Spring Break was fabulous. It started the Wednesday of finals week when I left Corvallis (with 4 inches of snow), and headed to Portland to catch a flight to Florida (where it was hot and sunny!!). When I got to the Portland airport my Dad was working, and he took me out to lunch. I love one on one time with my Dad.
I flew to Florida and right from the airport I headed to Jacksonville Beach to eat dinner with my Great Uncle Butch and Great Aunt Lauralee. They're son, (my second cousin?), Devon was also there. It was really fun to catch up with them. I can't remember the last time I saw Devon, I think I was like 8. And I haven't seen my Great Aunt and Uncle since my Grandpa's funeral, which was 3 1/2 years ago. They are a lot of fun. And dinner was really yummy.
After dinner I drove back to Orange County where my aunt and uncle live with one of my cousins. I've seen my aunt a few times in the last decade because she has come out to the North West for different reasons. But it had been 9 years since I had seen my uncle and cousin. We caught up and watched the University of Florida play in the sweet 16. It was a good to catch up with my uncle, my cousin really didn't say much.
In the morning we drove down to Gainsville where my other cousin is attending the University of Florida. I also haven't seen her in 9 years, so it was so much fun to see her! She's taller than I am now! We had lunch there, and I got a tour of the campus. It was so great to see so much family, especially on my Mom's side. I feel like I see a lot of family a lot on my Dad's side. And my Aunt Tracy is one of my favorite people in the world. It was so much fun getting to see her.
After lunch and the tour, I headed down to Patrick Air Force Base to visit Dain. It was about a 3 hour drive, and I loved getting to drive in the sun and just drive in general. I haven't done that in so long! I also was loving the sun so much.
When I got to Dain's air force base, I was just a really happy camper. And it was genuine happiness, something I haven't really felt a whole lot of this school year. Dain was also pretty happy to see me, or at least he acted like it. So that made me really happy too. We really didn't do much that night. We were both pretty tired. And I didn't want to be cranky the next day. And I especially didn't want Dain to be cranky the next day, so we ate dinner and then went to sleep pretty early.
In the morning we left for Orlando and went to Universal Studios! I went 4 years ago with my family. But it was different going with Dain. It's a weird experience going to a theme park with only one other person. It was so much fun though! Rollercoasters have always helped me let out some frustration and forget about my troubles. And after going through this last term, so pretty intense rollercoasters was exactly what I needed.
My favorite part though was that I got to go to Harry Potter World! When we got to that part of the park, I turned to Dain and told him he was not who I pictured sharing that moment with. It was still pretty incredible though. I LOVED IT!! And the new ride was my favorite. It was so much fun! I love Harry Potter!
After a very fun filled day at Universal Studios, Dain and I headed back to his base. I was exhausted. When we got back I just went straight to sleep. In the morning we were suppose to go to church, but it was becoming too difficult, and we decided to just go out to eat breakfast instead. Which turned out to be awesome because my food was amazing! And it's just fun being with Dain. He's pretty entertaining.
After breakfast we headed to the beach. I had been there for almost 2 days with the beach right across the street and I still hadn't gone. I LOVE THE BEACH!! Especially in Florida where it's actually nice weather and warm. Florida was exactly the kind of vacation I needed. Even though it was a short trip, it was a much needed one.
On Sunday night I flew to Seattle. I got there pretty late (it was actually really early Monday morning), and my Dad and Mom and little brother picked me up from the airport. We drove to Everrett to my Grandma's house and got a good night's sleep. In the morning we moved the rest of the stuff in my Grandma's house into a U-Haul. She had some really heavy furniture! It was great being with my family, but moving my Grandma's stuff out was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I did not like seeing that house empty. It made me feel pretty empty. I thought I might be excited to get stuff out of my Grandma's house because then maybe it would give me more closure and help me move on more. But it just made me sad instead. Maybe I'm not ready for more closure yet.
That evening my Uncle came to my Grandma's house and took me to his new really big house where my Aunt and two little cousins were waiting for me. My Aunt was pregnant with her third child, and she was due any minute. So I was going to spend the rest of the week with them to watch the two little kids in case my Aunt and Uncle needed to be at the hospital having a baby. I was also just there to help out. It's not easy taking care of two little kids when you're about ready to pop another baby out.
I loved being there so much! Their house is so nice! And so them. It was the exact kind of place I pictured their family living in.
