From Washington, With Love

My sister Heather brought her family to our house for a wonderful visit between semesters at BYU-I, where my niece Amber is attending school.

It was the first time that Uncle Jason has been able to visit.  He met Crew and they both found a new friend.

Kinley was ecstatic to spend time with her cousin Annabelle!

That's a whole lotta kids in their pajamas and not one of them is interested in sleeping!

Unless it's fake sleeping...

And that's a whole lotta good-lookin' kids all dressed up for church!

Their mothers are sisters.... and apparently both shop at Walmart.

Yeah, that's the hot sister and her hubs.  I'd say he's hot too, but that'd be pretty weird.

Just hangin' out.  That's my college niece Amber relaxing on the couch, detoxing her brain.  Did I mention she's in college?  Which makes me really old.  But not as old as her mom.  Phew!

Kiks and Anna spent much of their time writing a book together.  Keep your eyes peeled for "Spy Girls", coming to a Barnes and Noble near you.

This is the part where I confess that this blog post is about 3 months overdue, since they actually came in April.  April 13th, 14th, and 15th to be precise.  Life has been one enormous project after another since then, so... yeah.  I wouldn't even fess up about how long ago this actually happened except that it explains the frame of mind that our family was in at the time.  How mentally and emotionally burned out from tax season we all were.  And how wonderful Heather and Jason were to us.

Heather took one look at the condition of our food storage room and unleashed her organizational prowess on our behalf!

She wasn't alone in her labors!  Jason fixed the shelves and helped arrange it all into something that clutter-phobe Justin could walk into without vomiting!  I was less helpful, taking pictures and wandering around in an April 15th daze.  It's not that I didn't contribute, of course, because picking up pizza for lunch does require a certain... je ne sais quoi?

Crew "helped" too.

Everything was going so well...

until Jason decided that as their special "welcome home from tax season, you big lug" gift to Justin, they would assemble Kinley's bedroom furniture that had been sitting in boxes since Christmas.  He made the false assumption that the cheapskate furniture would come with all of its parts in working order and that we would have the proper tools to overcome any unforeseen construction obstacles.

Ba ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!

Ahem.

But we are SO HAPPY to have her bedroom put together!!  THANK YOU!  All's well that ends well?

So fun to have you for a visit!  Muah!

A Walk in the Park

During a recent visit to Dex's cemetery, we stopped by the Bicentennial Park to reminisce in our old stomping grounds.  This park has a soft spot in my heart because many years ago I was on the committee that lobbied the city council to improve the park and replace the dated and dangerous playground equipment.  We also held a bake-sale and added our own sweat to the project to help make it a complete success.  Of course, that doesn't take into consideration the countless hours that Kinley and Tanner spent burning off energy on the property during the years that we lived beside it!

I wasn't sure how it would feel hanging out in the park that we spent so much time in... before.  The memories that I have of this place are from a time of innocence and naivete.  I had misgivings, but in the end, the exhilaration of my sweet little rugrats overpowered the nostalgia of the moment.  Their enthusiasm turned what could have been a painful moment into new memories of joy for the kids that once freely romped these grounds and accomplishment for the little brother that now joins their adventures.

This was the first time that Crew was able to navigate the Bicentennial Park on his own two feet!   He made the most of it over bark, boardwalk, and beyond, proving beyond doubt that he is strong and stable on those little hooves!

After visiting Disney World, Kinley and Tanner both exclaimed when they saw this ol' tree, "Look!  It's the tree of life!"

 Ahhhh.... the mosquito swamp.  You're so beautiful, gross, and pesty.

 Checking out the Nuttal Spring along the boardwalk

Crew is determined to do anything that his siblings can do.  He will make it up that hill!

 See!  Told you so.  Come on down, guys!  You may race to the bottom as long as you can do it without grass stains or broken bones.

 Wait, wait, wait.  Don't give up, dude!  You can do it!  Get up on those feet and get ye down the hill!

VICTORY!!  You did it.

 And... now you're just showing off.  Come back here; it's time to go.  I mean it.

Sticky Mitts

To the uninitiated, this is simply a super cute preschooler enjoying a high-calorie afternoon snack... and perhaps an affirmation of the nutritional depths to which we sink on occasion.

To those that know Crew, this is triumphal photographic evidence of our sensory kid conquering his longterm phobia of sticky fingers.  Victory is ours!

Back to School!

Today my big kids embark on another year of elementary school adventures.  Daddy lingered this morning on his way to work so that he could take them to the bus stop.  I have a 5th grader and a 2nd grader, whaaaaa?!

It is also that time of year when I make the brave attempt to regroup and reorganize after a summer whirlwind!  Menus, chore lists, exercise plans, familial refocus, self-evaluation, homework expectations, inbox gutting, etc.  Just yer basic life reboot!

Today will be counted a success if I can:

1.  Make it to the library to pick up the picture books I requested for Crew

2.  Get all the laundry finished,

3.  Respond to all of the Teeny Tears emails that built up while I was at Girls Camp

4.  Create a menu to last through the weekend (shopping tomorrow)

5.  Scrub one bathroom

6.  Have a meaningful snuggle/reading session with the little guy.

That's what I have on my list today and if I have any hope of accomplishing it all, I must get cracking!