Homecoming!!

Well, we are finally back home! For the past 10 days, Chloe, Mitchell and I have been in Burley at my parents house. My younger brother Steve just got home from his mission from Seoul Korea last week and we flew home to see him. We had a great trip. It is always so nice to see family and spend time with them. All of my siblings were together for the first time in 2 years. Ben was not able to come, as he had to work and could not take time off, and we missed him a lot. Chloe told my sister that "Dad is sad because we left him in Seattle!" He was very sad not to be there, but we hope he got some rest and relaxation in a quiet house for almost 2 weeks! (That's what I wish for my next vacation....) It was so nice to have adult company and Chloe always had someone to play with. Mitchell definitely got spoiled and there was always someone willing to hold him. We were glad to get back home today and see Ben, and to enjoy the warm weather here. Burley was a freezing 30-40 degrees most of the time, compared to the 54 degree weather that welcomed us back here in Auburn. Here are some of the high lights of our trip:

My parents actually went to Korea to pick up my little (well, I can't say little) my YOUNGER brother and spent a week there with him and had a great time. They had a direct flight from Korea to Seattle, so we were lucky enough to be the first ones to see Steve when he got home! Ben got to come to the airport for an hour or so and got to chit chat with him and my parents. He snapped this picture of the 3 of us- notice Chloe is missing. She was deathly afraid of Steve and as soon as she saw him in the airport, she covered her eyes with her hands and would not look at him or speak to him for about a 1/2 hour. Steve was persistent and finally coaxed her into at least looking at him, and before we got on the plane, she was speaking to him. We hopped on the same flight as Steve and my parents and flew with them to Idaho. Lucky for me- I have never flown alone with both kids yet and was so grateful for the help on the trip there.

Here are Steve and Chloe at Steve's farewell 2 years ago- Chloe had just turned 1 and LOVED Steve. She could not get enough of him.

Chloe finally let Steve hold her when we arrived in Burley, but only for a second. I couldn't get to my camera fast enough before she escaped. But for the rest of the trip, she loved Uncle Steve and warmed right up. She always wondered where he was and what he was doing and frequently wanted to sit by him at meals times and share her treats with him.

Since my parents were able to go to Korea, they brought home some great souvenirs for everyone. They brought home little Korean outfits for Chloe and her cousin Paige.

These outfits are traditional Korean outfits that are actually worn by the little Korean boys. You would never know that by all the pink and peach. The little Korean girls wear dresses. The girls looked so cute in them and they had a blast wearing them together, running around the house.

Here's the whole Blakeslee family, minus Ben and my sister's husband Neil. We're so glad Steve is back home safely and we have loved hearing Korean culture and history and hearing him speak Korean!

We were there on Valentine's Day and missed Ben, and here are the pictures we wanted to post for him on Valentine's Day, but couldn't.

Here is Mellow Mitchell

Chloe, in her Valentine's shirt that she has been so excited to wear on Valentine's Day. She is signing "I Love You" to her Daddy.

We discovered Mitchell's new love- the high chair! He was so content to sit in my mom's high chair and play with toys. This picture demonstrates his contentedness.....

Chloe also discovered her new love- feeding Mitchell! She would get a little baby spoon and pretend to feed him. Mitchell loved it, and when we are ready to start solids, he will be accustomed to a spoon. But when we do start feeding him, Chloe will probably think she gets to feed him every meal......

Mitch got to spend more time with his cousin, Tristan. Mitchell has been desperately trying to grow more hair since Christmas to keep up with Tristan, but he came up short. What he lacks in hair, he makes up for in weight...He could eat his cousin for lunch!

I loved this picture of the two little boys holding hands, all on their own. Tristan isn't loving it, while Mitchell shows no concern for his cousin's sadness.

I had to post a picture of our little man smiling. A lot of his pictures show him expressionless. Mitchell is quite the mellow baby and is so sweet and quiet as long as he is full and well rested. On our trip, he rarely cried and would let anyone hold him. He does not laugh much (yet) but is just starting to be the little smiler. He has such a sweet smile and all it takes is a sweet voice to talk to him and he'll flash anyone his little grin. We love our sweet little man!

