Home Again Home Again Jiggity-Jog

My mom has been trying to "de-clutter" the house, so she flew Damon and I home to go through my boxes. Becca joined in the fun too! I was incredibly nervous to fly with a 22 month old, as a "lap" child, across the country while being about 7 months pregnant. I stocked up on all kind of gimmicks: new matchbox cars wrapped individually, various little candies, lots of stickers, snacks, books, a new coloring book, and a new DVD player! My mom said if it gave me 20 minutes, it was well worth the money...she was right! Damon wasn't sure about the headphones, but maybe with time:)

So we made the flight and Damon did ok. Mom and Becca picked us up and we headed for home. It was so good to be home in lots of space and wonderful helpers. Damon loved dragging people by the hand to wherever it was he wanted them to go. I was always last on his list. Everyone soon learned that unless your hands were folded, or just plain out of sight, they'd be snatched up in a death grip to be a little friend to Diggy boy. He loved "bah-bah dhom" and "mah-mah jahya" and of course "beck-buh". I loved being around them too:)





Becca and I were able to get everything done on our lists plus more: go through boxes, make toffee, get recipes from mom, get eyes checked from dad plus new glasses, talk about baby names, read, enjoy, have CMK (Thrifty's Chocolate Malted Krunch ice cream), burgers and fries from In N Out Burgers, watch Jane Austen movies, learn to make mom's apple pie, shop for maternity clothes, and hang out. It was probably the most relaxing yet productive time home I've ever had. Dad had stake conference, so he was a little busy writing and worrying about talks, but he did a great job. It was fun to be back in my old stake and listen to many speakers that I grew up knowing. Dad invited the Mission President and his wife over for dinner, so the girls ran back home to prepare. Becca and I requested roast since neither one of us feels like we can spend the money to do so on our own (mom and dad talked me out of this way of thinking). Damon loved all the attention from Grandma and Grandpa. They even let him pick all the little pumpkins from the garden. It was really hard to leave, but Damon did really well on the flights home.

It was a good thing Barrett decided not to get up early for the train Friday, because Diggs and I slept in until 9 or so. We went to the Apple Orchard for some apple cider donuts, cider, apples, and to see the pumpkins and animals. Damon loved it all! Saturday we went to the temple, then met up with my old roommate Carie who was visiting a friend in DC. It was good to catch up even if it was a short amount of time. We sure jumped right into busy-ness the moment I got back from California and I was super overwhelmed--which seems to be happening a lot more these days--but by the end of Sunday, things were good again. It may have had something to do with the apple pie I made:)