Heidi's Big Adventure

Introducing Heidi
Heidi, shown above, is one of Amanda's favorite (stuffed) furry friends. When Mom announced that she would be going on a little journey out of town, complete with plane rides, Amanda said very seriously, "Heidi's always wanted to fly on a plane, her whole life! She can go with you and make sure you're not lonely." So, Mom brought Heidi, and Heidi had a very big adventure.

It all started at our local airport. That's where the top picture was taken, as Mom and Heidi were waiting for their flight. Soon enough, the plane came, and the next picture shows Heidi looking out the window at it.



Day one: Flying West
Boarding time came, and Mom & Heidi got on the plane. The first flight, to Chicago, was less than half full, so Heidi had her own seat when she wanted it.


Heidi didn't stay in her seat much, though, since she liked looking out the window. Here she is looking out the window before the plane took off.


And here she is looking out the window as the plane went up, up, up in the air.


Heidi checking out the on board magazines while enjoying ginger ale and peanuts.


Heidi looking out at the Chicago area as the plane descended.


After the plane landed in Chicago, Mom and Heidi spent a few hours at the very busy Midway airport. Their next flight, to Salt Lake City, was all full, but Mom made friends with a nice lady while at the airport and she and Heidi enjoyed visiting with her on the flight. Once in Salt Lake City, Mom and Heidi took a shuttle to the motel where Grandmother and Grandfather were staying, since they had decided to come to see Mom. Here's Heidi with Grandmother in Mom & Heidi's room.


After a little visiting time, though, Heidi and Mom were both glad to get some rest.



Day 2: Provo
The next morning Heidi kept Mom company as Mom got ready for the day. Heidi even found a nice little basket just her size to rest in.


Heidi also helped Mom take a picture of herself in the mirror.


After breakfast and a little time at the motel, Mom's family drove Mom and Heidi down to Provo. On the way in, Grandfather had the excellent idea of stopping to get Mom some See's Candy at the mall. Here are some pictures from the mall stop.





After the mall trip, Grandmother and Grandfather took Heidi to see a couple of sites from Amanda's history. Here's Heidi near the hospital where Amanda was born.


And, here's Heidi looking at Amanda's very first home.


After the sightseeing, Grandmother and Grandfather took Mom to her official destination, BYU. Mom bid farewell to Grandmother and Grandfather and then headed off to find place to study. Here's Heidi checking out some campus scenery on the way to the library.


And here's Heidi giving Mom moral support while she studied.


So why, you ask, was Mom at BYU in the first place? A long time ago, back around when Amanda joined the family, Mom finished up the classes required for a master's degree, but not the thesis. The Muffins moved not long after that, and it seemed for a time that things would always remain thus. However, due to a series of miracles and LOTS of support & encouragement from Dad, Mom got a committee to work with her and got a thesis written. The purpose of this trip was for Mom to defend that thesis. Mom passed! This picture shows Heidi afterward at the podium where Mom stood to present her thesis.


This picture shows Heidi on the big long table at which the committee and two visitors sat during the defense. The room is in the JFSB, a building which had just been finished about when Amanda was born.


After the defense, it was party time. Mom's friend Carolyn came to campus to see her, and she took Mom and Heidi out for ice cream. Here's Heidi in the Wilk picking out ice cream. (Mom chose Earnestly Chocolate.)


The place selling the ice cream (Sugar & Spice) also sold little loaves of bread, just like they did when Mom was at BYU full time. Mom got a picture of them just for fun.


Here's Heidi by the hot fudge sundae . . . yum!


Mom ran into just one person she knew that she hadn't prearranged to see, her nephew Brian. Here he is with Mom and Heidi.


After the ice cream, Carolyn and her children walked Mom over to the McKay building. Here's Heidi checking out some scenery on the way.


And here's Heidi visiting with D, Carolyn's 2 year old son, as Carolyn and her baby M look on.


Mom with Carolyn and her children at the McKay building.


Mom with Dr. Monroe at the McKay building. Mom used to work for Dr. Monroe way back when, and after some visiting on campus, Dr. Monroe took Mom and Heidi out to dinner.


And where did they go? The Brick Oven! Here's Heidi checking out the menu . . .


. . . and here she is with a salad and some fettucini alfredo. Yummy!


After dinner, Dr. Monroe took Mom to see two of her nieces at their apartment. Here's Heidi with Rachel, who recently got engaged and is showing off her beautiful ring.


And here's Heidi with Rachel's sister Elizabeth. Rachel and Elizabeth's family owns the dog for which Amanda's Heidi was named.


Aunt Karen came to get Mom from Rachel & Elizabeth's place. At Aunt Karen's house, Heidi got to meet Shivers.


Grandma and Grandpa came to get Mom from Aunt Karen's house to take her up to their house for the night. Once there, Heidi got to see all the fun things Mom had collected during the day: See's candy from Grandmother and Grandfather; jam made by Carolyn's family; and a pink glass Easter bunny from Dr. Monroe (connected to Mom's love of rabbits).


Heidi also found a stuffed friend at Grandma & Grandpa's house.


Mom felt it necessary to take a picture of her "power shoes," which she wore to give herself confidence during her defense. Thank you, Target!



Day 3: Home Again
Mom and Heidi got up early the next day to get ready to go to the airport. Heidi stayed in bed a little longer, though, while Mom packed.


After getting all packed, Mom & Heidi headed upstairs for breakfast, provided by Grandpa.



Mom and Heidi said bye to Grandma and then went with Grandpa to the airport. Here's Heidi waiting to board the plane.

Once on the plane, Heidi was able to watch the luggage getting loaded, including the blue backpack that Aunt Karen supplied to help out with the extra things Mom acquired on her trip.



Heidi got a great view of the Utah mountains while flying.


She also enjoyed the snacks and hot chocolate.



She even got to see the Grand Canyon as she flew.


The plane landed in Phoenix, and Mom and Heidi stopped to get some prickly pear cactus taffy just for fun on their way between planes.


Here's a view of the airport as Heidi and Mom's plane took off from Phoenix.


Here's Heidi on the plane.



Heidi got to see the Rocky Mountains.


After the mountains ended, Heidi and Mom saw these interesting plateaus.


While waiting for the scenery to change again, Heidi checked out the map to see where she and Mom had traveled on their trip.


After awhile, the scenery changed to farmland. Note the circles from "circular irrigation;" it was much more common in the west than in the east as Mom flew. Mom thought it all looked kind of like a big "Connect 4" game.


After awhile, the scenery got a little more repetitive, with cloud cover for a few hundred miles.


After the clouds ended (and Mom woke up from her nap), the ground was still covered in farmland, but there were quite a few more trees and houses mixed in than there had been before.


Soon Mom and Heidi got close to their final airport, home. On the way in, Mom showed Heidi the hospital where Jared and Curtis were born.


Mom and Heidi were happy to land at the airport and were excited to see the rest of the Muffin family.


Here's Heidi waiting with Mom to get picked up from the airport. Mom was glad to have Heidi along with her on the trip for company. Heidi enjoyed the trip, too, but she was also happy to get back to Amanda and her stuffed friends at home.