One sentimental part of this trip was that my parents just recently built a new house directly across the street from their old house, the house that I grew up in. They just sold their old house (pictured above) and closed on it today. I walked through my childhood house for the last time last week and relived hundreds of childhood memories. My parents were so excited to build a new house, and we all love it, but it will be weird to probably never set foot in that house again, the only house I remember. We had so many great games of flag football and baseball in the backyard, and endless games of basketball on the court in front.

But here is their new house, a throwing distance from our old house. We love it and it is a beautiful home where new memories can be made with the grand kids.

But, we couldn't let the trip pass without some drama. Today we had to leave for the airport to catch our flight home. Our flight left at 11:20 a.m. and we were planning on leaving the house at 8:00, as it takes 2 hours to get to the airport with good weather and no stops. Well, we left after 8:00, we had to get gas, and of course, 40 minutes into the trip, Chloe had to go to the bathroom. I tried to make her wait, but the screaming and tears forced us to find a rest stop. Then, we hit snow and slushy roads in Mountain Home, which slowed us down for the last leg of the trip. We didn't get to the Boise airport until 10:50, just 30 minutes before our flight was scheduled to take off. My Mom, who drove us to the airport, dropped Chloe and I off curbside at departures. Chloe had fallen asleep just 15 minutes before we arrived, so she was groggy and cranky when I woke her up to get out of the car in a hurry. It was snowing and freezing. I got Chloe out of the car, crying, and made her pull one small suitcase while I pulled the other two, plus hauling our carryons and Chloe's car seat. I rushed inside (as quickly as I could with 6 pieces of luggage, a car seat and a cranky, crying toddler) to check our bags before it was too late. We made it, but they marked all of our bags with "late check-in" tickets and would not let me check Chloe's huge carseat. Mom had parked and came in with Mitchell in his carseat and my double stroller. We said a hurried goodbye to her, then stood in line for security. I have never been to the Boise airport and had it be busy, but of course, today was the busiest I've ever seen it (which still isn't very busy, mind you, but since we were in a hurry, it was a smidgen busier). Of course, they make you put EVERYTHING through the scanner machine, car seats and strollers included, so I'm holding Mitchell, trying to take my shoes and coat off while assisting Chloe in doing the same, all while folding up a huge stroller and 2 car seats. I can feel every eye in the airport on me. I glanced up at the clock, which now read 11:10- just 10 minutes until our plane was to leave. I started panicking and as soon as our million items came out of the scanner, we grabbed them and off we went. So here's the mental picture for you: I have the 2 kids in the stroller, our 2 carry-on bags strung over my shoulder, holding my coat and Mitchell's blanket in my hand, holding Chloe's mountain of a car seat in the other hand, all while pushing the heavy stroller. From the security check-point on, I had to run with all this stuff. It was just like a scene right out of a movie. We were quite the sight to see. Mitchell was crying, me trying to run fast while hauling a truck load of things. The car seat is heavy and awkward to hold and my right arm was dead from holding it. We arrived at our gate literally just minutes before the plane took off. When we stepped on the plane, the flight attendants were already taking beverage orders. I was sweating more than I do when I play basketball and was out of breath, but amazingly the kids were both happy at that point and neither of them made so much as a peep on the plane ride home. They didn't sleep, but sat quietly and contently. Upon arriving in Seattle, I thought we were home free, but of course, one of our suitcases didn't make it because of our late check-in. We were told that the other bag would make it on a later flight, hopefully one later tonight, but that they would call us when it got in. It was Mitchell's suitcase, with almost all of the clothes that fit him right now, plus all of our Korea souvenirs and the toys and fun things we bought while we were there. It is never convenient to lose a bag at the airport. Here's to crossing our fingers that the suitcase gets in tonight, or this weekend at the latest. I don't know how long I can live without clothes that fit Mitchell! I had to squeeze him into some smaller pajamas for bed tonight.

But all the drama of today put aside, we had a great trip! Thanks Mom and Dad for taking such good care of us and for always letting us stay for such long periods of time! Thanks everyone- Mom, Dad, Cath, Amanda and Steve for helping with my kids- they all adore you and I appreciate the endless help you are with them. Thanks to Ben for letting us be away from him for so long. He has to work to pay for these trips! :)