On Tuesday we went to the Children's Museum. It was so cute watching Elena and Sebastian having so much fun. They are the cutest little kids! It was a nice distraction for my Aunt too because she has started having contractions the night before, and she was still having them throughout the day. The contractions weren't very close together, so she wasn't too worried about going to the hospital. But it made me a little nervous that we went out to do something. But, the hospital was very close to the Children's Museum. So that was a plus.
When my Uncle got home that evening from work, my Aunt decided the contractions were getting close enough that it was time to start thinking about going to the hospital. But she still made dinner. And then served us. And then my Aunt and Uncle left for the hospital. It's a good thing they left when they did because they had to wait forever to get a room. And by the time they were in their room, my newest cousin was born less than 15 minutes later.
Back at the house I played with my cousins, and then got them in their pajamas, and then put them to bed. When my Uncle called me to tell me the news about my new cousin, I was of course very excited. But it hit me when I hung up that that phone call was suppose to be to my Grandma. It's my Grandma who was suppose to be watching my cousins while my Aunt had her baby. And my Uncle was suppose to be calling my Grandma to tell her about her newest grandchild. It was just a very weird feeling.
The next day I got Elena and Sebastian dressed and fed, and my Uncle came home from the hospital. He ate breakfast too, and then we packed up to go to the hospital to meet the new baby. Sebastian was so cute with her! He's going to be such a great older brother. Elena liked her, but she seemed to be more interested in other things around her Mom's hospital room.
We went back home and my Uncle went to his track practice to coach. After his practice, I got to drive their brand new van all the way to the hospital again to bring my Aunt and new cousin home.
Being at home was quite the adventure with the new baby. She loves to sleep during the day and be awake at night! Lucky for me, I never heard her at night. I just felt really bad for my Aunt and Uncle. I tried to let my Aunt sleep in as much as she could for the next couple days that I was there. But I'm not sure if she really got all the sleep that she wanted to. I hope I was a good enough help, but I know I was nowhere near as good as my Grandma would have been.
Spending the rest of the week with that family was so much fun. My two cousins certainly have a lot of energy, but they made me want to have kids! I loved my time with them! They are so much fun to be around! And being around a newborn again was such a blessing too. They are so pure and small! My new cousin, Ariana, she really made me want to have kids!
At the end of the week my Mom was back in Everrett to finish up some cleaning in my Grandma's house. Elena turned 4 on Saturday, and my Mom's birthday was on Sunday. So on Saturday night my Aunt Michele, my cousin Brandi, my Aunt Teresa and my Uncle Ed all came over to my Uncle Steve and Aunt Meghan's house, and we had cake and ice cream for my Mom and Elena. It was so much fun seeing everyone! It was like Thanksgiving. My aunts and uncles are some of my favorite people ever.
On Sunday my Dad flew to Seattle. He came to pick me up at my Aunt and Uncle's house, and I said goodbye to them and my three little cousins. After about six days, I'm sure they were sick of me. I definitely was not sick of them though. I had such a blast being there. And I could just feel my Grandma's presence watching over all of us. Even though at times it was sad doing what she would have done watching my cousins, it was also interesting to be in her shoes. Not that I am anywhere as amazing as she was, but I liked knowing that I was willing to help, like she would have been.
My Dad drove me back down to Corvallis. And on the way we picked up my roommate, Rachel. So that was a fun road trip.
Now back in Corvallis, I have finished my first week of my last term of college ever. I only have one real class that I'm taking online, so I never really ever have to be in a classroom. Which is a weird feeling. My big thing that I'm doing this term is my internship at the YES House. Which stands for Youth Entering Sobriety. I get to work with teenagers who are addicts. Which may sound scary, or not very fun, but it's the best thing I've done in my life. I love these kids so much, and even just after a week of being there, I feel like I've connected really well with some of them.
I've never really been addicted to anything, unless you count chocolate. So I can't really say I've ever been in their shoes. But I love learning about their lives and hearing stories about their hardships and what they've been through. I love trying to understand where they are coming from. It has been such a humbling experience. Each day I'm faced with these kids, I am reminded of how grateful I am for my parents, and for my family. But also for the gospel, and the gospel standards I have been taught my whole life. The standards that I have lived by to keep me out of trouble. Just by watching and learning from these kids, I know that Heavenly Father knows what he's talking about when he says to stay away from drugs and alcohol. I don't know what I did to be so lucky to have the gospel in my life.
The kids are amazing and the staff is amazing. I know this is going to be a really great term. As long as nobody else dies. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment