The Trip of a Lifetime

Ok, here we are now. I am (finally) updating our blog on the goings on of our small family this summer. Where I sit now is in our apartment in Nashville with an adorable baby girl sitting across from me with her legs dangling over the bottom of her little pink chair. Michaela is 4 months old now and she is thriving in a big way. She is talking, all the time. She has discovered the sound of her own voice and she loves to yell. Loudly and often. She is so funny! We laugh and laugh every day. She has a smile so big that it looks like her face can't stretch anymore and she giggles a lot too. We have settled into this life of parenting and are taking all of the changes in stride. I feel so very blessed to have this amazing little person who looks at me every day with such love and greets me with a smile every morning.

Now, on to the summer. We spent the first half of summer with family and friends and our new baby:) And, because of the generosity of our family members, we began planning a trip home to Colorado to visit family. To say I was excited for this is the understatement of the century. I was ECSTATIC!!!!!!! But, before we went out there, we were happy to have Matt's sister Mariah and his Grandma Shirley come out here for 2 weeks at the end of July into the beginning of August. Thanks to Grandma Shirley, we were able to explore more of Nashville as "tourists" and enjoy the city in the summer. Oh, wait. Did I say enjoy?? I meant survive the heat!!!! We were welcomed to the Nashville summer with the hottest summer on record in years. It was around 100 degrees for days in a row and the humidity.... don't even talk to me about the humidity. It was like stepping into a furnace every time we stepped out our front door. We spent the visit going from the air conditioned house to the air conditioned car to the air conditioned store etc etc. We went to the Nashville Zoo and saw the animals they have there. It was really cool for the price and so green and pretty. They have a walk through a forest of Bamboo that was probably my favorite part. We ate at restaurants, went driving around the city, got to listen to Matt play downtown on Broadway and got to spend some quality time with each other. They ate up every moment with Michaela. I was so grateful for their visit. The 2 weeks flew by and it brought us that much closer to Colorado!

So, Michaela and I spent the 10 days after Mariah and Grandma Shirley left cleaning the house, packing and getting things as ready as possible for daddy before we left. On August 20th, Miki Jo and I got on a plane and flew to Colorado. Matt was staying here in Nashville for the first 2 weeks of our trip to work and play his gigs. He would join us for the last 10 days. We stopped off in Salt Lake for a 3 hour layover where we got to meet Aunt Holly and Aunt Lisa and Uncle Eric for the first time. Our meeting was one of those moments in life that you wish was recorded. Holly and Lisa and I were laughing and crying and Michaela decided to join in and give her aunties some adorable giggles for their first meeting. There was a cute 20 something guy standing behind us and he told us that we were one of the sweetest things he'd ever seen and we even brought tears to his eyes. :) It was a great visit and then, on to Grand Junction. My mom and grandma picked us up at the airport where many more tears were shed in happiness.
We spent a little bit of time with everyone. We hung out in Montrose with my mom, dad and sister Kelli for a few days to let Miki Jo rest a little bit. We went to Granddad and grandma's workplaces so they could show off their new granddaughter. It was fun to be able to show off my baby girl to so many people. The first morning we stepped outside to the cool, crisp, clear air and sky of Colorado and I shed a few tears at the beauty and clearness that was around us. We went on a nice, long walk with my sister Kelli at 9 am. Something that we never could have done in Nashville that's for sure. After those few days, we went up to Junction to stay with my grandparents and visit for a few days. That was very fun. I love my grandparents so much. I lived with them in College for 2 years and have had a very close relationship with them ever since. Michaela is their first great grandchild and they had a great time playing with her and visiting. After that, we drove to Orem, Utah to visit with Holly, Eric and Lisa.
That was a great weekend. We got to meet Lisa's boyfriend Hondo and just visit and spend quality time with the aunties and friends. My sister's all kind of like Michaela. A little. :) We didn't do much more than enjoy the time together. We went shopping a few times and watched cupcake wars on the food network. It was perfect. Next it was back to Montrose for most of that next week. We just relaxed and hung out with everyone and enjoyed Colorado. That Friday was the day that daddy was arriving and we were looking forward to seeing him. We talked daily and skyped a few times but Matt was missing his baby soooo bad. And his wife too. A little bit.

Matt arrived on Friday the 3rd of September and we spent the weekend with my family at our Annual stay at Powderhorn Ski Resort on the Grand Mesa. It was beautiful on the mountain and we got in some hiking at Carson Lake and some much needed time with all of the family. Matt's family came up on Sunday and we had cake for all of the September birthdays and spent a great day together. Powderhorn is more exciting than Christmas for my family and this year did not disappoint. My brother and sister in law got to meet Michaela for the first time too and they were smitten right away. The time with family was like healing a wound for me. I completely relished every single moment spent with everyone.

After Powderhorn, we spent the rest of the week with Matt's side of the family. We had a great visit with them too. We hung out and saw friends and family alike. We had a HUGE soiree at the Griffith's house with over 50 people. It was a great time. Matt's brother Micah and his family came for the weekend and we spent the weekend passing around a 24 hour flu bug. It was a terrible way to end our trip but we still spent a lot of time together which was great.

One of the highlights of the trip for me was getting to see one of my best friends, Lindsay Huslig and her new baby. Simon. He was born 3 weeks before Michaela was and I was most anxious to meet him. I miss Lindsay so badly and was soooo glad to spend time with her. We played with them a lot and it was so great!

Another highlight was my other best friend, Christopher was visiting from New York City where he has lived for the past year. He got to meet my little girl and we spent a glorious day shopping and visiting and playing. It was amazing.

But, all good things must come to an end and so did our wonderful trip. Saying goodbye was so difficult but I know we will all see each other soon. Family and friends like ours don't go away. We are so blessed.

Getting home was a great thing in its own right. Our friends Kelly and Jared Blumenberg picked us up at the airport and it was so good to see them. I missed our friends in Nashville and that made me realize that we really have built ourselves a great life here. Matt has a job and he is gigging a lot and making contacts in the music industry and he has a lot of friends. I love my Branch at church and the people that are in my life now. We truly are very blessed.
There are many things we are looking forward to this coming few months. We are going to Ft. Worth Texas for Thanksgiving to spend it with my sister Jen and her husband Nick. They are welcoming a little girl into their home in January and I can't wait to be an Auntie! We have great friends here that are keeping us busy. We are going to a Concert on October 5th that will be so much fun. Matt's family is coming out here for Christmas. (Hopefully!) I can't wait to pick an outfit for Michaela for Halloween too. There are many great people and blessings in our life and we are so glad we have been able to spend time with the people who mean the most to us. Thank you all! We love you. .