Cuddles

There's just something amazing and wonderful and calming about carrying your normally rambunctious children to bed and have them lay their tired heads on your shoulder. Then you kiss them goodnight on their sweet little necks as they hold onto you. As you place them in their beds, they just look up at you as if to say, "Thanks, Mom. This is what I needed." No fighting it, just acceptance and a cute little dazed look of love in their eyes. Even though I want to hold you and cuddle you for at least another hour, I will let you sleep. Good night my babies. I love you.

Bucket List

If you haven't seen this movie, then you have no idea what I'm talking about. So its basically the list of "Things to Do before I Die". Do you have one? What's on it? My cute sister-in-law Beth was telling me about a freind of hers who had made her list and the majority of the things on it, Beth had already done. So we were coming up with things that she could possibly put onto her own bucket list that didn't invlove just traveling to cool places because then it would be "Places I want to go before I Die" list instead of things to do. We came up with a variety for her though so that she didn't have to just travel. Like reading all the books on one of those "100 books you must read" list. For me, there are a lot of things I haven't done or haven't seen, but I don't know what I would put on my own bucket list. I think that its a great idea though to help you make goals and achieve them, even if its over time. Some of my fellow blogging friends have mentioned things that they have wanted to do and how they did it. One wanted to read all the caldecott winners(or one from each decade) with their oldest daughter. And they did it! Good job Emily! Another wants to see a bear in the wild. Oliver wants to hike Provo Peak. And if he's going to hike it with Beth, he's got about a week left before she goes back to school. I konw they can do it as long as they plan appropriately.
For me, I think that I'd like to paint a Jackson Pollock-esque painting. And I've got all sorts of goals for a future house, so owning a house would definitely be on that list. But there aren't necessarily a lot of things that I feel would make my life incomplete or unfulfilled if I didn't get to to do them. It might make them a little more fun, but we can have fun anywhere. :) What's something that you really want to do before your time on earth is over?

Miami: Long Lost Friends

One advantage of traveling to Miami was that we were able to spend some time(not enough) with my dear friends Laura & Amber and their adorable families. Yes, they are constantly trying to convince us to move to Florida so that we can all be closer, but, I'm sorry, dear friends, it won't be happening any time soon.

It was still a nice day. Laura's apartment is right next to the pool in her complex and even though her adorable babies are only a few months old, they have awesome toys to play with. :)

Brian made some great homemade pizzas for dinner and before we had to drive off, we got to play a shortened version of a new board game. It was very reminiscent of old times...even if there are a few extra hands to worry about, and a few extra mouths to make sure get food. I'm sorry that the day wasn't longer, but the time with them was definitely worth it. Here's a few of the very very many pictures we took that day.

Yay for floaties! Look...Ryan is in the water and NOT screaming!

Kalen performing death defying stunts to the bottom of the pool.

Brady having a blast next to the pool.

Amber & Trace having fun.

The cutest thing ever-my baby fallen asleep in the inner tube.

Evan knows how to relax!

Brian & Oliver with a boy of their own. Doesn't feel like that long ago when neither one had a baby.

The one spot that didn't get any sunscreen. Poor kid...

Lizzie sure got a lot of attention. Somehow I managed to not take a picture of Will. But they are both adorable.

Oliver prefers babies this size...toddlers are fun, but way too tiresome. :)

The "couples" shots. (Amber licked him right before this shot).

Scott & Laura, your turn...Scott, its supposed to be a COUPLES shot

I don't have a scanner, otherwise I could show you a picture from 9 years ago when we first became friends....Amber & Laura are even cuter than they were then. :)

So I have to share a story of our travels away from Laura's apartment that I haven't yet shared. We're driving along the "really long straight road" and Oliver barely makes it through an intersection when the light was turning red. He notices that the guy behind him also goes through the light which means that he probably ran it. Well, a few seconds later, the lights on the car behind us start going and we get pulled over. Was he speeding? No. Was it really that light? No. Oliver hadn't turned the lights on. :) The nice police officer was just making sure everything was okay and telling us to turn the headlights on. But we sure were nervous for a minute. Oliver loved the van that we rented. A Toyota Sienna with fancy new features and everything. But we're used to our car which has automatic lights when it gets dark and Oliver was just so excited about driving and nervous about Evan's leg(he decided to break a glass in Laura's kitchen RIGHT before we left & so was bleeding a little bit) that he must have forgotten. Luckily, no citation, just a little verbal warning to watch those yellow lights closer. :) It was a good last day.

The next day was another day of travel, but by this time, we had figured it out. It was still a long day, but at least Ryan wasn't screaming for 3 hours straight. We made it home and decided that we needed another 2 days of vacation. Isn't that just too bad for us?

Miami: For Freeeee!

Finally the Sabbath came. A day of relaxation. We all slept in and then went back to the ancient spanish monastery. A very beautiful building that was built in Spain, torn down, and ended up being rebuilt in Miami. Weird. But beautiful. And peaceful.

Doesn't this place just look exotic?

Beth & her camera & her cute self in a cute dress.

Everyone looking meditative in the hallways of the monastery.

My babies are adorable...

Then we went to the noon sacrament meeting at the ward building nearby. I will tell you, sacrament meeting is ten times better when there are family members to help distract the children. We actually sat on pews for the first 35 minutes. I then spent the next 30 walking the boys up and down the halls. But it was nice to be with everyone at church.
After church we went to grab some sandwiches from the fridges in our hotel rooms and jumped back into the car to head to Fairchild Botanical Gardens. Beth had done some great research the day before and found that on Sundays in August, the Botanical Gardens would be open and free to the public. WHOO! The gardens were cool because they had also incorporated some very unique sculptures across the grounds. I always love it when there are multiple types of attractions to enjoy in the same location.

Oliver was having a lot of fun being Mr. Photographer. I had to limit the photos I chose because he took so many good ones.

After a hot and sweaty two hours--we're still smiling! (And isn't that tree behind us awesome?)

We spent two hours walking around these very pretty gardens. I know that I was dripping after like 30 minutes and the boys were nice and pink cheeked pretty quickly.

After that we went back to the hotel and relaxed a bit. The evening ended with the entire family(that was in town) out on the beach before heading back up stairs to play some card games.

The last night we were all together.

Our traveling buddies...and because Charlie was behind the camera in almost all the other shots.

It was a great day! And all for free!

Miami: Romance in the air?

Saturday morning was WARM! Hot, sweltering, steaming, you choose. We all got dressed in our fancies or guayabera shirts or whatever and walked down the road to the Oceania for the ceremony and reception of our dear newlywed family members and the reason we had come to Miami. Right outside of the resort's restaurant is a little patio area with sand so the ceremony was on the beach. Oliver's dad performed the ceremony and they compiled alot of great things together for the family and friends of the bride. They combined two different colored sands into one glass to represent the traditions that each brings to the relationship and once combined, you can't tell them apart because they become their own family's traditions. They shared a glass of sparkling cider together. Her puppy carried the rings down the aisle. They broke a glass akin to Jewish custom. It was a beautiful collaboration of traditions and customs and the newlyweds were so happy.

Thank you, Jimmy & Ari, for allowing us to be a part of another meaningful day. Sorry, I didn't have my camera. No pictures of the cute couple.

After the ceremony, the reception was upstairs in the restaurant. A delicious brunch buffet was provided and they danced and did all the fun things you do at receptions. Because we had the kids with us and didn't want them to destroy the lovely restuarant, we took turns watching them downstairs in the little cafe. Boy, did they have fun.

I don't think I've clearly explained the bond that Evan, Macy, and Ryan have formed. Sure, they may not always get along, but together, they have way more fun than apart. I know that the boys would look for Macy when we show up in places where she is supposed to be. Macy would do her impersonation of Ryan by "tsss" and saying his name. They are also a handful and can combine together for very bad news, especially when tired and hungry and all 3 want to go in different directions.

When we swapped baby watching, Charlie & Chelsea took the kids home while Oliver & I spent a little time upstairs. And then we walked home walking through the surf. In our fancies, carrying our shoes, holding hands and loving it. Once at the hotel, we all took a nap. (I love vacation!)

That night we decided to go do something touristy. We headed to an "Ancient Spanish Monastery" just down the road which was closed for a wedding but we got to see the parking lot and some local wildlife(lizards & a giant spider, and a cat with some raccoons). Then we decided to drive down to the Art Deco District in Miami. I was pretty excited, but was little prepared for what we would find. Blocks of packed streets, cars parked in every possible spot and the cars that are supposed to be driving being backed up for several more blocks. We did get to drive past many interesting Art Deco buildings, but didn't have time to stop and ogle and learn about any of them. Oh well, perhaps another time...and another life.

