Is Mommy Coming Back?

I am so far behind, I don't even know where to start. I guess I will just skip right to last weekend. Are you all sitting down?

I LEFT THE STATE WITHOUT MY CHILDREN!!!!!


Am I horrible mom for not thinking about my kids 24/7? I called occasionally to check in, but I got the voice mail for the most part. I think my friends and family started panicking on Sunday morning since I hadn't even called with my flight information yet. I had such a fabulous weekend, it was very tempting to "miss" my flight.

In the fall I had talked about taking a trip to meet up with some friends. I had everything planned out, Noe could be with the kids for the weekend and then my aunt and niece would watch the kids while he worked. That sounds perfect, right? Oh wait, that pesky little job in Japan got right in the way. Just as I thought I lost all hope of my trip, my wonderful friend Crista offered to come watch my children while I went off to play. You will have to wait for tomorrow to find all about THEIR weekend!

I flew in Crista and her daughter Caroline (who is the same age as Leigha) at midnight on Friday morning. I think I slept a total of 2.5 hours that night. I was determined to get my running in before I got the boys up. I wish it had been more like old times, when I used to talk myself out of working out, because I ended up hurting myself. Do you know what the worst thing you can do after you hurt yourself? Sit on the airport floor waiting for your flight and then sitting on a plane. By the time I got up and moving again, I knew I was in trouble. No worries-- I was FREE!!!

I flew to Salt Lake City for a girls weekend! I met up with my friend Kei that I had met through Signing Time! She was in SLC to get her second tattoo from Rachel's little sister. Kei had drawn the picture years ago and was extremely excited to finally be getting it. I just cringed, I can't even begin to imagine the pain involved in getting a tattoo! Don't worry, Mom, I have no plans of getting one myself.

I had so much fun seeing some of my other friends who live there as well. I finally got to meet LeeAnn's family and hang out at their house for awhile. For those of you who know me and my past couponing addiction, you should see her pantry! I would have KILLED for that back in my day. I would have actually had somewhere to store my 335 free starburst/skittles, 69 free Pampers Jumbos, 250 free Intuition razors, 300+ free Shick Quatro razors for Noe, etc. Could you imagine what I could have done with a bedroom sized pantry?! Ok, have to stop thinking about that, I am very jealous now.

Later on in the afternoon we met up with a bunch more of my online friends. We had a wonderful dinner and then stayed up for most of the night. Is that a good thing to do when you are going to a race in the morning? Probably not! Awhile ago I found out that the Association for Deaf Children was sponsoring Rachel's second trip to Ghana. What better way to thank them than participating in their 2nd Annual Race! We think we were pretty noticeable, what do you think?


The race was so much fun! I got to meet a few more of my online friends that morning. I LOVED THEM ALL! The last one to arrive was Jana. I have to say Jana might sleep less than I do. I wasn't sure that was possible. I think Kei, Jana, and I would malfunction if we had a normal night's sleep. Jana opened up a new business called Baby Steals. They offer a special item once a day for approximately half the regular price, if not more! If you are pregnant, you should really sign up for her emails. It almost makes me want to have another baby. Wait, did I say that?! HECK NO!

I had originally planned on doing the 5k, but I seemed to be the only one that wanted to do that. I wouldn't have been able to anyway, my body was not liking me that morning. LeeAnn had a time constraint because the Baby Signing Time Meet and Greet was also that morning. The race started a bit late so we decided we were going to have to walk fast. We were READY!




I was the total tourist taking pictures of the scenery as I ran. I totally forgot about the altitude difference. It made me feel better later, I had an excuse for being so out of breath by the end. Look at this BEAUTIFUL scenery!


I think it was pretty obvious that I wasn't a real "racer." Something about me carrying my big camera probably was a clue. I started off running so that I could turn around and get pictures of the other girls. Unfortunately, when the person who took the first picture had my camera, my setting was turned and I didn't realize it. For the first half of the race I would run, turn around, snap picture, turn around, and run again. Half way through the run, Tonya grabbed my camera and I finished off the race. I came in 3rd place overall and 1st place for my age division (OMG I am getting old!). Just imagine what place I would have been if I had actually ran the whole time!


We were then invited to the Baby Signing Time Meet and Greet at their office in Midvale. They were in the middle of filming their new Baby Signing Time DVDs! I can't wait until they are finished. Jana had to run home and get her kids (her daughter Jane was one of the babies chosen). My boys were filmed while Rachel was in Vegas, but I am pretty sure they weren't able to get any great footage. That was the day we had been on the run from sun up to sun down and the boys were sick. It was fun meeting the other families there.

It was fun meeting some of the other families that I have seen on the Signing Time Forums. There was one two year old that was reading and speaking so clearly that you would have thought she was in school already. After the recent story about Elizabeth Barrett, you should have seen Emilie scrambling around to find books for her to read. It was amazing!

I have to say Hopkins was a trooper! It was very hot that day and Hopkins lasted longer than we ever imagined. Then you have Rachel there in her sweater and tank top. I don't think I would have enjoyed that outfit much either.



I still found it quite fascinating to be sweating and staring at snowy mountains. I was the total tourist getting a kick out of heat/snow.



Jane, Jana, and Cathy


It wouldn't be the same without those firemen!



Jana took a great shot of a bunch of us! We had to show off Kei's new tattoo! From left to right:
Tammy, Jana, Stacey, Cathy, Kei, Jalyn, Jess, and LeeAnn! Where was Tonya, Ashlee, and Ronai? hmmm....


The rest of the weekend just flew by too fast. We had a great time and it was sad to say goodbye to all of my friends, old and new. I definitely loved my taste of freedom. I love my family to death, but it was wonderful to get away for a few days. I wonder when I can begin planning my next trip? Anyone?