Day 13: J, Lakeside and A: July 24, 2012

Remember my really awesome friend, J???  (From earlier in the trip?)  When I saw her before the Utah/Idaho part, she was pregnant....but this is what I came back to:

 Yahoo!  T was born!  She is gorgeous!  What a great baby.  What a special friend.  I am so glad that I have J in my life.  Her girls are awesome, but I am sooooooooo blessed!

 I love watching T and Q interact.  Sisters forever!  What a great start to life.  They will always be best friends (and probably sometimes worst enemies...but they will always forgive and start over).  What a blessing!

 I got to hold little T a bunch.  She is super sweet.  I asked her about my baby girl and if she remembered her, but, of course, she didn't answer.  :)  I miss you, J, Q, and T!

Later that day-in the evening, we went to a local amusement park that has become a yearly tradition when we visit my parents.  K and C ALWAYS ask if we can go and almost always we can.  We did again this year.  J was not so convinced.  He was scared of most of the rides, even when his big sister went with him.

 A was a little nervous, too, but once she got going....there was no stopping her!  She loved it.  She and K made a great pair.  K loved having company and A tried things that she would not have tried on her own- and discovered that she loved them!

 For a majority of the time, CK, C and my brother, S were off riding all the big rides.  They had a great time.  It ended up being a stormy night and the tallest rides had to close first due to wind and lightening.  That was disappointing.  Thank goodness that CK and C got to ride the Superman at Six Flags (among others) after we got home.

They did get to do this bumper boats ride.  They had disabled the water gun part of the boats (not sure why), so it was a little more boring, but they still enjoyed it.

 

 

 Another part that has become tradition is having my friend, A, meet us there and join us on the rides.  A has been my best friend since we were 13.  I love her so much and every time I can spend with her is a blessing. We just loved hanging out and watching the kids on the rides.  :)  Neither of us feel like we have really been around long enough to be best friends for 22 years!!!!!!  But, it is true and I would not have it any other way!

 I wish I hadn't gotten the light in this picture....but here they are:  my two daughters.  Love them!

 Ferris wheel: the girls loved it, including Grandma!  We tried to get J to go up with Grandma, but he felt too scared and did not go up.

 Merry-Go-Round:  J, K, and A above and Grandpa and Grandma in the picture below.

 Another turn on the bumper boats, this time with Grandma and J running one.  I know J loved running into CK!

Hi, K!  :)

 

 It was getting late and rides were being shut down--due to weather and the lateness of the hour.  But, we had time for one final tradition:  Ice cream cones.  Thanks, Grandma and Grandpa!  :)

We will probably come back again next year.  :)

First Day of School 2012

So...I still have a few days to finish from our vacation and a few more from beyond, but this is one of those posts that have to be done ON the exact day.  It just does.  

Today was our first day of school.  Here is J before his first day of Kindergarten.  It was difficult for him to leave this morning.  It ended up being a really long day, but he made it and he did just fine!  And, I really like his teacher.  Good-I am trusting her with one of my babies, after all!

 Before he left, all three posed for me.  C and K started later, so they aren't quite ready for school, but here are these three kiddos!

 We waited outside for XDH to come drop J off with me.  Traffic was bad and we waited quite a few minutes for him.  J just got more and more nervous.  Love the face, though!  Classic!

 He was better once he was sitting down and reading a book.  In fact, he reported his favorite times of the day today were when he was working at his desk.  He loved that part most.

 K is an 8th grader!!!!  Wow!  Time sure does fly!

 C began middle school today:  6th grade!  :)

 As an afterschool tradition, I make these yummy cookies.  Every year, we have them.  It is part of the first day of school.  :)  I had a new friend over to make them with me this afternoon.  We had a great time cooking and chatting.  It was an afternoon well spent!

 Another more recent tradition is to head to Yogurtland for a treat to celebrate this first day of school.  We debated firming up the tradition, but we did.  It was fun to be together.  I love these kiddos.

