Day Trip to the Bailey's

On Halloween weekend, my parents drove down from Montana for a few days and stayed with us.  My mom calls our house the "Sullenger Bed and Breakfast," ha!  They came in late Saturday night, around midnight.  On Sunday, mom, dad, Sid, Jamie, Ivy, and I all drove down to Heyburn, Idaho (near Burley) to see my mom's side of the family.  I haven't seen my grandparents for over three years, so it was so good to see them!  They are doing even better now than they were when I last saw them, amazing enough.  My grandma is 86 and my grandpa is 88.   They were so excited to meet Ivy for the first time.  They got to hold her and we were able to get a 4-generation picture with Ivy, my mom, grandma, and I.   My Uncle Ron and his family as well as Aunt Gina came over too.  We had a wonderful visit with everyone.  It was fun to catch up on everyone's lives.  We were also able to see my Uncle Chad and Aunt Susan.  My Uncle is currently suffering from cancer and his days are coming soon to an end.  It was hard to see him in his current state, but it's amazing his attitude towards everything.  He is such a sweet man and is always happy.  Although he looks different than I remember him, I can still tell it's him because of his sweet smile.  His wife, Aunt Susan, amazes me as well.  She has stuck right by his side and supported him through this difficult trial day by day.  It's so hard seeing a loved one go through something like this, let alone seeing your spouse go through it.  What an amazing couple they are.  While we were there, we didn't see anything but smiles on their faces, just like I always do.  Even though they are smiling and staying in good faith, I know it's been difficult for both of them.  I've been keeping, I will continue to keep them in my prayers daily that they both can overcome this trial through the Lord's will. 

Grandma meeting us when we walked in.  She loves Jamie!

Grandma meeting Ivy for the first time.

Sid and Grandma

Grandpa teasing Ivy.

 

Grandpa was making kissing noises to Ivy and she LOVED it!

 

Uncle Chad, mom, and Uncle Ron

Aunt Gina, Grandma, and mom.  My grandma cracks me up! 

Here we are!  Four generations:  Grandma, mom, Ivy, and I.

My grandparents, Ivy and I.

My dad and I laughing at some random thing Sid said.

Although it was painful for him, my Uncle Chad wanted to hold Ivy.  Right after I took the picture he bent down to give her a gentle kiss on the cheek.  It was the sweetest thing ever.  I couldn't help but get tears pooled up in my eyes.

We headed back that afternoon to Michele's and Layne's house. They invited us all over for dinner and we enjoyed a delicious bowl of Michele's famous homemade chicken noodle soup. It was so dang good! It's Jamie's favorite dish of his mom's. Everytime I make chicken noodle soup, it never adds up to his mom's. :) There's just something about your own mother's cooking that's just hard to beat! Thank you Michele and Layne for letting us all come over and feeding us. We enjoyed it so much!

On Monday, we just hung out around the house with mom while dad was at a meeting in Rexburg. When he got back, we took him over to Vicker's Western Store and let try on hats. It was fun as we kept giving him different cowboy hats to put on. He made every one of them look so good! He's quite the handsome guy :) I wish I would have taken a picture of him trying them on!
That night, we played games and just talked. It was so much fun laughing and being together. My mom was so hyper! It's hilarious watching her sometimes. She says completely off the wall things that totally make you laugh. I love her! She's so much fun!
They left that next morning on Tuesday. It's always sad to see them go. I can't wait to see them for Thanksgiving!

My dad used to raise sugar beets when we lived on the farm in Southern Idaho.  Jamie has asked me quite a few times to explain to him what a sugar beet looks like.  While he was asking me again in the car, my dad quickly pulled over and had Jamie go out in the field to see one...