And Away We Go! (Reunion Fun Edition)

There were lots of fun things for us to do at the reunion.  We made several crafts through the week, including swim noodle swords, hobby horses out of big socks and sticks, necklaces, hair bows, and these quivers for bows and arrows.  My kids loved each of them!

 I was amazed at how the bows and arrows entertained all of the grandkids ALL DAY long!

 Of course, the back yard itself is always entertaining.  Gracie and Ayden spent a lot of time on the swings.

Tess was so pleased to be able to do the swing all by herself, and Caytie's favorite was the sand digger.

 We went to the Provo Cemetery to learn about our ancestors buried there.  We had five different grave sites to visit, with a story and a snack waiting at each.  Scott learned where his name came from at the Scott family site.

 We also got little picture stickers at each place to put on our own family tree chart. Then we had Subway sandwiches for lunch.  This activity was probably one of the favorites for me (the family history, not the lunch--though that was good, too).  I was also able to find the grave sites of my grandparents there.

We spent the evening on this day at Orem's city pool--no pictures, since I was holding Benson while Ben was on kid wrangling duty.  Scott, Gracie, and Caytie went on the waterslides as often as they could.  (Gracie and Caytie had to enlist the help of Ben or cousin Harley in order to go down.  Harley was so gracious to help them out so much!)

 This little man had a great time during the reunion, because he spent a great deal of time snuggled up to me.  (After he had to sit three days in a carseat, I couldn't help but hold him, anyway.)

More to come!

And Away We Go! (Tessa's birthday edition)

We drove to Utah.  Some people can do it in a straight 24 hour shot.  Some can do it in two days.  We take three.  We've gone several ways, but with a nursing baby and antsy others, we decided to go north through Oklahoma and Kansas, then over through Colorado, and up.  It offers several options for stopping along the way, and the scenery is more interesting than West Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona (though Kansas is still low on the list of favorite states to drive through...).

Our first day (a Friday) started late, due to a timing belt breaking on Ben's car as he was on his way home from work.  Bleh.  But we did get on the road by about 5 pm, and made it almost to the Kansas boarder.  We were semi-close to where the Pioneer Woman lives, but I thought it might be rude to just drop in at the ranch, so we opted for a hotel.  So did a migration of oil workers, done with their work for the week.  We got the last room in the second hotel we tried.  It was cramped, but we were happy to sleep.

We drove through Kansas and half of Colorado the next day.  We thought we'd plan ahead a bit this time, and called a Marriott in Vail, Colorado, where we could use some of Ben's points to get a free night at a nice place.  Well, it was NICE.  So, so nice.  It used up half of his accumulated points...

 We had a lovely balcony, where I nursed our tired baby Benson in the cool evening mountain air, while the kids watched (more) TV and we waited for Ben to return with our luggage (with swimming suits).  He had to park a quarter mile away, due to our trailer, which wouldn't fit in the valet parking lot under the hotel.

We had a lovely time swimming, sleeping, and enjoying a deluxe breakfast buffet.  We also began celebrating Tessa's birthday with singing "Happy Birthday" several times, walking through an arts and crafts fair in Vail to get to our car, and loading up to drive, drive, drive.  Tessa reminded Ben a couple times that day that, "Daddy, I need cake and presents."  We promised her that they were coming.

We found a church in Rifle, Colorado that was starting just as we were driving through, so we stopped for Sacrament Meeting.  (Thanks, lds.org!)

The air was getting smokier and smokier, because of massive fires in Colorado and Utah.  We didn't actually see any flames, but there was plenty of evidence of them.  Driving through Price Canyon was particularly smoky because it was a bit overcast there.  We arrived smelling like we'd been camping.

Hooray--we made it just in time for dinner with everyone!  And after dinner, we were finally able to have some cupcakes (made by Aunts Gina and Amanda, and decorated as ladybugs, at Tessa's request).

This brand-new three-year-old was in chocolate bliss.  Three days of driving, ending with family and cake...and presents!

Here she is with some of her gifts after a much needed bath:

Now...time for a reunion!

Summer School

The kids are playing school today.  They're taking turns teaching each other.  Scott is the Science, Social Studies, and band teacher.  (Interestingly, those are the classes he had male teachers for last year.)  Gracie teaches Math, and Emma teaches Art.  Daddy, though not home, is assigned as the Principal.  (Also interesting is that my children have only had female principals.)

As for me?  I have been assigned as the Lunch Lady.

Sounds about right.

So...hello

We were gone.  Now we're home!  We had a great vacation.  The drive--was not great.  I actually broke out in hives (twice--on the way there and on the way home) from listening to our poor hungry, frustrated baby and not being able to help right away.  But we were so happy to be able to be there.  Pictures will be coming after I, you know, get them off my camera.  To tide my three loyal readers over, here are a few pictures I already have loaded.

Remember Easter?  That was the week Benson was born.  He and I stayed home from church, but we did have a few other kids who were able to dress up.  (Ben took these pictures for me.  He did a good job--and even squatted down to get a better view.)

Tessa--almost 3

Catyie--almost 5

Gracie--almost 7

Emma--almost 9

Scott--almost 11.
PS--did you know he has been able to tie his own tie since he was 6?

And here we have the post Easter candy nap:

We did a couple activities to focus on the more important message of the Resurrection of Christ, and I was pleased that my kids are getting it.  But everyone appreciates some good Easter candy, too.  (Right, Dad?  Even in Guatemala!)