Sisters, Sisters

My sister, Hayley, and I have always laughed at the song "Sisters" from White Christmas. You know the lyrics:"Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters..."

We laugh at it, but deep down it's really an accurate depiction of our relationship. We've always had a healthy bit of sibling rivalry, but since we were little we've always been the best of friends. There's just no relationship quite like that of a beloved sister.

Last week I got my sister back! I've kept watch over her through emails for the past 19 months while she served a mission in St. Louis Missouri. It has been so awesome to read how she's grown and what an amazing missionary she has been. But, boy, I sure did miss my girl!!

Hayley returned from her mission last Thursday (April 9th). My parents were so kind and flew Brad, Lainy, and me back home. Our flight arrived just a half hour before Hayley's came in, so that was fun. She walked down the stairs in the airport looking as beautiful as ever, but with an added glow of a mission honorably served.

Brad stayed with us until Sunday, then he had to get back to Moscow and school. Lainy and I stayed for a week. My parents were really busy with the end of tax season, so we didn't see a whole lot of them, but we got to hang out with Hayley a lot. I hope she wasn't too bored with our laid-back schedule. I sure had fun.

Lainy was a little possesive of me all week. I think it was the combination of her double ear infection and her Dad leaving half-way through the trip. She wasn't really herself, but I think Hayley got glimpses of her cute personality. It's hard to believe Lainy was only two weeks old when Hayley left!

While we were home we got to see almost the whole Hansen clan (we missed you Richelle and Bryce!). Dallin and Leslie were in town looking for a house, and the rest of Brad's siblings live in the Burg. We loved seeing them all, even for a short time. We were even home when Becca, Brad's youngest sister, got engaged. It was such exciting news! We're very impressed with her fiance, Craig Leavitt. They're a great match!

Thursday morning we found an envelope in the mailbox for Elder Jeffrey Adam Smith. Yup, my little bro received his mission call. He took the envelope and opened it in the woods, then came home and told us the news. He has been called to the Paraguay Asuncion North mission, and leaves August 12th. He's going to be such an awesome missionary. We're excited for him!

So one sibling comes home while another prepares to leave. I couldn't be more proud of either of them! Hayley was an incredible missionary and I know Jeff will be amazing as well. How blessed I am to be part of such an amazing family!

Welcome home Hayley! I sure love ya!

News

The bad news...

Our tans (courtesy of the Arizona sun) have completely faded.

It has been snowing for four days straight.

Alaina is having Breath-Holding Spells, which totally freak me out.

The good news...

General Conference is this weekend!

Brad's second batch of mid-terms are over and he did great!

I put my sewing machine to work and made two adorable pillows for our couch.

My brother submitted his mission papers a couple of days ago.

We e-filed our taxes and are receiving a handsome sum in return (it's nice to be poor at tax time).

Alaina says "I love you"

And finally (drum-roll please) my beloved sister is coming home from her mission in one week!!!!!

Arizona

Last week we left the gloomy Northwest to visit Dallin and Leslie in sunny Arizona! We've been wanting to go see their sweet family for a long time, so when we found some crazy good plane ticket prices during Brad's Spring Break, we took advantage.

We left Tuesday afternoon and drove to Seattle. We had two reasons for going there: first, our airline deal only covered flights out of Seattle; and second, we wanted to see the city before we move there at the end of the summer.

What we saw of Seattle made me more excited to go there. I've been a little nervous about living in a big city, but it didn't feel too big while we were there. We saw a lot of fun things we could do and see. I think we'll have a lot of fun while we live there.

Our flight left early Wednesday morning. It was Alaina's first time flying and she did awesome! She even slept for most of the flight. The flight attendants fawned over her, and so did the people around us (after they realized she wasn't going to get upset). We were so proud of her!

Arizona was simply heaven. Dallin and Leslie spoiled us with wonderful company, great food, fun activities, and beautiful weather. What can I say, we just love them!!

