Bron Surprised Me with a Trip to Arizona for My Birthday!

Bron Surprised Me with a Trip to Arizona for My Birthday!

2.07.2020

^^Breakfast at Snooze^^

Bron went above and beyond to celebrate my 35th birthday with one of the most elaborate surprises he's pulled off yet.  The man keeps outdoing himself.  He claims that one day he will fall flat on his face with a particular gift and that I will just have to forgive him.  I'm not sure he's capable of that kind of failure.  Bron is one of the most thoughtful and giving people I know -- on his own terms, of course.  It's one of my favorite qualities about him.

Anyway, my 35th birthday landed on a Friday.  Bron took me out to breakfast at Guppy's Hot Rod in town (with our silly little third wheel, Conrad) for some seriously delicious high calorie food.  He kept hinting at some big surprise.  As Bron headed off to work for the day, he told me to be all showered with makeup on and hair done by 5pm.  Of course I assumed we were going on a date!

Bron walked into our bedroom at quarter til with two very excited giggly boys; Bron had told them the surprise.

"Want a big hint?" Levi asked.  "We're getting a boys' weekend until Monday!"  He fell onto the bed laughing.

I looked at Bron a bit confused.  "What? Where are we going?"

Bron chimed in.  "You're going to Arizona to visit your sister... tonight!  Your plane leaves from Boise at 9:23PM."

I was so surprised I burst into happy tears.  "What? For reals?!"  My sister means the world to me.  To spend the weekend with her in warm sunny weather would truly be a vacation dream come true.

Bron launched into all the details (like how we'd be staying in a hotel in Gilbert paid for with points) and before I knew it, I was kissing him goodbye and hopping into the car with a small suitcase.

It felt so surreal.  It was all such a big surprise that I could hardly wrap my head around it all!  Excited would be an understatement.

Lauren picked me up from the airport in Mesa, AZ.  She had known about this surprise trip for a couple of weeks and had an entire weekend planned of places to eat around the valley.

And so began what will undoubtedly go down as one of my life's most memorable weekends!!!

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My Trip to See Lauren in Phoenix

My Trip to See Lauren in Phoenix

1.31.2018

Last week, Conrad and I flew out to Mesa, Arizona to visit my sister during her second week of radiation therapy.  I've decided that Phoenix in January is pretty much paradise minus the beach.  Not a cloud in the sky and 70 degrees.  It reminded me so much of San Diego with all the sunshine and palm trees, that I felt right at home.  I honestly did not want to leave!  Is it realistic to dream of becoming a sun bird in my thirties?!?

The best part, of course, was getting to spend precious time with Lauren and her two littlest hooligans.  I cherish those few days each year we get to spend together.  There is no one else on earth who "gets me" quite like she does.  And now that we've discovered we share the same faulty genetics that cause cancer, I feel even more connected to her... except our roles of big and little sister seem to be reversed.  Someday she'll be my coach when I have a double mastectomy and get to go through early menopause.  Wow!  But we hardly dwell on cancer.  Instead, we talk and laugh about our kids and eat fruit out of a bowl and guacamole like it's going out of style.  Lauren has this wonderful sense of humor and outlook on life that I learn from every single time I'm around her.  Sisters really are the best of friends.  I am so so grateful God blessed me with a sister.

For those who ask, Lauren is doing well.  Surgery in November to remove the cancer went smoothly, though it was the pinnacle of what has been a physically and emotionally hard year.  Numberless tears of grief and pain and helpless frustration were shed.  Fortunately, her margins came back clear which tentatively means, she is cancer free!  Lauren is now going through the final stage of her cancer treatment plan: radiation 5 times a week for 6 weeks.  So far, she's handling it like a champ.  Lauren's skin is starting to look a bit red (like a sunburn) and she needs a daily nap, but other than that, she's able to do what she loves best and that's being a mom.

Lauren (and a few family members) have become temporary residents of the Phoenix area during the week and drive home on the weekend.  She's living in a home located in a gated retirement community graciously offered by family friends for her to use free of charge.  The home has never been updated (read: obnoxious wall paper.  Haha), but it's clean and comfortable and surprisingly relaxing. I felt lucky that I got to be there with Lauren and two of her kids!  (Seriously, I'd kiss the folks who own that house if I knew who they were.  What truly kind and generous folks.)

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Sitting All By Himself and Other News

Sitting All By Himself and Other News

5.25.2017

Always busy reaching for a toy and rolling halfway across the room, I thought Conrad would learn to scoot before he ever learned to sit up.  But suddenly, just like that one day, he's sitting up on his own!  He's growing like a weed right before my eyes.  My baby is getting so big.  He sat there on the grass until the water balloon popped all over his toes. Then Conrad toppled over screaming.  It scared him!  I scooped him up and laughed.  It was sooo funny!

In other news, my sister Lauren called last week to tell me she had been diagnosed with breast cancer.  When I missed both her and my mother's call within twenty minutes of each other, my heart sank; I knew something was wrong.  My heart breaks for Lauren.  She is 28 years old.  28!!!  She has three little children.  This can't be happening to her right now, can it?

She is my one and only sister and she lives far far away from me in Arizona.  I feel so helpless.  All I want to do is take some of that burden from her, but I can't even bring her a meal or babysit!  I also feel weirdly guilty.  Lauren's entire world has come to a crashing halt while my world continues to spin in normalcy: taking kids to t-ball, planning fun events for the weekend, exercising, the list goes on.  How do we talk now?  What might I say that would make her feel bad?

The unknown also feels scary.  While the statistics are in her favor, it's hard not to jump to the worst case scenario.  What if...?  I feel like things are going to be okay though.  Everything will be okay, no matter what happens; I trust Heavenly Father has a plan for her and her family.  It's going to be a summer of challenges and of tears.  But she's a fighter.  My sister may be younger than me but her maturity always floors me.  She has grit and a happy positive attitude.  She's also surrounded by a loving husband and family and friends there in Arizona.  She'll make it through to the other side of this with flying colors.  I know it.

In the mean time, we're praying hard for Lauren.  Levi seems to have a special knack for prayer and knows exactly what to ask for in pure innocent childlike faith.  I'll also be sending a care package and booking a flight to get my rear end down there some time this summer.  As much as I'm cautious about overstepping and perhaps causing more stress, Lauren is my sister and her business is pretty much my business, right?  I know I'd want her at my side if the tables were turned.  So Lauren, I'll either be there for you with a hug and some chocolate or be here for you, just a phone call away.  Love you.  Sending wishes for a smooth and swift recovery.                      

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