I'm finally posting videos of Eli walking! He took his first few steps back in June, but it still took him a few weeks to really get comfortable. Now he walks everywhere and it's so cute! He loves it and it's fun to see him get so giggly and excited.
This first video was taken on June 24, just a few days after he took his first couple steps.
And then I took this one on Sunday after church (Sorry about the no-pants. It was really hot and we just got home from church, so I stripped him down).
What a cutie. I need to give a lot more updates about him, but I'll wait. He's 15 months today! What a big boy. We love him!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
California Part Two: Lake Tahoe
This is the 4th post in the past few days, so if you missed one, scroll down.
So we got up to Tahoe on Wednesday afternoon (it's about an hour and a half from my parent's house) and I actually can't remember at all what we did that afternoon. Anyone remember? Oh well. Amy made grilled pork chops that night for dinner and they were delicious. Then after the kids went to bed we played a rousing game of Scum (a family tradition) and then turned in for the night.
Thursday we got up, had breakfast, packed lunches, and headed out to go on a hike. With 18 people, 8 of which are kids, one is my dad with bad knees and an almost-broken toe, and another my mom, who is very in shape, but is nursing a recently sprained ankle, we had to find a hike that accommodated everyone. So I researched the hike this year and it turned out well! It was about a mile and a half each way and it went down to this beautiful harbor (Skunk Harbor). Of course, that meant we had to go up on the way back, but that's okay. So we ate our lunch at the harbor and waded in the lake a bit. It was really nice and the water felt great on the hot day.
Getting ready for the hike.
Heidi and Amy
Our cute family :)
Hiking along...
Down at the harbor.
Our little friend that joined us for lunch. I noticed him when he was trying to eat my toes in the water! Eww!
So then we hiked back up and drove back to the cabin and then some of us went to the pool and some stayed and relaxed (thank you mom and dad for staying while Eli napped). Wendy made lasagna for dinner that night and then we roasted marshmallows around the fire pit my dad brought up from their house. Mmm, those s'mores sure tasted good. :)
Then on Friday we went to the beach! A few years ago we found this great beach called Sand Harbor, so we went there again. Usually when we go to Tahoe it's in June, so it's not very crowded, but boy were there a lot of people there last week! It was hot and everyone was out at the beach. I could tell Eli really wasn't feeling too good that day and sure enough, after playing in the sand for awhile, I wrapped him up in a towel, snuggled him on a chair and he was out in about 10 seconds. Poor kid. So he then enjoyed a nice little nap on the sand and we had fun playing frisbee, enjoying the water, and bathing in the sun. Friday was our night for dinner and we made yummy Greek food. We had souvlakia, pitas, tzatziki, Greek salad, and fruit salad. It was soooo delicious and everyone seemed to enjoy it.
After dinner we went roller skating! It was so fun. Amy is full of good ideas (the water kickball in the previous post was her idea too, well actually, her husband's). It's an outdoor rink and I guess in the wintertime it's an ice skating rink. They had all these little lounge areas around the rink with big fire pits and nice couches and tables. We could see the heaters that were there for the winter time too. How cozy! So anyway, we all went except for Rob who stayed home with his two youngest - Russell and Grant, who were asleep. My parents watched Eli and Vanessa so the rest of us could go (and because of their bad ankle and toe). Thanks mom and dad! I think they were entertained watching all of us. It was really fun! The kids all did pretty well. Seth was the only one who really got the hang of it and could go by himself by the end of the hour, but everyone else managed to stay up while holding on to an adult. It was fun to goof off and feel like a kid again and it was definitely something we should do again.
Mike & Steve helping Kenneth. Steve didn't get skates but he was very helpful with the kids - and he didn't lose his balance like the rest of us did when the kids fell over!
Ham.
Wendy and Shannon.
Steve, Brenna, and Amy.
Speedster Heidi. :)
Skating champions.
Goofy sisters.
Alright Seth!
