In which the Judkins love their families

When we told our neighbors that we were leaving for a week in August for a family reunion the conversation went something like this:

"Wait, didn't you just barely have a family reunion?  Like in June? And then some other shindig in July?"
"Yes, but that was Zach's mother's side of the family and then Clarissa's mom's side.  This one is just Zach's immediate family, and then we're going straight to Clarissa's dad's family, and we're also trying to squeeze in a visit with Clarissa's second cousin."
[theatrical shaking of head] "Mormons."

Dang straight!  We absolutely love our family reunions because we absolutely love our families, crazies and all.

We started the trip with Anthon and Melissa, our cousins and Eli's godparents.  They're been living the hardcore life in Jeddah the last two years working for the State Department, so the visit was long overdue.

Porter and William- they'll be buddies someday.

Goodbye breakfast at Guru's.  We'll miss you guys!

Next we journeyed down to St. George to be with the Judkins.  Every time we get together I feel like our family has exploded and children are raining down all over the place.  It's chaotic and fun and full of good times.

Ollie, James & Eli: the Three Muskateers

Porter and Louisa giving "baby loves" (scratches)

Digging in the sand dunes

By the end of our trip Eli became brave enough to float in his wings by himself.

For us, it was a huge step forward.  Now if only we could persuade him to get
his head wet...

Porter loved the pool!

The proud matriarch and patriarch

So much cousin love!

Due to spectacular luck and coincidence, the Magleby reunion was also in St. George, and only overlapped by one evening, which was extraordinarily convenient for us.  If you've ever driven the road up north through Nevada, you know it's an experience to avoid as much as possible.

We took Eli to his first live play: Tarzan at the Tuacahn.  It was wildly popular!

Porter and Big Maimai

 We had even more pool time and delicious food with the Maglebys while we chatted and watched the Olympics.  It was a wonderful time.  Thanks family!

Julying 2016

I have to face it- July was a while ago.  But I'd still like to record at least some parts of it, so we'll resort to cranking out a highlights reel:

Zach Worked A Month Straight
Some highlight, huh?  But apparently it was a weird kind of goal of his (along with working 24 hours straight, achieved in DC in 2010).  Now that it's been checked off, I hope we never, EVER revisit it.

Happily though, the end of July brought the end of working for Kmart.  Zach is now gainfully and much less stressfully employed at the Smith's Pharmacy two blocks down.

Sympathy Gathering from Family
While Zach was accomplishing his goal, I took the boys to Utah for a week where we hiked with the Judkins and celebrated the 4th of July and my grandmother's birthday with the Maglebys

Finally Started Exploring Our Own Backyard
My brave friend let me throw my kids into her minivan with her own three and we headed up Lamoille Canyon.  I feel spoiled having grown up around places like Sundance, but this place was none too shabby.  Dear family, we finally have places to take you when you come to visit (besides the casinos and brothels, that is).

Art in Park
During which the train was ridden repeatedly and much ice cream was consumed

A Visit from Eli's Girlfriend
We all just love Gwen.  So much so that I'm willing to brave all the spiders, seen and unseen, that live in our window well to rescue her My Little Ponies and mail them back to her.

Eli Took Swimming Lessons
As a (once upon a time) swimmer, I was so very excited for this day.  Eli had more... mixed feelings.  He liked splashing around and holding the toys, but putting his face in the water was a no-go.  Next year I guess.

Eli Also Took Tumbling Lessons

I'm pretty sure that no gymnastic instruction was retained, but he loved jumping and rolling around with his new buddies. 

And Cuteness Abounded

The End.

The Haights are Great!

One fine day, Zach and I will no longer feel the need to prove that we can still do everything we want to just as easily as we did before Kidageddon. We receive fresh proof daily that that kind of simplicity is gone for the foreseeable future.  Children just plain complicate things.  But while they double (quadruple, millionuple) the logistics, they also multiply the joy and excitement.  This year's Haight Family Reunion was one such dichotomous experience.

On our way out to Manti we stopped on the salt flats, thanks to Eli's habit of declaring his desperate urge to use the bathroom minutes after passing the only civilization for 80 miles in either direction. It was fun to think that 10 months ago, we made our very last trip across the salt flats as a family of three. This time we took a picture to commemorate our foursomeness.

No, that's not a glare.  It's my amazing farmer tan.

Once we got to the Palisade campground Eli made a beeline for the water.  He would've slept in the boats if we'd allowed him to he was so enamored.

Porter, meanwhile, had to be held THE ENTIRE TIME.  The ground was covered in goose droppings and the water was unguarded, so someone was constantly lugging his hefty little body around.  3 AM was no exception- Zach (bless him) took Porter for a walk so that he would stop trying to serenade our entire extended family with his cries. I take this moment to publicly declare that I will never attempt to camp with a teething baby ever again.

Clockwise from top left: shock at being surrounded by so many affectionate people; Porter's true attitude about food revealed; evidence that Porter loves Uncle Gabe more than most; a Portrait of Exhaustion (mine, that is)

On the second day we took all willing cousins on a hike along the shore.  Nothing is cuter than a flock of excited children chanting nonsense while marching in a line (I think.  They only stayed that way for about half a second before stringing out into chaos).

Below we find a prime example of Zach being, in Eli's words, "super cool" on the hike.  Surprisingly he never did fall in.

We loved hanging out with this fantastic family.  The Haights really are a fun, talented, and welcoming bunch.  Special thanks to Rob and Stacy for planning and executing such an excellent reunion!

Oh what [on earth] do you do in the summertime?

It seems these days that on the rare occasions that Zach has some time off, we're out of town.  The days that he's working it's just me, Eli and Porter, from breakfast to bedtime.  All.  Day.  Long.  Some days we're crazy busy with errands and activities, and other days it's difficult to stave off utter boredom.  When the walls start closing in, we have a few stalwart options we can always turn to:

We hit that trampoline.  Hours of entertainment (with funny hats or otherwise) and exercise (wear them out! wear them out!) have been provided by this marvelous contraption.

Walks.  So many walks.  Nothing calms the post-feeding craze like a nice long constitutional.  And, when they're not poking each other, there's not a sight I love more in the world than looking down and seeing my boys sitting side by side with limbs overlapping and heads pressed together.

Dress-ups: totally not just for girls.  These fierce ninja turtles prove that.  Eli can turn into any superhero or animal at the drop of a hat, and Porter is always a willing sidekick.

 

Our backyard empties out into a park, and we can be found there nearly every day.  My friends and I agree that there's nothing like aimless running, climbing, and shrieking to get a kid ready for naps. 

  

 

But sometimes we get desperate for a change, so when our friends invited us up to Twin Falls for a few days I pounced at the chance.  It was my first time traveling solo with both kids, but they were fantastic for the 3 hour drive.  And although the night was rough (never again will I willingly share a bed with Eli- it's like sleeping with a bulldozer) it was totally worth it to reunite Eli with his beloved Gwen.

The kiddie pool.  After this trip we bought our own because the boys had such a good time!

 



It doesn't take much to impress 3 year-olds with science

On our last day we visited Shoshone Falls.  Eli fell in love with the waterfalls, but because Zach has taken to watching YouTube videos of tornadoes with him, he was absolutely terrified of the wind.

Hiking with his lady-love.

 

Much thanks to the Leavitts for refreshing our summer!  If you're looking to refresh your own summer, we've got two super cute attractions here in Elko for a limited time only.