In other news, I had my 36 week doctor appointment today.  It took him many minutes to find her heartbeat, but she was moving and kicking the entire time so I wasn't too worried.  She looks good so far.  I am excited to meet her, hold her, and just love her.  I am also excited to be more comfortable.  Yikes!  I am so uncomfortable all the time.  And exhausted.  I do have some things that I want to accomplish before she gets here, though!  So, she can wait a few weeks if she wants.  :)

Day 12: Driving back to Colorado, July 23, 2012

We went with J and D and met A and A out for breakfast.  We ate yummy pancakes / french toast and said yet another goodbye.  Then, we were off for another day of driving.  This time back to Colorado.

 Driving I-70 along the Colorado River is beautiful.  I enjoyed having a couple of walking stops along the river.  The kids loved it, too.

 The only problem was that it was a very rainy day.  We only sometimes could stop without it pouring.  A couple of our stops ended up being inside a tiny rest stop.  I walked back and forth for my 15 minutes.  Not quite as fun, but it worked.

Having the rains come in, though, left some beautiful pictures: like this cloud.  It looked so cool as we drove closer and closer to it.  :)

Day 11: Goodbye to Idaho, Visiting with my brothers, July 22, 2012

 We loved going to church with Grandma and Grandpa.  The great thing is that the small town they live in is also home to my aunt and uncle and many of my cousins and their families.  It was great to see them.  I love it that I have that chance once or twice a year.  As always, good-byes are difficult.  I hate them, in fact.  But, the time came to say goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa.  :(

 We drove down from Idaho to Utah that afternoon.  All the kids were excited to be back in Utah.  :)

 I think I must have forgotten to turn on the flash for each of these pictures-they are all a little hazy, but it is important to me to have these memories, so I am posting them anyway.  The above picture is me with two of my brothers, J and A.  I am the oldest and the shortest (and the most pregnant!).

 Here we are with our spouses.  I love my brother's wives.  I think they are great women and my brothers are lucky to have them.

Finally, the aunts and uncles with the nieces and nephews.  :)  The girls went home with A and A and had a blast sleeping at their apartment.  The boys stayed with us at J and D's home and we had a relaxing night there as well.  I am grateful that they made time for us and took us in.  It was wonderful to see them.  Another reason for our long trip.  More family!!!!

Day 10: Last Day of Reunion, July 21, 2012

This was the last day of the reunion and the last time for us all to be on the lake.  Mom has a pinata tradition-that she moved from Christmas to the reunion, I am sure in part because we are there at the reunion!  Thanks, Mom!  While all the kids and most adults were watching the pinatas, I decided to try my hand at paddleboarding.  It was great fun-harder to balance with my prego bump, but fun.  We were out paddling for a bit, when a boat came by doing circles for its tube.  I knew that the waves would be coming and I wasn't sure how well I could balance through waves, so I headed back to shore.  I was an inch or so away when the waves hit.  I impacted the shore on one side at the same time that the big waves hit the board on the other.  Down I went.  I just sat on the board-I didn't fall in the lake, but I still got wet.  My sister-in-law that had been taking pictures of us had left by that point, so I don't have one of that, but I am sure it would have been a riot to watch!

 Here is A, swinging at the pinata.  All the kids loved it.  Mom had two, one for the younger kids and one for the older, so they all would get a chance to swing.  It was super fun!

 Aunt M planned a really cool scavenger hunt for all the kids.  They were divided in three teams and they worked so well together.  Each team had some younger cousins and some older.  All the older ones allowed the younger ones to help and everyone was happy.  When they presented what they had done, they each got points for their activities.  It was awesome and ALL the kids enjoyed it!

 On the way to Mom and Dad K's home, we stopped here for my "walking stop."

 It is the Idaho Falls, ID temple.  A year before, CK and I had been married and sealed for time and eternity here.  I cannot express the emotions that overwhelmed me as I looked on this temple and the significance of being married to my best friend forever just washed over me.  I could not help but weep with joy.

I am so glad that we all got to come back and visit.  When we got married, the temple grounds were all dug up and being renovated, but now they were all done and beautiful.  It was a hot day, so K stayed inside the visitor's center, but the other three braved the heat to be out with us for a time.  How I love my eternal family!