Last Day-Pool Day!

Everyone loves capri suns!

 While beach conditions were still a little crazy windy, Bridge decided the boys would probably enjoy the pool a lot more than the beach, where they could actually get in and enjoy the water. The water was chilly--but the sun was shining the entire time, so it was a PERFECT day and I'm so glad we ended on such a high note!

I love Molly here. Those big purple goggles and she looks like she's floating like a kite. Ruth is the black blob in the water.

The boys were so great!

Soaking in the Florida sunshine. It's my fav thing too. Nothing beats the sun.

We had the pool to ourselves pretty much the entire time--it was a school day. Right at the end a dad and his daughter came and we headed out not long after, and they were super nice anyway and he saved Molly's life (I have to get that girl in swim lessons! She thinks she can jump in and swim like everyone else and she can, but she can't do laps yet!)...I mean, I was right there and watching and could have jumped in and saved her, but it was much more convenient that he just reached out his arm and grabbed her from where he was standing right there. Thanks, nice neighbor.

The boys went to take a nap so we got some extra Grandma and Aunt Jenny time all to ourselves. I think my kids swam--total swimming the entire time--for five hours straight this day. Which reminds me that yesterday was SO HARD to put my kids down, but it's been raining and raining so we haven't had any swimming or outside play to wear them out. It makes such a difference at bedtime!

This sweet baby is such a trooper. I didn't have a stroller or anything with me that day (the problem with traveling--I had been taking so much stuff back and forth from the airbnb I took everything out that I would normally keep in it) and so he took a nap in the laundry basket full of clean towels. And he didn't mind a bit. Which is why he wins best baby  ever award. Plus--look how adorable he is!!!

She's going to be such a great mom in just a few weeks!

Poor Sterling studying while the rest of us played.

Grandma Cindy made more Christmas pillowcases (it was a little rough last year when we realized one hadn't been made for Molly yet--but Grandma came through!!!) AND she made Halloween pillowcases so the kids were THRILLED.

Saying goodbye is so hard. We went home and slept at our house Monday night because I sent Ruthie to school the next day and I didn't want to have to wake my kids up at 6am to drive through rush hour traffic to get her there. And Sterling had Peds SHELF on Friday so he was studying like crazy anyway and games weren't really going to happen. It was sad to end it without one last game night, but we had a pretty great one on Sunday and they had to pack their stuff up to head out early anyway. So it worked out. But I just wished they had stayed more days! We missed them already! And leaving after such a great trip is so hard. I am so glad my kids know who their cousins and aunts are now and refer to them regularly and basically just so, so glad they took their time to come visit us! We love you guys! And come back soon! It really reminds me how important family is when you see how much your kids immediately love them and how sad they are to see them go (Ruth started crying the minute we walked into our house that she missed Grandma). Family is so important. Knowing who you are and where you come from is so important. And having that foundation and those links and those supports and that love to build your family on and for your kids to grow up with is just the best thing I can give them. I am so glad I have family members willing to go above and beyond to make sure those ties and bonds are formed and kept strong. It makes me all emotional just thinking about it. I love my family! And I am so grateful that Jenny and Bridge and mom came out and that they want those things for their kids too!

Sunday with the fam

As stated previously, Ruthie and Will were pretty epic in the Primary Program. To put into perspective-we have about nine kids in primary. I don't know where they came from, but I think we had a good 15 there for the program. Molly has two other kids with her in nursery and all three of them move up to Sunbeams in January and then our nursery will have a whopping ZERO. Our ward has very different dynamics than anywhere we have ever lived. But--I kind of like it. It means our kids and babies get doted on like crazy and I really just love it, haha. Particularly Will's teachers-they just love him! And I am so glad because he is VERY focused lately and whenever you have to pull him away from his focus things can get 'tricky' quick, haha. But his teachers are angels. Sister Hansen is from Japan and has two boys, one a teenager and one who just got home from serving a mission in Japan. She is the most wonderful motherly lady and I took her as a role model right off. She focuses heavily on the good in kids, which is something I am trying SO HARD to do. She always has such great, specific things to tell me after church--how well Will said the prayer and how he was thoughtful and brought up specific things in it, how he drew a picture and focused on making sure the entire family was included in it, how he worked hard to memorize a scripture, etc.

All that to say, I am very much in love with our ward and the wonderful and amazing teachers that my kids are so blessed to have here. Unfortunately, their hard work was somewhat disguised in the program-HAHA. Lets just say, at one point Will had his entire palm stuck inside his tie and was flipping it at the girl beside him. That may have been one of the least distracting things he was doing--at one point I noticed him singing his 'five little pumpkins' song from Pre-K all the way through and doing all the actions, including the 'whooooo' for ghosts and raising his arms in the air for it. Oh man. I was just trying not to laugh out loud the entire time. It was absolutely hilarious. 

