On Friday we left California and drove to Las Vegas. As we drove into the valley it really felt like we were home. I actually got a little emotional. It was different than last year when we went in May for some reason. Maybe it's because when we went in May I knew we still had a year in Indiana, and I didn't know where we'd be after that. This time I knew that we'd be moving to Connecticut after Indiana, and even farther away from Las Vegas. And I'm happy about Connecticut, and very excited - it's just very far from family and friends.
It seems like we never have quite enough time visiting. We want to make sure we spend quality time with everyone. Friday night I was able to go visit with my old roommate, Heidi. We had a great visit. On Saturday we visited with Jerry's parents for a while, then I went to lunch with my girlfriends, Rochelle and Pam. If only I had gone on the trip 1 week later I would have been able to meet Pam's little baby girl, Emma. she was born the following Friday. We went to lunch at Chili's. I miss those girls. It was so great seeing them again.
After that we met up at a park with our great friends, the Maynors and Giffords. I love having great friends that you can just pick up, right where you left off the last time you saw them. We walked over to Thrifty's and got some of their delicious ice cream and then back to the park to play and talk for a while. The time went way too quickly. Ah, I miss them. The kids had such a blast, and of course they cried when we left.
That night my sis-in-law was so very sweet and babysat our kids so Jerry and I could go on a date. We had a great time playing tourists. We went to P.F. Changs for dinner, where our waitress happened to be the daughter of some of our friends from our Vegas ward. Small world. Then we went down to the strip. We went to my favorite hotel, The Bellagio. We went through the conservatory and window shopping at the shops that we couldn't even afford a simple neck tie at. And we watched a few of the water shows. I will never get sick of seeing the water shows at the Bellagio.
On Sunday we went to our old ward. I miss that ward. It was so great seeing friends that we hadn't seen in so long. People that were a part of our every day life. People are wonderful, and they made us feel so good. Hope this doesn't sound prideful - but it felt good to know that people still remembered us, and missed us after 2 years. Because we sure think of our friends from the ward often. On the way home after church we stopped by our old house to see it. It was a little surreal. It just felt like we were back in time - 2 years ago driving home from church. Felt so normal. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad we aren't still in the house, and I know it was the right choice to move to Indiana. And I'm very happy to be where we are, but still, there are so many memories from our life there, that makes going back so very special. Seeing the house where we brought 3 of our 4 children home from the hospital in. Memories of seeing the house built, with all of our specified cabinet colors, light fixtures, etc. When we moved in I was 5 months pregnant with Hayden, still teaching school, and Jerry had just barely graduated UNLV and was still working at MGM. To go from that to 7 years later when we left, with 3 children- the home has many memories from our time there.
Anyway...I'm getting a little too sappy. Long story short, it was great to see the house, but we are happy to be where we are.
That night we had a big family dinner/ get together at Barry's house. It was so fun to see everyone. Felt like we hadn't been gone. We also got to meet my new sis-in-law, Heidi. She was super sweet.
On Tuesday Jerry went to breakfast with his friend, Ray from Cintas. And then he hung out with his brother, Barry while I met up with my girlfriends and their kids for a play date at the park. Yes, it was a school day - they pulled their kids out of school, just for us. Yes, we felt very special.
As we drove away from the park the kids, and me were all crying. I feel very blessed to have such amazing friends in my life.
When I moved to Las Vegas 13 years ago I was nervous. I didn't know a single soul. After my first Sunday at church I called my best friend, Sunni and cried to her. I felt so small, and didn't know anyone, and worst of all - I didn't spy any cute guys in church - how was I ever going to get married?? :) 13 years later I feel like I have two "hometowns" Logan, and Las Vegas. I met a very cute guy in my ward, that I was lucky enough to marry:) I was able to teach so many fun and creative students, and I made some of the best friends a girl could have.
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| You can see that the 4 older kids, Katelynn, Rebecca, Aiden, and Hayden are fighting back the tears in this picture. This was right before we left, and they were not happy that they had to leave their best friends. It broke my heart. |
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| These amazing girls are coming to visit me in October!! Can't wait! |
On Tuesday we drove back to Ontario, CA to fly back home to Indiana. Lucky us, we arrived just in time for a Spring Break blizzard. West Lafayette is only a little over an hour from the airport, but the roads were so bad. After driving for over an hour, and not even making it halfway home, we decided we needed to be safe and get a hotel for the night. We could barely see the roads. Welcome home:):)
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