He's Home!

Jared was scheduled to come home on May 23rd at 12:22 pm!

Cindy flew in the day before.  So glad she could come!

On Thursday morning we started tracking Jared's flights. He flew from St. Louis to Salt Lake and that flight went just as planned. He was supposed to have about an hour layover in Salt Lake.  About 11:00am we started to see on our flight trackers that he was going to be delayed. I was going crazy, didn't know what to do!  Courtney tried to have jared paged at the SLC airport, but he didn't answer. Finally, about noon, I couldn't take it any more, so we left for the airport. We waited at the airport until 2:15!

We were so excited to see that he had left St. Louis! There's his plane, he's here!

I can see him!  There he is with Elder Perkes and Elder Lauk!  Love that smile!

There is nothing like that first hug!

Hugs all around! Smiles too!

Greetings for Cindy, Randy and Courtney! Then facetiming with Brian, Celia, Maden and Annie!

Grandparents!

We are so glad to have Jared home! We are so proud of him!

A visit from the Erie Purcell's!

Brian is attending Anesthesia school in Erie, Pennsylvania. He had semester break starting on Friday, May 10th, so they came to visit.  Maden let us know it took 2 cars and 2 planes to get here. We picked them up in Salt Lake at 9:00pm on Friday.

Maden and Annie got tired waiting to board the plane. They made it to Salt Lake! In the pickup on the way to Idaho. Maden stayed awake almost to Malad! He and I had a nice visit.

Saturday's activities included finding the IPad, playing games with Courtney, and Annie learning to like the "jump suit" and playing pool.

Saturday also included swinging and playing some ball games.

Annie got to meet her Great Grandma Beth, and Grandpa Chin Chopper.

Maden got to help dig in the dirt and replant a plant.

We did a "photo shoot" with Annie. (We were not too successful on getting the perfect picture though. But it doesn't matter, she's so cute!)

Sunday, we went to church. Maden went to the Sunbeams, it was fun for me to sit behind him in Sharing time. He participated very well and sang the songs. After church we got to talk to Jared on the phone. It was fun for Brian and Celia to actually be here for the phone call. We did a conference call with Cindy, so we were all in on the conversation. 

Here we are all gathered around the speaker phone talking to Jared. Maden sang him a couple of songs, one was Popcorn Popping, he even did the actions, Jared and Cindy couldn't see the actions, but the rest of us sure enjoyed it. Just couldn't get enough of hugging those babies!

On Monday, Maden figured out that he could play with a puppet and not be scared, he did some hopscotching and chasing bubbles.

Monday afternoon we went to Idaho Falls to help Grandma Purcell plant some flowers and mow her lawn. Maden loved digging and riding on the lawn mower with Randy. Annie met her Grandma Great. 

Happy girl in the morning!

Blake had to work on Tuesday, so Brian went to observe. We took the kids in to see Daddy and Grandpa and meet the people at Parkway.

I found the old light bright. Maden really enjoyed playing with it.

It was quite windy and not so warm outside, but we went out to blow some bubbles anyway.  Then the kids snuggled with Mommy to get warm.

Blake and I took Maden to Courtney's school. He wanted to get on the big tires first thing.  Courtney's "kids' were very cute with Maden.

Courtney and Maden went down the big slide.

Inside the classroom, Maden got to sit at the big table and write his name. Then "Mrs. Purcell" took him around and introduced him to all the kids. He liked 9 year old school.

Wednesday morning we went and played air hockey with Grandpa Chin Chopper.

Then Maden went to Idaho Falls to get "Blue" out of the shop and help Randy fix it.

Then we went bowling at Skyline lanes.

Annie enjoyed the attention and watching everyone bowl. I love spending time with these two!

Back at home we went outside for awhile. These are the many faces of Annie girl.

Maden blew some more bubbles.

And played some more ball games.

Maden decided he wanted to climb our big tree, when he couldn't do it by himself, he asked for Celia's help. They decided the tree was just too big.

Thursday while Blake and Brian were back at Parkway, we took the kids to Jensen's Grove to play. It was very windy and not very warm, but Maden had a good time playing on the slides. He plays so good with even stranger kids.

During their stay here, Blake, Brian, Celia and Randy got to play a lot of tennis, but I didn't go take any pictures. 

There were a lot of stories read every night.

We played a lot of games. Maden is very good at following the rules and catches on to the games very quickly.

