Greetings from VA

2 posts in a week - I'm on a roll. The thing is with the time difference and Dave's crazy hours back in UT, we don't get to talk to him as much as I'd like but this is a good way to keep our main man in the loop. And everyone else too - Riley and Joe miss their Zizi and Grandpa in UT, and our family and friends being so spread out, well - you're all in our thoughts.

Last week the kids and boarded a flight bound for Virginia. We were sad to leave our Dave, and Joe broke everyone's heart by yelling back over his shoulder, "Miss you already!" and then, "Say goodbye to the baby!"

I was a little nervous about flying with the kids alone - the last time I did it was a year and a half ago and it still gives me shutters just thinking about it - it was traumatic. But this time could not have gone better! Having no diapers or breast feeding to deal with makes a difference. Also we got to the airport 2 hours early (and I must say, the airport 3 weeks before Christmas compared to 2 is just night and day - none of our flights were full and our luggage and car seats were waiting for us upon arrival). And Riley and Joe were just angels. I have been praying about this flight literally for weeks and see it as a divine Christmas present that everything went smoothly!

These kids studied the safety manual more thoroughly than anyone ever has, I'm sure of it. Riley asked lots of questions about the breathing masks, the life vests, exiting the plane...She mulled over the information for a few minutes and then told me we should have brought our swimsuits. You know, just in case we had to jump out of the plane and into the sea. Joe's main concern was whether we would see any giants while we were up in the clouds. Adorbs.

The rare Munion kid nap! All the excitement and early wake-up caught up to them.

 Once we landed we had a 4 hour drive ahead of us but it was fun to catch up with Ang, our gracious driver, and Riley and Joe serenaded us for about half of the drive. Mom had candles lighting the windows when we finally pulled up, the tree was lit and the house was aglow and oh so welcoming. Sweet sigh of relief. It's good to be back!

In the valley the air is fresh and clean and unseasonably warm (till now - I think there will be snow tonight, and that is okay too). We have had foggy, misty Virginia days and breezy sunny days and been walking in all of it. Getting my Lizzy Bennett on. Mom's cooking never disappoints. She has some killer recipes for uber-healthy meals too that are delicious and make me feel stronger and healthier by the bite...who knew lentils and kale could be so freaking amazing.

Out on Grandpa McClure's swing:

 Celebrating Angie's birthday:

Fog on the mountains:

 Lots of Christmas crafting: Grandma's stash is ridiculous! The kids get so much more excited about real craft stuff than if I, say, punch circles out of paper and have them glue them to more construction paper.

 Walking Mister. Or Mister walking us.

We've also been to visit a couple of our Virginia "grandparents," played at the playground, dug out the toys of my childhood, performed little secret service acts - so fun that they are old enough to get into that now - enjoyed the trickle of family coming into town and pretty much just have spent a lot of time together and relaxing. Andrea became the first to feel this baby kick - one big whomp, just for her.