Helping Hands in CO

In preparation for Elise's baby's arrival I made reservations to fly to CO. Jack made his appearance a little earlier than planned and suddenly instead of meeting a newborn I was meeting a three week old!  

I was completely satisfied though because he was small and adorable!

One of our scheduling hoops was overlapping with Chandra but only by a few days.  We had to maximize the time with helping hands around but when you get a chance to not only see a sister but get all of us together, well, you go ahead and jump through the hoops!

 For all the mommy vacations I have taken to Elise's house, spending a week with Elise's family was something I haven't done. All my other trips were for just a few days. It was so fun! I didn't actually take a ton of pictures but here are few from game night:

 I lamented my late arrival for awhile but as the week passed it seemed that Jack was sleeping less and getting fussier.  It felt like I was actually there at the time I needed to be to be the most help. As he got fussier and tummy problems developed it took more hands to hold a baby and get a snack and do some cleaning and everything else that goes into running a house full of people. 

 There were lots of fun and enjoyable times to be had but there were a couple of times that I really enjoyed on the inside. I sat like an bug on the wall and had my heart warmed.

  The first was Dan.  He took Luke to his soccer game and by inspiration or daddy intuition captured on video Luke making his first goal on video.  The video was super cute and the best part was Dan yelling at the end-his major football fan talents showed off in his yell of approval:) But then, to my enjoyment, Dan and Luke would sit together and re-play the video over and over and over with these smiles.  That little boy knew his dad loved him and was proud of him that day!

Having 5 kids isn't an easy ride no matter how you shake it but it has to be more challenging when #4 is not even two yet!  And occasionally, there would be these moments when you had to mommy both at the same time. Elise did it so easily and graciously.

 While I was away, Chris held down the fort here in WI (with some amazing help from Clara and Dave who bravely took on the morning rush and trips to schools so Chris could take half days off instead of whole days) and even did some fun things with the kids!

 Ok, maybe he enlisted a little help with some of the daily tasks...

 And the last treat of my trip was getting to see Christina and catch up with their family's goings on. With everyone getting to Oregon and getting settled into jobs and schools and boyfriends (she can't be that old, can she?!?) there was lots to hear about. She brought Cafe Rio for lunch and we got to see a house tour via Facetime that Bret and the girls were checking out.

Family is so precious.  There was a time when I would have hesitated to spend the money to take the trips to see the  people.  Don't get wrong, I am not advocating being foolish with your financial situation but sometimes being too frugal is not right either.  For me, family times are those times. The relationships built and strengthened and enjoyed are worth so much because they last forever!

Pumpkin Picking and Play

 We had to make sure to hit the pumpkin patch early this year since we needed our jack-o-lanterns for the ward party, which was also early this year.

 We picked pumpkins and enjoyed the other attractions.

 We also enjoyed that we got to go with family this year! 

 Ellis and Sage enjoyed there little jaunt through the countryside snuggled together!

 And while had fun with the girls the boys took and manly ride in a WWII era truck.

The sun was too bright or it wore them out, but either way we had fun time!

Thea is 1!

 Thea's cake for her first birthday was fall themed....since she was born in the fall.  And it kinda reminded me of a family tree type picture and since she is the last in this family our tree is in a unique place for awhile.

 She loved her cake!

 And wore it proudly.

 At one she is always on the move and hard to catch in a still moment!  She is friendly, completely assured that all women want to hold her and entertain her.  She is a mediocre sleeper, not a huge bottle consumer (I have had to opt for many bottles with some milk rather than a few bottles with lots of milk), and she has a great smile that lights up her whole face and especially her eyes.  She has a little dimple in the middle of her right cheek that only shows if she smiles really big.  Her laugh induces laughter in others and her siblings love to make her giggle.

She is impetuous and unafraid and determined to keep up with the big kids. I had secretly hoped for a quiet, mellow end to my baby making days but she is determined to make me work every day. And I savor every moment, even if I enjoy the rare quiet snuggly ones the most!

Star Wars Day at Discovery World aka The Best Day in October (In My Opinion)

 Last Christmas my parents gift to our family was a membership to Discovery World.  If we had gone to nothing but Star Wars Day that membership would have been worth it!

 Not because of I love Star Wars.

 And not because the costumes were AMAZING!

 Not because the kids LOVE Star Wars, though it probable was a contributing factor.

 Not because of the AMAZING Legos.

 Or the wookie (even though he was my favorite thing there!)

 The kids crafts were fun.

 And of course, they picked to make bad guy boxes...

 But it was the best day because it was one of those rare, perfect outings with the whole family when it was all fun and no complaining. Everyone was patient and kind and helpful and enjoyed the sights, activities and each other.

We capped off the morning with a factory tour at Caterpillar.  The last time they did one of these was like 9 years ago, so it only comes around once in a blue moon.  And sadly, they don't allow pictures inside the factory. Some of those machines have to be seen to be believed! 

 But we enjoyed the free food for lunch and got a picture with the big truck that I thought was pretty impressive.  Though if you look close you will see Sage giving it the side-ways thumb indicating it is just ok.

I love my family.  I feel like I go around thinking it and feeling it all the time. I wouldn't trade my life or family for anyone else's but especially not on days like this!

Daddy Vacation

In our house we have long had the tradition of Mommy Vacations.  I highly recommend them.  

Much less frequently, Daddy gets a vacation too.  This year Chris got a few days in IN at his old stomping grounds, catching up with old colleagues and mentors, eating well, and seeing what new research is coming out of his old lab.

 He took a quick trip to past our old house.  We were disappointed to see it's sorry state.  It was a good little home for us.