After a long time of driving, a car full of hungry individuals, and a few failed attempts at finding a restaurant for dinner (No, Oliver, we don't want to eat at that pizzeria. Not that one either), we came to a restaurant that we thought would be a typical Miami experience called Little Havana. The wait was longer that we were told, but the food was good. It had been a long day and we thought that we were making a habit of eating dinner late, but we got out of the restaurant by 9:45. Awesome! There's still time left in the night! Mom, Dad, and Grandma go shopping and the rest of us head back to the hotel.

Oliver, Beth and I watch the kids while Charlie and Chelsea get to spend some one on one time with the beach and the moonlight. I think they enjoyed themselves.

In front of our hotel

They got back and planned on watching Angels and Demons while keeping track of the babies as Oliver and I got our own time on the beach. We were sad to find that the pier that was so close, was actually closed as they are doing some repairs. It was nice to just walk on the beach though, holding the hand of the man I love. Even though a moonlit walk on the beach is new for us, it reminded me a bit of when we were dating and would go on late night walks together around Provo. I love him.

Self-timer with the lens open for like 30 seconds. It was fun to have to try and hold as still as possible for 30 seconds holding my husband. I also got him to kiss me for one...

But don't worry, we didn't take a walk as long as we used to. We got back and Oliver got sucked into the movie. I didn't watch it all because I put the boys to bed and then got to watch TLC, but if you want to talk to him about it, I think he really enjoyed it. But another good day. Miami, you're turning out to be a pretty cool place.

Miami, you are Hot!

Friday morning came, we all slept in pretty well. Yay! The girls walked down the street to a local grocery store to gather necessary sustenance for the weekend(or at least what we could carry back) and anything that was forgotten while packing. Oliver and Charlie had the kids and decided to venture to the beach. They didn't realize how stressful it was going to be when they were outnumbered. Macy was great, but Ryan still showed no love for the water. From what I understand, he was okay on the sand, but as soon as a wave hit him, he would scream. And Evan was in the process of eating the beach. So lots of fun! Unfortunately, Oliver forgot that he had his sister's cell phone in his pocket when he decided to jump in the ocean. Poor guy-his cell phone count was up to 2 within 12 hours I think. He then refused to touch another cell phone all weekend. The girls got back and Beth, Chelsea, Charlie, Macy, Evan and I went back to the ocean while Oliver, Ryan, Mom & Grandma played cards(and took a nap). And from that fun time, I got burnt. But that's what happens when you're at the beach right? It was fun to be on the beach. I really liked the sand and being the waves. Salt water takes some getting used to though.
Later, I think we all got naps. The cribs showed up so the boys actually had a place to sleep instead of on the make shift crib we made out of couch cushions. That night was supposed to be dedicated to helping prepare the reception decorations, but for Oliver and I, we would have been more hindrance than help due to our destructive and curious children. So we stopped in and I apologize for the lack of help that we were. Well, it wasn't horrible, because we did stop at Walmart and bought some paint and sparkling cider that was needed. But then we went to dinner. A pizzeria. I don't remember the name, but it was just north of the hotel on the AIA, run by Italians. It was really good. It made Oliver want to eat at every pizzeria we saw the rest of the weekend. We ate outside with the breeze blowing on us and because the air conditioning wasn't working inside where they were cooking the amazing pizzas. All in all, Friday turned out better than Thursday promised.

Miami, what were we thinking?

