Enjoyable Chaos

Well this past week was full of non-stop fun for all of us. There is no way to write about it in one post so instead I'll do three segments. This first one, Enjoyable Chaos, will describe life in a three bedroom house with eleven adults, four babies under the age of one, and a three year old for a week.   My Uncle Brucie, Aunt Patty, their three girls, four grandchildren and my Grandma with her dog Eenie drove down from Provo, Utah to spend the week with us before my big reunion the on 25th.  While they insisted the drive down wasn't too bad I can only imagine and am very grateful we got to fly in.  Josh was super on the plane, in fact, all six times we have flown he hasn't shed a tear.  Josh had a great time with his cousins, especially Chloe the 3 year old.  He wanted to do everything she did and she could make him laugh so hard.  We spent time walking down around the Rio Grande River, visiting the park and zoo, swimming in the backyard, and playing around the house.  At any given time at least one baby was awake so as you can probably guess there wasn't a moment when the house was quiet and calm.  It was quite a change for Josh and me as it's just usually us hanging around the house.  I loved it and while Josh enjoyed his cousins, by the end of the week he was definitely over stimulated.  Kevin joined all the fun on Thursday night and spent Friday golfing with Brucie and my dad.  He was ready to see Josh and got there just in time to watch Josh take a few steps on his own!  I'm so glad both Kevin and my parents were there for the big moment!

Tricia with Trey (the youngest of the bunch)

Baby Sammie enjoying some biter biscuits

Everyone minus my parents, Kevin, Brucie, and the three dogs

Brucie with Sofie, Josh, and Chloe

Aunt Patty sharing a treat with Sofie (Lady and the Tramp kinda moment)

Great Grandma reading to Josh

About Time

As you can see it's about time for a haircut and good thing we are headed to Albuquerque to see Grandmo this weekend. We are headed there for my ten year high school reunion (wow I don't feel like it's been that long) and for an added bonus my Uncle Brucie, Aunt Patty, their three girls and all their babies will be there too! Josh will have all week with his Utah cousins and I'm so excited! So it may be a while until my next post but at least when it comes it should be a good one!

Reluctance

For the last few weeks every time we go to visit cousin Owen, Josh has spied his "walker" and tried to use it. Since Owen is officially walking on his own now Jen kindly offered to let us borrow the walker and my immediate response was "NO thank you!" Mobility changes everything! Obviously I don't want to hinder my child's development but I'm also in no hurry to have Josh walk. So for the last few weeks he makes do with standing up along the couch and moving his way down it, or the coffee table, or the window ledge, or he pushes the dining chair around the kitchen, or his favorite is to push the vacuum cleaner from one end of the living room to the other. Basically, he is making his own "walker" and there is no stopping him. So when Jen offered Owen's walker once again I finally gave in. Of course he loves it and I'm sure it won't be too long before he won't need its assistance any more.

Biased

So I know I'm biased but isn't he cute?!?!?!

The 4th

Growing up the fourth of July was always a really exciting holiday.  I spent every summer in Utah with my Uncle Brucie, Aunt Patty and their three girls.  Every fourth Aunt Patty would buy us matching outfits and we would head out to the main street in town for the "big" parade.  Okay, so maybe it wasn't that big considering the town itself is so small they don't have a single stop light.  That being said we still had to get there early enough to find the perfect viewing spot in the midst of the crowds.  There were even a few years that we participated in the parade, either with a patriotic decorated bike or riding behind a cousin on a horse.  I remember the shaved ice and the carnival that always followed with the silly homemade games of throwing darts or fishing behind a bed sheet.  Of course the best part came at night when everyone gathered around the Reservoir for a spectacular fireworks  display over the water. 

Its been over ten years since I last enjoyed the fourth of July in the small town of Blanding, Utah.  While I've missed it terribly this year with Josh around it seemed to affect me the most.  So I decided we were definitely going to a parade to start his new 4th tradition.  We headed out with his Aunt Jen and cousin Owen to The Woodlands.  We stayed for around two hours and while there was no shaved ice or carnival games there were plenty of decorated bikes and cars putting by displaying their red, white, and blue.  Josh really loved watching all the people and I enjoyed eating all the candy people gave him that he is obviously too young to eat!  They even handed him money to put in his first savings account.  When I noticed it was the new Dollar Coin, I promptly gave it back. (The new coins do not say "In God We Trust", so I'm protesting).  That night Josh did not stay awake for the fireworks but Kevin and I had a great view from our bathroom window as we soaked in the tub.  While all the pows and booms scared Maggie into the closet corner for the night they never once woke our precious boy.  

Look at those cheeks!