SGU Day 1

Mom and Dwane's house is a real home.  The moment you walk in the door your are enveloped in a sense of warmth and well being.  They are both such loving people that the house radiates that feeling as well.  The only thing that improves on the feeling in their home is when all of us are there visiting

When we woke up Sunday morning (7:00 as usual despite the time change (James has an impeccable internal clock.)) we were welcomed with hugs and kisses and finally had the opportunity to introduce Matthew to all of my siblings and to his cousins.  After a yummy pancake breakfast (John cooked) Mom laid out the plan for the day.  She had, as is usual for when we are all in town, arranged for us to sing in sacrament meeting.  This time she had also arranged for our kids to sing in primary.  Lisa and Keri (my two incredible sisters) wrote a Primary song this year and Mom wanted them to teach it to her primary kids.  Then she had volunteered Lisa and Keri and I to sing in Relief Society as well.  Mom can go a little overboard sometimes.  =)   Sunday evening was reserved for family pictures. 

Going to church in my parents' ward is a little strange.  I know maybe a handful of people.  Mom and Dwane were married two days after Mike (my step bro who is my age (actually, technically he is 6 months older since I got to retain my status as the baby of the family)) and I graduated from high school.  This was never my home ward since I went to the college ward that summer and then moved to Philadelphia.  However, we are welcomed with open arms whenever we are home for a visit and Mom and Dwane are loved and looked after by everyone, so as far as wards go this one is pretty great.

Anyway, all of the singing went well and watching my boys fearlessly sing a solo (Sam) and a duet (James) in front of a large group of their peers made my heart burst.  Church down, family pictures to go...

The plan:  All of us as well as all of Dwane's kids and grandkids would meet in the park at 6:00pm to get a new family photo of the WHOLE family as well as individual family photos. The last time we had done this was in 2002 when I was barely pregnant with Samuel and my brother, Jared, wasn't even married yet.   I have been after John to get some real family pictures done for a while so I was looking forward to this.  I think that the pictures turned out well. Sascha (my step brother Casey's wife) picked the color combinations for the family- a task almost more difficult than arranging the whole group for a shot.

What we didn't take into account:  the 117 degree heat and the poor saps (us and Ty and Becca and Theo) who were still on east coast time.  Two photographers and two hours (and several melt downs by kids and adults) later, we were more than ready to go splash around in a nearby fountain built specifically for that purpose.  The small amount of cold water bottles and half melted popcicles we had brought barely helped to combat the heat but the water fountain reduced Samuel to blue-lipped shivering.  I had him lay down on the pavement to warm up since no one had thought to bring towels.

One of the fun or bizarre things about my family:  Since we are so rarely all in the same place (the last time was in Philadelphia in 2006) my Dad and his wife Anne are included in most if not all of the family activities.  Family pictures were no exception.  They showed up at the end after Dwane's kids left and we got our pictures taken with them, too.  Don't even ask how the bill is being split on that one!

Home

Last week we went out to Utah to spend a week with my family.  As we made the evening drive from Las Vegas to St. George all I could do was stare out the windows at the mountains and try to keep from drowning in memories and waves of homesickness as they crashed over me.  Don't get me wrong, I like Philadelphia, I love our home and our friends and I have no intention of EVER returning to live in St. George, but there is something about the towering mountains and the glowing sunrises and sunsets and the orange dirt that never washes out of your socks that just fills my soul.
The drive from Vegas to my childhood home is a familiar one.  The airport in St. George is on top of a small mesa so you have to spend a small fortune to fly there directly.  Las Vegas is the closest major airport.  Also, it is where my Dad moved when my parents split so we spent a lot of time as kids making the trek there and back.
During the first part of our drive the moon rose and sat perched on the mountain to our right, larger than normal and slightly orange in color, welcoming me back.  Then the millions of stars came out one by one reminding me just how many are hidden by the smog and the trees back east.   
A small portion of the drive between the two cities is through the Virgin River Gorge.  It is a four lane highway (two lanes for each direction) that runs parallel to the twisting path of the Virgin River between towering canyon walls.  With "watch for falling rocks" signs and frequent big horn sheep sightings the path can be trecherous to say the least.  The speed limit through the gorge is 55 mph.  My Mom, who used to make the commute to Vegas for graduate school 2-3 times a week, takes it at 90.  As I drove through On Saturday night a week ago with my four sleeping boys, I was driving a conservative 65.  There are so many twists and turns that driving on a dark night is more than a little terrifying.  The curves are hard to see and the road is alternately bordered by steep drop offs or solid rock walls.  Driving the gorge in daylight is less frightening and more intoxicatingly beautiful- which poses the danger of distraction.
St. George is a small basin surrounded on all sides by red sandstone cliffs or black lava rock hills with the rocky mountains in the distance.  From the surrounding hillsides you can see for miles in any direction- with very few trees to block your view.  The wide open space gives you a feeling of insignificance but also one of gratitude for the overwhelming, breathtaking beauty of it.  Never has the odd color combination of green (grass), orange (sandstone) and blue (sky) been considered gorgeous until you have seen it here. 
It was good to be home.  And HOT.  We took family pictures outside on Sunday and the thermometer read 117 degrees.  Most days it hovered around 108.  Mom and Dwane's pool felt like a bathtub.  It was still refreshing though and we took the kids swimming twice almost every day.  The kids had a great time playing with their cousins and John and I had fun hanging out with my brothers and sisters and their spouses.  It was insane and hilarious chaotic and entertaining and stressful and silly and I did not want to come home yesterday.

