Hendersons in the Netherlands – Pt. 4

The second to last day we were back in Amsterdam.  I have to mention that Cal slept record stretches on this trip and was as happy as could be – even with the big time change.  

This day we boarded a private bus first thing in the morning for our own tulip tour.  Tom, our tour guide, was a professional photographer on the side as well – so he was thrilled to take pictures upon pictures for us.  Our first stop was near a petrol station – that had rows and rows of gorgeous tulips behind it.  We were the only people there and took a bunch of family photos.  This one, taken by Zach’s brother Tony, is my favorite of Cal. 

Pictures truly don’t do these fields justice.  The colors are even more vibrant in person.

We drove all around northern Holland and stopped to view more fields, but none were as beautiful as the first.  We had a pit stop for lunch in an art town called Bergen.  It was great timing because it had started to rain and we were able to avoid getting soaked.

Our next stop was to tour some beautiful windmills.  We got to look inside, experience a little of what life was like for the people living there, and climb all the way to the top.  The Dutch countryside is truly stunning – even amidst the moody weather.

Tom brought tons of snacks on our little day trip: chocolate (which was how we learned of our favorite brand – Tony Chocolonley), fruit, nuts, and cheeses.  We were all exhausted and full by the end of the day.

We were so lucky to have incredible weather nearly the entire trip.  That night it poured rain so we took an Uber to an Italian restaurant [Zach was craving some pizza] and then back to the boat.

The next day was our last.  The forecast was rainy all day – so we bundled Cal up in his coverall and set out.

We had a few places we wanted to see and some souvenirs we wanted to score before heading back home.  We stumbled through the Red Light District and Zach took a lovely video of this woman [who was actually a man – the purple light below the red indicates transgender] who was not thrilled we were capturing his/her best side.

Like I said before – I didn’t know how a trip to Europe with a baby would be.  So I prepared as much as possible.  One of the things I packed with us [that Zach told me was a little excessive] was a waterproof car seat cover.  It came in handy our last two days and I am so glad we had it.  Sometimes being crazy prepared isn’t THAT crazy, guys.  Maybe Zach will have that engraved on my headstone after I’m gone?  

After grabbing some souvenirs for Sloan and family members we met up with our group at the Pancake Bakery for a late lunch.  We took our haul back to the boat afterwards and packed our bags for an early morning departure.

That night we had our last dinner on the boat – where the staff made us said apple pie.  Again – mostly because of Sean, but we didn’t mind to reap the benefits of his life-saving gesture.  We ordered everything on the menu we could find the strength to consume and then ended the night with some live entertainment in the lounge.  Mostly Gina dancing/lip syncing to Benny and the Jets.

The next morning we left at 7 am.  A bus took our whole crew and all of our luggage [except Zach’s phone which was accidentally left on the bus] to the airport.  We grabbed a bite to eat and then took off at 10 am.  Calvin did so well on the flight home.  He took three solid naps and was happy and content for 10 hours being cuddled the entire stretch.

Then, back home.  No more Igor bringing us sodas.  No more freshly baked cookies at our disposable.  No more live dance performances from Gina.  But we were so ready to be back with our Sloan.  13 days was too long to be away from her and I have vowed never to be gone this long again if I can ever prevent it.

Overall, it was a fabulous trip.  Spending time with my in-laws and having adult conversations – uninterrupted by hangry kids – was so wonderful.  There were so many hilarious moments that will become memories forever.  Also, I feel prepared to take the plunge if ever in the future we want to take young children to Europe on our own.  Additionally, I respect moms that live in foreign countries more than I ever thought possible AND am singing another tune when it comes to cruising.  *Did I mention I do not like cruises?  Oh, I didn’t??  Well…I am not a fan.*  But a European River Cruise is a whole different ball game than my experience on Carnival Cruise Lines.  Let the record show that this kind of cruising I am 100 percent on board for.  No pun intended. 

It was depressing to wake up and not see all of Zach’s family the next morning.  But one, very energetic face, made up for it.  