Why do vacations just seem too short? Well, ours was. Perhaps because it started like this: Called Delta earlier in the week, somehow they assigned another child to our family and so we couldn't be seated together and, therefore, my seat on all 4 flights became unassigned. (It turned out okay and we were able to all sit together on all flights). Wednesday night, we're packing, Oliver thinks that he's locked our trunk and we can't get into it...don't worry, that only lasted for about 20 minutes before he figured it out. Thursday morning works out pretty well. We get everything packed, get out 20 minutes later than planned, but no problems at the airport. The plane was another story.
Unfortunately, we didn't have great planning skills and were hoping that we could just let Ryan run the aisles and be fine. Which would have worked except that the seatbelt sign was on for the majority of the 3 1/2 hours and he was refusing to fall asleep in our arms while sitting. Luckily, we learned a few things and the flight from Atlanta to Miami was great(my three boys slept the whole way).
We get into Miami, get all our bags. Those of us living in the desert were a bit taken aback by the humidity and heat after dark. Oliver goes to get the rental where he was told they didn't have a reservation for us. But its okay because he found it pretty soon after saying that. He gets back to pick us all up and head to the hotel. One concern, he had taken his phone out when we arrived and called his sister to say we made it. When he got back from the rental place, he didn't have it. Yep, it got left on the plane.
By the time we start heading to our hotel its about 10pm. We're pretty good at directions so we weren't too concerned about this, except that the junction of the highway we were on and the interstate we needed to get onto was blocked by construction. But the detour signs weren't TOO hard to follow(unless it was hiding behind a tree). Luckily, the air conditioning worked in the van and Ryan, Evan, and Macy were having a great time sitting in the back altogether. We get to the hotel. It's right on the beach. Beautiful location. Service around 11pm, not so beautiful. The reservations were under Oliver's mom's name, but she had told us that if we beat her to the hotel, to just check in under her name. They didn't agree. But its okay, Mom and crew were about 5 minutes behind us! Wow, are we lucky or what? We get the keys for the room, everyone unloads and starts to head to the room while Oliver goes to park in the elusive parking lot(the desk didn't tell him how to get to the parking lot that was across the street-it involved going through store parking lots and through a back alley). While he's on that adventure, Chelsea is about to open the door to our double room, when she hears people inside. Loud people. Charlie runs back downstairs while Chelsea and I watch the 3 yahoos. 10 minutes later, we decide we're going back down to the lobby. Chelsea and I are superwomen. I bet you didn't know that.
Okay, the story is almost over(after all, the day's almost over right?). We finally get into new rooms. Thankfully, they are separate rooms because even though I had called earlier in the week to make sure they had cribs ("Yes, just ask for them when you check in") they had given them all out, so I don't know if anyone would have slept if we were sharing a double room like originally planned. Yay! We finally got a room!...with a Starbucks cup on the counter, with liquid inside, and an empty food container on the table and a chip bag on the floor and the toilet not flushed.
It's like 11:30pm, we hadn't eaten a real dinner yet and Mom, Beth, and Grandma were gracious enough to watch the babies while we drove to the Denny's down the road for a quick meal. Or so we thought...It was one of the worst restaurant experiences ever, with a delay in the placing of orders, of getting the food and with the manager standing there yelling at the employees while she stands there not helping customers either.
We finally get back to the hotel, everybody gets to their beds, and we bunker down for the night. The boys even slept!! Yay! But, Miami, you weren't on our favorite city list, in fact, we were definitely wondering if the trip was a good idea. What would you think?

Miami: A Family Adventure

The view from our Balcony

So our trip so far has been crazy. We'll tell the story some time later this week. Just wanted to post a few pics before we go for a moon-lit walk on the beach.

Planes are fun!

Planes are not fun!

Family Time

We are so lucky! Families are amazing! A friend asked me yesterday, "Why do you think Heavenly Father emphasizes family so much? Why is it important to him?" Great question, right? It definitely makes you think. Even further than that? Why be sealed for time and all eternity to a spouse? Well, I know that one couple found a good reason behind that last question and decided it was their turn. Jimmy and Ari were sealed in the Manti Temple on Saturday. It was beautiful. They were beautiful and so happy! And Ari has tipped the scales to have more women than men in the family.

Families are a very interesting phenomenon. But they are one of the most amazing things as well. The relationships you form with a family can help you become a better individual. There are things you can learn from those relationships that you can't learn anywhere else. It's hard to teach someone about being a parent or a sibling or even a son or daughter, but once you are a mother, sister, or daughter, you understand it all much more. You're more able to understand certain principles of the gospel that can be unclear just through words. Being in a family has helped me understand emotions a lot because I'm able to experience opposites very easily. Happiness, sadness, frustration, relief, stress, relaxation, and so much more. All because of the same individuals. What do families mean to you?

Taken at Bridal Veil Falls Park