Utah

Curtis and I were fortunate enough to spend a week in Utah.  We bought tickets months ago and we were both really looking forward to seeing our families.

The day we flew out (we flew from New Orleans 'cause it was cheaper), we had to leave our house at 2:30 AM!  We drove the 2 1/2 hours to get there, made it through security and check in with plenty of time, ate some breakfast at the airport, and then finally hopped on the plane.  We flew to LAX first for a connecting flight but eventually made it to Utah at about 2:30 PM.  My mom and cute nephew picked us up at the airport and we headed to my parents house.  It was so nice to be back in Utah; to have mountains and everything that goes with them!  However, it was way too cold for my liking!  We hung out at my parents house for a bit, chatted with my siblings and parents, and then we headed to Logan for a little get together with Curtis' family.  We went to his Grandma Cazier's house and everyone came except Lora and Kemish.  It was so so nice to see them and catch up with them all.

We spent all day Wednesday with my parents and siblings.  It was so wonderful to be back with them.  I didn't realize just how much I miss all of them til I was back with them.  We ran some errands in Logan and we all got together for lunch that afternoon.  And that evening we went to the temple.  I missed the temple a lot too.  As we were sitting in the chapel waiting for our session to start, I felt so grateful to have the chance to be there with my family.  Then I started bawling...being home made me more homesick than ever.  We were sad Curtis' parents couldn't make it.

On Thursday we spent the majority of the day doing wedding stuff (Curtis' sister Lora got married).  We got everything ready to go for that night where we were all going to meet at the church to set up for Lora's wedding.  Curtis and I were fortunate enough to pick up 2 of his cousins to take to Salt Lake with us to help set up.  These are some of my favorite people!  Two cute boys made the car ride a lot of fun and really lifted my spirits.  (I must admit that I was grumpy...I unfortunately allowed myself to be sad and hurt by a few things on this Utah trip.)  But these boys really made me feel happier.  And later that evening I was so lucky and had a wonderful friend come see me while we were in Salt Lake.  It made my heart feel so happy to see her and catch up on all that's happened since the last time we had seen each other. We stayed at my grandma and grandpa Bennington's house that night.  One of the cutest things happened as we were all getting into bed.  My grandma and grandpa are both quite deaf...so they both use hearing aids, but at this time of night they had taken out their hearing aids.  We were in our room and heard the two of them getting into bed.  My grandma (yelling so my grandpa could hear) says "I love you!"  And my grandpa yelled back, "I love you too!"  It was so sweet.  :)

Friday was wedding day, so we headed to the Salt Lake Temple.  That is one of the most beautiful places on earth, I love that temple.  The sealing was nice.  It was different than any I had attended before; Lora's husband is from Honduras, so the sealing was in English and Spanish.  The temple, as usual, does wonders for my soul.  I love going to sealings.  And I couldn't help but think of when Curtis and I were sealed for time and all eternity.  It's so wonderful knowing I get to be with Curtis for eternity.  After a few pictures, we went to the church for the wedding luncheon.  They served Honduran food, which was interesting.  I liked the pork they served; it was in some tomato-y sauce!  Lora and her husband decided not to have a reception, so after the luncheon was done we just cleaned up the church and headed back to Logan.  We stayed Friday night with Curtis' parents.  That night we were all tired and shared some pretty great laughs together. 

On Saturday my mom, sister, and I put together a small baby shower for my sis Tyanna.  It was so fun and turned out really cute.  It was fun to spend time with them and the guests that came to support her.  Curtis went fishing with the boys that morning, and that made for a very happy husband.  :)  Later on Saturday my family had pictures taken.  My family is so fun and we always have fun in every situation.  After pictures were done, we hung out a little bit longer, but then it was so sad to say goodbye to them all again.  I think it was just as hard, if not harder, to say goodbye to my family this time than the first time we left.  I didn't want to go, and I realized just how much I truly love being with my family.  I basically cried the whole way to Logan.  But the night got better!  We had a nice dinner with Curtis' parents and then we all gathered at one of Curtis' cousin's house for ice cream.  We truly treasured the time we got to spend with Curtis' family.  He misses his family a lot too...and it sure made him happy to have that quality time with those people he loves most. 

On Sunday we spent an all too short morning with Curtis' parents.  His mom made us orange rolls for breakfast and his dad cooked a really delicious meal for lunch.  It was so great spending that time with them.  And then we had to leave...we had to say goodbye one last time.  It sucked leaving Utah again.  The trip home was a breeze, but we sure were tired!  It was one busy trip!  We were glad to finally get home and crawl into bed.  We really hope that we'll be able to visit Utah again in the near future.  And we've decided that ultimately we want to end up where we can be near our families.  So this Alabama adventure is great and we are happy and the experience will be priceless.  But when all is said and done, family is and always will be the most important thing.  And we will do all we can do live closer to them.