Christmas 2017

Our Christmas this year was very simple.  With Calvin being so new, and with so many people in my family sick, we decided to stay home on Christmas Eve with just our family of four.  I was worried it wouldn’t be as special, hunkering down at home, but I was wrong.

We watched Home Alone and had a themed carpet picnic.  Cheese pizza, Pepsi, and ice cream sundaes like Kevin McCallister.

Sloan was in heaven and has a new love and appreciation for Crazy Bread. Our little “Christmas Cal” slept the entire evening, cozy in his Rock and Play.

After our movie we set out the spread for Santa and his reindeer.

Sloan got tucked into bed and Zach and I prepped for Christmas morning together while Calvin took another snooze.

Sloan woke up the next morning and forgot it was Christmas Day.  Once we reminded her, though, she could barely contain herself.

We rooted through all the loot Santa had brought us, opened up our stockings, and then Zach and I opened gifts we got each other.  Sloan was more excited about the fact that Santa and his reindeer ate their treats than she was about 90 percent of her gifts. 

My family came over shortly after and Sloan and Calvin got to open their gifts from my parents and Blake and Britt.  We had lunch and then afterwards made our way up to the Hendersons for dinner.  Calvin stayed tucked away upstairs while the kids and then adults opened gifts.

Having a newborn in the house at Christmas was better than I expected.  All this time I wished and prayed for him to be born after Christmas and it never really crossed my mind that he would be early.  Having him here for the holiday was so special.  A brand new baby makes you slow down quite a bit – and it made me appreciate the holiday and my Savior even more. I believe the veil is so thin when these new babies enter our world.  It’s hard to imagine being closer to heaven here on earth.

I’ll never forget this Christmas.

Calvin Zach Henderson | Birth Story

I went to my last scheduled doctor’s appointment on Dec 18th.  I was 38 weeks and 1 day.  I had zero progression so my doctor scheduled my induction to be Dec 28th.  She was going to be out of town until the 26th for the holiday, so that was a sensible time for both of us.  Since I didn’t dilate on my own last time – we figured I would have to be induced anyway.  And with the holidays I got to choose if it we before Christmas or after.  I chose the latter.  I remember my doctor saying a few weeks prior – “If I had it my way, you’d go into labor on your own at 38 weeks.”  She was just two days off, we’d find out.

That night I got up to use the restroom around 4 am and noticed some development of the labor process.  I’ll just leave it at that.  I decided to go back to bed and see what would happen.  Around 4:30 my water broke as I was in bed.  I felt it coming and jumped out of bed just in time.  [For some reason my biggest fear was my water breaking in our bed and then having to deal with a disgusting mattress when we got home from the hospital.]  I woke Zach up and told him my water broke.  I’ve never seen him spring out of bed so fast – I swear he got two feet of air off the mattress before his feet hit the ground.

Luckily our hospital bags were already packed.  I decided to get in the shower and get ready before heading to the hospital.  I called my mom around 5 am to head up to our house to be with Sloan.  I shoved a few things in a bag just as my parents showed up.  Zach gave me a priesthood blessing – assisted by my dad – and we were out the door.

Zach said something in his blessing that caught me a little off guard.  I asked him about it when we were alone in the card together and he told me he didn’t know what it meant, just that he was meant to say it.

As we made our way to the hospital I had a few big contractions – so I told Zach we didn’t have time to stop at McDonald’s for a sausage egg and cheese McMuffin like our last go around with Sloan.  We pulled up to the University around 6 am and they made us wait to be admitted until someone could confirm that I was actually in labor.  The on-call midwife confirmed my water had broken and then did a little monitoring of the baby’s heartbeat.  It was then that she told us that his heart had an arrhythmia.  Considering we had been at the hospital for all of 12 minutes, I was a nervous wreck.  She told us it wasn’t a big concern – but that she would have to alert pediatrics and cardiology.  Since I had high blood pressure towards the end of my pregnancy with Sloan – they kept monitoring my blood pressure while we were waiting.  Once we got the news about the baby’s possible heart problem my blood pressure was sky high on every single test.  There weren’t any delivery rooms available at the time – so we continued to wait to be officially admitted and moved over.  Zach and I used the time to talk and say a prayer together.  He felt great about it all – and I was still worried sick.  I had a fantastic pregnancy with zero complications.  I wasn’t sick even one hour of my entire nine months.  I knew that there had to be a catch, and this was it.  Our baby had a heart problem.

