Highlights and Hours You'd Like To Delete From Your Life

I love going to Utah, overall. I get excited to see my family, have a blast with family and friends, and know that my kids are having a ball. But.

Leaving is never a smooth process. Last week, we left just after Lucy had a potty accident. This week, she had an accident in her car seat. She's so good at going potty 98% of the time, but that 2% so far has been leaving Utah.

And my kids are absolutely insane after a trip. Brooklyn needed to be held when we got home, Lucy desperately needed a bath, Isaac had a mini-tantrum about having a bath, both Lucy and Isaac demanded band aids, and I just wanted to make it relatively gracefully to their bedtime. It didn't help that Lucy dragged the process out by "trying" to go potty two times in a row before bed.

When I get back from trips, I feel like not going on a trip again any time soon--too much resultant chaos. But I know that if I go too long without seeing my family, I'll feel like braving the experience once more just to be with them again.

Now, about the reason for this last Utah trip:

I've been talking about my dad getting inducted into the BYU Hall of Fame, and it finally happened this weekend. It was glorious. We went to the Cougar Club to watch him give a speech before the game, and then we got to go on the BYU football field at halftime as the hall of famers were praised and clapped for. The whole Sheide gang was wearing #12 shirts with Sheide on the back, and we were kissing spouses, and I was turning cartwheels and waving at the fans. Then my dad broke all the rules and was amazing. When his name was called, he ran over to all of the cheering Sheides, giving us all high fives, then he ran to to face all 4 sides of the stadium, doing the "touchdown" sign. Then he struck an awesome pose for the camera. He was so cute, and I was so proud of him and happy for him. Doug and I left our two oldest kids with my sister-in-law's cousin (who was an amazing babysitter) and Brooklyn got to be with us. She was a sweet little angel baby, and probably liked the game because she was held most of that time. If she could speak, her first words would be "Hold Me."

Doug assured me that his phone could take terrific pictures, which he could then upload onto our computer, but he tried and failed in his first attempt to make that happen. I'll appeal to my family to see if I can get some footage of our fun family football experience.

I missed the Relief Society General Broadcast last night because we went to eat with my father-in-law, so my goal is to watch some of it tonight. Heaven knows my well is almost dry. Honestly, when I get mad at the stressful aspects of parenting, I see that meaningful scripture studies would grant me some much needed perspective. I've been slacking lately, and I hope that the broadcast will sooth my mother's heart, and motivate me to prioritize my scripture study.

I just got called to be the Beehive advisor in my ward, so I'll get to work with 12-14-year-olds and love them. I'm excited, and I think the Tuesday night activities will provide a much needed break from the chaos of a 4-year-old, 2-year-old, and 4-month-old.

Things I'm grateful for:

1) a fun, crazy family

2) my sweet husband, who played one of our songs tonight while I was unpacking

3) the fact that my house is clean

4) having a little bit of me-time

Love,
Tara