Alaina had so much fun. She played her little heart out! It was fun for Brad and I to watch her. She hasn't had much time to play outside since she learned to walk. Give her some warm weather and fun playmates, and she just had a blast!

It was hard to leave on Saturday evening, but we had to get back for school. We had such a great time!

I seemed to forget my camera a lot, but here are the pictures I did take.

A little pic in front of the Space Needle in Seattle. (It was freezing cold!!)

Friday we went to the Phoenix Zoo. Dallin even had the morning off so he came with us. It's a really great zoo! The exhibits are really cool. You feel really close to the animals, not like you're looking through a fence at them. Here is Brad and Alaina checking out the giraffes.

They have a beautiful tiger at the Phoenix Zoo. We watched him for probably fifteen minutes. He kept looking at Alaina and licking his lips. . .

Here are two baboons grooming each other. We thought they were so cute!

Sarah Jane was so sweet with Alaina. She would cater to her every need and make her laugh. They were so cute! Here's a sweet picture of them at the Zoo.

The last exhibit we visited at the zoo was the stingrays. They had this big pool full of stingrays where you could lean over the edge and touch them as they swam by. It was awesome! I don't know if Alaina actually touched them, but she had fun splashing in the water.

One last pic of all of us (minus Leslie who was taking the picture) at the zoo.

Saturday we went to a great park that featured a train ride and an awesome playground. Here is our little group as we got ready for our train ride. I think we were courting around three of the cutest little kids I've ever seen. What do you think?

One last shot of Alaina running through the sprinklers. Temperatures were around 85 degrees. . .wonderful!!

Thanks again for letting us visit, Dallin and Leslie! We loved seeing you (and the weather was nice too)!

SCARY!

Last night Lainy was helping me put the dishes away. (She loves to be helpful that way.) As we were happily working away, I asked her to put something in a drawer. I turned from the sink just in time to see her smash her fingers as she closed the drawer. I hurried to help her get her fingers out of the drawer and scooped her up just as she began to cry. Well, cry is an understatement. She let out an awful wail; the kind that makes me want to cry too.

As I was trying to calm her down, Brad came running into the room with a worried look on his face. I thought he was just coming to make sure she was okay, but instead of inquiring after her, he blurted out: "She hasn't breathed yet".

I pulled Lainy away from around my neck to check on her. I had just enough time to register that her face was completely blue before her eyes rolled back and her body went totally limp.

Brad grabbed Lainy from me, blew in her face and shook her a little. After a few very long, scary seconds, she finally breathed and came back to us.

Holy smokes! My heart is racing just thinking about it again. She's never even come close to passing out when she's been upset before. I hope it never, ever happens again. But, just in case, I'm refreshing my knowledge of infant CPR. Scary, scary, scary...

Mom Comes to Town

Last Friday my Mom came to spend a few days with us. We loved having her here! She spoiled us with dinner, the cutest little dress for Lainy, a sewing machine for me, and a beautiful bed ensemble for Brad and I. She did that plus watch Lainy while Brad and I ran off to a basketball game at WSU. Of course, we love getting spoiled, but it was even better just to have her here. I hope she was able to relax and get the break she needed. We love you Mom!!

After picking up Mom from the airport in Spokane, we did a little shopping. Lainy needed some new shoes. Here is what we found: Aren't they cute!!

Saturday morning we took Mom and Brad to our swimming lesson. Lainy and I have been going to swimming lessons every week for about a month now, and we've loved it. Lainy is doing great. It just feels good to get out of the house and into a swimming pool in the middle of the winter. Unfortunately, Lainy wasn't in a performing mood while Mom was there, but we still had fun in the water!

For Christmas my Mom got us a new comforter for our bed. While she was here this weekend we put my new sewing machine to good use in making some throw pillows to match. Here are the fruits of our labors. Brad and I love how it all turned out. Our bedroom feels like such a nice, serene retreat now. It's amazing the difference a few pillows can make!

Thanks again for coming at this busy time of year, Mom. I know I really needed to see you, and Lainy loved having you around. We love you so much!