Zach was starving and made his way downstairs to get a sausage and egg biscuit from Starbucks.  If there is a will, there is a way with Zach.  He managed to stink up our room in a way which only that exact breakfast sandwich can.  At least this time he brought me a hot blueberry muffin.

An hour or so later we were officially moved over to L&D.  They hooked me up with an IV and I met my nurse who I adored instantly – Sandy.  We went over my birth plan and Sandy explained that pediatrics was going to have to stop by and have a chat.  I never dilated on my own with Sloan, so I didn’t think my body was even capable.  I was at a 3 when Sandy checked me, which was a surprise considering I thought I would be Fort Knox.  But since my contractions weren’t progressing, they decided to start me on Pitocin.  Right after that the pediatric and cardiology teams stopped by to talk to me.  They apologized – but told me I probably wouldn’t get to hold the baby right after he was born because they would need to asses the situation with the arrhythmia.  I just tried the entire time not to burst into tears, and kept my mind busy with asking questions.  They left and told me they would see me when it was go time.  Then anesthesia came around and asked if I would like to get my epidural going.  Last time with Sloan my epidural was a complete disaster (the worst part of the labor process if you asked me) and I was hesitant. I told him I wasn’t feeling any contractions, but to “Check back in, say…30 minutes.  Nothing can happen in 30 minutes.”  As I said those words he started wheeling his cart out of our room and a massive contraction hit me.  It was so intense that I stopped him as he was going and told him to turn that little cart around and come back.  He laughed and said he knew from the moment I told him nothing could happen that it WOULD in fact happen.  He administered the epidural – and this time Zach was sitting in front of me in a chair, holding my hands.  With Sloan’s delivery he got really sick at the sight of the needle and nearly passed out.  Our guy, Adam, was a pro and administered the epidural without a hitch.

Almost as soon as the epidural kicked in – my contractions took it up a notch.  I started to feel some big time pressure and they checked me.  I was at a 5 – which I could have sworn was wrong.  I felt a little bummed that there wasn’t more progression.  They told me they would check back with me in an hour.  As they walked out the door everything switched gears.  I had the biggest contraction yet and started to feel the urge to push.  I pushed my call button for the nurse and told them to come back in. I told Zach, “He’s coming.  I can tell.  It’s time.”  They checked me again and saw that I was complete.  I went from a 5 to a 10 in 2 minutes.  They all were completely shocked.  Then, as Zach explains it, “an entire basketball team rushed into our room”.  Including the pediatric team.  As they were prepping for the delivery I explained that I have never been able to hold my babies as they came out.  I’ve always had to wait to get them checked.  My doctor was doing clinicals in the hospital that day, but I didn’t see her in the room with us.  I asked if she had been paged, and they told me she would be here as soon as she could.  I remember thinking – she’s not going to make it, again.  I really wanted her there considering how worrisome it all was with the baby’s heart issue.  The on-call resident started to give me instructions and got all geared up.  Sandy, our nurse, asked Zach, “Alright Dad, want to grab a leg?”  Zach switched over to my left side and grabbed a hold of my leg.  I started pushing and right in the middle of my second set of pushes my doctor ran in, huffing a puffing.  She explained she ran all the way up here and I couldn’t have been more grateful to see her.  I remember I said, “Welcome to my vagina!” As she settled into position.  The whole crew of 10+ people burst into laughter.  I told Zach not to look down – to focus on my face, but I could see him staring down into the gaping abyss that is a woman wide open – with a baby’s head crowning.  Then another round of pushes.  On my second big push I heard Zach say, “Guys, I’m going to need some help here.”  He loosened his grip on my leg and passed out cold on the floor.  He dropped down to his knees and then I completely lost sight of him.  A few people rushed over to help him and another nurse rushed to my left side to grab a hold of my leg.  I lost focus on pushing and was calling out his name, asking if he was ok.  He didn’t respond for quite a while.  The nurses urged me to switch my attention and focus on the task at hand.  Someone got Zach some smelling salts and he finally awoke.  I kept asking someone to get his orange juice [which he had acquired at Starbucks as well] and Zach kept telling me he was alright.  “I’m ok, K.  Just keep pushing.” After another set of pushes I checked in on Zach.  He was soon by my side and staring only at my face.  I vividly remember him patting me on the head like a dog – telling me that I was doing a good job.  He was still as white as a sheet.  We’ll work on his labor coach skills some other time, I guess.

