To kick off Balloon Fiesta week, hot air balloons are launched from schools around the city. I went with the kids at 7:15 am to watch one inflate and take off from our brand new field. Being up on the West mesa gave us an amazing view of the entire valley and all the balloons. The kids all scarpered away to find their friends moments after I forced them to take a picture, but they all eventually found their way back to me for hugs and I love you's before I left for my weekend away in Colorado.
The drive up was fine, though the check engine light came on after I refueled near the CO/NM boarder. I was quite anxious for the duration of the trip, but the car ran fine despite the warning light and I arrived at Jennie's house in Arvada around 5 pm. We ate fish and chips at a little pub, then went to D'Eveyln's performance of Our Town. They were doing a benefit night to honor a young man who was in the production 19 years ago and who passed away while serving in the military. I was also in that first show, and thought it would be fun to see it. We attended D'Eveyln before the new building, so it wasn't entirely nostalgic, but Jennie and I found ourselves in some old sports teams pictures they had on the walls and it was fun to reminisce. After the play, we went to Village Inn for hot chocolate and pie with April, a friend from BYU who also happens to live in Denver and has a kid attending D'Eveyln. We stayed until nearly 1 am, which is way past my regular bedtime, but it was fun to connect with girlfriends from my past.
First thing Saturday morning I took the Highlander to Auto Zone to see what codes the check engine light was indicating. Turns out all but one cylinder had misfired. The dealer said they could replace the coils and spark plugs for $1400 and I'd have to wait until the 13th for them to do it. The car wasn't running rough or anything though and after discussion, Matthew and I felt like it would be okay to drive it home for him to fix.
We spent the rest of the weekend watching General Conference. In order to encourage a more home-centered church-supported approach to learning the gospel, it was announced that we'll be moving to a two hour Sunday schedule starting next year. President Nelson also emphasized the importance of using the proper name of the church rather than nicknames like Mormons. We went and watched the first Saturday evening women's session at the stake center and I saw Deanna Allred, who I considered an old grandma almost 30 years ago when she was my primary teacher. There's something reassuring about seeing people I knew decades ago still diligently serving right where they were when I left. I appreciated the strong council of the prophet to step away from the influences of the world and focus on our personal and family's gospel conversion. Though I've heard the words many times before, I think it's finally sunk in that the seemingly small and simple things I do each day as a mother really do have important and far reaching eternal impact. For the foreseeable future, homemaking is my first priority.
Sunday evening I went over to my parents house for dinner. My Uncle Jeff also happened to be visiting, and it was fun to see him for a bit. When I got back to Jennie's, her sister Hannah and her family (who have also moved back to Arvada) were over. We started looking at old pictures and it was fun to reminisce with them. Jennie and I again stayed up way too late talking.
Mikaela was kind enough to help the kids get off to school yesterday. They loved it because she let them have lemonade for breakfast.
Other than a light rain for the first three hours, the trip home was uneventful. The car worked fine and despite the late night, I didn't get drowsy while driving. I got home about an hour before the kids got out of school and it was a joyous reunion the moment they walked through the door. I had a nice time for sure, but I did miss hunkering down with my little family during conference. There's nothing like a few days absence to make kids and mamas realize how much they really do like each other.
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