Utah: Day 4, 5, and 6

Day 4

Tyler and I spent most of the day bumming around. We were trying to give Ailey, Luke, and Tate a little bit of space and Luke had some family coming over to meet Tate too. I can't think of a time when Tyler and I were just free to go wherever we wanted and do whatever we wanted while in Utah. We had a good time!

Our first stop was the Springville Museum of Art. I love going there and it rarely works out that I am able to; so I was thrilled that we were able to squeeze it in on our trip. I adore art museums and we don't have a great one here so I love when I can go to one on any of our travels. But this little art museum holds a very special place in my heart. I fell in love with art as a child here. The summer between 5th and 6th grade I was unfortunately signed up for summer band. I despised it. I was forced by my mom to do it. I was signed up to play the french horn but there were no french horns available that summer so I had to play the cornet (a smaller trumpet like instrument). That made me double annoyed. But the cornet has the same fingering as the French Horn so I had to play it. I was triple annoyed because we were moving to Provo Canyon and I wasn't even going to be going to the middle school in Springville but my mom still made me take summer band. I had to ride my bike there and I would cry the whole way. It was hot and far away and I despised everything about it. The only good thing was that the art museum was next door. It was nice and cool inside. I liked to go in after band, cool off, and get a drink of water before I had to ride my bike home. The ladies that worked there were very nice. One day they asked me if I would like to look around and that admission was free. So wander around I did. Every day that I had band I would come over and look at the exhibits, sit on a bench, and think about life and art. I had favorite pieces and I forced my sister to ride her bike over one day and come look at them with me. I think it was lost on her. LOL. But imagine my utter joy this trip to see that several of my favorite pieces...the ones that touched the heart and sparked the imagination of a 10 year old...were still there!

This is one of my all-time favorite paintings. As a little girl I used to sit on a bench and just stare at this picture. It's called The Artist's Wife and Daughters by William Sergeant Kendell. I loved when I discovered that the mother had two different colored eyes. One brown and one blue. She also had one blue eyed daughter and one brown eyed daughter. You'd be surprised how often I still talk about this painting. 

This piece inspired my love of sculpture. It's called Mother and Child by Avard Tennyson Fairbanks who sculpted it in 1928. I used to marvel at how realistic the baby was...at 10 years old I had a baby brother who was just that size. I couldn't believe that someone could sculpt something so life-like out of marble.

This painting called Amanda is still there too. The artist is the dad of my 5th grade boyfriend Peter.

There were several exhibits on display. I loved the exhibit by John Hafen called Enduring Beauty: John Hafen and the Power of Art. His paintings are STUNNING! I loved every single one that was displayed. Wow. There was also a Russian exhibit. It is called In Search of Ourselves: Soviet Art and the Shared Human Spirit. The paintings were evocative. This one was my favorite!

I loved it so much that I bought a print of it and it is now in our guest room. Beautiful!

I can't tell you how many times I got the chills and tears came to my eyes as I wandered the museum. Tyler is good to humor me and go to art museums in all kinds of cities with me. 

The Springville Museum of Art never disappoints. I am grateful for a couple of magical hours spent there. It was glorious!

Then we explored the Spanish Fork/Salem/Payson area. Ailey and Luke are living in Salem and it is not an area that I am very familiar with. First stop was food. We were craving a "Utah" Cheese Steak Sandwich and we found them!

I've lived many different places and visited all kinds of cities but the cheese steak sandwich I love and crave is one that I can only find in Utah. It's more of a grinder...meat, cheese, onions...it can also have mushrooms or bell peppers mixed (also lightly ground) together with cream cheese and a lot of black pepper. It is HEAVEN. When I was pregnant with Kameron; my Grandpa McKinnon was dying of cancer. I drove from SLC to Provo four times a week to check on him along with four year old Reilly. He lived down by Utah Lake and on the way to his house there was a place that made this very kind of sandwich. I stopped there almost every day to pick up a cheese steak sandwich for me and a milk shake for him. Sometimes I could get him to eat a few bites of cheese steak but he always happily slurped down a milk shake. Tyler loves these cheese steak sandwiches too and we were thrilled to find a place that makes them in Spanish Fork. We loved it so much that we went there twice while we were in town!