On my fourth round of pushes I heard the nurse saying, “That’s it!  He’s almost here!” And then someone said to me, “Open your eyes – it’s your baby!”  I looked and there he was – screaming his guts out!  I’ve never been more grateful to hear a piercing cry like that in my entire life.  My doctor, who likely hadn’t been briefed on his heart situation, placed him right on top of me.  He was still hollering and wailing, which apparently was a good sign.  The pediatric team seemed a bit flustered that they didn’t get to inspect him – so they all came to me.  Using stethoscopes they all determined there was no arrhythmia after all – that his heart and lungs were more that perfect.  I burst out in tears.

What Zach said in his blessing all made sense at that moment.  But it sure didn’t to me at the time.  I got to hold my baby, Zach got to cut the cord.  Then the basketball team left, my doctor congratulated me, and it was just the three of us.  If I could bottle up a feeling – it would be the moments right when your baby comes into the world and into your arms.  I never feel the spirit as strong as those moments.

Calvin Zach Henderson  |  6 lbs 2 oz  |  19.75″ long  |  3:19 pm

We are officially a family of four.

 

 

A Dose of December

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We visited Temple Square with my family on December 1st to kick off the Christmas Season.  Seems like everyone else in a 50 mile radius also had the same idea.  We dined at the Little America and then made our way up through City Creek and then to Temple Square.  Sloan hated being in her stroller – but with the crowds it was essential.  It really was so beautiful, hoards of people and all…

We continued our tradition of Breakfast with Santa at the Grand America.  Sloan loved her meal a lot more this go around.   

Santa was a different ball game, however.  She was scared half to death and wouldn’t even look at him.  I was worried how the pictures after the meal would turn out and I wasn’t that off.

We took an intermission before they snapped a few photos to look at all the windows, the giant gingerbread house, and ransack the toy store.  Sloan DID smile for the photo with Santa and his lady – but not without her eyes tightly shut.  There’s always next year though – and hopefully she can kick her fear of this jolly guy to the curb.  

My mother-in-law gave us the most darling nativity set that you paint yourself.  We did it the first week of December so we could display it throughout the month.  Sloan was so serious, I thought she’d never be done.

Even though there wasn’t much paint on the actual parts and pieces – she had the time of her life doing it.  The angel was her favorite – as you can tell by the amount of blue paint and glitter applied.

We decided last minute to do a 3D ultrasound of baby boy one Saturday morning.  I know a lot of people say they are a waste of time and money – but we love doing it!  Sloan’s 3D photos actually resemble some of her features to this day.  So we couldn’t pass it up with baby #2.  All three of us went and Sloan LOVED seeing him wiggle, even stick out his tongue, on screen. 

I tried a new recipe that we all loved – Potsticker Soup by Designlovefest.  It’s so easy and delicious (well, if you like potstickers) and totally hit the spot on a cold night.

One Thursday morning I let Sloan wreak havoc with one of her play doh sets and I baked my favorite Christmas treat – almond Danish pastries by my sweet childhood neighbor.  They are not easy to make, but so worth it.  I have been rationing mine out for days now.

