Lila's Blessing

So, remember when I told you that my side of the family was in town recently? About a week later, my in-laws came to see us from Virginia. We hadn't seen them since Christmas break, so it felt really good to see them again. Since my brother-in-law Miles is getting married in August, they were in town to meet their future daughter-in-law Mikaela and her family. We were very fortunate to spend time with them while they were in town for almost a week. They treated us to dinner at Brick Oven Pizza the day that they came into town. Here is a picture from that night of Collin and I.

On Fast Sunday, Collin's family came to our ward. After church, we prepared a break the fast meal together. Collin and I made fruit salad and his mom made a delicious pot roast dinner. I had never eaten so much in my entire life! I think I had about 3 helpings! We went on a family walk after dinner until it got dark.

Later that week, we went to a Mexican restaurant and had game nights. We spent as much time together as we could until it was time for Collin's family to depart to Fort Collins, Colorado which would be our next journey ahead.

Last Friday, we drove down to Fort Collins for our niece Lila's blessing. It was a sweet feeling knowing that we were going to meet our first niece. When we arrived, we met the Heinzen family. They are one of the kindest families I have ever met. My brother-in-law Paul's parents flew from Hawaii to be at Lila's blessing. His brother and sister-in-law traveled from ironically Provo with their new son, Esra (Lila's cousin). He is just the cutest!

   The picture I took of Esra smiling at me. :) He is so social! 

The following day, we stopped by the Heinzen's house before going to Downtown Fort Collins. That's when I got to hold Lila for the first time.

Such a precious baby! I fell in love with her instantly. :)

We left to go Downtown with the family. There was so much to do there. We even got to watch street magicians perform magic for us. I took home a  card as a souvenir. :) 

 I was being sneaky. ;)

Later that day, we spent time with family and I got to help care for Lila. We had a bbq dinner and swimming shortly after. Lila went on her first swim! It was so neat to see and she didn't cry once. Her mom was so proud! :)

Mother's Day was a big day for the Heinzens. It was Lila's blessing day! We took pictures right before going to church.

 The Proud Parents of Lila Jane Heinzen

Three Generation Photo

Paul with his parents

Joce with her parents 

 Taking a quick pic after Sacrament Meeting

The blessing was so sweet and special. Paul literally had tears in his eyes when he blessed his baby daughter. We are so glad that she became a part of our lives.

Not only was it a big day for the Heinzens, but also a snow day in Colorado! We knew we had to try to get on the road as soon as possible so we attempted to leave shortly after Sacrament Meeting.

We came to discover that all the roads were closed outside of Fort Collins. We came back to Joce and Paul's house to figure out what we had to do. Because the weather was crazy, we had to stay another night in Colorado. They were so kind and let us stay at their house since we were already checked out of our hotel. On the bright side, we got to have more bonding time with little Lila. :) I absolutely love holding her. She is just so peaceful and sweet. I felt like the more I spent time with her, the more I felt her love for me, even though she was still an infant. It was a good feeling. :)

Collin and I missed a day of work, but it was worth it to be with those we loved. We managed to drive home safely to Provo the next day. We took the scenic route which was so breathtaking! I had never seen mountains so beautiful in all my life. Now it's back to reality. Collin is already at midterms for the spring semester at BYU! It's crazy!! 

It was truly a memorable trip to Fort Collins. I treasured every moment I was with our family and most of all, with baby Lila. I can't wait until the day I see her again.