Morning came a bit early. I can't complain about 6 am, but I will. It was too early for me today. I got Sammy and she joined us in our room until I decided to actually get up and shower. We went to church with Bryan today. It started off great, but Sammy was a bit squirmy and had to get up. Marcus took a shift out in the hallway of the MARB (going to these old BYU buildings is so crazy), and then I took a second shift. During that time, I found a huge mirror in the bathroom that Sammy loved. So, we hung out there for awhile. I met some girl there and we talked for about 1/2 hour about her 12 year old sister who has Down Syndrome. It's funny who you meet in a bathroom and what stimulating conversation can take place.
We left after sacrament meeting. There was no way Callie and Sammy would make it through a Sunday School class of a singles' ward. Nope. No nursery. No staying. Na ma'm.
We came home and had a little lunch. Callie buried both she and Sammy in a blanket and pretended to have a sleepover. That's always a fun game.
But the fun didn't stop here. We've always talked to Callie about how she was sealed to us in the temple, and now, we happen to be staying extremely close to that same temple. So, we went down to the Provo temple and walked around. Callie enjoyed irreverently running up and down the hill (I told her she could continue to do it if she didn't scream), play in the fountains, and push Sammy's stroller.
Most of the time we were at the temple, Callie just wanted to push Sammy in her stroller.
Frequently, Samantha would turn around, looking at Callie and then us, then Callie...as if she were thinking, "Really? You think this is a good idea having her push me? Really?"
We took a family picture, because, why not? (Yes, we got a better one than this, but I like this one better because Pirate Marcus makes a guest appearance.)
Bryan met up with us there at the temple, then we moved on to Rock Canyon Park. My memories led me to believe it would be much more fun than it was. Perhaps it's because at this point I was kind of hot and really tired. But, it was nice to run around. Sammy wandered around and fell in some overly wet grass patches. Nice. We all took a turn running up and down one of the huge hills there with Callie. And Marcus went down a wet slide...bummer. Don't you hate when that happens? "Sure sweetie, I'll go down the slide with you? What? Ok, I'll go down first. ahhhhh man." Then you have wet pants. Tyler and his fiance, Lauren, met us there and we chatted for a bit. Callie met some friends on the playground and was occupied for quite some time. Sammy was just content chewing on tanbark...don't worry, she didn't swallow it. No, I'm kidding...I mean, she did chew on it, but we did intervene when we noticed it. We're only semi-neglectful I guess. (yikes)
We came back home. Cooked some dinner. Did some more pretend sleeping. And played ping pong. Sammy was having a good time. We are staying with Ciera and Steele. They are so great. They are fun and kind and love our kids. That's nice. Plus, they have a really cool niece and nephew. It was a fun night.
Though it may not look like they are thrilled in the picture below, they were all laughing so hard! They were pretending to go to the bathroom. It was so fun to watch them. And they were all having so much fun with Samantha. It's not everyday that kids feel comfortable playing with Sammy. They aren't sure about her sometimes. But these kids, with the help of Callie, figured out how to play with her. It was really cool to watch. This little girl, Brooklyn, is the same age as Sammy. I explained that it was time to settle down. I was going to get Sammy's medicine and her pajamas on. Brooklyn asked what the medicine was for, and I explained that she has seizures and tried to explain what that was. She paused, thought, and said, "I know what you can do. Jesus can heal her. He heals people and then her brain won't do that." My eyes filled up with tears and I told her, "You're right Brooklyn." That's all I could say. I wasn't sure how to explain that it was more complicated than that. And then I thought to myself, it's not really more complicated than that is it? It was an eye opening moment for me. It was sweet to hear that from a 5 year old, but it was also a good reminder of who will be healing her from all her ailments and impairments one day.
I spent some time talking with Ciera tonight. She's so sweet and I really enjoyed our little discussion about a million different things. I came downstairs and put Callie to bed, all along thinking that this was a really fun and great day. I spent time with my family, I met new friends, I felt the Spirit, and I got to close the day with Callie saying "I love you to the moon and back Mommy."
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