The celebrating started early last weekend when Josh came to town. He wasn't able to make it for Jessica's graduation so he and his girlfriend Emily came a few weeks late to celebrate and spend time with Jess (and us). The kids were so excited when I told them that he would be here to visit. They have another cousin names Josh so to clarify which one, Ruby asked....you mean the one with the big beard down to here? Yep, that's the one....it was fantastic to have him and his beard here. It was the perfect excuse to spend a sunny Friday in Santaquin hanging out with some of my very favorites.
There's really nothing better than cousins!
We absolutely loved having Emily here and getting to know her.
The plans for the day revolved around some of Santaquin's finest....burgers at Santaqueen and four wheeling in Pole Canyon. I hadn't planned to go because Tim had to do some work and I wasn't comfortable driving a four wheeler with the kids on back. But when Jarin invited us to ride along in his side by side, we quickly said yes. It was perfect...seatbelted and comfortable, but bumpy enough for the kids to have fun. They thought it was fantastic and kept talking about how much fun it was to go up the mountain and were amazed at how high we went. The afternoon included plenty of time and space for the kids to explore and run wild which is exactly as life should be.
There was no way Jarin could resist the mud.
Grandma even took the kids on a ride.
Thelma and Louise
Before headed home, we stopped for a ride on the tire swing. The boys hiked around in the weeds and were convinced that they had found a dead cougar. We made it back home dirty and tired and with the kids full of stories from their adventures.
Saturday morning we drug everyone out of bed early so that we make it to Lagoon on time to watch Ada in her clogging competition. I love to watch her perform - she always looks like she is having the most fun and her group is super talented. Her team danced early and were done about the same time that the rides opened. The little kids were all very patient during the dancing and were definitely ready for rides when she finished. For the past two years, it has rained all during the day of the this competition. This year we were so excited to have no rain in the forecast, but it ended up being cold! It didn't start off too bad, but by lunch time we were already to leave because it had become so miserably cold. The kids talked us into one last ride and by the time they were done it had warmed a little and the sun came out so we decided to stick it out. It never really got warm, but the day still ended up being a lot of fun. At the coldest points I kept reminding myself that the cold weather was better than being too hot.
After Lagoon we went to Kaysville to wish Tim's mom Happy Mother's Day. She is so sweet, even though we were trying to celebrate her, she made us strawberries and waffles and dropped everything she was doing to spend time together. Tim and I have both been blessed with great mothers.
For a lot of years Mothers Day was often a tough holiday for me. I was lucky to have a great mother to celebrate, but I so desperately wanted babies of my own. Now that I have my own little loves, I still often think about those that have a hard time on this holiday. I try to balance my own joy with this knowledge, but this year the joy was pretty overwhelming. Tim and the kids went to a lot of effort to make sure my day was special. The kids came and woke me up, so excited for me to see all that they had ready for the celebration. They gave me plenty of hugs and kisses all day long and made sure I had an amazing breakfast and presents. The big kids weren't with us on Sunday but they also wished me a happy day and made me feel so lucky to have so many in my life that love me.
Breakfast was on china and extra fancy.
The kids' card reminded me that we are best buddies
Luke got this card at preschool but then had me help him fill it in
It does say I'm 45 years old.
I was so grateful to be able to spend the afternoon celebrating with my own mom. As usual, she spent most of the day working to prepare dinner and take care of us. She really has been the biggest blessing in my life - she loves us, makes us laugh, and has worked her whole life to give us every possible opportunity. Watching her love my babies has been the biggest blessing of all - we are all the luckiest to have her.
Sunday was the last day that Josh and Emily were with us. The kids took full advantage and involved him in every game possible. I assume he went home exhausted from all the chaos but we will definitely miss having him around. Hopefully it won't be too long before we see him again.
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