Yum!

My dad was telling me about a place called Salem Pond where he used to go fishing and swimming when he was a kid. He wondered if it still existed. It does. We got out and walked around. You couldn't pay me to swim in it but there were all kinds of kids swimming, fishing, and paddle boarding. It is a very cute park.

We also drove over to see the Payson Temple. It's crazy that Ailey and Luke were married there a year ago and now we have little baby Tate too! A year goes by in a flash.

That night we met Kameron, Erin, Kirk, Meki, and Kirin at Ailey and Luke's apartment. It was a fun night! Kirk and Meki brought Chinese food for everyone and we feasted and laughed and had a great time!

It was good to catch up with Kirk and Meki. I'm slightly jealous that they get to live close to our kids and grandson. It's going to be very strange to have a grandkid who doesn't live by us. Not sure my heart can take it. Late that night we did another ice cream run to the BYU Creamery with Kameron and Erin. When in Rome! 

It was another wonderful day spent with people we love and adore!

Day 5

While we were in Utah we heard that it was the open house for the new Lindon Temple. I've never been to a temple open house before and I really wanted to go; so we did. It was such a cool experience!! This temple is a big one! Especially compared to our little Spokane Temple. I was awe struck. Two spires, four floors, two baptistries, a HUGE Celestial room, a gold veil, and a gorgeous painting of Bridal Veil Falls that yes...brought tears to my eyes! The color scheme is white with a gorgeous deep blue green accent. There is the prettiest picture of Jesus walking on water that is the exact same blue green. There are also beautiful views of Timpanogos and Cascade mountains. It is one of my new favorite temples. 

When we were done at the temple...Kirk called to see what we were up to. We met him on his lunch break at Black Sheep, a restaurant on University Avenue, that Kirk wanted to try. They serve gourmet fry bread. It was good. We had a great visit with Kirk. It was much easier to chat and catch up on his life with just the three of us. I'm so glad that he was able to swing lunch with us. 

After lunch with Kirk, Tyler and I drove to South Jordan, to get some treats from Schmidt's Pastry Cottage. Tyler is obsessed with their rum balls. We have to get them every time we come to Utah. I've even had to bring them back to Spokane on a plane. LOL.

That's a happy man!

Then it was back to Ailey and Luke's house. We had fun hanging out with them and little Tate. We took their dinner order and delivered it to them. That was when we got our second round of cheese steak sandwiches! Another fun day with people we love!

Day 6

Today was the day that we got to hang out with Kameron and Erin. We were so glad that we could get a little more time with them while we were in town. We met them at City Creek. We walked around there and then went over to Temple Square. The spires had been put back on since our last visit and they had just taken down all the scaffolding earlier that week. It was exciting to see the temple looking more normal. We walked over to the Conference Center that is going to be closing for a few months and looked around. We visited with some sister missionaries and sat for a few minutes and listened to an organ practice. The sister missionaries were telling us about the apostles they had seen and told us a fun fact about Elder Bednar. They said that he is very short. Surprisingly short. Interesting! We also went up on the roof of the Conference Center and Kameron pointed out the building that he works in. I love that he works downtown. It reminds me of us in our early days. So fun!

Then we went to lunch at the Roof restaurant at the top of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. It was fabulous! Lion House Rolls! Need I say more?!

Such a beautiful view!

After lunch we went back to City Creek and did a little shopping or should I say Tyler and Kameron did a little shopping! I don't think Erin and I got a thing! Kameron and Tyler got matching ties and they both got new Vans. Ha ha! I was checking out all the prom dresses. Bryn got asked to prom by her friend JJ. Utah definitely has a bigger variety than Spokane. Bryn would've loved all of the dresses. Erin had to leave to go shoot a wedding. I am glad that her photography business is booming! We drove over to see Kam's new office and then dropped him off at his apartment. Erin was having a new camera part delivered and he needed to be home to get it and bring it to her at the wedding. After that we drove over to Ailey and Luke's house. Kameron met us there later. It was a fun night! We played games and ate Hawaiian food. Man I wish all of these kids lived closer!! We were dreading leaving the next day. But I am so proud of the lives that they have built for themselves in Utah. They are thriving! 

