Finding Emma

Elijah's First Birthday

They stayed at the park for about two hours then left to go get lunch at a burger place. They ate their lunch then got ready to leave. They still had a little bit before they had to head to the airport so they decided to go to an indoor bounce house park.

Meanwhile back at home, Karen had the entire house clean. She had started on food preparations for tomorrow. She cut up vegetables for a platter then made a dill dip to go with. Then she cut up a bunch of fruit for a fruit salad. They were going to have pulled pork has the main dish. Karen had the pork cooking in the crock pot so it would be ready to shred. She didn't have to worry about the cake because Kimberly offered to make it.

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It was 3:45 and Jimi decided to head over to the airport. Elijah had fallen asleep in the car on the way there. Jimi didn't want to wake him. "Emma, can you get out the stroller from the back?" "Sure" Emma replied. She set up the stroller and Jimi carefully unbuckled Elijah from the car seat. He strapped him in the stroller and they headed into the airport.

They saw Karen's parents walk through the gate. They saw Jimi and Emma and walked over to them. Emma was excited to see her grandparents and ran over to them. They pulled her in for a hug "Hey squirt" Karen's dad said. "We've missed you" Karen's mom said. "I've missed you too" Emma said. "Hey Jimi" Karen's mom said with a smile. "Hey guys, how was your flight?" "It was pretty good" she responded. "Is Elijah asleep?" Karen's dad asked. "Yep, he fell asleep on the way here" Jimi said. "Should we head home?" he added. "Let's go" Karen's dad said.

They followed Jimi out to the car. They loaded their bags in the car and climbed in. Before Jimi pulled out of the parking lot, he sent Karen a quick text.

"Hey babe, we're on our way home see you in a bit"

"Ok, see you soon!" Karen replied.

About thirty minutes later, Jimi pulled up the driveway. They unloaded the car and Jimi unbuckled Elijah from his seat and he woke up. They walked in the house. Karen was in the kitchen preparing dinner. "Hey baby girl" her dad said when he walked in the kitchen. "Hey Dad" Karen said and set her stuff down. She walked over to her dad and gave him a hug. "Hey sweetie" her mom said and gave her a hug as well. "What are you cooking?" her dad asked. "Chicken and mashed potatoes" Karen replied. "Sounds delicious" he said. "It's Mom's recipe" Karen said with a smile. They sat down to eat dinner. Karen fed Elijah a few bites of mashed potatoes as they were eating.

After dinner Karen and her mom cleaned up the kitchen while Jimi and her dad hung out in the living room with Elijah and Emma. Elijah was playing with his toys and Emma was sitting on the couch next to Jimi, texting Jake. Karen's dad was sitting in the chair next to the couch. "Hey Daddy, Jake wants to go see a movie tonight, can I go?" Emma asked. "Emma, your grandparents are here who don't get to see you that often" Jimi said.

Karen and her mom heard the conversation. "Oh Jimi, its fine. Let her go out with her boyfriend. We don't mind. We will still be here when she gets back" Karen's mom said. "If it's alright with your Mom you can go" Jimi said. "Thank you Daddy" Emma said and hugged him. "Mama, can I go?" she asked Karen. "I guess so" "Thanks Mama" Emma said. "Do you want me to take her?" Jimi asked. "I can take her, we're just about finished" Karen said.

Emma went upstairs to change her clothes. She came back downstairs by everyone. "You ready to go sweetie?" Karen asked. "Yep" Emma said and they got in the car. "Do you have enough money?" Karen asked. "Yeah, I should." Karen pulled her wallet out of her purse and gave Emma ten more dollars. "Just in case" She said and handed her the bill. "Thanks Mama" Emma said.