The Greatest Surprise!

Okay, prepare yourself for a long blog. It's been over a week since I posted the last one and a ton has happened since. I also regret to inform you that because of forgetfulness (on my part), there are not pictures to go with this dramatization. Well, not dramatization. . . narration.

On September 11th, I found out that my next internship rotation would not start until Oct 2nd. This being more than two weeks away, I decided to do something drastic and oh so exciting. I decided to surprise my family and go home for a visit; so I got tickets to leave September 18th. Now, I couldn't keep everyone in the dark because, hey, I needed a way from the airport to my house. So, I enlisted the help of my ever so lovely sister-in-law, Amy. She was more than happy to oblige. Well, during that wait, Lynsie (my sister) called and started grilling me about what I wanted for my birthday. Well, that was too much. I just told her I was coming and she could figure it out then. Of course I swore her to secrecy, which she didn't do because she told my brother, Jared, that I was coming. That's okay though, because the two most important people (my parents) never found out.
Well, the day before my flight comes and one of the transfer flights is canceled! Great! So I rearranged everything and it turned out to be a good thing Lynsie was in on it because she ended up having to pick me up. Fly wait fly, now I'm home. Lynsie and I walk in and completely surprise my brothers. Joel is literally gaping at me. It was hilarious. Then we get them to help us figure out how to surprise Mom. Now if any of you know my mom, you know that she is not a pet person. Our family dog drives her nuts alone. However, there are usually two dogs at our house because my sister brings her dog over during the day, while she works. Anyway, all said and done, my mom has vowed to leave if anyone brings another dog onto the property. Well, we decided that I would go outside and wait while Lynsie laid the bait. She told Mom that she had found a stray dog and that she wanted to keep it. She then persuaded Mom to just look at the dog to see how cute it is. Well, there I was sitting on the deck when she came out. It was great! So, Mom decided she wanted to help us surprise Dad. She called him and carried on the story of the stray dog and how she was leaving. Well, our ability to hear him ten feet away from the phone told us he was livid. The funniest thing about that conversation was my mom trying to keep a straight face while on the phone, and what my dad said. He asked where she found it and when told that she found it on the side of the road, he said, "Why didn't she pick up a boyfriend? They're easier to get rid of."

That was the big surprise! It was great and I have to say I have quite the sweet tooth for surprises now. The visit was great! I just hung out with my mom a lot, which is always fun. My mom's hilarious and so fun! We went shopping for my birthday clothes. Lynsie and I went shopping for her belated present, I picked up other belated gifts for friends, and I took Taylor out for icecream for an early birthday gift. Whew, lots of birthday stuff! I spent Saturday with Aaron's siblings and we went to the Hill Air Force Base and sat in the cock-pits of fighter jets. That was awesome, but my brothers say it was wasted on me because I couldn't remember the name of the plane I sat in. While this may be true, I defend myself by saying it's difficult to focus on everything around you when you are trying to catch-up with family. I got to meet Andrew's girlfriend who is very nice and cute. It was good to see Andrew again too because I hadn't seen him since before Aaron and I were even engaged.

Sunday, I met my brother's girlfriend who is also nice and pretty. Man, the boys in my family have good taste in girls! Anyway, that was fun. I also helped Taylor ask a girl to homecoming. That's always fun. My brother, Taylor, is way too cute for his own good!

Monday we went to a corn maze at Thanksgiving Point. That was fun and my little niece, Elise, is so cute! She is just so excited about live in general. It was fun to see her at the maze (and all the other times I saw her too).

Tuesday was my last day and I spent the day with Mom, Brittany and everyone else. I did get to see Esther before and she gave me scented bubbles for my birthday! I'm so excited about that.

Well, now I'm home and it was sad because I only got to see Aaron for three hours before he had to go to Ohio for a job interview. Well, I'll see him again tonight! Yeah!!!

That is my trip to Utah. I love it there and as much as I love the people I've met here, and as much as I love the green here, I don't think it will ever hold as much love and nostalgia as Utah does.