Day 7

We met all the kids for an early breakfast at Tru Religion. Baby Tate's first time at a restaurant! He did great! This was Ailey's request...since she wasn't able to be out and about doing things while we were in town...she wanted to eat at Tru Religion before we left. Wish granted. Only a few days postpartum and all. It is so fun to be with all the kids and so hard to leave.

Tears were most definitely shed! I am glad that we will be back in town in a month and a half for Tate's baby blessing. Then we were on the road and headed back to Spokane. We were very grateful to know that we had kids and grandkids waiting for us there too. It made the trip home a little easier.

Ailey has been great at keeping pictures and videos coming and lots of Facetime too! 

Onto April...

Utah: Day 2 and 3

Day Two 

It was St. Patrick's Day! Tyler picked up breakfast for us from Kneaders. Oh how I wish we had a Kneaders here! Then we headed over to the hospital. Ailey and Luke were in full mommy and daddy mode and it was a joy to see! Tate had already had a busy morning of testing. He failed his first hearing test in one ear but passed it on the second test. He also had a little congestion in his nose. Other than that both mommy and baby were doing great!

Ailey is the calmest and most natural mom. She is amazing!

Luke was doing a great job taking care of Tate too!

Pops and Lovey got in some good snuggles with our little Tator Tot! Yes, that is his nickname. Our whole family has been calling him Tator Tot since we found out that he was a boy. Hopefully he will find it endearing. LOL.

We brought over all the preemie clothes and supplies that we bought the night before. We found the cutest little St. Patrick's Day outfit for Tate! Ailey put him in it immediately. Ha ha! 

Such a tiny little leprechaun!

Ailey told us that they would be going home that night. Exciting! Tate, Ailey, and Luke were exhausted so we left them to hopefully get a little rest. Luke's mom, Andrea, went back home to St. George. She will be coming back next week and bringing Luke's siblings to meet their new nephew. 

Tyler and I went out for lunch at one of my favorite childhood restaurants. La Casita in Springville. We love it! Such nostalgia.

That evening Ailey and Tate got discharged from the hospital. Tate's going home outfit was his little shamrock outfit! Perfection. Look how tiny that little peanut is in his car seat! Tyler and I grabbed a few more things that they needed from the store and got dinner for them. Then we left them to get settled and hopefully relax. I'm so glad that everything went well and that they were able to come home within 24 hours! No NICU stays! Hooray!

Day 3

Ailey, Luke, and Tate had a bit of a rough night. I swear that first night home is always hard. It's an adjustment for everyone. When the shock of being born wears off of babies and they are suddenly starving and new parents are exhausted and trying to figure out breast feeding; it can be tough. They all finally got to sleep at 6:30 AM. Yes...AM. Tyler and I left them alone for awhile to get some sleep.

Tyler and I had breakfast and did some shopping. It was a gorgeous warm sunny day. There are so many good stores in Utah. It was also the perfect day to hit BYU campus. Bryn wanted a particular sweatshirt from there so we were on the hunt to find it. We did and also found a cute BYU board book for Tate. Luke is an uber-BYU fan! It's crazy to see all of the construction and changes happening on campus.

Kameron got off work early and he and Erin met us at Ailey and Luke's place. It was crazy being in Utah for two days and not seeing them yet! Erin did the cutest photo shoot of Tate, Ailey, and Luke. Here are a few pictures from that:

There were so many cute pictures and they are absolutely precious!

We ordered pizza for dinner that night and had it delivered. It was so good to catch up with Kam and Erin and to hang out with everyone. I love our kids so much! They are hilarious! Then we all left to let the Jorgensens get some rest. Tyler, Kam, Erin, and I headed back to BYU campus to go to the Creamery. The new Creamery is so big and nice! The Sparkle Sherbet still hits! It is SO GOOD! My two favorite ice cream flavors at the Creamery are peppermint (didn't have it) and the Sparkle Sherbet. Yum! We also bought some BYU mint brownies and donuts for the next day. Then we followed Kam and Erin back to Eagle Mountain to see their new place. Both Ailey, Luke, Kam, and Erin have moved to new apartments since the last time we were in town. It was so fun to get tours of their new homes. Both are decorated absolutely DARLING!! I love both couples esthetic! It was fun to get some one-on-one time with Kam and Erin and to see our granddog Dwight! He is a sweetheart. It was another great day!

