Auntie Mallo

Auntie Mallo came to visit last weekend.  It was way too short and went way too fast, as expected.  We made the most of every minute, however, and had a great time while she was here.  She stopped off on her way back East to live and find a job in the D.C. area.  She's really excited and we're really excited for her and SO glad we were able to see her, even if it was briefly, in between her African adventure, and her East Coast adventure.

We picked her up from the airport on Saturday morning and went straight to the zoo.  We walked around for hours until everyone was exhausted, then headed home for naps and lunch.  Here's Mallo and Tate, making his "smile for the camera" face, in front of the hippo enclosure.  Glenn got him this bag of popcorn and he carried it around and snacked out of it almost the whole time we were there.  He made a pretty good dent in the popcorn bag that was almost as big as he is.

 Yep, she really dresses this darling to get on an airplane.

 On Sunday we had the Garvins and my cousin Lindsey and her new husband Dan over for dinner.  We had a good time talking, telling stories, and playing card games.  Dan actually served his mission in the D.C. are so he had lots of helpful advice for Mal.  It was a really fun evening.

The next morning Mal went with me to take Tate to preschool.  He was excited to show her his classroom and his teacher.  Then Mal and I took Finn on a little jog.  Oh, I wish Mal lived close to me so we could jog together every day.  It went by SO much faster with someone to talk to who runs at my pace.  It was enjoyable instead of endurable.

After the kids woke up from naps we went downtown, picked Glenn up from work, and spent a couple hours at the aquarium.  Finn was in a very good mood.  He beamed at all the walls of fish and kicked his feet when he got really excited....usually when Auntie Mallo or Tate came near.

 Every time I'm with Mal I realize how similar we are.  I don't think we've always been, but we are now.  Everything from our taste in food, how small we like the chunks of cheese and veggies in our salads, the spots we get knots in our back.   It's awesome to have someone to talk to who has so much in common with me now.  We both also love to do little kid activities and had so much fun marveling at the animals at the zoo and aquarium.  Couldn't miss the panning for gold.

I love that she's so good with my boys.  She plays, wrestles, gets on their level, helps them get dressed, reads them stories, and plays right along with the most random make believe story lines.  She's wonderful and they both love her to pieces.

Some quotes from the weekend:

Me at bedtime: Okay Tate, I'm going downstairs now.  It's time to go to sleep.

Tate: Mom, could you just send Mallo up to snuggle me for a minute?

Tate, as he woke up Tuesday: Mom, is Auntie Mallo still here?

Me: No, honey.  She went on an airplane this morning.

Tate: Where did she go?

Me: She went to Virginia, really early before you woke up.

Tate: Maybe we could get on a plane like that and go there with her.  Huh, mom?  Maybe?

Me: Yeah, baby.  Maybe.

We spent a lot of time together this weekend and it still flew by and didn't seem like nearly enough.  There are still questions about her service in Uganda that I've been thinking of the last few days that I forgot to ask her.  Things I'm dying to share with her and talk to her about.  I ran some sprints this morning and wished she was with me.  I listened to Tim McGraw on my jog and remembered when we went to his concert together last year.  It's nice that she's back in the U.S. and I can call her whenever I want now.  But still, this move seemed different.  More permanent.  Bigger and further away somehow.  I don't know how often I will see her any more.  She no longer lives in Utah so a trip back home doesn't guarantee that I'll see her.  In fact, I usually won't.  I may only get to see her, run with her, stay up late talking with her, once a year or maybe more if I'm lucky.  I don't like that.  I don't like that at all.  Mallory and I haven't always been this close.  In fact, we were talking this weekend about how many years we didn't really get along or "get" each other at all.  And now, she's my best friend, besides my husband.  I could, and frequently do, talk to her for hours and never run out of things to say.  She's my therapist, my cheerleader, my idol, and my sister all rolled into one.  I'm going to miss her terribly but I am incredibly excited for her next big adventure.  I'm sure she'll find ways to change people's lives for good, the way she always does, and I'll get to hear about it every time we talk.  Good luck, Auntie Mallo.  We love you so much.  Thanks for stopping to see us!

And here's little Finn's picture Wednesday for the week.  Finn at 40 weeks old.

This was from our morning jog.  It was cold and we decided to try out his winter hat.  Gotta love those chubby faces sticking out of little knit hats.  I'm not excited about the winter, but I do love how cute my boys look all bundled up.