Falling asleep...

Memorial Weekend Wrap-up

We went to the annual Memorial Day family reunion in Perry on Monday and then visited Grandma & Grandpa W's gravesite briefly before heading back home. I think the reunion is losing numbers in attendance. There weren't nearly as many people there this year as in years past. The day following Memorial Day DH took off from work and went driving up Big Cottonwood Canyon with his parents & Blondie & Kitty. Unfortunately it was not the best weekend weather-wise for DH's parents. We were below normal temperatures and it rained a good portion of the day for Memorial Day. We're grateful that they came though and were able to be here for Baby K's blessing.

Blessing day!

Sunday, May 25

On Sunday we blessed Baby K after church. She was wonderful the whole day (because there were lots of people to hold her). Her dad gave her a beautiful blessing & we had both sets of parents & my sister M and her fiance there as well. Afterwards we had a luncheon at our house and one of DH's cousins showed up with her family (they arrived a few minutes too late for the blessing). Here are some pictures from the day (Baby K's starting to smile):

This dress was made by my mom and has been worn by all four girls now for their baby blessing.

Day at the beach

Well, not quite, but this is about as close as you can get to one here in the Salt Lake area. On Saturday, DH & his parents took the kids to the Great Salt Lake. This is the first time that DH and the kids have been there (and it's been a long time since I have been there) so we weren't quite sure what to expect. All I remember about it is that the water is VERY salty (you can't sink) and there is a very strong, almost overpowering smell of salt. I stayed home with Baby K to get some things ready for the luncheon for her baby blessing on Sunday and I wasn't sure it would be much fun for either of us. They ended up being gone a lot longer than I expected because they had a BLAST there. The kids were just dressed in pants & T-shirts & wore flip-flops because we thought they might want to get out and walk along the sandy shore. Well, it turns out that they all ended up practically swimming in the water. When they pulled up to the house I was in the middle of cooking dinner but I had to quickly put that on hold so that I could get everyone in the shower or bath to clean the salt off of them. One of the bad parts about playing in the Great Salt Lake is that the water is so salty and once that dries on the skin it causes the skin to become really dry and itchy sometimes (not very comfortable at all). I had to throw everyones clothes in the wash because they were completely wet! DH says that we will have to go again sometime and take the kids in their swimsuits & bring towels. There are some outdoor showers there to rinse off in but DH didn't want to shower their clothes for some reason...

Here is some video that DH took. Sorry it's pretty choppy - I will try and see if I can get a better version up soon...

Countdown to wedding day

We are getting very close to my sister M's wedding! Less than 2 weeks now! My mom & I attended a bridal shower for her that was given by some of her co-workers last Tuesday (she got a nice gift from them). Just about all of the dresses & ties for the nieces & nephews are finished. Her fiance, R, moved back up to Utah from Arizona Saturday. They ordered the food for the reception yesterday. Now I just need to get them their gift, find something for me to wear & hem Baby K's dress. It's getting exciting!

Reach the Beach take 2

There has been a lot going on lately (plus having a newborn around) and I have fallen behind in my blogging so bear with me as I try and catch up...

Two weekends ago DH went up to his parents' home to participate in the Reach the Beach bike ride in Portland, OR again. DH rode in it 2 years ago with his dad & brother so this was their second time. It is a 100 mile bike ride from Portland to the beach.

The ride was on Saturday, May 17 and it was not without incident again this year. Two years ago DH forgot his bike shoes at his parents' house and they had to go back to get them so they got to the starting point late. Well, this year they had an even later start because no one realized that the starting point was different from 2 years ago and it took them a while to figure out where the new location was (after showing up at the old location and seeing that no one was there).

DH did great though and his knee only bothered him a little bit compared to the last time. He said that the biggest problem was that they spent the whole ride trying to play catch up and they were never really able to get a good rest at any of the stops because of it. His only battle scar from the ride (other than being sore all around) was a pretty bad sunburn right above his sock line on his left leg - apparently it was the only spot that he missed and they had extremely hot weather for the ride - upper 90s.

While DH was out of town the kids and I went to spend Saturday & Sunday at my parents house. We went to the kids' soccer games on Saturday morning and then packed up and headed over to my parents house. Even though it was a pain to pack everything up for just one night it was nice to have some extra help with the kids and meals. Also their ward meets at 1 p.m. on Sunday and mine meets at 9 a.m. - I wasn't sure how successfully I would be able to get all of the kids up and ready for church by 9 a.m. with DH not around. Plus I wasn't sure how the kids would do in Sacrament Meeting if I had to go out to feed Baby K during it.

Mother's Day

This was the year for jewelry for me for Mother's Day. Kitty made me a necklace in nursery and the older three kids each made me a bracelet at a primary activity. Left to right we have Blondie, Luke & M&M (it's funny how much they reflect their personalities). At school M&M made an art picture for me and Luke made an impression of his handprint. DH gave me some flowers to plant in my pots on the front porch & walkway.

After church the kids made my mom some flowers out of tissue paper & pipe cleaners. We gave them to her that evening when we went over to her house for dinner.

Sunday nap...

Reading

The other morning I had set Baby K down on the floor so that I could get a couple of things done. The next thing I knew, Kitty was over there next to her with a book. Kitty was very excited because Baby K was looking at the book while she was "reading" it to her.

Busy Blondie

Earlier today I was holding Baby K while I was trying to get some things done at the computer. Baby K was getting upset because she wanted me to feed her (again). Blondie came over and gave Baby K a hug and she quit crying. Blondie then walked away and Baby K started crying again. Blondie came back and hugged her again and she quit crying again for a minute. Then Blondie walked away saying, "I can't stay with her all the time every day. I have to do stuff..."