The whole gang. - Wendy, Shannon, Amy, Seth, Jeremy, Me, Heidi, Kenneth, Mike, Brenna, and Steve.
Then we put the kids to bed, played another few rounds of Scum and hit the sack. Saturday morning we just got up and packed and cleaned up and we all left to drive home that day. Eli was great again on the trip. Yea! Mike & Wendy stayed at our house that night and during the day Sunday and then they headed out on Sunday evening to drive the rest of the way home to New Jersey. I felt bad they had to come so far, but it was really fun to see them and they made it home safely Tuesday night.
So that was our trip! It was fun to be with family and to create memories. Eli had a fun time being surrounded by more little people and he started to really get the hang of walking (I know, I still need to blog about that). We had a great time! But, as always, it's nice to be home. Congrats on making it through all of this! More to come about life back here at home later...
So we got up to Tahoe on Wednesday afternoon (it's about an hour and a half from my parent's house) and I actually can't remember at all what we did that afternoon. Anyone remember? Oh well. Amy made grilled pork chops that night for dinner and they were delicious. Then after the kids went to bed we played a rousing game of Scum (a family tradition) and then turned in for the night.
Thursday we got up, had breakfast, packed lunches, and headed out to go on a hike. With 18 people, 8 of which are kids, one is my dad with bad knees and an almost-broken toe, and another my mom, who is very in shape, but is nursing a recently sprained ankle, we had to find a hike that accommodated everyone. So I researched the hike this year and it turned out well! It was about a mile and a half each way and it went down to this beautiful harbor (Skunk Harbor). Of course, that meant we had to go up on the way back, but that's okay. So we ate our lunch at the harbor and waded in the lake a bit. It was really nice and the water felt great on the hot day.
Getting ready for the hike.
Heidi and Amy
Our cute family :)
Hiking along...
Down at the harbor.
Our little friend that joined us for lunch. I noticed him when he was trying to eat my toes in the water! Eww!
So then we hiked back up and drove back to the cabin and then some of us went to the pool and some stayed and relaxed (thank you mom and dad for staying while Eli napped). Wendy made lasagna for dinner that night and then we roasted marshmallows around the fire pit my dad brought up from their house. Mmm, those s'mores sure tasted good. :)Then on Friday we went to the beach! A few years ago we found this great beach called Sand Harbor, so we went there again. Usually when we go to Tahoe it's in June, so it's not very crowded, but boy were there a lot of people there last week! It was hot and everyone was out at the beach. I could tell Eli really wasn't feeling too good that day and sure enough, after playing in the sand for awhile, I wrapped him up in a towel, snuggled him on a chair and he was out in about 10 seconds. Poor kid. So he then enjoyed a nice little nap on the sand and we had fun playing frisbee, enjoying the water, and bathing in the sun. Friday was our night for dinner and we made yummy Greek food. We had souvlakia, pitas, tzatziki, Greek salad, and fruit salad. It was soooo delicious and everyone seemed to enjoy it.
After dinner we went roller skating! It was so fun. Amy is full of good ideas (the water kickball in the previous post was her idea too, well actually, her husband's). It's an outdoor rink and I guess in the wintertime it's an ice skating rink. They had all these little lounge areas around the rink with big fire pits and nice couches and tables. We could see the heaters that were there for the winter time too. How cozy! So anyway, we all went except for Rob who stayed home with his two youngest - Russell and Grant, who were asleep. My parents watched Eli and Vanessa so the rest of us could go (and because of their bad ankle and toe). Thanks mom and dad! I think they were entertained watching all of us. It was really fun! The kids all did pretty well. Seth was the only one who really got the hang of it and could go by himself by the end of the hour, but everyone else managed to stay up while holding on to an adult. It was fun to goof off and feel like a kid again and it was definitely something we should do again.Mike & Steve helping Kenneth. Steve didn't get skates but he was very helpful with the kids - and he didn't lose his balance like the rest of us did when the kids fell over!
Ham.
Wendy and Shannon.
