Seven for Sunday (the late vacation edition)

1

We went to Utah for the weekend. It was baby Zachy's first long car trip and I'd be lying if I told you I wasn't nervous. The ride down went pretty well but the ride home was less than pleasant. Poor Zach was just done with being in his car seat by that point and was tired from a weekend of poor sleep and lots of fun. I told Tim that a little bit of my soul may have died during the hour that Zach screamed or maybe it was during the time that Marcus wouldn't stop whining about how hungry he was even though he'd just had a snack. Heck, it could've have even been when Owen and Eli had a hitting war. Oh. My. Word.

Tim came home with these flowers on Monday. They restored some of the soul that shriveled up on the drive home.

 2

We got to meet Micah this weekend! Micah is Romeo's son from his first marriage. He lives in Arizona with his mom so we haven't had a chance to meet him until now. He and Marcus are the same age and got along really well. He's a wonderful kid and it was great to finally welcome him to the family.

3

We went swimming with all the cousins on Friday. Apparently Eli thinks he already knows how to swim. I took him out into the deeper part of the pool and he kept trying to shove me away, saying things like, "Let go! I can swim! Stop holding me! I know how!" He spent a good portion of the time jumping off the side of the pool into Tim's arms and then, while Tim was across the pool playing with the other boys, Eli jumped in by himself. Luckily Tim swam over in a flash. Unfortunately, that wasn't the only time Eli almost drowned. While we were in the hot tub, and in the time it took for me to put on Owen's goggles, Eli had slipped off of the bench and into the deep part--I snatched him up and gave a stern lecture, but a few minutes later he did it again. That time I pulled him out of the pool and he had to sit on my lap for awhile. Thank goodness that swimming lessons are only a few weeks away, but Miss Lyndsey is sure going to have her hands full! 

4

Baby Noah is here!! Kevin and Nicole are parents of an adorable little boy. I joked with her that we were coming down for the weekend so she was welcome to have her baby while we were in town (she wasn't actually due until July 4) and she did! Thanks for being so accommodating, Nicole :) He is precious and we already adore every little bit of him.

5

We went bowling, and it turns out Eli is quite the little bowler. He bowled some strikes and ended up with a score of 121--winning the game. I took forever to warm up, so my strikes didn't come until the very end of the game when I almost bowled a turkey (3 strikes in a row--I was one pin short). It was Emery's first time at the lanes and we had fun watching her and all the little ones play. I think bowling is so much fun.

6

It was grossly hot while we were in Utah so we took refuge at the Bean Museum on BYU campus. It's a free museum filled with stuffed animals, fish, and birds of every kind. (There's even a really cool bug and butterfly collection). Marcus was in pure heaven especially when we spotted a Caracal! We made sure to take his picture in front of it because it is one of his favorite animals. Owen kept commenting on how all of the animals were looking at him and Eli seemed to think EVERYTHING was cool. When we first went in, he spotted a garbage can and asked, "What's this?" When I told him it was a garbage, he said, "Oh, a garbage," in this awed voice. Later, he spotted an artificial potted plant next to the animal exhibits and said, "Oh, look! a flower." I guess anything is cool if it's in the museum.

7

Marcus got to extend his birthday celebrations throughout our visit. Each family member we spent time with had a present for him to open or find :) Grandma Rhonda even made a cake. He was one happy boy. His grandparents gave him more TRIO blocks (at mom's suggestion) and he was thrilled. He spent most of quiet time today building a giant creation of some sort. I love these blocks because they are not as messy or as expensive as Legos, and I love watching his little mind work as he creates new things.