Business

My parents rescued me last week from five days of being a single parent while Paul was out of town on a business trip. The bonus - they brought Oma with them to escape the sweltering Nevada heat and enjoy the sweltering Utah heat! We had a great time and stayed super busy as we always do when they come visit (mostly doing errands for me). We had a lovely trip to Ikea and visited some other local shopping attractions as well (Wal-Mart, etc. - ha!). A good portion of the time was spent spoiling D and keeping him more entertained than ever. All toys and games in the house were dragged out and used at least once (even if it was for less than 30 seconds). We ate lots, played lots, and my mom even found time to help me with the horrendous YW lesson I had to teach AND to help me sew a blanket and pillowcase for D that have been sitting around for months...

Even with all the extra hands around, it was still hard to be spouse-less. Late night visits from D really wore me out. Day four of the five was especially bad. I woke up Sunday morning at 6:00 with screaming cramps in both of my calves (I made the mistake of trying to stretch. I really look forward to stretching again in another couple of months. What's the deal with pregnancy and torturous muscle cramps??). Anyway, I was awake lying in bed in agony trying not to cry and little D came wandering in around 6:30. He said "Where's Daddy?" and his little lip was shaking as he was practically in tears. So I put him in bed with me. He tossed and turned for about 40 minutes and then slept for about 20 when he woke up in complete tears. I finally convinced him to go see Nana so I could get ready for church. I was exhausted. 6:00?? Really??? We miraculously made it to church on time. Nursery thankfully went smoothly with D having success in the potty arena and in shaking the maracas during music time (he never participates). I was a complete disaster during my lesson in YW. Lack of sleep and a sensitive topic left me crying like D did earlier that morning. So after church D took a nap. I wanted to, but opted to play games with the family instead. After his nap we were spending some quality time together on the potty when all of a sudden Paul popped around the corner - SURPRISE!! He came home a day early!!! Pretty much the best surprise of all time.

The family all left the next morning. They could see I was in no danger of spontaneously combusting since Paul was home. We sure miss them. D was especially sad to see them go. Right after they drove away we saw a little butterfly go by the window. D asked where it went, and so, instead of answering, I asked him where the butterfly went, to which he responded "With Nana and Papa". We sure miss you guys!

D and Oma

Paul went to Washington state to get some footage for a DVD he is making and to go to a skim competition that several of his riders were in. He really enjoyed the good food, nice weather, friendly company, and beautiful scenery.