Sloan and I delivered some to my dad and brother at his warehouse as well – to carry on tradition.  My dad loves these bad boys as much as I do.  I know it’s one of the things he misses most about living in Taylorsville around the holidays.  Mine are not as good as Bonita’s – but they are the best I can do with limited time and baking skills!

One night for Date Night we got a later reservation at the Roof.  It’s a little tradition Zach and I have going.  We prefer this way of seeing the lights much more – it’s a lot warmer and less crowded.  Plus…there’s crab.

After my 36 week appointment they decided to schedule another growth ultrasound for baby boy.  I was down a few pounds and lost an inch in my belly measurement (because he has dropped).  So just to be sure – and to make sure I was not losing fluid or the baby wasn’t progressing properly – we had to take another visit to the U of U lab and get him checked out.  Luckily, the same sweet girl scanned me that did my anatomy scan at 20 weeks.  Even though they are not allowed to share details – she assured me all was well and he looked perfectly normal.  Measuring around 6 pounds.  Since Sloan was 6 lbs. 6 oz. – this seems just about right.  I’m just not meant to have big babies, I guess.  But little guy does have a set of lips on him – he’s got his dad’s lower lip FOR SURE! 

One morning we made paper snowflakes – to liven up the play room a bit.  Sloan enjoyed opening them after all the sections had been cut out – she couldn’t wait to see what they each looked like.

We’ve been slowly and surely getting ready for baby.  The nursery is so close to being done [not like he’ll be sleeping in it right away anyway] and nearly all his supplies and clothes have been washed, folded and organized.  My hospital bag is nearly packed.  We’ll see what the rest of December has in store for us.

Our November + Thanksgiving

We did some festive things to kick off the month of November.  Thank you Trader Joe’s for making me feel like I can’t live without a gingerbread turkey kit.  Because apparently, I can’t.  Sloan loved every second – especially eating all the candy off the turkey after she dipped it in the frosting. 

We also couldn’t leave the craft store one day without one of those pre-fab foam kits – particularly the Thankful Cafe – and Sloan believed it looked better as a hat rather than a display.  

We hosted Joy School at our house before the holiday and the kiddos loved decorating their pilgrim hats and eating some festive treats.  

We went to Provisions on the night of our actual anniversary – which was the 21st.  It was our first time and I can’t wait to go back already.  Something super strange about me:  if there is Utah trout or any sort of trout on a menu, I will get it.  I love Trout – it’s my favorite fish.  I like it even more than salmon or halibut.  I grew up fishing with my grandpa and occasionally my dad [he hated it with a passion, but would go when we went camping] and grew to love the taste very early on.  So I ordered the trout and it was OFF THE HOOK!  I don’t know what that white pureed stuff was…but I wanted to take home a jar of it and eat it with a spoon.  

Thanksgiving Day I went on an early morning run with my sister-in-laws.  A Turkey Trot, if you will.  I was hoping I could still run over three miles by the time Thanksgiving hit – and I made it!  I still have a goal of running 300 miles this pregnancy.  I am over 277 miles currently – but with less than three weeks left officially I hope I can make it happen.  Zach played hockey afterwards and Sloan and I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies to take to dinner (for those who don’t like pie, apparently).  I also made my assignment – two different types of stuffing – and then we were off to my aunt’s house for dinner.

This is the best family photo we got at Thanksgiving Dinner.  The three and a half of us…and a watering can.  Because a toddler’s life is a mega distracted life.  

It was great to be with family and we ate our fair share.  Afterwards we went through some Black Friday ads and then hit the rode home.

The next morning we relaxed.  We lounged around, ate snacks.

There was no actual Black Friday shopping for me this year.  I bought a few things online because the prices were too good to pass up, but I have all my Christmas shopping done for my family.  And as soon as Friday morning came it was all wrapped, my minimal Thanksgiving decor was down, and my house was officially decorated for Christmas.  It feels so good – knowing it’s all done – before this little man joins our household.  I even have some emergency gifts for him if he decides to come early, before the holiday.

