In January, we made a trip to the Tri-Cities to celebrate the return of my cousin Chris from his 2 year mission to Brazil! We loaded up the van with our things and my parents' things and headed out. I was able to fit all three kids in the back, my dad and I sat in the middle, and Ron and my mom sat in the front. We had food lined down the middle of the seats and the DVD player was set! We had quite the system while on the trip for when the kids needed snacks or a potty break! Since Michael was gone from school for 7 days, he got a study packet to work on. I just assumed it was going to be like his regular homework packet, but I was wrong! It was more! (I can't wait for future trips in higher grades!) Before the trip, I let the kids pick out movies they wanted to watch during the drive. I would let Michael pick a movie to watch, and when that was over, Emma got to pick and watch a movie and Michael did some homework. When he was done, then he picked the next movie and so on. We drove to Medford, OR that Monday, checked into the hotel, got some dinner, and headed to bed. We got 2 rooms that were adjoining and had one kid sleep in my parents room so that they would go to sleep faster. We got up the next morning and headed out. We got in around dinner time and had a yummy homemade meal! (a nice change from all the fast food!) My uncle (who had flown to Brazil the week before) and cousin weren't coming in until the next day, so we were able to relax a little before all the fun began! We left for the airport and waited! Finally we saw them come around the corner! It was awesome! He looked the same, just more grown up! The above picture is the morning after we got there. My aunt and uncle were kind enough to give up the master bedroom for our family, and Emma (who moves in her sleep....A LOT!) was barely in her sleeping area! Below is Chris with Michael and Brock! (Emma didn't want her picture taken!)
Emma and Brock playing in the doll house!
My uncle took Michael on a motorcycle ride. His first ever! He was excited to go, but the look on his face says otherwise....
My mom went next!
That Saturday afternoon, we did sealings at the Temple! It was nice to be able to attend the temple with my husband! Especially to do sealings! It doesn't happen very often, unfortunately, so I try to soak up as much of it as I can.
Sunday, Chris spoke in church and my Uncle Bob, Uncle David and my dad sang a trio. Brock was pretty sleepy, so I ended up sitting in the mother's lounge for all of Sacrament. I'm not complaining, though! It was SOOOO relaxing! the room was dark, I was the only one in there for a little while, but it stayed quite. Brock fell asleep and I dozed a little myself. Of course, it didn't help that the lady who spoke before Chris took FOREVER and left him with only 5 minutes to speak!! We were pretty bummed, but I secretly enjoyed not wrestling with children to be quite! :o) We left the next day to head to Medford and stayed at the same hotel. We made a pit stop at the mall in Portland to pick up some shoes that they had for Ron. We ended up staying there for like 3 hours just letting the kids play while the grown ups took turns shopping! After a good nights sleep, we were back on the road again. It seemed like we would never get home! I knew it was going to be a long trip, but it seemed to take longer than it should have! We had a great trip with our family! I'm glad we were able to make it to celebrate this occasion with Chris! We are so proud of him and the success he had during his mission. We are grateful for his saftey and his return home! The below picture is of Brock's make-shift crib. We didn't pack a crib for the sake of packing light (we borrowed one when we got to WA), so when we stopped at the hotel, I put pillows down on the ground, put towels on top of that, and then blankets on top of that. He slept great, and so did we!
In January, we made a trip to the Tri-Cities to celebrate the return of my cousin Chris from his 2 year mission to Brazil! We loaded up the van with our things and my parents' things and headed out. I was able to fit all three kids in the back, my dad and I sat in the middle, and Ron and my mom sat in the front. We had food lined down the middle of the seats and the DVD player was set! We had quite the system while on the trip for when the kids needed snacks or a potty break! Since Michael was gone from school for 7 days, he got a study packet to work on. I just assumed it was going to be like his regular homework packet, but I was wrong! It was more! (I can't wait for future trips in higher grades!) Before the trip, I let the kids pick out movies they wanted to watch during the drive. I would let Michael pick a movie to watch, and when that was over, Emma got to pick and watch a movie and Michael did some homework. When he was done, then he picked the next movie and so on. We drove to Medford, OR that Monday, checked into the hotel, got some dinner, and headed to bed. We got 2 rooms that were adjoining and had one kid sleep in my parents room so that they would go to sleep faster. We got up the next morning and headed out. We got in around dinner time and had a yummy homemade meal! (a nice change from all the fast food!) My uncle (who had flown to Brazil the week before) and cousin weren't coming in until the next day, so we were able to relax a little before all the fun began! We left for the airport and waited! Finally we saw them come around the corner! It was awesome! He looked the same, just more grown up! The above picture is the morning after we got there. My aunt and uncle were kind enough to give up the master bedroom for our family, and Emma (who moves in her sleep....A LOT!) was barely in her sleeping area! Below is Chris with Michael and Brock! (Emma didn't want her picture taken!)
Emma and Brock playing in the doll house!
My uncle took Michael on a motorcycle ride. His first ever! He was excited to go, but the look on his face says otherwise....
My mom went next!
That Saturday afternoon, we did sealings at the Temple! It was nice to be able to attend the temple with my husband! Especially to do sealings! It doesn't happen very often, unfortunately, so I try to soak up as much of it as I can.
Sunday, Chris spoke in church and my Uncle Bob, Uncle David and my dad sang a trio. Brock was pretty sleepy, so I ended up sitting in the mother's lounge for all of Sacrament. I'm not complaining, though! It was SOOOO relaxing! the room was dark, I was the only one in there for a little while, but it stayed quite. Brock fell asleep and I dozed a little myself. Of course, it didn't help that the lady who spoke before Chris took FOREVER and left him with only 5 minutes to speak!! We were pretty bummed, but I secretly enjoyed not wrestling with children to be quite! :o) We left the next day to head to Medford and stayed at the same hotel. We made a pit stop at the mall in Portland to pick up some shoes that they had for Ron. We ended up staying there for like 3 hours just letting the kids play while the grown ups took turns shopping! After a good nights sleep, we were back on the road again. It seemed like we would never get home! I knew it was going to be a long trip, but it seemed to take longer than it should have! We had a great trip with our family! I'm glad we were able to make it to celebrate this occasion with Chris! We are so proud of him and the success he had during his mission. We are grateful for his saftey and his return home! The below picture is of Brock's make-shift crib. We didn't pack a crib for the sake of packing light (we borrowed one when we got to WA), so when we stopped at the hotel, I put pillows down on the ground, put towels on top of that, and then blankets on top of that. He slept great, and so did we!
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