeing his sisters condition and receiving several promptings he decided he needed to stay longer.  I arranged for Leila and Greydon to stay with the Spjuts (the husband is in the surgical residency program with Paul and they are in our ward and they have kids our kids ages).  When I asked Allison if she could watch them she was more than willing.  We went to church that afternoon and I had all the kids bags packed so that they could go home from church with the Spjuts and I would head to the airport.  While in sacrament Asher pulled my phone out of the bag and was pushing buttons.  I grabbed the phone and saw that I had about 6 missed calls from Paul.  I knew then that Ariane had passed away.  I quickly walked out of the chapel and called Paul and he told me the news.  We decided that I would still fly to Washington DC to be with our family there.  My flight had some changes and unfortunately made the flight several hours longer but eventually Asher and I made it there.  It was so good to be with Paul, Connie, Sean and Shannon.  We spent time figuring out some of the details of the funeral and other arrangements.  We got up early on Tuesday morning (3:30 am) to fly back to Iowa. My visiting teacher Alisha picked us up at the airport.  And let me quickly mention some of the many blessings we received and service from people looking out for us.  Paul's residency program was amazing, when they first learned of Ariane's condition they didn't hesitate to let him know that his family is first and to take whatever time he needed.  They told him not to worry about his shifts or work and to just go and be with his family.  He was also on trauma surgery which is really difficult for the program to cover and not once did they make him feel bad about being gone. Our friends the Spjuts took our kids without hesitation, kept them several extra hours so I could pack and she cleaned my house while I was away. And on top of that she gave me assurance that my kids would be fine and that she was completely capable of  handling them which allowed me to be at total ease leaving them with her.  My visiting teacher picked us up at the airport but also had several bags of snack and activities for the kids for the car trip to Utah because she knew we were leaving that afternoon and wouldn't have much time to make it to the store.  We were given money to help with our travels and frequent flyer miles to help with the airfare.  We received so many cards, texts, and phone calls from friends offering comfort.  We were truly being watched over and all this service allowed for us to take care of the things that really matter and just be with our family.  We could feel the comfort of so many prayers being offered on our behalf. The amount of love we have been shown is overwhelming,  I can't even express how thankfully we are for good friends and family who are listening to promptings from the Holy Ghost and being willing to put our needs above their own.  

Asher was really good at the airport and really good on the flights.  

Asher is totally exhausted after being up since 3 AM and then traveling all morning.  I worked on getting laundry done and packing bags for Utah.  Paul took a nap because he would be driving most of the way.  After getting the oil changed and getting gas we were finally on the road that evening.  We drove until about 3 AM and stopped in Laramie Wyoming for the night.  Right before we got to the hotel Greydon woke up and said his stomach hurt.  We tried to keep the kids asleep and just transfer them to the beds but with no such luck.  Asher wanted nothing to do with sleeping so he ended up in bed with me and Paul.  A few minutes after laying down Greydon started crying and making weird noises. I quickly flipped on the lamp to discover he had puked all over the bed, Leila, and their favorite blankets.  So we stripped everyone down, put them in the bath, and got new sheets.  I had packed a hotel bag that only included 1 pair of pajamas and clothes for the next day so the kids ended up sleeping in their underwear.  We only got about 2 hours of sleep before the kids were up at 6 AM.  We hit the road and made it to Utah at about 2 PM.  We were exhausted and only surviving because of the energy drinks we had.  I never drink caffeine but wanted to stay awake to drive and be awake for when Paul was driving, I ended up drinking 2 Rockstars that night and 1 the next morning.  My body felt so weird, I was so tired but totally wired.   The next couple of days were a total blur. The viewing was Friday evening and the funeral was Saturday morning.  We had the kids with us at the viewing for about an hour before my parents came and took them to their house.  The funeral was really hard, I'm pretty sure I just cried through the whole thing.  But it was also wonderful to be with so many that loved Ariane.  Paul's cousin Nan, Paul, his Dad, his mom and brother all spoke at the funeral.  Since Ariane loved pink, a pink casket and vault were only fitting.  It was a very cold and snowy day  but the sun peaked out when we got to the cemetery.