3 Days turned into 3 Weeks: Week 3

We had been having fun with cousins all day that Monday, and quickly got ready to make it to a big extended family party at the Robinsons. Everyone was fine until we started driving there. Bennett was just squirmy and whiny in his seat. I decided I had better pull over and let him walk around on the grass a little, in case he was feeling sick. Well, I was right, and as I was unbuckling him, the poor little guy tossed his cookies. I was SO CLOSE to not having to clean anything up! But luckily I found a bag on the floor that prevented any more of a mess. He claimed he was feeling better and was all smiles, but a few minutes later, he clearly wasn’t.  Mom and Dad kindly picked him up for me, and the other two and I went to the party. (Fun way to start a post, I know! But it isn’t a trip to Utah without someone getting sick, so I wanted to document.)

Ruby slept through the whole thing, lucky girl! Alex was kind of the comic relief, keeping the situation light-hearted.

We ended up having a great time! I had sort of lost my appetite, and I didn’t force the kids to eat anything. We just had fun the family. The kids would've been sad to miss it.

Bennett’s bug was pretty mild, and he was just about himself when we got home a couple hours later. Everyone went to bed fine, but I was antsy all night, wondering what other upset tummies would present themselves. We made it though the night without a hitch! Definitely a relief. I think there was a little bug going through a lot of the family, and only a couple kids actually threw up. Glad that was all we had to deal with! But I could've done without hosing down the car seat.

Now that that’s over with…

Cousin time at Cami’s is always fun!

I love this because I vividly remember many mornings my dad and I would be watching the Food Network together before anyone else was awake. Three generations of morning people together! Ruby was hilarious, commenting on how good everything the Pioneer Woman was making looked. She ever said at one point,” I want to make that!” She’s learning early the power that channel has.

It didn’t take long for the kids to decorate my mom’s fridge. Bennett contributed this lovely collage.

We loved the highland splash pad.

More canyon adventures! The kids absolutely love it there. As do I.I guess I didn’t get a picture of the picnic table all the kids covered with rocks from the stream! I think Ethan instigated this one, and it kept the kids entertained for a long time. It was great.

Thanksgiving Point Farm was awesome.Ruby could’ve done this all day.Bennett wasn’t quite sure. Alex wouldn’t even try.

We met Stella at the Manila Creek Pond. That girl is used to much more luxurious, REAL beaches in Hawaii, but she was a good sport and enjoyed herself anyway. My kids were a little burned out or something, so there was a lot of lounging, and little swimming.We love hanging out with this sweet, adorable girl.

The kids loved all the Papa time. 

KC arrived on Wednesday, and we were ALL thrilled to see him after 2 1/2  weeks! The kids wouldn’t let him out of their sight.

We took a fun hike with mom, dad, and the Rejolecs up to Battle Creek Falls. It is the prefect hike for little ones, and the destination is beautiful! Melody was still a little sore from her half marathon, so Dad took on the Evy-carrying duties.

We went to dinner with the Robinsons to  have a little pre-celebration for Camille’s birthday. Stella had a good time, as you can see. We gathered at their house after for homemade ice cream. Always delicious.Matching shirts!

I was so happy that Marianne’s trip overlapped with mine! It’s so great to get together with old friends. It’s like no time has passed at all, except there are a bunch of kids running around now! Little Graham is the cutest.

Thanksgiving Point Children’s Garden

Nacho night/final sister’s dinner! (I didn’t get a good picture of the dinner at Cami’s where we had lasagna soup in sourdough bread bowls. It was so good.) This seemed like the appropriate meal to end things on. Not to mention I made a very special chocolate custard cookie dough ice cream as well. A rich, and wonderful evening.

The high school reunion festivities began! It started with a gathering at the park so we could see all the cute kids. So great to catch up with so many good friends!

And so funny to see my husband shooting the breeze with them.

That night we went to our old stomping grounds where we ate a delicious dinner, and caught up with so many people. The husbands were great sports to join in the fun.

Owning the place like we did 10 years ago!

We even caught the Highland Days fireworks as we were leaving!

It was a great night, and we so appreciated all the work the Senior Class presidency put into it (thank goodness we were student body officers!). It made me feel old and young all at the same time. It was fun to see where people were in their lives, and every looked just the same as they did back in 2003. 

Earlier that day, I was privileged to be a part of the group going to support Jordan going through the temple for the first time.  I can’t believe my little nephew is now going to be a missionary! Amber and Todd are so proud, as are so many others, including me. Even though we don’t see him that often, we’ll still miss him, and think of him serving in El Salvador every day!

Dad and I kept a running list on the whiteboard of all the ice cream flavors we made while we were there. It was so fun brainstorming with him, and bonding over food like we’ve done my whole life. I have a feeling this will be a tradition whenever we come to visit.

On Sunday we packed up the car, and KC took the kids to his parents’ while I went to church with the family. I was so excited that I was also able to go to Charlie’s Blessing! Drew is such a proud father to that darling boy. I loved all the cuddle time I got with him. I really hit a lot of awesome things in one trip. I wish I could’ve stayed a little longer to be at Nora’s blessing, and hear Jordan speak in church, but we couldn’t stay forever. Bummer!

Usually he is the spitting image of his cute mom, but he is totally Drew right there!

Melody and I wore matching shoes! Twin powers. Or just similar taste in clothes.

The picnic after the blessing was the perfect way to finish out the trip. So many people were there, we got to eat lunch before the drive, and the kids played and played at the playground. Prefect preparation for a long ride in the car. Everything was so delicious.Including the traditional Nightmare!A Britney Reunion! The kids don’t quite remember her, since they were like her baby’s (!) age when she was staying with us, but we love getting together and reminiscing!

And then we were off! R and B took naps almost immediately upon departure, and then were up nearly the rest of the time.

I had to wake up the poor girl as the rest stop. And we happened to see some friends from church there! Fun coincidence!

A goodbye gift from Grandma.

Okay, so KC bought me this for Christmas last year, and little did I know how valuable it would be on road trips! The most frustrating part for me is the constant whining from the kids dropping and needing things from me. This solves so much of that. And the kids think it’s so hilarious.

It’s kind of fun, going on this long drive with my family. It has never been as bad as I pictured before taking long road trips, and I am thankful for that. The last couple hours are always a little tricky, but we always make it with our sanity in tact. Ruby was getting really antsy as we were getting close, and the silly girl fell asleep five minutes from home! She woke right up when we went inside, and was literally jumping around in our house, so excited to be back. I think they forgot we had a house, because everyone kept talking about going back to the “partment” like we did last time we came home from Utah. I heard someone say, “ We DO live here!”

We all miss everyone so bad, and for a couple days, the kids kept asking to play with their cousins. But having this home to come back to really helped us from being too sad. We got back into our regular lives pretty quickly, with a lot of great memories to think about. I love these trips to Utah, I love that we can go any time we want, and I can’t wait to go back.