Utah trip: Day 1

Sheila called me way back at the beginning of January to ask me to fly down to Utah for my dad's 60th birthday party. She said she didn't think she could pull off a surprise party, so he knew about the party, but she hoped my arrival could be a surprise to him. On a night in January when we booked our plane tickets, Grant asked Eleanor if she wanted to ride on a plane with Mommy and Daddy. Of course, she said yes and headed for the door, wondering why we weren't close behind her, getting our shoes on. It took some explaining to help her understand it wouldn't happen for another month and a half, and she was rather disappointed-- good one, Grant.

So, on March 12th, our journey began. We got a ride to the airport from Kelli. Eleanor loved riding in "Rissa's" car. Larissa was only with us long enough to get dropped off at her grandma's, but that seemed to satisfy Eleanor anyway. We rode the ferry across the river to get to I-5, which was really new for Eleanor. We told her what was going to happen, and once the car was on the ferry, she kept telling us she wanted to get on the boat. Apparently, it just isn't a boat ride if you have to stay in the car!

This was actually the very first time Grant and I had been on a plane together, because in the past, we've taken the road trip to save money. We let Eleanor wear her own little backpack at the airport, and she did really well with all the security measures. Her main setback was when we checked her carseat. She did not want us to hand it over to some strange man. That was her carseat, and she told us all about it! We assured her that it was going on the same plane as we were, and we would get it back when we got off.

Eleanor loved watching all the planes fly by with her daddy. They watched as our plane pulled up, and she even got to see them load her carseat onto the plane.

Ready for a nice, safe flight (even though we flew Southwest).

This wasn't Eleanor's first flight. I flew to Salt Lake with her once when she was about 13 months old, so this time was a little different for her. She did really well. We were able to get the front row where there is plenty of leg room (and toddler roaming room). The only time she had a problem was after she had been on her feet most of the flight, and the captain turned on the seatbelt sign for landing. She was less than enthused about being buckled in again after roaming free all that time. Grant tried holding her on his lap, but the stewardess said that since she was two, she had to be in her own seat. She helped us out by giving us a deck of cards, though. That seemed to cheer Eleanor, and she and I counted them until we were landed. We had all gotten a cold before the trip (great timing), so my ears were so plugged I could barely hear a thing. Luckily, the cold was a fairly mild one for Eleanor; it hit Grant and me the hardest.

After all that, it was time to get into a car for the 3 and 1/2 hour drive to Vernal. I had hoped Eleanor would nap almost the whole way, leaving her pleasant and happy when she would reach Grandpa, Austin and Kenzie. Apparently, she had other plans, and she played and talked for a good part of the trip. It was a good chance for her to interact with Grandma Sheila, because I was tired and eventually stopped playing with Eleanor. She did eventually fall asleep and got about an hour nap. She woke up when we got to town and switched vehicles. Sheila had told Dad she was just riding to Salt Lake with her Aunt Beverly, so she and her mom and Beverly came to pick us up. Then, we had to get into Sheila's van that was parked at Beverly's to drive the rest of the way home.

Eleanor loved seeing all the livestock as we drove through town. We would point out either window and show her cows, horses, or sheep, often with babies. She loved it. She would tell us she wanted to see more animals whenever we ran out of things to show her.

The secrecy was all worth it. We got there, and Austin told Dad that Sheila was back and needed some help. He walked out of the house to find me, Grant, and Eleanor holding a sign saying, "Happy Birthday." He was so surprised and happy!

Kenzie showed Eleanor the new baby goat, Annabell, only a week old. Eleanor loved seeing all their animals. Outside, they have chickens, ducks, dogs, goats, and a horse. In the house, they have chinchillas and lizards (both in cages).

Annabell was hilarious when they put her on the ground. She'd run and jump, and her bottom looked as if it was trying to flip sideways while she was in the air.

This is Fern, Kenzie's horse (one of three, but the only one residing on their property). Eleanor liked petting the horse, too. She also liked watching Fern out the kitchen window and saying, "Horsie. Eeeeee!"