Home

I have blogged many times about going home, but this time it's a bit different. It was definitely a different feeling traveling home, doing all the things we love to do, and getting ready to say goodbye to my little town, my home in Rexburg for 3 years. 

It's a long time, but in the long scheme of things it's really not.... but then it really is. I think back to what has happened to us in 3 years and mine and Dan's life has drastically changed, so who knows what's to come while my parents serve as Mission Presidents. I am so excited for them and scared all at the same time. I CANNOT even imagine how they are feeling. Such a change in life, that it's weird to think about. 

We have had this trip planned for a while. And I tried enjoying the anticipation of it. To me, that is such a fun part of it, and thankfully I had a million other things going on that kept me pre-occupied, that before I knew it, we were hopping onto another plane heading to Idaho. 

The kids and I are becoming experts at flying. We have our system down and we are pretty darn good at flying with the three of us. I was really looking forward to just getting home. I used to be so excited about flying places, but after you do it over and over and over again, the excitement is no longer there, and you just look forward to getting the flight over with! 

We arrived to Idaho and we were so glad. Our flight landed a little earlier than expected, so unfortunately  we missed seeing my parents at the gate. I told the kids to sit in the corner and I gathered up our luggage. I was on my way out, with two kids, a double stroller, 2 carry ons, 2 suit cases and two car seats when I saw my parents! I was super relieved because I had no clue how I was going to carry all of it to the curb! hahaha! Thankfully they came just in time and we loaded up the car. 

June wanted Papa to sit in the back with her. My Dad tore his knee and had surgery scheduled for the following Wednesday, but he was a trooper and hopped in the back with June and Owen. June was so excited! 

We drove the familiar path that I have driven hundreds of times, and pulled into the driveway that I had done thousands of times. It was just weird knowing I wasn't going to see my house for 3 years. It got to me and I shed a few tears. I promised myself to not cry so much, its not forever, but I couldn't help it. My parents house is magical and all the grandkids love being there. It is such a fun loving home and I really don't like the thought of my children not playing in that house. Thankfully my kids are young enough and that they have many more years playing at that house! 

After playing out back for a while, my mom gave the kids a bath and we got them down to bed. It was fun just enjoying the one on one time with my parents before my sister's got there the next day. I spent a lot of a lone time with my parents growing up, it felt like old times. 

June got to sleep in the pink room for the night. 

The next day Meg and Mich were coming to Idaho, but they weren't planning on being there until later. So we had the day to just play and get ready for them to come. 

The kids played and played in my parents basement. Their basement is the coolest!! So many fun toys, books, coloring books that are HUGE and all sorts of other goodies. The grandkids LOVE it down there! 

My mom and June also made cookies for when the other cousins got there. They were going to have a special tea party with them. 

On the road! Meg and Mich heading to Rexburg. 

My two sister's got in around 8. We got the kids all settled and then put them all to bed. All of us sat around and talked about what's to come in the next few days and how to be best prepared! Before we knew it, it was almost 1 o'clock and time for bed!

I will be honest. I didn't get much sleep this week. Being off a time zone is really hard on little kids, and just because the clock says something, doesn't mean there bodies oblige. So every morning Owen was awake at 5:30. I basically got 4-5 hours of sleep every night. June woke up about 6:30. Sammi was also awake, so we would sneak up to their room and play until everyone else woke up! 

And one my one more girls would come trickle in until everyone was awake. Our tea parties are awesome. It may have been 7am but we had all sorts of cookies out ready for our party. The girls loved it. 

That day, (Wednesday) was my dad's knee surgery. He HATES having to just sit and have people do things for him, but with all of his daughters home he knew he wasn't going to have a choice. 

While waiting for my dad to get out of surgery, and for my sister Brooke to get to Rexburg, we made Get Well signs on the driveway and got balloons and my dads favorite candy for when he got out of surgery. 

Just Michelle, teaching the young ones how good markers smell.... 

My dad, post surgery. He did fantastic but he really HATED to be waited on. He could hardly stand that his grandkids were out playing and that he couldn't be out there with them. It really about did him in. It was driving him CRAZY!! He did great though, and his knee should be all healed up before they leave for the MTC, (Missionary Training Center) next weekend. 

One thing we have always loved to do is go running out in the fields. We know those back roads well and it wouldn't be a trip home without running back behind the house. 

