Are You Kidding Me?

"Are you kidding me?," is a phrase I've found that I'm often repeating lately. It's amazing to me the kind of trouble a toddler can cause in the literal blink of an eye.

Week three in Utah has been spent sewing Emmry's summer project. At the beginning of the summer Emme decided it would be fun to make a dress. Having only sewed from a pattern on one other occasion, I decided my extended trip to Utah with my mom at hand might be the perfect place for this project. At week three, I was definitely feeling the pressure of our looming departure date as I struggled through my "Easy to Sew" dress. (Isn't there an "Easiest to Sew" category?)

Like any perfect, wonderful children, mine seem to find trouble when they are left to themselves for too long. Don't believe me? Read back a bit. I was working on the hem (which means I'm almost done, hallelujah!) when Braden came running into the sewing room with our dog cradled in his arms dripping blood. Blood! Blood matted all in the dogs hair, in my mom's new carpet, and most likely on a twin. After a quick sponge bath it was clear the source of the blood was a cut on the dog's ear. Hadley was quickly produced holding a pair of scissors which also explained Chanel's interesting new haircut.

As I tried to curtail the bleeding in the bathroom I registered a familiar sound coming from the other room. With the threat of the dog's life currently on hold I dropped Nell to the ground and rounded the corner to find Chloe pushing the pedal on the sewing machine where I had left Emme's nearly complete dress.

Are you kidding me?

No one tells you it will be this hard, but as with all things, it is completely worth it. After stopping the bleeding, cleaning up the blood, and unstitching the dress I peeked in on my kids in bed. They really are perfect and wonderful, aren't they?

Family Reunion

I have so many wonderful memories of family vacations from when I was young, most from our trips to California to visit Tami and Papa Del. We loved water skiing in their backyard in Discovery Bay, camping in the Sierra's at their cabin, and taking day trips into San Fransisco.

I enjoy trying to recreate these memories for my kids.

If I could take them up to the Sierra's to
drink hot cocoa by fire in the morning, sleep under the stars at night, play in the river, drink soda from the underground water fridge, swing in the tire swing, and cook over the fire, I would.

So in the spirit of camping, the Derrick family "camped out' for a four day reunion at the Homestead in Midway, Utah. We golfed, swam, cruised down the Alpine Slide, competed in tennis tournaments, and tried our hand at fishing (note: the husbands were off golfing for this last one). Braden surprised the park rangers by actually catching one. The kids shared secret cousin presents and Chloe, who caught the flu, shared that as well.

So while there was no camping under the stars or cooking over an open fire, there was family... and that is what memories are all about.

Bonding

Ryan and I feel the hardest part about living away from family is that our children have limited opportunities to bond with grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles. It was then out of sheer selflessness that we decided to leave them for a week in Utah with my parents to strengthen those bonds while we played in Alaska with Ryan's family.

What can I say... it was amazing. We hiked, rafted, shopped, and toured on land. We read, hot tubbed,

watched movies, dined out, and went to shows on board... things we never have a chance to do at home. It was a very relaxing week...

Well, it was for us. For my mom on the other hand, it was a bit more work. She was not doing any reading. She was not shopping, or hiking, watching whales port side, or sleeping in either. She was taking kids to the parade (one covered in throw up), the swim pool (two naked hiding in lockers), and the zoo (bless her). She was keeping the kids busy so they wouldn't miss us. She must have done a great job of it too because she said the only reference the kids made to us was the babies' daily naked salute to our picture on the wall while riding dog-back.

Yes, my parents have a dog and they were dog-sitting Chanel as well, which worked out nicely for the twins... they each had a dog to torment. They rode them, walked them, and played house with them. Poor Daisy! Chanel is used to being locked in closets, dragged around by the collar, pushed in strollers, and carried around. Daisy was a novice but was quite the sport! Fortunately she has the advantage of size that Chanel does not have and could not be lifted. My mom said the girls loved going on walks with the dogs, and just like the dogs, would always stop to check out the port-a-potty.

Ryan and I are happy to be back and grateful for the time the kids were able to spend with family. After a week, I think the grandparents and grandchildren must have truly bonded. "No, me Hadley," is now a part of Hadley's everyday language (even yelling it out in sacrament meeting to my dad at the pulpit) and the twins gave my mom their own affectionate nickname by contorting grammy into "dum-dum." I know she appreciates it after taking care of them for a week and we're working our hardest to make it stick!

A Blessing Amidst Chaos

When you're leaving home for a month you plan. You plan what you'll pack and what you'll do. You plan for who'll fill in for you while you're gone. You plan to not receive your mail, newspaper and bills. You return library books and make arrangements for pets. You clean your house and clean out the fridge. What you don't plan for is losing your wallet just hours before leaving town.

The day we were leaving we had just a few things left to do: swim lessons in the morning followed by a stop at the library, then a little cleaning. It appeared we were on schedule to leave as planned that afternoon. I never would have guessed how opening my car door for Emme to drop our books in the return slot at the library would throw my afternoon into chaos. When the door was opened, my wallet was kicked out and left behind. It wasn't until hours later after a second visit to the pool and library, the canceling of all my cards, ordering of an express driver's licence, and the saying of a family prayer that the library called.

In a large family, leaving town is always a bit chaotic and you're nearly always behind schedule, but that afternoon proved to be even more so than anticipated. As we pulled up to my mom's house the next morning as the sun rose over the mountains, we new that the time spent on the loss and recovery of the wallet was not a waste. Our kids learned a valuable lessons that day. They learned that Heavenly Father answers prayers. They would also soon learn another valuable lesson, the reason for cleaning out the fridge before leaving town.

Barf Bag Anyone?

The cues have gotten easier to read. It always begins with a cough. A cough followed by gagging and then finally the pivotal moment, the spewing of the contents of an overly snack laden, upset stomach. We came prepared this time though with cue in mind, spare clothes at hand, barf bags within arms reach, and a dog to clean up the mess. When you are prepared there's nothing to fear. Right?

We were still plenty fearful, but when the coughing started Ryan didn't hesitate. We were immediately at the side of the road with Chloe stripped from her seat and thrown over Ryan's arm. A moment later, settled back into our drive, Ryan and I smiled at each other. We had outsmarted the nuisance of so many of our past travels. It would be left behind, not traveling with us to our next stop until the next borrowed washing machine would rid us of its smell. We left it just outside Wickenberg, Arizona and we were all elated. Well everyone but the dog.

The Summer of Reunions

When the weather starts to warm up in Phoenix and the thermometer consistently reads over 100 degrees, Phoenicians scatter. They go to California or their cabins in nearby mountains. Anywhere the weather isn't so oppressive. For a month or two in the summer the city is pretty quiet. So naturally, we followed suit and headed out of town for the month of July.

For us, it was a month of reunions. Reunions with our med-school friends, residency friends, and the Huffman and Derrick families. People with whom we share so many memories. People we love dearly. It's was a great summer!