I left my computer at home due to airline limitations on bags and needing every extra bit of room for baby stuff and I was kicking myself from the moment we landed for not bringing it.  The next week or so will be blogs about our trip that I composed in my head.  Stay tuned...

Famous Quotes from Myrtle Beach

James:  (10 minutes into our 10 hour drive to MB)  "Mom, are we in Myrtle Beach now?"

Matthew:  "Mamamama"

Samuel:  (about his new 20 questions digital game)  "This thing is awesome!  It knows everything!"

James:  (We went to dinner at Cheeseburger in Paradise)  "Mom, what is paradise?"
Mom:  "Picture the happiest place you can imagine where you can be with all the people you love:  your friends-"
James:  "Oh, so like school!"

Samuel:  (when saying goodbye to his friend Haley)  "You made the best Princess Leia ever!"

Matthew:  "Dadadada!"

James:  (10 minutes into our 10 hour drive home)  "Are we in Philadelphia now?"

Myrtle Beach

We are getting ready to head out to the family vacation in Utah so I am trying to catch up on all my posts.

Last week was our fourth annual Myrtle Beach vacation.  It is the perfect place to go with young kids- especially my boys who LOVE the water!  We had a great time with John's family (minus Dave who was too cool for us this year.  =))  We also got to meet up with Aunt B, Laura and Haley again and they brought newbies Dallin and Chase to join the party.

Here are a few photos of the fun!

Needless to say, we had a great time!  Want to come next year?

ten months plus some

The day before Sam's birthday was Matthew's 10 month mark.  I swear he gets cuter by the day!  He also gets more mobile!  Matthew at 10 months had figured out how to climb the four steps from our family room to our kitchen.  He also got two more teeth so he now has eight.  Now all he has to do is figure out what to do with them.  He still chokes on anything that isn't puree so we are hoping over the next few weeks while we are on vacation to get him used to chewing.

Look at this boy, I know I am not biased when I saw he is adorable!  =)

Lucky Seven

Happy Birthday to my sweet Sam.  Seven already!!!

In the hospital

One Year Old

Adorable twos

Three and driving already!

Four

Five- with possible future wife.  =)

Six years old!

Last week

Sam's favorite things at age 7:  School, reading, playing soccer, playing with Daddy and James and Matthew, his friend Rachel, Star Wars (especially Obi-Wan Kenobi), his webkinz, Star Wars Legos and playing with his friends.  Sam is a smart little guy (he does addition in his head better than I do!) and loves taking charge.  It is so fun watching him grow! 

battle of the sexes

John and I don't always see eye to eye about finances.  So let me pose a question to you and please, send me some feedback.  I am wondering if this is a "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" kind of question or if this is just a me and John thing.

Would you rather:

A)  Scrimp and save on your daily expenses and home improvement fund in order to purchase a vacation home at the beach (where you will only spend a week or two a year and then use it as a rental property the rest of the year)

or

B)  Allow yourself a little more money for the day to day and household expenses (alleviating much stress and giving the opportunity to go out to dinner and movies and enjoy here and now) and continue to vacation in hotels in different locations.

Seriously, would love feedback on this one!