This little guy was the cherry on the top!

Utah Day 1: Tate's Birth

Day 1:

Tyler and I drove to Utah thinking that was a good idea. Nope. It was a horrible idea. We should have flown. We had good roads until we got past Missoula, MT and then we hit the worst icy roads that we have ever seen in all of our years of driving to Utah. We saw so many roll overs and slide offs. It was HORRIBLE. By Butte the roads improved and we had dry roads the rest of the way to Utah. Then when we got to Utah...the weather was in the 70s and 80s! Talk about an extreme change!

Bryn didn't come with us because her schedule was insane. She had so much going on that she couldn't miss. Including her SAT retake. I'm grateful for friends and Reilly and all the people who kept an eye on her while we were gone and invited her over for multiple dinners and all the things.

We got to Provo around 5pm and checked into our hotel. We were starving! I forgot how Provo has nothing open on Sunday except for fast food. We grabbed a quick dinner and got ready to go see Ailey and Luke.

Ailey and Luke checked into the hospital at 6:15 pm and got settled. When we headed over to there; Ailey had already gotten her IV. We met her nurse and stayed for a few hours visiting with them. 

Then we left hoping that Ailey could get some sleep. We headed back to our hotel and stayed dressed but napped throughout the night...in between hourly updates from Luke.

At 1 am they started Cytotec to soften and thin her cervix. She was dilated 2 cm and was 80% effaced. Then at 3am they started the Pitocin. Ailey was able to walk around a bit and use the yoga ball. By 5am she was dilated to a 3 and was contracting nicely on her own so they stopped the Pitocin. By 6am the contractions were coming on strong and were painful so we went back to the hospital. Ailey was very thankful to get her epidural at 7am and it went well. We hung out with Ailey and Luke while waiting for her contractions to get even stronger and closer together. She was feeling better now that her pain was under control. 

Ailey participated in a lactation study while waiting to go into labor. A lactation specialist/educator came in and went over breastfeeding and all the things. She did such a great job! It was so much better having the educational stuff happen BEFORE Ailey gave birth and while we were all just waiting around. The study was to see if doing breastfeeding education before birth was more effective than coming in after giving birth and then going through the whole spiel. (They also had someone come in after but both Ailey and Luke said that they could barely concentrate on what the person was saying because there was so much going on with Ailey's aftercare and Tate and so many people in and out.)

It was very special that Ailey was giving birth at the hospital that my mom was the CEO of right before we moved to Spokane. My mom designed and built the Women's Center that Ailey was giving birth in and she planned out and designed all the birthing rooms. They had just gotten done building that wing when I gave birth to Kameron at this same hospital. I was also born in this same hospital as were two of my sisters and my brother. My mom started her career there as a labor and delivery nurse and then also worked in the NICU and worked her way up. It felt like my mom was close. 

We had a weird/cool experience happen while we were sitting with Ailey and Luke. At one point Tyler said, "Are you guys seeing this?" Across the room a drawer opened and shut and so did a cupboard. We were like "Mom??" LOL. Tyler walked over to see if the drawer or cupboard could've done that on their own with the room door opening or something else happening. Nope. Both the drawer and the cupboard had a catch. Very strange. 

I told my mom's best friend Mary Jane about that and she said, "How special that he was born in the room your Mom helped design and you were present for his birth. I felt a chill reading that part!  It doesn’t get any better than that. I believe she opened the drawers to let you know she was there with you. What a wonderful moment."

Ailey also tearily told us that she had had a very lucid dream about my mom a few days before. In her dream Ailey was worried about giving birth and my mom was there comforting her. Mom hugged her and told her "You've got this Ailey!" and that everything would be okay. Ailey said that it seemed so real and she could feel my mom's hug and like she was really there with her. I'm a big believer in things like this. Of course my mom would be there...try to keep her away. LOL. I'm sure she was overseeing all of Reilly's c-sections too.

Kirk was texting me regularly for updates and asked me if it was hard to be at a hospital that we so closely associate with Mom. I said no...it was quite the opposite. It was a comfort.