Steve, Brenna, and Amy.
Speedster Heidi. :)
Skating champions.
Goofy sisters.
Alright Seth!
The whole gang. - Wendy, Shannon, Amy, Seth, Jeremy, Me, Heidi, Kenneth, Mike, Brenna, and Steve.
Then we put the kids to bed, played another few rounds of Scum and hit the sack. Saturday morning we just got up and packed and cleaned up and we all left to drive home that day. Eli was great again on the trip. Yea! Mike & Wendy stayed at our house that night and during the day Sunday and then they headed out on Sunday evening to drive the rest of the way home to New Jersey. I felt bad they had to come so far, but it was really fun to see them and they made it home safely Tuesday night.So that was our trip! It was fun to be with family and to create memories. Eli had a fun time being surrounded by more little people and he started to really get the hang of walking (I know, I still need to blog about that). We had a great time! But, as always, it's nice to be home. Congrats on making it through all of this! More to come about life back here at home later...
Thursday, July 22, 2010
California: Part One - Loomis
This is the 3rd post in the past couple days, so if you missed one, scroll down.
Saturday, July 10th we drove to California. It was by far the best road trip we've taken with Eli. He was so good! I'm not sure why exactly, but it was great. We only stopped once and we made it there in 9 hours. Hallelujah! So we got there around 5:00 pm and were the last ones to get there (besides my brother Steve; he didn't come until Tuesday). Everyone had been in the pool since about 10:30 that morning, but they were still in, so we jumped on in ourselves! It felt so great after driving in the car all day, and it was 100+ degrees, so that helped too. Then after we got the kids to bed that night, we all practiced for the song we would sing in church the next day. I love having a musical family! Usually we tend to do things with just the girls, but we decided to sing all together and it was really great. 5 girls, 4 guys (3 son-in-laws and my dad). Luckily Amy and I married tenors, Wendy married a baritone, and my dad is a bass so it all works out. :) No pressure Heidi! Haha.
So then Sunday we went to my parent's 8:30 am church. Yeah. It was fun to see people and the song went really well. My mom made a delicious turkey dinner that night, homemade rolls and all, and somehow I got roped into playing a game of Risk that lasted forEVer. Rob, Amy, Heidi, and Jeremy started, but then Amy had to do something, so her 8-year-old Seth took over, but then somehow I ended up taking over. It was fun but it reminded me why I never play. Waaaayyyyy toooooo loooonnggggg.
Cute babies ready for Sunday dinner: (There are 8 grandkids on my side, ages 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, and three one-year-olds. These three were all born within 6 months of each other. Eli's the youngest by 4 months).
Grandpa with Vanessa and Eli:
Anyway...then Monday was a very fun-filled day. Amy, Heidi and I went jogging that morning. I only lasted one lap around the neighborhood (with a walking break in the middle), Amy lasted 2, and Heidi went for 3. She's a stud. We got back in time for a delicious pancake, eggs, and bacon breakfast cooked by my dad outside on his big camping stove. We had fresh blackberries from their garden to top the pancakes and it was mmm mmm good! Then we swam for awhile in the morning and then played water kickball in the afternoon. It was so fun! You have little kiddie pools as the bases and then there's a slip and slide into home plate. Most of the kids were either sleeping or in the pool, so it was pretty much all of us adults and it was a blast. We'll definitely have to do that again.
The set-up:
Seth demonstrating the slip and slide for the picture:
Playin' the game:
Cooling off on third base :)
Monday was also Heidi's birthday! She turned 20! No longer a teenager. :) So that night after dinner, she gave the family night lesson and then we had yummy cake and ice cream and watched her open some presents.
This is the only picture I took that night:
Later that night, after we'd all been chatting for awhile, for some reason we decided to get out the measuring tape and measure ourselves. As you probably know, I have a very tall family. I'm the tallest daughter but what I didn't know until that night is that I'm the tallest girl! We were all shocked to find out that I was taller than my mom. She always seems taller - her hair has a little more body than mine and she pretty much always wears heels, so I think that's probably why. But, I measured in at 5'10.5" and she was 5'10.25". I know, big difference. But when we stood back to back you could totally tell. Weird. Anyway, we were all pretty close. It was fun.
