Marathon

No I most definitely did not run a marathon! I never will. In July we embarked on a two week family visiting marathon. We hit 4 states in two weeks. At the end we were all ready to be home, but it was a blast and full of lasting memories!

First Stop: Phoenix, Arizona

All four of us flew to Arizona to Adam's Parent's house. They had only been off the mission for a few days! We only stayed one night though. We flew in on a Saturday and went to our newest nephew's blessing on Sunday. It was our first time meeting little Tyler! It was hard not being able to stay longer. We really wanted to spend more time with Adam's brothers and their families. 

Second Stop: Telluride, Colorado

We drove with Adam's parents and younger sister up to Telluride, CO. Adam's older two sisters and their families went up as well. This was my first time in Colorado during the summer. I had previously only been up in the winter and the muddy spring. We spent almost a whole week playing, laughing, hiking, off-roading (sweet!), and enjoying the MOUNTAINS (we miss them out here in Ohio).

Shane LOVED playing with his cousins!! He hardly needed me for anything because he was too busy playing.  One of his favorites was Faith. He'd ask for her every morning and afternoon after waking up. Even after coming home he'd ask for her and get really excited when he'd spot her in family pictures on the wall. I can't get him to sit still for too long to take a picture of him, but for Faith he went all over the house hamin' it up for her while she snapped pictures of him :)

After coming home I pointed to all of the family members that Shane played with that week and he'd tell me stories about each one, like how Conor played in the sand with him at the Park and Uncle Robert was in a bike race. It was so special to me that Shane was finally building relationships that he could remember, that he was truly getting to know his family outside of just the four of us. 

 

We got to spend July 4th in Telluride too. We went to the parade, which was really fun and a bit of a cultural experience too ;) Telluride has a very liberal/hippie kind of vibe. Needless to say you get a very interesting collection of people in this small mountain town. It is definitely not a boring place!

Telluride is supposed to have one of the biggest July 4th fireworks shows in the country. I have no idea if that is true or not, but holy smokes it was definitely the BEST in the country!! It wasn't so much the artistic work of the show, but the setting that made all the difference for me. We walked down to the park (it's probably the only park in town because heck they have a national forest right outside their front door!) a couple of hours or so before the show was to start. We laid out our blankets and waited. The kids ran around and played. Jackson, Faith and Shane tackled, wrestled and did sword fights. My favorite was Jackson and Faith teaching Shane how to play leap frog (Shane's legs were WAY too short, haha). I loved watching them play together! It is such a simple thing, but it brought me so much joy. 

When the fireworks started, we all laid down on the blankets and snuggled up close to stay warm. Makenzie was at home with Grandma, but it was still such a special experience to be snuggled up with my two boys enjoying the fireworks with Adam's sister and her family right next to us. Of course I can't forget Allie, we were helping to keep each other's toes warm :) It's moments like these that time kind of freezes for a minute and you look around and you realize your experiencing heaven on earth and nothing is more important or brings more joy than family.

The fireworks were so close that we felt sprinkles of ash and stuff from the sky. When a big firework would go off I found myself having to turn my head from side to side just to see the whole thing. Sometimes I even felt like I was too close and somehow I need to sink further in the grass so the bright fireworks wouldn't hurt my eyes. You can't sit in a chair when you watch these fireworks, you will feel like you are IN the fireworks if you do. Watching them requires your ENTIRE frame of vision. It was incredible!

Makenzie and Reagan became great friends! They are 4-5 months apart. We better move to Arizona for residency because they girls are going to be best friends :)

One more story: Adam's parents, correction: Adam's MOM bought a Jeep upon getting home from the mission and Telluride was their first chance to break her (him? the jeep) in. Of all the fun, exciting, funny, lovable people they could have picked to take with them, they picked US!! Julia (Adam's sister) was super nice and watched the kiddos for us while we were gone. It was a bit bumpy, but an unforgettable experience! 

I have to admit, I don't think I will ever make off-roading a hobby of my own. It made me a little nauseous at times and my butt got really sore from bouncing around for a few hours. However, it gave my abs an excellent workout! AND we saw some of the most incredible views and interesting historical sites. We basically drove up the side of the mountain. We would have gone all the way to the top where there is a pass to go down the other side, but snow levels were too high and the road was blocked off. Anyway, so the road was an old mountain road built way back when for access to mines. We drove by a lot of mining sites, but at the top we got to see an old mining camp that used to support almost 900 people (apparently that is A LOT for a mining camp). The camp was way up, nearly at the top of the mountain. It was a tundra landscape that was cold and windy in JULY! I can only imagine the kind of harsh, bitter weather it gets all year long. Whole families lived up there. Those were TOUGH mothers and kids!! So I totally got into reading about Telluride's mining history and stuff, and it was super interesting!

Third Stop: Eagle Mountain, Utah

So we drove Adam's sister's car from Telluride to my sister's house in Eagle Mountain. Why we drove his sister's car WITHOUT his sister is kind of a weird story. Anyway, Adam flew home to Ohio the next day because he had to get home for school. Me and the kids hung out with my sister and her family for a couple of days. The kids had so much fun playing outside in the mud, running in the sprinklers and acting like chickens with their heads cut off ;) 

Fourth Stop: Salem, Oregon

The kids and I flew from Utah to Oregon to go visit my parents, brothers, and of course my brother's family for several days. The kids LOVED playing out in the backyard while Grandpa did yard work. We went to the library play area, the children's museum, and....THE BEACH! 

Grandma stayed home with Makenzie, so it was just my dad, Shane and me. First we went on a hike. If you can't tell from the pictures below, the view was AMAZING. We totally blew a tire driving up to the trail head.  I was surprised to find out that it was only my dad's second time changing a tire! That is lucky. So we went on our hike. I did not come prepared. I thought it was going to be some easy little stroll. Good thing we put Shane in the backpack. It was really muddy the whole way and all I was wearing were sandals. The sandals have never been the same since :( But spending time with my dad and experiencing the Oregon coast totally made it worth it. The forest floor was like a carpet of moss. At the top of the hill was a beautiful, soft (I took my shoes off) meadow overlooking the coast line. It was so perfect it almost felt like a movie. 

On our way into town my dad dropped us off at the beach while he went to buy new tires. Fortunately, it went really quick so he was back in time to play. We dug holes in the sand (because Shane isn't really in to castles) and my dad showed Shane how to run away from the incoming surf :) Shane caught on fast and LOVED it! Eventually the water weight on his pants gave way while they were running in and Shane ended up exposing his thomas the train underwear and biffing it in the water. I even caught it on video! We thought it was hilarious, but he didn't because the water was freezing. I was an awesome mom though and packed an extra  pair of clothes. At that point our trip was over, but it was so fun!

Fifth Stop: Medford, Oregon
My mom was awesome and drove us down to Medford to visit my grandparents. This was Makenzie's first time meeting them and only Shane's second. It was the first time I've been back to their house since I got engaged. Makenzie was in heaven with all of Grandma's beautiful jewelry, and she loved giving french kisses to Grandpa :) I had never seen her do this before. It was hilarious!! Shane loved getting lots of cookies from Grandma. My grandparents have always meant a lot to me. Some of my favorite childhood memories are while visiting them. I look up to my grandparents in so many ways. It meant a lot to me for my kids to get to know them better!

Our flight took off at 6am Monday morning, which means we were up even earlier. My grandparents even got up and prepared sandwiches for us and waved goodbye! They are the nicest people I know!

As much fun as we had, it was SOOO nice to be home. It's only been a couple of months though and we are already wishing we could go back.