We had several hours of waiting. We played games and chatted. Ailey's OB came in and broke her water. Then Luke's mom, Andrea, arrived from St. George and she hung out with all of us. It was nice to catch up with her. We haven't seen or talked to her since the wedding. Ailey was so hot and wanted her room icy cold. I was in a coat nearly the entire time. The nurses kept saying how cold the room was and didn't Ailey want to turn the heat up or have a nice warm blanket and she said NO! Ha ha!

Ailey had no appetite but she did manage to eat a popsicle and drink part of a Gatorade in addition to her ice water. Tyler and I tried Uncrustables for the first time. The nurses had snacks for the support people. Uncrustables are weirdly good. Maybe we were just extremely hungry! Ha ha.

While Andrea was there...Tyler and I went down to the cafeteria to quickly grab something to eat. Tyler's blood sugar was low and we had just started eating when Luke texted us that we needed to come back quick because things were happening! Ailey was starting to feel a lot of pressure and pain.

When we got back to Ailey's room, Andrea had gone, and things were definitely happening! Ailey was in A LOT of pain! Those contractions were coming hard and fast! She was clutching the railing of the bed for dear life. The nurses brought in the birth cart and got everything ready to go! She was dilated to an 8.

The anesthesiologist came in and gave Ailey some more medication because the epidural wasn't cutting it by this point. Unfortunately she had a bad reaction to that medication. As soon as it hit her system she was crying out in pain. She felt a horrible burning sensation that started at her legs and went up her body. The pain was a 10. The anesthesiologist slowed down how fast he was giving her the meds and she started feeling better. That was a scary moment! 

After that she very quickly dilated from an 8 to a 10. Then it was time to push! Tyler was at the head of the bed supporting Ailey's head and shoulders as she pushed and Luke and I each had a leg. She pushed for about 2 hours but didn't make a ton of progress. We could see part of the baby's head but that was about it. Ailey was exhausted. Her OB came in and used the forceps and Tate was out in seconds.

Wow! What a moment! What an experience! I've given birth myself, obviously, but it is different actually watching someone give birth and watching a baby come into the world. It is holy! We were thrilled to be in the room with Ailey and Luke and to watch our grandson be born. We were all in tears of joy as he was placed on Ailey's chest and we saw his little face!

Tate Tyler Jorgensen was born at around 4:30 pm. He was 6 lbs 8 oz. He was 18 1/2 inches long. He had a little bit of fuzzy reddish brown hair. He did great! He got to snuggle with his mommy immediately.

We were all bawling our eyes out. What a miracle!! Tate was so tiny! Even smaller than Karter who was 6 lbs 12 oz. (My smallest baby was Ailey who was 7 lbs 6 oz.) It's so interesting how they do things now...the golden hour and all of that. The baby snuggling skin-to-skin with both mommy and daddy and not getting a bath right away. Lots of bonding time. I love how newborn babies are intently looking all around and responding to voices. It is sweet and sacred.

Let me just tell you what an AMAZING job Ailey did! She was a trooper! She blew us away with how calm and determined and STRONG she was!! Luke did a great job supporting her and being so loving and encouraging. Tyler and I were so honored to be there with them. What an incredibly special day!

Tyler and I stayed for the first hour of Ailey's recovery and then we left when Luke's mom came back. We saw Andrea in the elevator and exchanged hugs and excitement about the new grand baby! This is Andrea and Joe's first grandchild. (Joe is in the military and was in Germany.) Andrea stayed with them for the rest of the night and helped get them moved into their regular room and get settled.

Tyler and I grabbed a quick dinner on the run of corn dogs from the Corn Dog Company. We love that place and immediately headed to three different Targets to get some preemie sized baby clothes, undershirts, and diapers! Just like we had to do for Karter! Then we went back to our hotel room and practically collapsed with exhaustion. We FaceTimed that night with Kameron and Erin and also with Bryn. We talked to Reilly and Hunter and also Kirk who wanted the details of the day.

The new little family did great throughout the night! Tate's blood sugar was monitored regularly because of Ailey being on blood pressure medication. I guess those meds can reduce the baby's ability to regulate their blood sugar levels after birth. But he passed all of his tests and did great! He was also a champion little eater!!