Ruth and Will's classes combined to sing the first verse of I'm Trying To Be Like Jesus--the chorister had to move the mic because she was worried Ruth and Will would knock it over mid-song with their exuberance. I do have to say though--they knew every word! And they had their parts memorized (they may have skipped a couple words, but it didn't throw them off and they kept right on going!) and got up very bravely and said their parts clearly. 

All in all, I will definitely call it a win. And it was made just so much more magical to have Grandma Cindy and aunts and uncles there! It is just so great to have family support!

I just love this picture so much! I need to print it off asap and add it to our wall so our kids can remember everyone! Cade&Bridge and their boys Philip and Kai, all of us, Grandma Cindy, Jenny and her baby girl bump!

1-4 church makes life really hard on toddlers.

Kai's major wink face here! I'm dying!

That is probably the last Sunday that we will fit him into his blessing outfit. SOOOOO cute!

This boy. Oh my goodness. His chub and softness and smiles and elbow dimples and just everything about him is so perfectly babyish and wonderful! I could just eat him up every single day!

Hahaha! Grandma Cindy was imitating what he does whenever she picked him up. And she wasn't wrong, haahaaa.

 

Sterling got called, sustained, set apart, and pulled into meetings the night of, for executive secretary. Between school, going to PA for the hurricane, driving to the Keys to help with hurricane cleanup, being sick, and rotations, he hasn't been able to be at church for seven weeks in a row (minus PA, he went to church there, just not here obviously) and they waited that entire time to put him in. Our other med school friends said their plan was to just go inactive to not get heavy callings---we laughed our heads off because apparently inactivity doesn't get you out of anything! BUT-our ward is awesome and superbly organized, so that bodes well. It was quite sad that he ended up having a two hour stake meeting (a specific meeting that only happens twice a year) while his family was still here on a Sunday evening. He came back and played some games with us though, so it was all good.

The park with fam!

We went on Friday to Delray Beach--the one we live 10 minutes from and go to every time. It was crazy. If we didn't have six little ones with us, it would have been awesome. As it was, when the rain started pelting down, Sterling shielded our baby with a boogie board and I swam in the wildness of the ocean waves with Jenny. I have never swam in the ocean while it was raining. It reminded me of a couple years ago when my family was boating at Pineview and it started to rain and we were madly trying to get the boat in because there was crazy lightning and I got all my kids strapped into the van and then convinced my niece Olivia to go sprinting back into the water and swim around for awhile. It's rejuvenating in such a wonderful way. 

I felt the exact same way with Jenny. It was fun to be in the big waves because we were SO close to shore it wasn't scary, but when they went by you couldn't really see the shore so you were just surrounded by this tall water and it was incredible. So incredible.

We tried to salvage the day by going to the pool and I think this was the one error of the trip. We should have bagged being outside and gone to a museum (I had picked out a couple in case of rain). But actually--it was probably just me that felt that way, I am a complete Florida wimp now, and the kids had SUCH a blast swimming around. Plus, Sterling got to swim with the kids because he was around that day and I know he really enjoyed it. So it definitely wasn't a bust--just chilly. 

The next day, Saturday, we headed to Sugar Sand Park. It was supposed to rain again, but ended up being beautiful and sunny (although the beach conditions were still really windy, so it's good we were at the park) and the kids played and played. That park is really so huge and insane it's like taking our kids to a free amusement park.

My kids ran straight for the splash pad and then straight for the slide so their 'bums could go fast.' haha

Love that girl!

Here's Philip! I was laughing afterwards because I have hardly any pictures of the twins here, they were just running all over!

We promised the kids several months ago that when Grandma came, we could ride the carousel. It did not disappoint--they loved it!!!

This randomly inserted photo is from the airbnb where we all stayed. It was so awesome to be all together--thanks Bridge and Cade!!!

That night we walked up and down Atlantic Ave in Delray, where we live. It is touristy and has pretty twinkle lights all along it and we ate at Doc's which has the best hamburgers. I love it. 

Those boys melt my heart!

I also think this was the night Bridge and Jenn and I stayed up til 2am chatting. It was soooo much fun for me to have some girl time! We played games every night and then chatted and that pretty much made it the best vacation ever! I also introduced them to Rook (but had to call my mom to figure out how to score it? Yeah...we've been playing Rook in my family at pretty much competition levels since before I was born...but oddly enough I've never kept score ever in my life...) and they LOVED it and that made me so happy! With Sterling in rotations and Cade going down with the boys it was just us four girls playing games a lot and Rook was perfect! AHHH, this makes me want it to happen all again! Come back!!!