A Weekend Away

Max went on his first road trip this past weekend and got along amazingly well in the car . . . he only cried for about five minutes out of the entire 14 hours we were on the road.  We drove up to Burlington, Kansas, to see my grandparents, uncles, aunt and cousins.  My grandparents recently moved from Medicine Lodge, Kansas, a town where they both spent most of their lives.  They moved from a house in which they had lived for 40 years – a place that was special to my whole family.  But after staying the weekend in their new home and getting to see all that Burlington has to offer for them, I am so happy they made the move!  They have a beautiful home and such wonderful outdoor space; you can tell they’ve worked hard to make it feel like home.

 

My grandma gave Amelia a necklace and "slippers" so she could play dress-up.  They got to experience the continuous clacking sound.

It was great fun to see so much of my family, although I am looking forward to our next big family reunion where we can all be together.  I ate way too much good food and played even more cards (my family’s favorite past time).  We got an extra special treat of meeting my cousin Ashley’s four-month-old twins, Nate and Nora.  Amelia made the observation, “We’ve got lots of babies here!”  I could kick myself for not getting a picture of all three babies next to each other!

On Saturday, my Aunt Amy, Uncle John, Ashley and her husband John, plus their twins and their four-year-old Rowan drove down for a BBQ.  My cousin Kate had driven down the night before; her dad (my Uncle Bill) and Aunt Devra and my cousins Eli and Noah live in New Strawn, which is just a few minutes’ drive from my grandparent’s house.  It was great to spend a little extra time with Kate, Bill and Eli.  Amelia and Noah especially had fun playing with Eli!

In the words of my Aunt Amy, "How many men does it take to light a grill?"

Noah's first experience with "dead tree".  Amelia was more upset than Noah!

I haven’t had dairy products in almost five months, since the pediatrician and I discovered that Max doesn’t do well when I include dairy products in my diet.  Well, unfortunately, I completely “spaced” on not having dairy -- I had both lasagna and pizza on Friday, and poor little Max suffered majorly on Saturday!  I felt so badly for him . . . he was not the same baby we’ve had the last six months, and I felt so bad that my family who was meeting for the first time had to see him like that.

I feel so lucky to have such a big family that gets along so well!  My grandparents were so gracious for hosting us; having three little kids in your home for the weekend isn’t for the weak!

I’m also including some pictures from Amelia’s dance camp, which she loved.  However, they had a little performance for the parents on the last day, and poor Amelia was so scared that she totally froze up and looked like she was going to break out in tears.  However, she says she wants to go to dance camp again, so I guess the experience didn’t “scar” her too much.

Pretty Pink Princess Tea Party

When I asked Amelia what kind of party she wanted to celebrate her third birthday, she said, “Pink, Pink, Pink!”  So I tried to combine all of her favorite things into a birthday party this year, and I had a lot of fun planning it!  

Noah and I helping Amelia get all her "jewelries" on.

We had a bunch of “little princesses” over for a pink-themed tea party.  I literally had to drive all over Dallas to find the various pink accessories and foods.  Noah and I went to an antique shop and found a bunch of different tea cups and saucers.  These will be great to have on hand because both Noah and Amelia really love tea parties.  Amelia really seemed to enjoy her birthday party; after it was over, we asked her what her favorite part was and she said her pink cake.

These boys were such good sports for being part of the tea party!

What made it extra special was that Mike’s mom and dad flew into town a few days before and were able to be here for the party.  The kids also had a lot of fun swimming with them in the pool.  Ray and Nancy got a full dose of how completely obsessed Amelia is with dressing up like a princess and putting on “jewelries.”  The girl will have bracelets, rings, three necklaces, gloves, a crown, slippers, a cape and a dress on and still tell you she needs to put something else!

Having a daughter is such a wonderful thing . . . since I didn’t have a sister, it is fun to get to share all the fun “girly” things with Amelia.  She is such a special little girl, and we couldn’t imagine life without her.  Mike and I always know when she’s up, because we hear the click-clacking of her high heel slippers – they are the first thing she puts on in the morning and the last thing she takes off at night.

Her big birthday present from us this year was a Barbie doll house.  When I ordered it, I had NO idea it was so large, but she and Noah have had a blast playing with it!  It’s so tall that she needs a stepstool to see the top floor.  The doll house has easily paid itself off, because Mike and I have been able to “sleep in” for two weekends in a row since she stays up in her room and plays with it for hours.

Last but not least, I am very happy to announce that Max no longer has to wear his helmet!  His head is perfectly round and he is absolutely adorable!

Grandpa Ray and Max are definitely buddies!

i heart Park City

Without fail, every time I return to Utah and catch my first glimpse of the Wasatch Mountains from the airplane window, I am amazed at the beautiful place in which I grew up.  I know people think of Salt Lake City and Park City as a great skiing destination, which they are; however, I think every season has something amazing to offer! 

My time with the kids in Utah was very different from last year.  At that time, I was seven weeks pregnant and my morning sickness had just begun, so it was hard to fully enjoy my time out in Utah.   This time, I really tried to soak in all Park City has to offer.  The kids and I did some hiking in Big Cottonwood Canyon – Amelia was a trooper and hiked two miles without being picked up once.  By the end, she sat on the ground and said her legs didn’t work anymore.  I felt like a champ for taking all three kids hiking by myself!  My dad and I enjoyed a mountain bike ride followed by a hike to the top of Summit Park, where you have a 360-degree view that includes Deer Valley, Park City Ski Resort, The Canyons and even the Great Salt Lake.  

My dad took Mike, Noah and I in the Apache simulator and we got fly and shoot rockets and machine guns.  It was really cool but really hard!

Mike flew in and got to enjoy our last four days.  We went camping in the Uinta Mountains with my parents and my brother Jared, sister-in-law Amie and their two kids, Kai and Aria.  My dad taught Noah how to shoot a BB gun and showed the kids how to mine for gold.  I was apprehensive about sleeping arrangements: my parents, Mike, Amelia, Max and I were all to sleep in their RV, but it went very smoothly.  Noah and Kai got to bed down in the back of Papa Ken’s Toyota truck in sleeping blankets.  Jared, Amie and Aria spent the night in a tent.

Amelia was OBSESSED with her Uncle Jared!

The highlight of the trip was getting to spend so much time with my family!  Noah and Amelia loved getting to see so much of Kai and Aria.  They had a lot of fun building forts, having tea parties, and sleep overs.  Amelia and Aria were dressed up as princesses most of the time and the boys were good sports about agreeing to marry them.

 

Amelia and I got to celebrate our joint birthday while we were there, which made it extra special!

So happy to see these two beautiful ladies!

 

My wonderful husband sent me flowers on our anniversary!  We haven't been together on the actual day in three years, next year I'll make sure we are.

Anniversary celebration dinner at Reata in Sundance Square.