We Got Our Sister Back!

The day we've all been anticipating, praying for, and dreaming of occurred at long last when Aunt Whitney made her way back home from Mother Russia after 18 long months!! I couldn't bear to miss out on the action, so I convinced Jon to let me fly up to Boise with the kids for a couple days to see Whitters fresh off the mish. She was originally supposed to get home Thursday evening so we'd have 3 whole days of bonding time, but after a 2 hour delay in Moscow, she only made it to Atlanta the first night and missed her connections home...

In order to take our minds off the disappointment, we decided to take the kids to "Tangled", which was AWESOME!!

Zachy ((amazingly)) sat TOTALLY still for the first 3/4 of the movie, got a little antsy towards the end, but otherwise LOVED his first move experience (even if it was a princess one).

But finally, Friday evening rolled around and almost a full 24 hours later than expected she arrived in style...

And no one even recognized her at first!! We were all frantically searching the wave of passengers exiting to baggage claim when she walked right up to my mom and was like, "Hi." Aaaaahhhhh!! Calamity ensued!!


She looked SO different with her long dark hair (it was short and blond when she left) plus walking 10 miles a day in -25 degrees with 30 lbs of winter clothing on was great for her physique.:)

The two things she wanted most when she got back on American soil were an American cheeseburger (which we checked off the list when we hit up SMASH burger on the way home from the airport),

and to play the piano. So happily both wishes came true.

Oh yeah, and to cuddle with her nieces and nephews!! Here she is making a move for MFR (most-favored relative) with Zachy who was just a few months old when she left. Taylor's antics have left him with a pretty hefty advantage, but we'll see what happens this summer when he leaves for HIS mission...

We got to spend all of Saturday hanging out, doing a sisters' lunch (+ a Luce), and attending my parents' ward Christmas party, where Lucy had her first big crush (on Hunter Manwaring, no less).

She also got to sing "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" in front of my entire ward while Whitney played, with NO hesitation. Who is this grown up girl??

Celebrating our first snow!! I don't think we'll get a chance to enjoy much of this stuff in Vegas this winter...

Zachary in his brand new 3-piece suit I found on sale at Burlington for $14.99. He is a handsome little devil, if I do say so myself!!


Zachy with his buddies Taylor and Grandpa Tom-Tom.


We had kind of a short, whirlwind trip since we had to be back by Monday, so we spent Sunday evening singing Christmas carols and looking at Christmas lights in the snow. Zachy participated by dancing atop the piano. He is one WILD little guy (and Uncle Taylor definitely does not help)!!

WE LOVE YOU WHITNEY!! I am SO incredibly proud of you, and the way you dedicated yourself 100% to your mission, and serving faithfully to the very end. You are TRULY amazing!!