Tuesday morning I woke up feeling yucky. I'd started getting a sore throat the day before and hoped it would go away, but it didn't. Eli had been starting to get sick too, so I guess it was inevitable. Anyway, so that morning Jeremy and I went over to his parent's house for a couple hours to visit and pick up some things they wanted us to take back to Utah. It was fun to see his sister's kids who live there and to visit with his parents and grandma. We looked at their garden and Eli ate 7 cherry tomatoes before we told him we had to go (he wasn't very happy about that). That kid loves fruits and veggies. :) Then we came back to my parent's house and my aunt and grandma (mom's sister and mom) had driven up from Modesto to spend the afternoon with us. My grandma is 91 so she doesn't get out all that often anymore, so it was really nice to see her. She is such a great lady. We all appreciated my aunt Marilyn driving her up so we didn't have to pack all the kids in the car and drive an hour and a half each way. We had lunch and then listened to my mom, aunt, and grandma tell funny stories about their childhoods. My mom grew up on 40 acres out in the country and my grandpa was quite the character so they had a lot of fun stories to tell.
This cute kiddo was so pooped. He fell asleep eating lunch.
Aunt Marilyn, Amy and Mom in the kitchen.
Grandma Stephens with some of her great-grandchildren.
Later that afternoon Amy, Heidi, and I went grocery shopping to get all the food we would need to go to Tahoe for the next few days. We came home and Steve had arrived (my older brother) and we all ate dinner and then got ready quickly for our family pictures! We took them out in the backyard and they went pretty well! I haven't seen them yet, but the fact that none of the 8 kids were crying was quite an achievement. I hope they look cute!
My parent's beautiful backyard. We took the pictures under the big tree.
Wednesday, my dad made another great breakfast - french toast and sausage - and then we swam a bit, played pool basketball again, ate lunch, and packed up to go to Tahoe. 
And that, my friends, is where I will leave you for now. Whew! Next up is Lake Tahoe: Wednesday - Saturday....
Saturday, July 10th we drove to California. It was by far the best road trip we've taken with Eli. He was so good! I'm not sure why exactly, but it was great. We only stopped once and we made it there in 9 hours. Hallelujah! So we got there around 5:00 pm and were the last ones to get there (besides my brother Steve; he didn't come until Tuesday). Everyone had been in the pool since about 10:30 that morning, but they were still in, so we jumped on in ourselves! It felt so great after driving in the car all day, and it was 100+ degrees, so that helped too. Then after we got the kids to bed that night, we all practiced for the song we would sing in church the next day. I love having a musical family! Usually we tend to do things with just the girls, but we decided to sing all together and it was really great. 5 girls, 4 guys (3 son-in-laws and my dad). Luckily Amy and I married tenors, Wendy married a baritone, and my dad is a bass so it all works out. :) No pressure Heidi! Haha.
So then Sunday we went to my parent's 8:30 am church. Yeah. It was fun to see people and the song went really well. My mom made a delicious turkey dinner that night, homemade rolls and all, and somehow I got roped into playing a game of Risk that lasted forEVer. Rob, Amy, Heidi, and Jeremy started, but then Amy had to do something, so her 8-year-old Seth took over, but then somehow I ended up taking over. It was fun but it reminded me why I never play. Waaaayyyyy toooooo loooonnggggg.
Cute babies ready for Sunday dinner: (There are 8 grandkids on my side, ages 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, and three one-year-olds. These three were all born within 6 months of each other. Eli's the youngest by 4 months).
