Sister's Visit

5/2/16

Well, it's been a crazy, but fun week! Caree and JJ flew in last week. JJ had a business conference in Phoenix, so Caree came and stayed with us from Monday to Wednesday. It was fun to have her here, but I realized that I really don't know my sister as well as I would like! I think being a host to someone also kinda stressed me out. I wanted to make sure we did things that she wanted to do, but then I didn't really know what she likes to do. So we basically chatted a lot for the three days she was here. And it was good to get to know her a little more. I also took her to Busy Bees where she whipped out a crocheted washcloth like it was nothing! She's pretty amazing at that!

On Wednesday, Camille flew in and JJ came over and we all had dinner together. I definitely know Camille better because of all the time we were single together and all the adventures she and I had. But I also realized that I really am so much more of a people watcher than I knew! Sometimes I like not having to carry the conversation and just listen. And listening to Camille and Caree was quite fun. Mostly because they would talk about their childhood and it was like hearing all new stories! Their childhood was totally different from mine and even the way my parents raised them was different. It was kinda interesting to see the differences this week.

On Thursday, Camille and I went to the park with Mae and had a fun time watching the ducks, chatting and just enjoying the awesome weather. It was in the 70s this week (after being up to 100 last week) and I'm glad it wasn't too hot, cuz I didn't want our visitors to hate AZ ;)

Again we had dinner with Caree and JJ that night and played Mormon bridge and talked until midnight. Poor JJ was so tired he'd just fall asleep while us girls (and Chris at times) were chatting. Sometimes I get the feeling that he doesn't really like being around our family. And Chris and I had thought it would be a good idea to take him to a place called Top Golf. But then as I was talking to Caree I found out that he doesn't actually like golf...so yeah, better luck next time I guess.

Friday was the fullest day of all (and a lot of stress for me actually). We had stayed up late the last two nights and so I was already so exhausted that adding stress to that made the day really difficult. Again, I wanted to make sure we did something that everyone would enjoy and that things would go smoothly. Keith and Liz and their kids were going to come down for the weekend, so I tried to make sure we would find something that the kids would like as well.

In the morning, Mae and I went to her art class as usual and then we came back and picked Camille up and went up to Scottsdale to meet Missy (McDowell...or well, Willis). I was kinda nervous because we were heading up later than I had hoped and I really wanted to make sure Mae got a nap, since her naps had been a little off most of the week. We visited with Missy and I was hoping we could just grab a short lunch or something with her so I suggest Subway. Haha. She basically scoffed at me and said, "You're in Scottsdale! You don't just go to Subway!" And I thought, well, I do, especially when I want something quick and something cheap. After all, I had a buy one get one coupon! But I didn't want her to feel like we were rushing her, so I agreed to go to a little Chinese restaurant close by. And it was fun! It was mostly Camille and Missy chatting most the time (still okay by me since I was probably too tired to care much about adding to the conversation anyway). Mae ended up skipping her nap, but it was okay since Camille got some good quality time with Missy.

After lunch we went and met Caree and JJ and Keith and Liz at the hotel Caree and JJ were staying at. Camille, Keith, Liz and the kids got into the pool to swim, but the rest of us decided it wasn't quite warm enough for a late afternoon swim. It was still in the low 70s! But we had a good time chatting and watching the kids goof off. After swimming we dropped the kids off at Missy's (since she offered to watch them while all us adults went out to dinner). We underestimated how long it would take to drop them off since her house was a little farther than we thought from the restaurant. So Caree, JJ and Camille waited at the restaurant for almost an hour :/ I was a little stressed out about it and kinda broke down a little bit once we got to the restaurant, but thankfully Chris was very reassuring. I pulled myself together and we had a beautiful evening laughing and joking and enjoying great food!

We did have one little mishap that also stressed me out a bit. Chris came straight from work to meet us at the restaurant and on the way his tire started doing weird things and the car started wobbling a lot. Thankfully he made it safely to where we were! (And we realized later that it was even more of a miracle because the mechanic we later took it to said the wheel was pretty much ready to pop off the axel. Yikes!)

On Saturday we took everyone to a park in Chandler called Tumbleweed Park. I was hoping the morning would be cooler and the afternoon hotter so we could go to a splash pad. Unfortunately, it was the opposite and was fairly hot while we were at the park and then rained in the afternoon. The kids were a little disappointed that we didn't go swimming/to the splash pad even though it was raining lol. But they had plenty of fun at a neighborhood park we went to where they made mud pies and threw them at each other haha.

We also had a somewhat unexpected visit from Missy as well as her sisters Cynthia (and her kids) and Elisa. It was fun to catch up with them. I saw all of them not too long ago, but for Camille and Caree I think it was really great to see them. I realized I'm not used to kids tromping mud into my house or leaving my back door open or turning my water spout on and making mud puddles in my backyard...Overall though, I think I handled it pretty well and didn't even lash out at any of them!

Caree and JJ flew out that night and Keith and Liz also drove home. Camille was the only one left and came with us to church on Sunday. It was great to have some downtime after such a crazy day and she and I had a really good chat. She really inspires me to be a better person and to follow the dreams and aspirations I have for myself. I guess that's why she makes such an awesome coach! I would love to go into helping people with her. We have a lot of the same ideals about health and exercise. I just feel like I need more experience and opportunity to apply what I know! But I really just need to take a leap and trust in what I do know! I'm still debating doing some personal training after this next baby and Camille was great at helping me see that it could totally be possible.

That night we had Alissa and Steve Bradford and their girls over for dinner. The girls just loved Camille the minute they walked in the door. Apparently, Kira was super excited to meet her and wanted to surprise her by saying Camille's name before she even introduced herself. What a cute girl!

This morning (Monday) I dropped Camille off at the airport and it was kinda bittersweet. I was sad not to have the company anymore (and especially the help and distraction they were for Mae), but I was also glad to be able to get back to our routine and normal sleeping schedules.

I learned a lot from this week. Number one was that I can control my attitude much more than I thought I was able to. I think I let myself become much more grumpy around Chris and Mae because I don't feel like I need to impress them. But having so many people this week that I DID want to impress I was much more careful about my attitude and my mood. Amazing how that works! I also learned that I love this separate time with my siblings; a time where there's not many other family members around so I get to know them more personally--it's so much different than the crowded conversations we have during the family reunions. Although, those are fun too.
I'm so grateful for all I've learned and the memories we made this week and hope that we can do things like this more often!