Rain, Trees and Family

Does it get any better than those three? I just got back from a packed week long visit to Pennsylvania to see my sister Britta and her family. I have a lot to say about the trip, big surprise, so I will try and break it up into smaller bits. But I want to remember it all for my online journal experience.

Thursday~
I was most nervous about how Will was going to be on his first plane ride. I'm glad that I didn't have to test him out in the screaming baby stage, at least toddlers can be bribed. I was a little worried about making my way through the airport with all of our stuff and a toddler that likes to be held when in new situations. Luckily Will did great and walked the whole time so I was free to wrestle with our luggage.

Our airport adventure included Will's first bus ride, ok so it was the airport shuttle, but he still was excited. I also got waived through to the secret short line in security, so I guess there is some advantage to toting a child around. Will had been doing really well with potty training lately but I didn't want to risk anything on a plane ride so I put him in pull-ups. Well of course that meant that he wanted to go to the potty four times while waiting for the plane and three times on the plane. You know how when you are in an airplane bathroom and you think to yourself, if only they had two more inches here, or how did they fit a sink in here too, try shoving a toddler in there with you. Now try to squat in front of said child to help them. Pure joy.

I watched Wills face as we took off wondering how he was going to react to that sink into your seat feeling when leaving the ground. You would have thought we were just riding around town in the car, nothing too exciting. While waiting to take off, he did ask when we were going to blast off, I'm guessing a result of watching Space Buddies the night before. I was pleasantly surprised the whole flight especially considering that this was the child that for the last three months any time you meantioned our trip he sunk behind me and said he was scared of planes. So much so that when my sister Britta was here for Mother's Day and went to take the kids to Walmart, Will started crying because he didn't want to go on a plane and he thought that if he went with my sister thats what was going to happen.

As we came through the clouds above Philadelphia there they were, trees. Every where trees. Green. Lots and lots of green. We were picked up by my sister and the two girls and headed off for a stop at my sister's favorite store, Trader Joes. Very cool store, much smaller than I expected. Sort of like Sunflower Market in Orem but with cooler, more eclectic stuff. And the best treat ever.


The shopping trip didn't last long thanks to the two toddlers falling right back into line of acting like siblings. Off to Harrisburg, the shopping trip helping wait out some of the Philadelphia traffic. A light rain welcomed us on our drive and you really just can't get past the trees. This is a horrible shot taken from the car, but it gives you a good idea of what you see only about five minutes from Philly.

You hear people say Utah doesn't have any trees and you look around and think, we have trees. We don't have trees. Pennsylvania has trees. The other difference you notice right away is that this is all you see just minutes outside of a large city. Take Salt Lake for instance. You have to drive past Santaquin before you are going to go a mile without seeing homes right along side the freeway. PA is a much older state, and yet the cities don't just run into each other like they do here. It's like they have these set areas that are cities, and then just space in between. And lots of trees. But everything doesn't run together like it does here.

We make it to Harrisburg and a quick tour of the house. I know the house wasn't Britta's number one choice, but I love it. It's set on a very quite street, in a very well taken care of neighborhood. Even though the previous neighbors had an obsession with wallpaper, Tom's very hard work has paid off and the home is beautiful. It has a very open and inviting feel to it. Although my favorite probably was the screened in porch. As I found out a few nights later, a very ideal place to sit during a wonderful thunder storm.

I think Porter might have been the happiest to see us, even if I wasn't willing to give him the attention he wanted. On the other hand Will really wanted to give him that attention, but Porter wasn't interested. For the next week I wouldn't have been sitting for more than a minute before being greeted by this.

Of course it was actually his head laying on my lap giving me those "please pet me" puppy dog eyes. Or shoving his head under my hand forcing you to pet him. Oh Porter, I wish I could say I miss you. But you are a very sweet dog.

Dinner and then off to bed for a very much needed night of rest before a week of fun to come.