Grandpa with Vanessa and Eli:
Anyway...then Monday was a very fun-filled day. Amy, Heidi and I went jogging that morning. I only lasted one lap around the neighborhood (with a walking break in the middle), Amy lasted 2, and Heidi went for 3. She's a stud. We got back in time for a delicious pancake, eggs, and bacon breakfast cooked by my dad outside on his big camping stove. We had fresh blackberries from their garden to top the pancakes and it was mmm mmm good! Then we swam for awhile in the morning and then played water kickball in the afternoon. It was so fun! You have little kiddie pools as the bases and then there's a slip and slide into home plate. Most of the kids were either sleeping or in the pool, so it was pretty much all of us adults and it was a blast. We'll definitely have to do that again.The set-up:
Seth demonstrating the slip and slide for the picture:
Playin' the game:
Cooling off on third base :)
Monday was also Heidi's birthday! She turned 20! No longer a teenager. :) So that night after dinner, she gave the family night lesson and then we had yummy cake and ice cream and watched her open some presents.This is the only picture I took that night:
Later that night, after we'd all been chatting for awhile, for some reason we decided to get out the measuring tape and measure ourselves. As you probably know, I have a very tall family. I'm the tallest daughter but what I didn't know until that night is that I'm the tallest girl! We were all shocked to find out that I was taller than my mom. She always seems taller - her hair has a little more body than mine and she pretty much always wears heels, so I think that's probably why. But, I measured in at 5'10.5" and she was 5'10.25". I know, big difference. But when we stood back to back you could totally tell. Weird. Anyway, we were all pretty close. It was fun.Tuesday morning I woke up feeling yucky. I'd started getting a sore throat the day before and hoped it would go away, but it didn't. Eli had been starting to get sick too, so I guess it was inevitable. Anyway, so that morning Jeremy and I went over to his parent's house for a couple hours to visit and pick up some things they wanted us to take back to Utah. It was fun to see his sister's kids who live there and to visit with his parents and grandma. We looked at their garden and Eli ate 7 cherry tomatoes before we told him we had to go (he wasn't very happy about that). That kid loves fruits and veggies. :) Then we came back to my parent's house and my aunt and grandma (mom's sister and mom) had driven up from Modesto to spend the afternoon with us. My grandma is 91 so she doesn't get out all that often anymore, so it was really nice to see her. She is such a great lady. We all appreciated my aunt Marilyn driving her up so we didn't have to pack all the kids in the car and drive an hour and a half each way. We had lunch and then listened to my mom, aunt, and grandma tell funny stories about their childhoods. My mom grew up on 40 acres out in the country and my grandpa was quite the character so they had a lot of fun stories to tell.
This cute kiddo was so pooped. He fell asleep eating lunch.
Aunt Marilyn, Amy and Mom in the kitchen.
Grandma Stephens with some of her great-grandchildren.
Later that afternoon Amy, Heidi, and I went grocery shopping to get all the food we would need to go to Tahoe for the next few days. We came home and Steve had arrived (my older brother) and we all ate dinner and then got ready quickly for our family pictures! We took them out in the backyard and they went pretty well! I haven't seen them yet, but the fact that none of the 8 kids were crying was quite an achievement. I hope they look cute!My parent's beautiful backyard. We took the pictures under the big tree.
Wednesday, my dad made another great breakfast - french toast and sausage - and then we swam a bit, played pool basketball again, ate lunch, and packed up to go to Tahoe. 
And that, my friends, is where I will leave you for now. Whew! Next up is Lake Tahoe: Wednesday - Saturday....
Long version: July 2-9
So Friday, July 2nd we drove down to St. George to spend the weekend with our great friends, Rachel and BJ and their two cute boys, McKay and Benson. McKay turned 2 in June and Benson was just born on April 26 (the day before Eli's birthday) so he's just a little guy :). They are in dental school in Kentucky but both of their families live in St. George, so they were there for a summer break. So Friday we got there around 7 and had a delicious dinner at Rachel's parent's house (the Robertsons) and then headed over to BJ's mom's house (where we stayed) and put the kiddos to bed and then went to see Eclipse! Hehe. We all thought it was really good (much better than the other 2) and it was fun to have a little date night. Rachel's parents watched the boys, which was really nice, and everything went well!
