Seattle

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August 20th, 2012


There is so much to write and no time. So I'm going to miss a lot. We had a great trip. Mom and Dad drove down to Utah to get us and Caravan back with Holly. The night before we left Dad and I spent almost all afternoon trying to get my new internet set up. WE had to drill some holes in the floor to move wires from downstairs up, but He did it. I always have great projects for Dad when he comes.

We drove out of the driveway at 5am. None of slept all night. Dad had cramps, Mom simply couldn't sleep and I was too excited and knew they were both up. Jaden was also up. Our Garage door was left open all night until we decided to close it at 3am. Later Craig found that his bike had been stolen. I am guessing this must have been the night. Anyhow, our drive went great. Sierra was amazing. All three kids sitting together in the back was not wonderful, so it was nice to finally meet up with Holly's car. We got in Thursday night and Craig got in Friday morning about 5am with Tiffany and Jarrod, they all drove up after work. My family spent most of Friday at Coulon Park to meet up with his Brother Blake whom we haven't seen in 5 yrs. And to meet his 2 kids we haven't met yet. It was pretty hot and they were running late. But it all worked out. We went home and had a family Party for Jaden turning 9.
Saturday we went to Sea Fair to see the Blue Angels. So fun, crazy hot. Weston and David brought their grills and cooked up some Hot dogs. We had chairs and other good food. The kids and Craig swam in the water. The Angels were too loud for Jackson and Brigham, and Sierra. We had to cover her ears. But it was AMAZING as usual. Totally worth it. Then we packed up and hiked up a crazy big hill to our cars. Sweet was dripping off us like we had been sprayed with hoses. The family watched my kids while Craig, Tiffany, Jarrod and I went out to Lake Taps. So glad we did. Beautiful water. We swam all over. Sadly when we got home Sierra had been screaming frantically the whole time I was gone. She had a rough first 5 days. I couldn't set her down at all. So thanks to everyone for taking turns to carry her around outside.
Sunday Craig headed back home. We went to church and the kids did great. It was fun to see people from the past. Then we had a family dinner and all my brothers and families were there. It was good to see everyone. (We missed Heidi of course.)The rest of the week we went down to Pike's Place market and Pier. We would have done more but we were tired. Got our hair done. Did some shopping. Pedicures. Went to David and Kayleen's house and they came to Mom and Dad's. The kids loved playing with their family. Everyone got along really well. Alexis and Melody were best of friends. We played some fun different card games once we got the kids to sleep. And sometimes in the mornings we went to the track.
Friday we went to the Reunion at Camp Bethell. My kids love it there. Holly and I shared the same room again this year, but we let the 3 older girls sleep in another room by themselves. They did great. The bats were all gone, so the place seemed so much cleaner. I think there were still some mice. WE played games, went to the Beach. Alexis did a dance with her other girl cousins for the Talent show and Jaden told 2 jokes. I was so proud of them for trying something. Jaden felt pretty good about himself.
Then back to Mom and Dad's lots of cleaning, and shopping again. Tuesday we had a Pampered Chef Party that went great. We got to see and chat with more ward members from the past. Erin and Kids, and Kayleen and kids came as well. The kids did pretty well considering Grandpa was in charge of all of them downstairs. He had 14 kids. Well 13, Kayleen kept Ryan. Jackson wouldn't go and stay downstairs so that was an issue for me, but everything worked out fine in the end.
The ride home went great as well. A rough start seeing as we were stopping every hour and a half for bathroom breaks or to split up my kids, but then it went pretty smooth. Over all it was an amazing trip. We all hate to be back home again. The kids are bored. My sinuses are stuffed and I have headaches. The kids get a bloody nose each day. At least one of them does. It’s going to be a while before we get back on our feet. Sierra is getting more and more mobile. It’s very cute. Her top two teeth have poked out now. They always seem to come in pairs for her. I really hope we can go back to Washington next year. We really have the best time. It is so nice to have David's family close. We missed not seeing James's family more, and I am bummed their Baby didn't come while we were there to see her. O-well.