Friday, we headed for Utah. We stopped in Ogden for lunch at Iggy's. The we went to the Treehouse Children's Museum.

There was a huge map, with questions for you to find the right place. Annie just hung out in her "home state".

Maden was President for a few minutes, I guess Annie was the VP. She learned to sit up really well during her time in Idaho. The Ogden temple is next to the museum, so you can see the construction going on. Maden loved the big "chest" game. Brian built an arch and dared to put Annie under it.

Dr. Maden putting a skeleton puzzle together and taking care of the babies in the nursery. 

Attending school like Little House on the Prairie.

We stayed at a Residence Inn near the Airport in Salt Lake. I just couldn't get enough of hugging my Annie girl, and talking and reading to Maden.  Blake bought him some ice cream and he even got some on his legs!

The week went by way to fast! We are so glad they came to Idaho. Maden told me on Saturday morning that he was sad because he wanted to stay at my house in Idaho for 100 days, not just 8. It's always hard to say goodbye. Love you all not just tons, but 100 tons!

More pictures of Elder Purcell

Jared is now serving in the Maryland Heights Ward, in Creve Couer, MO. It is just a little west of St. Louis.  Time is winding down for him, he comes home on May 23rd at 12:20pm!
He is doing well, just had another baptism on Saturday.

Jared and Elder Williams. They had a big snowstorm on March 24th, got about a foot of snow, church got let out. 

Elder Wach, Jared and Elder Williams

Elder Wach, Snowman, Jared and Elder Williams

Pretty big snowman.

This picture is pretty cool, it was taken on March 28th, the day after Jared was bitten by another dog. At least he doesn't hold a grudge against all dogs.  He had a pretty good gash on his leg from the dog bite, but it didn't rip his pants.  He says it has healed up just fine, but will leave a scar.

I received these two pictures and a video on Easter Sunday in a text from an unknown number. Love that people think of doing this!

Viva Las Vegas

We took a little trip to Las Vegas the end of March. We left on Wednesday, March 27th as soon as Courtney was done at school. We drove as far as Payson, Utah and stayed at a "real Quality Inn" (Courtney knows the joke behind that) We got up Thursday morning and headed south.

Blake's sunglasses have a string to keep them on, for some reason, the string ended up on top of his head. I'm not sure why he needed the glasses, because his eyes were closed most of the time.

We stopped in St. George to eat at Cracker Barrel, and walk around the temple.

The trees were all blooming outside Cracker Barrel.

The St. George temple is gorgeous!

The scenes outside the car after leaving St. George.

When we arrived in Las Vegas, we stopped in to see Blake's uncle Richard and aunt Joann Grant. 

We stayed in an RCI resort because all the Worldmarks were full. We had booked a 2 bedroom, and that's what it was, but it was set up different than any condo we had ever stayed in. When I checked in they said we were in the Sage Building, room #1003 A & B. I didn't know what that meant, but found out when we got to the room that we actually had 2 separate 1 bedroom suites with a connecting hall. So we not only had to bedrooms, but 2 living areas, 2 kitchens and 2 nice bathrooms with huge showers and jetted tubs. It was very nice.

Friday, we decided to go see Hoover Dam. There were a lot of people there, so we didn't get out of the car too long. 

It's a pretty impressive sight.

We saw some signs for helicopter rides on the way to the dam, so on the way back, we decided to check it out. It was $29.00 for a 2 minute ride. We decided to go just so Randy and Courtney could say they've been up in a helicopter. 

 Courtney got to ride in the front, Blake, Randy and I squished in the back. It was a fast two minutes, but so cool.

Yep, that's about all we saw, but it was a different view than from the road. It was very fun.

On the way home from Hoover Dam, we found a Rita's in Hendersen! Love, love, love Rita's!

We ate at a buffet at the South Point Casino. But, the real reason we went to Las Vegas was to play tennis, or so Blake thought. He was able to meet up with his cousin Linda's husband Darrin and his brother to play some tennis. It was nice and warm even after dark. 

Randy's still got some hops, even on the tennis court.

Saturday, Blake, Randy and Courtney went to the Strip for a while and walked alot! The strip is still the strip, hasn't changed much!

Sunday, we got up early and drove home. We stopped at Cracker Barrel in St. George again for breakfast, but were kind of disappointed with our meals. Then we stopped at Iggy's in Orem for dinner. We got home about 6:00pm.  It was a fun trip.