Then on Saturday we went to a little splash pad sort of place and enjoyed cooling off in the water. St. George = HOT. We had a BBQ that night and then unfortunately Eli had a bad accident. He got a really bad burn on his hand. BJ's mom has this big French Chef oven and apparently it gets extremely hot on the outside, which no one noticed before. We were all playing a game and Jeremy was over by Eli and he just was walking along holding onto things as he went and then put his hand on the oven and it burned his whole right hand. It was so awful! It blistered right away and so we put it in cold water and he fell asleep on my lap with it soaking. He stayed like that for a couple hours until the heat got out and then he was able to comfortably go to sleep around 10:30. There were a lot of tears that night, but he was such a trooper. He's been fine ever since and it's almost completely healed already. What a blessing!
So then on Sunday we went to church at 9:00. We actually had to wake Eli up at 8:45 to go. We were so glad he'd slept so long! So we went to church and then came home and we all took a nap. Lovely! Then we went back over to the Robertson's for dinner and then came back to the Cox's and stayed up late playing games with some of BJ's family. It was so fun! I have not laughed that hard in a long time. After the games, all the girls fell asleep on the couches and the guys stayed up late talking about who knows what. I'm pretty sure it was deep stuff like string theory or whatever (hence why we were sleeping, haha).
McKay and Eli playing on Sunday. Eli would just hold his hand out like that for the first few days after the burn. :(
Friends!
(I didn't get any pictures of BJ, Benson, or Jeremy. Lame).
Then Monday we just took it easy and then left to come back home around 1:00. We had such a great time and it felt so good just to relax and have a good time. Things have been really busy lately, so that was just perfect. It was also so fun just to pick up where we left off with our friends. We used to hang out all the time when we were in Provo, and we sure do miss them! But we know we'll be friends forever and it's so great to catch up when we do see them.
So then we came home to a full house (as I mentioned in my last post) and were home for about a 1/2 hour before we headed out to go to the last part of a family reunion for my dad's side of the family. We had dinner at a park and then just visited and let the kids play. My dad has 5 siblings and they, along with his parents, all live within about 20 minutes of us. Fun!
Tuesday was another busy day. My sister and mom were here until the next morning, so in an effort to keep 8 kids happy, I borrowed the key to the pool at an apartment complex from my friend and we spent the morning/mid-day swimming! Then we came back to our house and put the babies down for a nap and let the older kids watch a movie (Grandma's reunion was super busy, so they were happy to have a little break). That evening we also had my grandparents over and we had a yummy BBQ with chicken, corn on the cob, fruit and coleslaw. Yum. Then it was time for bed and everyone left the next morning.
Amy with 7 of the 8 kids eating dinner.
Vanessa and Russell playing in the coffee table and my cute grandparents in the background.
Wednesday-Friday was spent unpacking, doing laundry, remaking beds, cleaning, and then packing again. It was nice to have a few days in between to recuperate a little bit. We went to bed earlier and enjoyed relaxing, playing outside and just being together.
Eli playing in the kiddie pool: a great investment. It wasn't even filled up yet but he was having a good time.
Next up: our trip to California! Stay tuned...
Then on Saturday we went to a little splash pad sort of place and enjoyed cooling off in the water. St. George = HOT. We had a BBQ that night and then unfortunately Eli had a bad accident. He got a really bad burn on his hand. BJ's mom has this big French Chef oven and apparently it gets extremely hot on the outside, which no one noticed before. We were all playing a game and Jeremy was over by Eli and he just was walking along holding onto things as he went and then put his hand on the oven and it burned his whole right hand. It was so awful! It blistered right away and so we put it in cold water and he fell asleep on my lap with it soaking. He stayed like that for a couple hours until the heat got out and then he was able to comfortably go to sleep around 10:30. There were a lot of tears that night, but he was such a trooper. He's been fine ever since and it's almost completely healed already. What a blessing!
