We got in the car and headed to TX the end of June to spend a few weeks with family. We stayed with my parents, but also got to spend time with my sisters Audrey and Ashley. I never like the long drive, but we did have an extra driver this time. Nathan has his driver's permit! And despite the drive, it was worth it to be able to get out of the house and see family. We had a great time!
We took Kai with us - she was a bit of a problem. She quickly figured out how to push the door open to the room she was in and come in the main part of the house (she wasn't allowed in the house). It took a few tries to contain her to her cage, which had to be attached to something else. She also figured out how to push the cage over. She stayed in the weight room at night and the air conditioned shop during the day (since the cat sleeps in there at night). We did run into one bit of drama one morning when the cat was still in the shop (even though the door was open). I didn't realize the cat was in there and put the dog in there. She started barking and I quickly found out I shut the dog in with the cat! Oops. We threw Kai in the pool a couple of times, but she didn't like it. She was pretty bored the whole time, but she did go on some runs in the morning, wishing she could chase the wildlife.
We spent a lot of time in the pool. Weston and Savannah learned how to swim while we were there. We also played games, watched movies, put together a puzzle, did a coloring night and cornhole, puppet show (by Savannah), pool table, video games, Legos, and the kids rode wiggle cars down the long driveway. We still went running most mornings and enjoyed watching the deer come right up to the house.
We went to Sam and Audrey's for 4th of July - lots of yummy food. (I made french toast for breakfast, frog eyed salad for dinner, and Alex made apple pie.) Audrey and Sam did the colorful spread and the BBQ chicken. I took some pictures of the food, but not much of the people, so I didn't even get a picture of Sam and Audrey or Ashley and Daniel. At least Ashley took one of Alex and me and some of the kids. Daniel's sister and her family were there too. Their girls did the face painting. The little kids had fun on the trampoline with the dinosaur sprinkler.
We also got to go boating on Sam and Audrey's boat - it was a blast, especially watching Nathan, Jaden, and Jared hang on as we tried to make them fall off the tube! Weston, Owen, and Eli also had a pretty good ride too - Weston is the one with his legs all the way up in the air. He was holding on tight, but his legs popped up in the air. Audrey and some of the kids jumped off a cliff at the lake. It was so hot out, so the water felt really good.
One of my favorite things was doing church with all of us a couple of Sundays. I really felt the spirit as we gathered together for the sacrament and shared talks and songs. Nathan and Jaden blessed the sacrament and Owen passed it. Ashley, Alex, Sam, and my mom gave talks. Audrey and Sam sang a beautiful musical number "Jesus Lover of my Soul", and Eli, Noah and Mason sang "I Will Be What I Believe". Savannah and Owen sang "I Will Walk with Jesus", and I sang "It is Well with my Soul" and shared the background to the song - about a family that lost their business in the Chicago fire and then lost their daughters in a shipwreck. They were still able to find peace and go on to find greater purpose in their life.
I prepared the dough and ingredients for homemade pizza one Sunday. I think we made 10 pizzas! It's quite a production for 20 people. We did some other dinners too - taco salad, roast and potatoes, chicken salad sandwiches, and some other yummy food.
We celebrated Weston's 10th birthday. He opened some presents, went swimming, watched a movie, and got his requested meals on his actual birthday. He wanted apple pie for dessert. He loved his new Lego set, kindle, and stuffed piggy.
We had a pool party later in the week for Weston and Hailey (who turned 11). Audrey and Sam decorated the pool with weighted balloons and set up an outdoor movie. It was so fun watching a poolside movie (most of the kids were actually in the water). Sam also brought a steak just for Weston (which Weston wanted, but I didn't want to do steak for everyone). The rest of us had hamburgers and hotdogs. I made the cakes - a bulldog for Weston and flowers for Hailey (paper flowers, since I'm not good at frosting flowers). Weston was really excited to open the present from Sam and Audrey - a pizza box with lots of "dough" in it. His expression was priceless.
It was hard to leave and come back home after all our fun times - loved being with family!
