We are HOME!

We are home, and when I say home, I mean Bangkok. After more than two fun-filled weeks, we are back and completely exhausted. Writing this blog tonight is actually not enticing to me in the least, but I need to do something to keep me awake because I am nodding off and it's barely 8pm! Yes, I've been up since 2:30 with jet-lag affected children. They are doing great, but of course, it's still an adjustment.

Well, I thought I could just give a general overview of our trip and then on Sunday my video of the whole thing should be complete and everyone will get to see more of me and our family than you ever wanted! Lucky for you, we have the most beautiful family ever, if you didn't already know.

Let's talk numbers. We'll start with...

3...three family reunions within two weeks. Wow. I would complain, but like I said, we have amazing families.

5...five days in a Deer Valley condo with the Rich family. And here's another number for you...

10...ten of the 19 people at the condo were 7 and under. It would have felt crazy anywhere else, but this condo was the perfect size for all of us. We could enjoy our time together, and go to our separate rooms if necessary. It was full of quality time together and wonderful memories. I definitely look forward to doing this one again. Here's all 10 Grandkids with Mimi and Papa.


2...two visits to Lagoon within a week, but no complaints here - our kids loved it! We met up with Jeff's work for a Saturday afternoon (which I regret not getting any pictures of), which was actually a double bonus for us because we got to see work friends as well as spend time with the Hillmans. Thanks, Equis, for a great day! The following Wednesday was another Rich family fun day at Lagoon. 10 kids and all. I discovered that both of my children are like their parents: We go on all the crazy rides as long and as many times as we possibly can.

5...I'm a little unsure about this number, but I think it's pretty close to the number of miles I ran up to Bridal Veil Falls. I wasn't prepared to run that far, but I just kept thinking, "it's just around the corner", and I felt great, so why not? It was around mile 5 when I finally got there, and when you are 5 miles away from your car, what can you do but run back? I love running up Provo Canyon. This was definitely a highlight for me. Sorry no picture for this one.

24...twenty-four is a safe guess as to how many times Mom or Dad Hillman took Janie out to swing in their back yard. We spent 8 full days with them, and it had to be at least 3 times a day. She was in heaven, and I'm pretty sure they were enjoying themselves as well. She sure loves her Grandparents!

4...we were lucky enough to visit with all four Grandmas and two Grandpas and loved it. What a treasure it was to be able to see them all within such a short time. Grandparents are such a blessing!

3...three times Janie threw up what little was in her stomach. Luckily, they were all at really convenient times such as a family reunion all over her shirt chosen to match with the entire family. Or, on the carousel horse at Lagoon, or my favorite, in the middle of church. Yes, that was fun. And in case you were wondering, the number three doesn't count the one during our 10 hour flight to Tokyo on the way home for Janie OR Jack. That was an eventful flight.

1...only one visit to the temple, but it was wonderful. There is no place more beautiful or peaceful. We did get to see Temple square where we saw the renovated Tabernacle and Salt Lake Temple. This picture is of us in front of the Jordan River Temple.


This is the inside of the beautiful Tabernacle, newly renovated.

Also, for those of you who have never visited, I couldn't help but include a picture of our Salt Lake Temple as well. This is where Jeff and I were married 6 1/2 years ago. Beautiful. Go here if you want to see more of our temples.

17...Seventeen days with our children, almost non-stop fun. And on top of this, we got to see them enjoy every day with cousins, aunts, uncles, and Grandparents. I think Jack and Janie both lost weight on this trip because they didn't want to stop to eat. They were just too excited! I'm sure the throwing up didn't help either. Luckily, I'm boring enough that I'm sure they'll quickly gain back whatever they may have lost!

28...twenty-eight hours of travel to get back home to Bangkok. Also, all three flights were delayed! On a happy note, because of one of these delays, Jack got a great picture in the cockpit and had a great chat with the pilot. I thought a few of you might like this one, especially the pilots in the family.


Other highlights of our trip include, swimming with both sides of the family, barbecues, visiting our old ward, Jeff spending an evening "fixing stuff" with his brother, the children's exhibit at the Church History museum, and lots of visiting time with family. What a wonderful trip. As much as we did, of course, we wanted more, more! We would have loved to sit down and have dinner with friends from the neighborhood, or Jeff's office, or finally make it to a get together with some of my old High School friends. We would have loved to see all the new babies, hear about all those arriving, what everyone is up to, how life is going, etc. I felt like even when I did get to see some friends for a short period, all I did was talk about me! How boring. I would have loved to hear more about life in Utah! So, please feel free to email me and fill me in. There's just never enough time!

And if anyone was wondering if our camera stopped acting up, as I called it during my last post, yes. Our camera stopped doing a lot of things that day, so now we are the proud owners of a new Canon that is fantastic. Although it was an unexpected expense, we are choosing to see the glass as "half full" and enjoy having the new technology!

Stay tuned for the video of our family activities from our trip, coming up! Same Hillman time, same Hillman channel.