Then later that afternoon we drove up north to the Hendo Cabin for Thanksgiving Round 2.

The food is always delicious and the company is just as great.  Sloan wasn’t a fan of the turkey [marshmallow] shoot this year.  She was terrified of the turkey – until she found out it was her cousin Alex in a costume.  You’d think this kid would be accustom to strange characters roaming around our family get-togethers…

After the turkey came and went – everyone opened their Christmas pajamas.  We are missing 11 grandkids in this photo – but it’s pretty good considering how big the group is still. 

We also had our traditional indoor snowball fight (boys vs girls, adults vs kids) and it totally wore Sloan out.  All the action really took it out of her…

Speaking of grandkids – I got super emotional when I saw baby boy’s stocking hanging up at the cabin.

I devote so much time and energy to Sloan that sometimes [even this far along] I forget there is another little person inside of me.  To see his stocking hung up there made it feel more real: December will be the month we welcome another little person into our family!

I never wanted to have a baby in December.  Not because I wasn’t grateful for any opportunity to carry a child – but no kid wants a December birthday!  But when they told me it would be December, I just started praying it wouldn’t be on Christmas Day.  Now I’ve come to the realization that it’s out of my control completely.  And secretly I feel like the more I wish him not to come on the holiday, the more likely it is to happen.  So…come what may and love it.  Having a newborn in our home during the holiday season will be pure magic.

 

 

 

 

September + October General Conference

First, I have to catch up. September slipped through our fingers. Technically, first was Zach’s birthday. Sloan and I did our best to make it special for him – since he always makes everything wonderful for the two of us. We are so lucky to have him and wanted to show our love and appreciation for him.  We started his day off with his favorite breakfast, German pancakes.

As soon as he got home from work the three of us rushed off to Benihana for dinner.  Some traditions will never die.  Lucky for Zach, Sloan loved every second of it.  The entertainment, the fried rice, the paper hat she wore the entire meal and the trip home. She also asked me this week if Zach could take her on her “first date to Benihana”.  So I guess the love for Benihana is hereditary. Looks like I’m never going to be able to cut this cord…When we got home from dinner we all had a piece of Zach’s favorite dessert [really the only one he actually likes] his mom’s chocolate cake that Sloan and I had made the night before. It sits in the fridge overnight and Sloan had been begging for a piece since I pulled it hot out of the oven – sans frosting.  

Then later that week Zach and I got to go out to dinner to celebrate, just the two of us at his favorite restaurant.

I hope he enjoyed his birthday as much as we did – attempting to make it fun for him.  Sloan gets so excited about the little things – and keeps asking when it will finally be her birthday.  To which she asked for a “Peter Pan Birthday” this year – so I’ve been planning for some time. Just trying to be as prepared as possible with baby brother coming in three short months.

Sloan also started Joy School with our darling neighbors one street over – Darren and Tillie.  The three of them didn’t make the official cut for pre-school because they didn’t turn three come September.  I felt so guilty – like Sloan would be behind in some way.  So when my friend and neighbor approached me about doing Joy School with her, I was all in! She went to her first week at the twins’ house and loved every second. She even packed a bag with crayons and plastic fruit, just in case.

This last week was my week to host.  Sloan loved having Darren and Tillie over and to learn about the letter B we baked bread.  It was definitely the highlight of their class, but I should have predicted that.

Truth be told – I’ve been burning fall scented candles for weeks.  And if I’m being honest I’ve been baking fall-ish desserts for even longer. I’m on a serious bran muffin kick – my personal favorite being the apple oat bran muffins I’ve made twice now.  I’ve got a small stock pile in the freezer for now.

But Sloan actually prefers the pumpkin bran muffins.

We officially kicked off fall on September 21st [you know…like the Earth, Wind, and Fire song] by painting pumpkins and eating taco soup out of pumpkin bread bowls.

