Kenny's Homecoming

Anna and I took a trip to California to see Kenny get home from his mission. Anna was a complete angel on the 5 1/2 hour plane ride over. She didn't cry and was happy. She even took a little nap which was amazing for her. She doesn't like to sleep in my arms. We got to Long Beach at 9:40 a.m. The time change is great- you hardly miss any of the day. We took naps then headed to Babies R Us so show Stacie all the must have baby items.

Luckily Jill answers her phone from random phone numbers because Kenny called saying he missed his connection flight and won't be getting in until 9:40 p.m.! Bummer! It was supposed to be 6:40. 

So we ate dinner and hung out at home longer than we anticipated. It gave us more time to make more airport signs and and huge welcome home sign for the garage door.

My dad loves taking the kids on walks so he walked Anna over to the park and played on the swings. She loved them and loved watching kids play soccer.

After the walk my dad strolled Anna into the family room where she sat there for 5 minutes with her feet held up like this. I was crying I was laughing so hard. She was just looking at us like, "Why are you laughing? This is perfectly normal." I'm laughing out loud remember this moment.

We put Anna down for a little nap before picking Kenny up. Aunt Stacie got her in her pj's. I love that Anna still closes her eyes from the flash.

 Finally it was time to go the the airport. We got there with plenty of time to wait for him and it was such an agonizing wait too.

Anna was a good sign holder

Unfortunately more people couldn't come because of the late arrival so here was the little group. Grandpa Francis was there too.

Please come!!

Finally he came down the stairs! I think he was the last one off the plane! Jill made him walk down the stairs since they are faster than the escalator. 

Mom got the first hug

Then Jill

I have more pictures of everyone hugging Kenny but those aren't that exciting. We never took a group photo at the airport! We were too excited to think.

This is the closest we got to a group. Anna really wants to eat that missionary tag.

The stake president was nice enough to meet Kenny that night even though it was almost 11 p.m. So we went home and talked with Kenny. Luckily he was also on east coast time and woke up really early like me so we went to bed soon.

I love this picture. Anna's saying, "Just hangin' with my uncle Kenny. We're buds."

The next day was Friday and my siblings and I headed down to San Diego. Jill and Kenny had never been so we took the two hour drive down to see the sights. We had a great talk in the car about our lives and situations. My parents watched Anna all day for us.

We first went to lunch in Old Town (aka little Mexico). We walked along the little streets and took one of those old western photos together. Then we took Kenny shopping for some "normal" clothes. 

We then headed over the the USS Midway but it was closing in half an hour so we didn't feel like paying to rush through. We took this picture instead.

We did tour six other boats nearby though. Two submarines which where fascinating. Jill would be the perfect height for them. Ja is not.

Of course Jill wanted a potty picture

the periscope actually worked

This boat was called the Star of India. 

Kenny steering the land locked boat

I can't remember the name of this boat but it was the one used in the movie Master and Commander.

Apparently my left hip doesn't go very high.

Jill wanted to do the Titanic scene

Then we had a yummy Inn-n-out dinner and drove home traffic free. Grandma and Grandpa Seymour were waiting for us at home. We had a great time visiting with them that night.

Saturday was a family day so we went on a little hike in Eaton Canyon Park to a waterfall. Jill and Kenny both wanted to "wear" Anna on the hike which meant I didn't have to. Score! Anna did great the whole time and even fell asleep in the ergo.

Kenny with our little hiker

The hike was really pretty

Aunt Jills turn

We made it to the waterfall!

Saturday night we saw the production "Savior of the World" that my parent's stake was putting on. It was great and a nice reminder of Christ and His resurrection the weekend before Easter. 

 Sunday was Kenny's homecoming talk. He gave a great talk about the Godhead and why it's important we know the individual members. He mixed in stories from his mission. It was a really good talk and I'm so glad I was able to hear it.

Then we took pictures outside.

Anna with both sets of grandparents and one set of great grandparents. G&G Francis left before we could take the picture.

We had a house full of family members over for lunch after church. It was a lot of fun to visit with everyone without any kids. Anna slept for the 3 hours people were over. I woke her up so people could say good-bye. 

Anna with big papa

For the rest of the night we talked as a family. My dad shared a scripture story, Kenny showed us some Mormon Message videos, and we all stayed up late together. 

Again Anna was an angel on the flight home. We had a layover in Chicago which helped break up the long flight. One guy sitting next to me said, "Is she going to cry or what?"Everyone was amazed at how well Anna did on the plane. I was very, very grateful.

In fact,  the entire weekend everyone was amazed at how good Anna is. She is so happy and goes with the flow. That made the whole trip easier knowing she was happy with whoever was holding her or watching her. I had plenty of help from my family with holding her, feeding her, playing with her, changing diapers, and putting her to bed. I felt like I didn't see her much at all that weekend!

I was very grateful for Ja that weekend. He was home watching Macy and juggling play dates and and work. I was very happy to go to California to see my family!