Extended Utah Trip

Fig. 1. Enjoying some autumn scenery at Aspen Lake, near Heber City.

Baby Alex and I made a trip up to Utah to see family this week. There were two good reasons to go:

I had a nephew leaving on a two year church mission to Mexico, and I have a new niece. Both of these things happened at about the same time.

Becky stayed home to work; she has been keeping the bills paid since I resigned from my position as a Public Health Scientist for the state of Arizona last month. I am making a professional transition from laboratory work into science writing. At least I hope so, anyway (perhaps more on that later). So, although Becky misses Alex a lot, we could Skype and she got to enjoy a little break from motherly obligations in the meantime.

Sunday we went to church to hear my nephew Ethan speak, as LDS missionaries typically do before leaving on missions. He really gave an excellent talk--much better than mine when I left on a mission almost 20 years ago. I missed some of it because Alex woke from his nap in a fuss and I had to take him out of the chapel. And then while doing so, I randomly ran into my friend Preston from high school. That was a bonus because it’s tough to catch up with old friends sometimes when you are in town for just a few days.

Afterwards that Sunday, some family and friends gathered at the home of my sister Victoria (Ethan’s mom) for food and visiting. And then on Monday night, I attended the meeting where Ethan was officially set apart to be a missionary by one of his church leaders. He was on a plane to Mexico early the next morning. The whole process is a bit emotional, especially for the family of the missionary.

Fig. 2. Playing at Dancemaker Studios, aka Victoria and Erik's basement.

Ethan is a mature kid, and I’m sure he’ll do great things and come home even more mature. I know him as the nephew who was fascinated with vacuum cleaners, Legos and most recently, airplanes. He was working on getting his pilot’s license before he left. He is the first of my nephews or nieces to do a church mission.

Fig. 3. Uncle Ethan and Alex at Ethan's farewell gathering.

Fig. 4. Final photo opp with Elder Varney (Ethan), the tall one.

Speaking of nephews and nieces, I now have 14 of them; the latest addition is Cory--the third daughter for my brother Jim and his wife Melanie. That means my parents now have 15 grandkids, counting Alex. Cory is so tiny and delicate, as newborns are. She is the cousin closest in age for Alex, who is not so tiny and delicate anymore at 10 months. We really look forward to seeing her grow up.

Originally, I planned to visit for four days, but I got to the Provo airport a bit late and they wouldn’t let me check in, which was frustrating. I blame myself. Then, as I was rescheduling the flight at the front desk, Alex had a major chocolate explosion, if you know what I mean. On his back, on his onesie, on my shirt, on the Koala Kare in the men’s bathroom – poo was everywhere. If I would have boarded that flight, the same thing would have happened in the presence of several innocent travelling bystanders. Perhaps it was for the best, as fate would have it.

Since I flew on Allegiant Airlines, the next flight to Mesa wasn’t until 2 days later. I decided to make the best of it and go stay with sister Linda and her family at their house in the mountains near Heber--a nice change of scenery. Linda’s twins really like playing with Alex, and I really enjoyed the crisp air and autumn-colored mountains.

Fig. 5. Going for a walk with Keaton and some skittish deer.

Fig. 6. Swing time.

I made sure to get to the Provo airport plenty early this time. Then, as fate would have it, the flight was delayed one hour to 8:30 pm. So Alex and I had about 2.5 hours to kill in the crowded little boarding room. Considering that it was past his bedtime, he endured it very well. He fell asleep for the whole flight once we ascended.

It was a nearly full flight, but somehow we had a whole row to ourselves. Whether that good fortune was a coincidence, or an purposeful act of mercy offered by the attendant who rescheduled my flight, I don’t know. But I really appreciated it. I also appreciated some of the nice people I encountered in the airport who tried to help me when they saw me struggling with luggage, a stroller and a baby that demanded to be carried rather than ride in said stroller.

It was a great 6-day trip to Utah, but also nice to be home where Alex and Becky are reunited.