The U.S. Never Smelled So Good

The flight back to the U.S. didn't seem very long, probably due to our excitement at returning to see all of our family and friends. We arrived at LAX in the evening, and I got teary when we turned to go down the escalator and I saw the huge sign that says "Welcome to the United States of America." Then, as we went through customs, the officer said after looking through our passports "welcome home, family." It was so great. What was not so great was a little family incident that took place at immigration. Just know that it involved urine. But that got cleaned up and we retrieved our baggage, and we walked outside and quickly saw Melanie in her car. It was so wonderful to see her. I have pretty much been desperate to see her for the last six months so I was so excited to finally have some good sister time with her! She was awesome and had chocolate shakes ready and waiting for us in the car. She knows me so well!

We were surprised at how chilly it felt in Cali, but it felt so good. The air in San Diego felt so clean and just smelled so good. Every time we went outside, I told the boys to "breathe it in!!!" There was a trip to Target the next day and I went pretty nuts. It was so clean, so organized...so American. There were also stops at In-N-Out...uniquely American and Californian. We went to the beach where all the boys had a blast. We went to San Diego to the Mormon Battalion site and it was so well done. We shopped and went to Tru's baseball where he had a great game! We went swimming and had a BBQ at my aunt Rachel's house which was awesome, minus Andrew thinking he could swim without floaties! (Thanks Mel for saving him!) It was the best start to our vacation back to the U.S.! Thanks Mel and Spencer for hosting us. It was so wonderful. Tanner summed it up when he said "the U.S. really is a prime piece of real estate."

Indeed.

After we left Melanie's, we drove up to Orange County to visit my dad's parents. They are both in an Alzheimers facility and we were so happy we got to see them. Our kids were cute with them, although Audrey seems to be a little freaked out by older people in general. It warmed my heart when after we had said our goodbyes and they were waving to us from the room as we were walking away down the hall, my grandpa yelled to us "Stay strong in the gospel!" So much of what is good in me and my life has been passed down through them and I am so grateful.

Afterward, we drove to see our friends from law school, the Paulsons, in Torrance. They life about 15 mins from LAX so it is super convenient but we love to stay with them whenever we have the chance. We always have fun and we always play games. We see them about once a year and it is amazing to see each others kids growing up so fast.