So then on Sunday we went to church at 9:00. We actually had to wake Eli up at 8:45 to go. We were so glad he'd slept so long! So we went to church and then came home and we all took a nap. Lovely! Then we went back over to the Robertson's for dinner and then came back to the Cox's and stayed up late playing games with some of BJ's family. It was so fun! I have not laughed that hard in a long time. After the games, all the girls fell asleep on the couches and the guys stayed up late talking about who knows what. I'm pretty sure it was deep stuff like string theory or whatever (hence why we were sleeping, haha).
McKay and Eli playing on Sunday. Eli would just hold his hand out like that for the first few days after the burn. :(
Friends!
(I didn't get any pictures of BJ, Benson, or Jeremy. Lame).Then Monday we just took it easy and then left to come back home around 1:00. We had such a great time and it felt so good just to relax and have a good time. Things have been really busy lately, so that was just perfect. It was also so fun just to pick up where we left off with our friends. We used to hang out all the time when we were in Provo, and we sure do miss them! But we know we'll be friends forever and it's so great to catch up when we do see them.
So then we came home to a full house (as I mentioned in my last post) and were home for about a 1/2 hour before we headed out to go to the last part of a family reunion for my dad's side of the family. We had dinner at a park and then just visited and let the kids play. My dad has 5 siblings and they, along with his parents, all live within about 20 minutes of us. Fun!
Tuesday was another busy day. My sister and mom were here until the next morning, so in an effort to keep 8 kids happy, I borrowed the key to the pool at an apartment complex from my friend and we spent the morning/mid-day swimming! Then we came back to our house and put the babies down for a nap and let the older kids watch a movie (Grandma's reunion was super busy, so they were happy to have a little break). That evening we also had my grandparents over and we had a yummy BBQ with chicken, corn on the cob, fruit and coleslaw. Yum. Then it was time for bed and everyone left the next morning.Amy with 7 of the 8 kids eating dinner.
Vanessa and Russell playing in the coffee table and my cute grandparents in the background.
Wednesday-Friday was spent unpacking, doing laundry, remaking beds, cleaning, and then packing again. It was nice to have a few days in between to recuperate a little bit. We went to bed earlier and enjoyed relaxing, playing outside and just being together.Eli playing in the kiddie pool: a great investment. It wasn't even filled up yet but he was having a good time.
Next up: our trip to California! Stay tuned...
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Here's the short version, ha
So I realize it's been a month since I've blogged. A MONTH! Wow. I must say it's been kind of nice though. But lest you think all I've been doing is sitting around eating bon-bons (although I did do some of that, haha) I thought I would tell you quickly what we've been up to. Over the next few days I'll share lots of pictures and details, but for now, here you go. (This has turned out to be not that short, but it could've been a lot longer).
July 2 - 5: We went down to St. George for a wonderful vacation! We spent the weekend with our wonderful friends the Cox's and had an absolutely fabulous time. It was perfect and just what we needed. Thanks guys!
Meanwhile here in Sandy...my dad's side of the family had a reunion that we missed. I know, what a terrible family member I am. In my defense, when my Grandma was planning it, I told her we would be gone that weekend and she planned it anyway. So my sister, her hubby and 4 kids and my parents and my little sister all stayed at our house while we were gone. We made it back Monday night for the final dinner and a family picture in sweet 4th of July hats (see below).
July 6: My dad and Heidi left super early Tues. so we said goodbye to them Monday night and then Amy & her kids and my mom stayed at my house until Wednesday morning and then they drove to California. Wendy and her family were also in town, staying at my aunt's house, so Tuesday we all went to the pool and played and then that night we had a BBQ at our house and invited my grandparents over and had a good time.