Just showing our true Idaho selves hanging from sprinkler pipes. All of us have worked in Spud harvest back in the day. It brings back so many memories. 

 We got back and the day was beautiful, so we set up all the blow up pools that my parents have and had our own personal pool party. Slip n' Slide and everything. 

So about this sign. Within the first 20 minutes of Meg and Michelle showing up, there was a bit of drama... not that shocking with us girls all together. It blew over rather quickly, but before the storm calmed, I pretty much let the girls have it. I told them that  they would not ruin this trip and I may have added some unkind words into those sentences. They looked at me in shock not knowing what to say.... But I'll be honest, it felt really good to say them. Though I stormed out, felt super guilty and called Dan. He is always my calm down. 

So this sign was very fitting. We all had a good laugh about it. 

Later that day, we headed down to Idaho Falls to watch Mikey and Shay play softball. First we had  picnic and played at the park. 

This park was really fun and had fun musical instruments. My mom got really into it. She could actually play songs. She did awesome. 

The kids getting involved

My dad even came with us. He was dying of boredom and wanted to come watch, so we laid him in the back of Brookes SUV and drove down. 

Mich and Owen playing on the swing. He was loving it! 

Waiting for my mom to get back with the food. The kids were getting pretty restless, but meg saved the day with giant bubbles. 

That night we watched a little baseball. Mich and Brooke even got to play! It was pretty comical. In the end though, they actually did a pretty decent job playing! I was very proud of them! 

We got home, got the kids settled and had around of games and party mix. No one can make party mix like my mom. No one. Many have tried. All have failed. It really is one of my favorite parts to coming home. Thank goodness I will still get the good stuff when we go visit. 

The next day was Friday already. Time went so fast while we were there. My sweet mom took all the grandkids and let us girls go do our last shopping around Rexburg. We went to all our usual spots including Porter's. I totally cried a bit knowing this was the last time for a while. Sometimes I worry I am way to sentimental, but then I think, I would rather be to over the top then not show anything at all right?!? 

June hit her limit of no sleep. Not going to bed until 11pm and then waking up at 5:30 gets to everyone. That morning she slept in until about 10. She was out cold. I couldn't help but take a picture. Even through Owen's crying she didn't budge. 

She woke up happy as could be. She played Polly Pockets on Nana and Papas bed while watching cartoons. 

June and Reese were very close to matching, unintentionally. These two are too cute! 

That night was when we were expecting all of our hubbies to get in, so we went out back and had a hot dog roast along with fruit, chips and ending it with s'mores. 

And of course playing on the swing set. 

We were soooo excited when Dan finally arrived. I barley got a kiss before June was dragging him off showing him everything she had done at Nana's house that week.

 She was so excited to play with him. 

It turned too cold to be outside so we headed in to get all cleaned up. We gave the kids a bath since they were covered in sand from the sandbox and get the smell of smoke off of them. Then it was time for bed. 

Reese, June and Treyson 

Saturday was prep day for the farewell the next day. We woke up and got to work on everything that needed to get done. 

That included getting a hair cut from my mom. 

Also included Maverick runs to load up on caffeine. We are such a soda drinking family, it's not even funny. But we love the stuff. We are all pretty healthy active people anyways so really its not that big of a deal.... right? 

The kids played more outback, played on the slip n' slide and put the sprinkler under the tramp. They loved it! I love it. My parents back yard is their own personal paradise. It is incredible the view they have and how awesome their backyard is. I simply love it. 

After we were all cleaned up, we loaded in the cars and headed to Bear World. It was pretty fun! I have never seen so many bears there, and up so close. One even started shaking the back of my brothers truck. 

We attempted to give OD his first taste of Oreo. Of course he hated it. But his face was too funny to not take a picture of. Poor little guy. We will stick to the soft foods for now. 

Just a few of the bears we saw RIGHT out our window. 

After driving through the park, we went to their petting zoo and their little kid amusement rides.

June feeding the goats. 

Brooke and Owen riding the train

Enjoying a lot of ice-cream too 

We tried a few rides with June. She loved the rides at Disney World, but HATED the ones at Bear World, as you can tell by her face. Her and Treyson were not having a good time... But then there was little Sammi who was putting her hands up and laughing the entire time. That niece of mine kills me! Love her to pieces. 

