We did not plan on making another trip to Utah just four months after our last venture, but when my brother Sean, who lives in Illinois, said he was heading there to visit, we couldn't miss the opportunity. Plus, it was the perfect excuse to gather all the siblings to celebrate my mom's 60th birthday.
Mark and the kids picked me up immediately after my race and we began the first leg of our trip. Traveling with kids (well, at least our kids) means lots of rest stops. Our first pit stop was in Yakima, Washington. If you look carefully at either edge of the picture below, you can see both Mt. Rainier and Mt. Adams.
I didn't have much hope of Nellie sleeping well in the car, but she did manage to take a short nap. The only downside was that the only way she consented to nod off was if she was holding onto Mark's arm, which was not exactly the most comfortable position for him.
We had a deadline for reaching Utah on Sunday, but didn't feel up to making the entire drive in one shot, so we planned to stop for the night at a hotel in Jerome, Idaho. We knew we'd get there pretty late, but I didn't realize just how cranky we would all be by that point. We were grumpy x7! I was at the dangerous point where I knew I was ornery, but didn't even care to reign it in.
It didn't help that once we got to our room, I realized it only had two double beds (instead of the queen beds I expected) and no pull-out bed or sofas. We had to get creative with sleeping arrangements. Nellie, who had passed the ridiculously-tired phase and moved on to the too-keyed-up-to-sleep phase, had zero interest in the pack and play. Easy-going Graham was happy to have his own space.
Thane flipped out at the idea of sleeping on the floor, but Bryce insisted he wanted to sleep there. I'm still not sure if he actually wanted to sleep on the floor, or if he was just being kind, but regardless, he was a life saver.
Nellie made it clear she was Queen of the Bed.
Sunday morning we were up and out of the hotel early to make sure we reached Colleen's home in time for church and Cohen's baby blessing. We made good time, and arrived at Colleen's early enough to have lunch with her before the rest of the extended family arrived and we walked across the street to church (hello, Utah!).
With all of our family, we took up three full pews! It was glorious to all be together. I hoped I might be able to sneak off to a quiet Mother's room and let Nell get a little nap, but no luck there. Instead, Nellie decided her cousin Margo was her own personal pet; she kept petting Margo's head saying, "soft, soft!"
After Cohen's blessing and Sacrament Meeting, we took brief family pictures, then walked down the street to another church building where Colleen and Andrew hosted a fabulous picnic lunch.
This was the first time the cousins had a chance to play together, and they wasted no time at all in renewing their cousin-friend bonds. Aubree immediately sought out Cohen and was thrilled to have baby time.
Poor Killian was welcomed to Utah with a major case of allergies.
That evening, we headed down to the Pope Hotel. Well, at least it sure felt like the Pope Hotel! At the peak, Kira and Stew had 28 people staying at their home (that's in addition to the 6 who actually live there)! We were all exhausted, and I think we managed to get the four younger kids to bed at a relatively decent hour. Aubree and the girl cousins begged for a sleepover downstairs. By 10:30pm when none of them were even remotely heading towards dreamland, they were all sent back to sleep with their families. I had good intentions of likewise making an early entrance to dreamland, but I cannot resist the siren call of talking with family. Yawn.
On Monday, our little family diverged from the bigger group to visit briefly with our good friends the Jensens, who recently moved from Washington. Though our time was short, by the end, Aubree and Bryce had pretty much invited themselves to move in! I think I'm going to institute a new rule: Good friends are only allowed to move closer, not further away.
Monday afternoon, the kids explored Popeland. Kira's park-like backyard, never-ending supply of toys, adventure toys, and garage climbing wall (complete with harnesses) mean that we don't really need to plan outside activities when we visit.
When they ran out of energy, they collapsed in front of the big screen to watch Moana.
When we all get together, we take turns being in charge of meals. Monday night, Katie and Seth were in charge and they made hot dogs and sausages. Sean helped out in the kitchen, but every time he and Katie got near each other, they reverted to their childhood selves. Pretty funny to watch!
Feeding a small army is quite a feat!
Monday evening we gathered at a park in Provo for family pictures, but that is a topic for another post!
Tuesday was both Elizabeth's and Margo's birthday. Margo turned one and Elizabeth turned seven. Katie and Colleen planned a massive cousin animal/water themed party for them. First, Colleen organized the cousins into two teams. Then, the teams competed in water relay events and rotated through other fun water activities, like knocking down a cup pyramid with their water squirters.
When the official games were finished, the kids were free to play in the pool and shoot water at each other and any passing adult.
Having all the cousins together made my heart simultaneously joyful and sad. I love seeing them interact and develop relationships, but I hate that they're all together so rarely. Note - Nellie's not in any of the pictures because she was taking a very long and MUCH needed nap.
Katie was in charge of the food, and she went wild. The lion pizzas were devoured immediately, but not without due admiration.
The whole set-up was so fun! Cousin parties are the best parties.
Elizabeth kept saying, "this is the best day ever!"
1 comment:
It was so much fun! Let's do it again!
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