July 7-9: Lots of laundry - sheets, towels, etc. from being gone and from everyone being at my house. We barely got unpacked in time to pack again for California! Mike & Wendy went camping with Mike's family Wed.-Fri. and then Friday night they stopped by to shower (they were pretty dirty) and then they drove all night to California. Not my idea of fun. (By the way, they drove here all the way from New Jersey. Crazy! 3 kids. Yeah. But we're glad they came.)
July 10-17: We drove out to California for my family's reunion on Saturday. We had a great time! I'll give lots of details on that later. We spent Saturday through Wednesday at my parent's house in Loomis and had a great time swimming all day long, playing water kickball, eating delicious meals outside on the patio, and chatting late into the night (oh, and Heidi brought back bon-bons from London, so that's where those came in; they were actually pretty good!). Then on Wednesday we all drove up to Lake Tahoe and stayed in this great cabin (4th year in a row) with 7 bedrooms and 7 bathrooms. Awesome! We hiked and went to the lake and had a great time visiting. Then we drove back home on Saturday and hosted Mike & Wendy until Sunday night when they started their long drive back to New Jersey (they made it back late last night).
Since then: Now we're just taking a breather. Sort of. Jeremy left for Pennsylvania this morning for work and he comes back on Friday. Boo. So I'm keeping myself busy by organizing all the music for the 4 meetings of Stake Conference (I'm the Stake Music Chairman), catching up on my blogging, and getting my house back in order.
And now I will leave you with 2 random yet wonderful bits of news: We are eating out of our garden! (Pictures to come) And...Eli is walking!!!! (Video to come) Yay!
July 2 - 5: We went down to St. George for a wonderful vacation! We spent the weekend with our wonderful friends the Cox's and had an absolutely fabulous time. It was perfect and just what we needed. Thanks guys!
Meanwhile here in Sandy...my dad's side of the family had a reunion that we missed. I know, what a terrible family member I am. In my defense, when my Grandma was planning it, I told her we would be gone that weekend and she planned it anyway. So my sister, her hubby and 4 kids and my parents and my little sister all stayed at our house while we were gone. We made it back Monday night for the final dinner and a family picture in sweet 4th of July hats (see below).
July 6: My dad and Heidi left super early Tues. so we said goodbye to them Monday night and then Amy & her kids and my mom stayed at my house until Wednesday morning and then they drove to California. Wendy and her family were also in town, staying at my aunt's house, so Tuesday we all went to the pool and played and then that night we had a BBQ at our house and invited my grandparents over and had a good time.July 7-9: Lots of laundry - sheets, towels, etc. from being gone and from everyone being at my house. We barely got unpacked in time to pack again for California! Mike & Wendy went camping with Mike's family Wed.-Fri. and then Friday night they stopped by to shower (they were pretty dirty) and then they drove all night to California. Not my idea of fun. (By the way, they drove here all the way from New Jersey. Crazy! 3 kids. Yeah. But we're glad they came.)
July 10-17: We drove out to California for my family's reunion on Saturday. We had a great time! I'll give lots of details on that later. We spent Saturday through Wednesday at my parent's house in Loomis and had a great time swimming all day long, playing water kickball, eating delicious meals outside on the patio, and chatting late into the night (oh, and Heidi brought back bon-bons from London, so that's where those came in; they were actually pretty good!). Then on Wednesday we all drove up to Lake Tahoe and stayed in this great cabin (4th year in a row) with 7 bedrooms and 7 bathrooms. Awesome! We hiked and went to the lake and had a great time visiting. Then we drove back home on Saturday and hosted Mike & Wendy until Sunday night when they started their long drive back to New Jersey (they made it back late last night).
Since then: Now we're just taking a breather. Sort of. Jeremy left for Pennsylvania this morning for work and he comes back on Friday. Boo. So I'm keeping myself busy by organizing all the music for the 4 meetings of Stake Conference (I'm the Stake Music Chairman), catching up on my blogging, and getting my house back in order.
And now I will leave you with 2 random yet wonderful bits of news: We are eating out of our garden! (Pictures to come) And...Eli is walking!!!! (Video to come) Yay!
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