Family Time

Whew! This past month we have been fortunate enough to spend oodles of time with my family. My parents (even my dad came!) headed out to visit us for a week. Then a couple of weeks after that we spent a week with them in Utah. It was lots of fun, and I think the boys are missing all the attention they've been getting.

Beck was mesmerized by the sight of so many of himself. He could have spent the whole day in there!

The week my parents spent with us here in NM flew by. It was filled with all our normal routine stuff...including daily swim lessons. On the way home one day, my mom saw a gigantic puddle flooded parking lot and thought we should definitely stop and play. I normally would've driven right past it, but the whimsy of it caught me off guard. It left me wondering if my mom would have let us play in a parking lot like that when we were kids, or if being a grandmother gives you a new outlook instead? We paid a visit to the Explora museum too, which we always love. Ash and Beck loved having Grandma and Grandpa around to talk to, put them to bed, read stories, teach them new songs(Five Little Monkeys Swingin' in the Tree...), teach the boys to jump into every puddle they see, and just make them feel special and loved. It had been nearly a year and a half, much too long, since their last visit, so to that we say don't stay away so long next time! Thanks for the fun visit!

We'd been wanting to head out to Utah all summer and the time that worked best for us, interestingly enough, was 2 weeks after they left us in NM. What fun! We spent every single day with my sisters and their kids; such a treat. I still cannot believe that now that each of us has a family that I don't get to live nearby to reap the benefits. All those years of growing up, you just take that close proximity for granted, and now that I actually want to live by them I don't. Go figure. I never give up hope though!
One special treat was going to my Grandpa Pettit's 80th birthday party. What fun it was to catch up with aunts, uncles and cousins...and all their kids! I haven't seen some of them in years, so it was great to see everybody. The kids had a blast soaking themselves in the water slide bouncer (even Beck took a slide down, and was petrified), while the adults chatted it up.

Beck with his Great Grandpa Pettit. Asher feeding the dog under the table;)


Asher riding a life-size rocking horse (belonging to my aunt's neighbor, Thoreau Bailey.) Fun!

The cousins were super cute together. During the trip, Asher had a sudden surge of confidence and decided that he could swim, even though he most definitely can't. Every chance he had, he was throwing his head under the water and trying to swim. I was proud of him for being so brave, since he spent the last month acting like he was drowning at swimming lessons. Way to go buddy!

Look at their black little feet!

Kayla's cute baby bump. I was hoping for a high five from the little guy, but didn't get it.

My dad was able to take a couple of days off work(originally tagged for a scouting trip, but we happened to come at the same time, so we won out!) and we spent a night in Park City. We slept in their big trailer(a new experience for me...everything is so mini and cute!), and the kids thought it was awesome! Corey unfortunately woke up the in the wee hours of morning with a back spasm and could barely walk. I secretly think it was the fact that seminary(yes, he's teaching early morning seminary right now) was starting up just a few days later. Poor guy! How is it that we hit 30 and slowly start falling apart? Agh.

Naughty Beck jumping on the bed in the trailer. And missing in this picture is Laurie:(

The rest of our visit was filled with swimming, trampoline jumping, Seven Peaks, the Children's Museum, Thanksgiving Point, Tucanos, shopping, a mandatory visit to El Pollo Loco(LOVE their flan), trying out my dad's 4-wheelers and a visit with Grandma Haynie. We packed the week FULL, but with no regrets. Thanks to my sisters Jen and Kayla for driving out every day to hang with us. We are so lucky to have you guys. And thanks to my parents for making our visit so special and loving our boys so much. We sure love you guys!! Til the next time:)