On the way home June crashed. It's very rare for her to be brought in from the car and stay asleep but she did. For a solid two hours. I had to wake her up to get ready for family photos. 

It was way over due for proper family photos, and since we were all together it was the perfect time. My parents hired a pro to come and take them and the whole process went rather smooth. 

We made Dan and Came pose together, because Cam and OD matched along with Dan and Reese matching, so we put them together as a couple. 

These lovely ladies are my best friends. I am so grateful that I have such incredible sisters. We really do just get each other. Even when we fight we still have each other's back and we are a very tight group. I am so grateful for how close our relationship is with one another. 

And my SIL, Shay, fits right in with us. Poor Mikey always gets excluded because we always just have Shay come with us. Love her and we couldn't ask for a better sister in law! 

After pictures, we all went out to eat at Big Judds, where they are known for their giant hamburgers. 

Yes, all 24 of us went out to eat and totally made it happen. It actually went really smooth too. My parents are really on top of that kind of thing, making sure that things go the way they should. How our family get togethers with function without them is beyond me. Luckily I am the youngest and that responsibility isn't put on me! Brooke? Michelle? They have it covered!

Sunday was my parents farewell in their ward. Lot's of family came into town including two of my Dad's brothers. Larry and Clair. My Uncle Kurt wasn't there and my Uncle Billy passed away from Cancer... Him and my dad were best friends and I know he would have loved to have been there. He was there with  us in spirit for sure!! 

My parents gave incredible talks and many, MANY people came to hear them speak. They completely filled the chapel all the way back to the back of the gym and the bishop still stood up and asked for people to scoot in for those sitting in the hall. It just goes to show how loved my parents are and how many people have been influenced by them. It was pretty incredible to see the love and support by so many friends and family, near and far. 

After church, we had a farewell dinner for my parents. It turned out to be a beautiful day and I am so glad that it did. Rexburg is known for it's awful wind, but there was only a light breeze and even that died down by the end of the day. 

The Luncheon was fantastic. The food was great and the company was even better. It was really fun catching up with friends and family that I haven't seen in forever. 

Once everyone said goodbye and everything was put away we needed some down time. All of us went down and walked by the river. It's one of our favorite walking paths. 

The kids threw rocks into the canal 

Then we headed back home. And yes this is June driving the car. It's funny because we used to do this as kids all the time. I can't believe here I am letting my own kids doing it. Don't worry it wasn't too far and well, June loved it! 

Owen and Austin. Only two weeks apart and cute as ever. Can't wait for these little guys to grow up together. 

Owen and Brooke (The baby whisperer) selfie 

Then the parents. Love these people more than I can ever say. They raised one heck of a family and they built it all on their own. I am so excited for them to be Mission Presidents. 

At the end of the night, Owen fell asleep in Grandma's arms and stayed that way for a while. 

Sunday night all the grandkids stayed over and had one big party in the basement. Including June. She even fell asleep next to Lauren. It was so fun watching her be with the big kids. We did eventually move her into her bed, but I'm thinking she would have stayed all night if we let her. The kids were loving being all together and had a hard time falling asleep, but we let them stay up late and have fun one last time in grandma and grandpa's basement... for 3 years anyways. 

They were best little buddies all weekend

Monday came to quickly and it was time to say goodbye and it was hard. Our flight was 8am. So we had an early goodbye. At first we loaded the kids in the car as usual and were ready to say goodbye. but looking at the step one last time I bolted for the front door and ran into my dads arms giving him the biggest hug I think I ever had. We both shed a few tears, just knowing that so much will be changing... It was the same tear jerker with my mom. It was tough. And really hard looking back at my home. The only place i've known, and knowing it was the last look for 3 years. 

We made it to the airport and ready to get home. It was nice having Dan flying home with me. I loved getting home and just falling back into place. 

So it has all come to an end. My parents go to the MTC next Saturday and then the 3 year adventure begins. I love my parents and so proud of them. It takes a lot to pack up your life like they are and serve so diligently. 

All of it has been a whirl wind. I mean the week in Idaho, the last few months, it has all been crazy! Things are slowly winding down. We now will be able to stay home and enjoy summer for at least a couple of months until Portland in August. 

I'm really looking forward to some downtime with my babes and enjoying warm summer days ahead!!