Speaking of soup, last week I attempted making my own chicken noodle soup from scratch for the first time.  It turned out pretty good – but Sloan was thrown off with the black bats [black bow tie pasta] and pumpkins [carrots].

Maybe chicken BOOdle soup will have to wait a while – until Sloan’s a bit older and not totally freaked out by it.

Zach and I would be lying if we said we weren’t missing Italy in the best way.  Zach’s favorite dish he ate while over there was a seafood dish with calms, mussels, and shrimp in a tomato sauce.  I found a similar recipe online and decided to surprise him and make it.  I wasn’t going to let the mussels and clams intimidate me – or the fact that I had to go into a liquor store and buy white wine nearly 7 months pregnant.  But that’s neither here nor there.

The dish turned out good and the mussels and clams weren’t terrible to master.  They were quite easy once they were dead and cooked [yeah – you cook them live, no big deal]. But now I have a little more experience cooking with live shellfish, I guess?

I’ve been counting down the days until fall session of conference.  I was thrilled when I found out it landed on October 1st – and we decided to kick off Halloween that weekend.  Because October 1st is literally the earliest I think that it is socially acceptable.  I purchased some Halloween jammies for Sloan, a stack of Halloween books, and geared up for both days and all four sessions.

 

Friday morning we made Halloween cookies per Sloan’s request.

They are some of my favorite that we have done thus far.  Sloan literally couldn’t stop laughing at them.  We also made some plain old circles and a few leaf cookies – but they weren’t nearly as fun!

We moved date night to Friday evening so Zach could go to Priesthood session on Saturday [our usual date night].  We went out for Ramen and then saw a movie down town.  It was a great way to kick off the weekend.

Saturday morning Zach let me go for a long run.  I’ve officially hit over 200 miles this pregnancy.  The weather was gloomy but I got back in time for breakfast.

I set up a jar of bribes to keep Sloan’s attention.  I originally had 6 words – but realized how overloaded Sloan would get on snacks. So we settled for her four favorite treats and listened intently to reward her as each word was spoken.  Gummy worms were the crowd favorite, for the record.

It actually did work.  Every time the words were heard, there were cheers all around!  NOTE:  I should have chosen SERVICE as a word for one of the rewards.  I swear we heard it 100+ times.

We also built temples out of blocks – which turned out to be Zach’s favorite activity.  He got WAY more into it than Sloan and I did.

I wish I would have snapped a picture of the futuristic “2040 Temple” he built. 

I made homemade bread during the end of the first session so we could enjoy it during lunch between sessions.  When in Positano I purchased some pesto [two jars] from our favorite little shop and deli.  I made Zach bring it home in his suitcase – in which one of the jars broke and we had to throw away.  But I still had a jar I had been waiting to bust open, and it was just as delicious as I had remembered.  Worth the haul, if you ask me.

The second session was during Sloan’s nap so Zach and I listened together alone. It was so relaxing and I got so much out of the second session.  Soon afterwards Sloan woke up and Zach got ready to go to Priesthood session.  I made manicotti for dinner and we ate together before Zach left.

The next morning I made breakfast and we busted out all things Halloween.  The first session we had a craft and painted a wooden bat.  Thank you Target dollar aisle, we love you!

We also colored and built more block temples.

During the last talk of the first session I sensed Sloan’s boredom and we busted out the next session’s craft [which worked out – because she slept through all but 15 minutes of the last Sunday session].  We made a Haunted Cookie House and it was the highlight of Sloan’s entire day.

(I know I’m a fan already – but TJ’s has some AMAZING pumpkin/fall/Halloween stuff happening right now.  I kind of had a hay-day last week in preparation for conference.)

We enjoyed lunch together and then Sloan napped during the last session.  It was such a good weekend.  I secretly loved the gloomy weather and the fact that we were all set up inside, listening and watching. I baked up a storm and we were all completely full – spiritually and physically.

It will hold us over until spring, I suppose…