Mommy/Daughter Weekend

Back in 1997, I remember going to my doctor to have my ultrasound  for our second baby.  When Tom and I found out we were having a little girl, my heart just soared!  I come from a family of 4 girls and one boy so getting a daughter just thrilled me.  I remember Tom and I going to lunch afterwards and he was a little quiet.  I asked him if he was excited and in his sweet, frugal ways (especially back in dental school when we had NO money!) he said, "Of course I am excited to have a daughter.  But . . . you aren't going to go crazy and buy her tons of clothes are you??"  He was always so worried about keeping us financially above water during dental school.   I love him for that.  I smiled and told him everything would be ok and we would work it out--somehow.  Of course, Kelsey was dressed just darling and we didn't have to live in the streets because of her wardrobe needs. :)  No . . . this little daughter has brought nothing but PURE JOY to our home.  What a blessing she is in our family.  

 When she was really little, I'd reach my hand over and stroke her soft, sweet face, give her a hug and say, "My Kelsey . . ." and she would reply, "Myyyyy  Mommy!"


We have had a tradition now for four years of having a girls weekend in Utah on the first weekend in December.  We look forward to it so much---but now, Hailey started to figure things out.  She wanted to go too-----there were tears!  But, I told her, that next year when she is 6 years old, if she could sit still during a concert and be a good girl when we go shopping, she could go with us on the plane to Utah.  She cried and said, "But I am a big girl, now!!!"  

 We will bring her next year and make it a girl trio!!

 Our first stop is ALWAYS the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.  It is decorated so beautifully.  There is just a sweet, wonderful spirit there.

 Then, it's off to the Lion House Pantry for lunch (one of our favorites!)  No pie this time----we saved the sweets for later!  We then headed to Gateway Mall to hit the awesome Forever 21!!

The Holiday Afternoon Tea at the Grand American Hotel is one of the highlights of our girl's trip.  Kelsey and I absolutely enjoy every minute of the tea party.  The atmosphere is so festive and it's really fun to watch the other guests, especially the little girls, all dressed up for a holiday party!

 This is our centerpiece.  It starts out as a small, round ball--almost like an acorn.  Then, the server pours hot water on it and the flower slowly begins to open.  It's really pretty--and you can drink the tea. (it's not that yummy though :)

 We were first seated over by the bar and I immediately asked for another table.  There was one open by the fire and we were in "heaven!"  Kelsey ordered the coconut almond hot chocolate.  Wow - it was amazing!

 The tea starts out with an appetizer of strawberries with fresh cream, then they bring out trays of finger sandwiches.  They are really delicious and so are the fresh currant scones.  They serve homemade jam, English Creme, and homemade lemon curd with the scones.  So good!

 By the time the desserts came out, we were pretty stuffed so we took them home to eat later.  There was a harpist and the music was so soothing--we didn't want to leave!


But, the shopping call came loud and clear and Kelsey was ready to go again.  

So, this year I took her to Gardner Village.  She has never been there before and she went nuts!  There were so many adorable stores there with the most feminine and unique things.  We tried on scarves, hats, bought some candy, and even bought some eye candy glitter!  Finally we decided it was time to go home so we stopped at a Mexican place and got a big sweet pork salad each and went home to watch "Letters to Juliet" and stuff ourselves again!  It was the perfect day.  :)

 The next day was really busy but filled with lots of fun things.  We spent some time visiting my Aunt Karen, my cousin, Stefani, and her new baby girl, Loxley.  She is only 2 weeks old and is super cute!  It was really fun to see their new home and all the work they have done to fix it up so beautifully.  We couldn't be happier for them!

 Christmas Around the World is the other highlight of our trip.  I get chills every time I walk into the Marriott Center.  I performed in that show four times and I will never forget those feelings of being in that incredible arena and dancing with my teammates.  I remembered how happy those days were. :)

 After the show, we were able to go to the Alumni Reception.  Mary Bee Jensen was there (she is in her 90's and looks amazing!!)  I introduced Kelsey to her and we were able to get this picture.  What a treasure!

 This is Jarelle - she knows Melanie from their ward in Scottsdale.  She is on the PAC (Performing Arts Company) team like I was.  This is her last year.  She is a beautiful dancer!

 OK - so on the way home, it was pretty late at night and we saw this house all lit up with Christmas lights.  Kelsey said, "Mom, I think that Santa has green smoke coming out of his bum!"  We backed the car up and sure enough, the Santa had his finger held up and when it lighted up, the green puff lit up.  It was pretty funny . . . wierd too!

 Well, this was the "not so fun" part of our trip.  This year we have decided to rent our Utah home for one year.  We have renters moving in on January 1st so we have only a few weeks to move everything out.  This home has so much meaning to us.  We've only owned it for about 5 years but already we've had a lot of good memories there.  I spent until about 1:30 a.m. packing up things to give Tom a head start.  He is coming up this weekend to pack the heavy stuff.  

 The house didn't look the same with the pictures taken down.  It looked cold and sad.  :(

 (Kelsey left a little message for her daddy! :)

 As we said our goodbyes to the house, Kelsey said a sweet little prayer and started to cry.  We both cried and hugged each other.  It's like losing a really good friend----we will miss this place.  

 We had a morning flight on Sunday so we didn't have much time to spend before we left.  (but that was probably a good thing).  Kelsey took this picture as we pulled away.  We cried all the way to Sandy . . .

I will forever be grateful that my Heavenly Father loved me enough to send Kelsey to my home.  She is so very precious to me.  

My Kelsey . . . My Mommy . . .