Rusty turned around and left the next day to go to Alabama to check on Meadowbrook (he is crazy and dedicated and a trooper), and the kids and I spent a few days at my parents house getting over jet lag and enjoying the time with them. We got to feed calves with the bottle, play with a bunch of toys (which was very exciting after six months of the same few toys) and eat some food we had been missing. When I drove out to the house to start doing some yard work I was so impressed with how beautiful the mountains are here. We saw some really beautiful countries, but ours is no different. I'm so grateful to live here.
The grass was SO tall when I got there I didn't know if I should laugh or cry haha.
Our first real "outing" at home in Utah was to visit the Poppy Fields in Alpine. I had heard about this for a couple of years but we always missed the timing of it, and this year even though it was so hectic trying to get everything moved in and settled back into life here I really didn't want to miss it again. I'm so glad we went, it is such a beautiful thing! The poppies are magnificent and they are so much bigger than the poppies that I have seen.
We missed our friends the Bartons very much, so we wanted to hang out with them all we could! We met them at Seven Peaks and had a blast swimming. Henry loved the water slide so much and wanted to go on it over and over again. Della loved the little pool and slides for the toddlers and they all had a ton of fun.
Rusty had to stay longer in Alabama, so the kids and I stayed at Jessica's house and had so much fun! She bought all of these toys and games for the kids, and we spent a lot of time playing outside in her yard and going for walks. It was great to see them after we were gone for so long! She was nervous that they wouldn't remember her, especially Della, but she didn't need to worry. Della started calling her GiGi and followed her around everywhere.
Father's Day came and went in a flash, but we were lucky that we got to be back home in the States to celebrate. We woke Daddy up with a breakfast in bed (that had much more than just this toast p.s. haha) and then got ready for church. After church my parents came down for dinner and we did gifts! The kids got Rusty a book and made some crafts, and we got the same for Papa and Grandma (we missed Mother's Day).
This is from the cutest video ever where I interviewed the kids about their daddy
After we got home, we had a lot of work to do on the house. One day I left my parent's house and told them I was going home to mow the lawn. I got out of the car and didn't know if I should laugh or cry it was so bad and overgrown! I could mow one row and then I had to dump it. Luckily, Jess and Aaron and my parents came to help me and we knocked a bunch out just in that one day. In order to get fully caught up though, it took us a few hard weeks, and then a few months before we felt like we were really there.
We also went through our stuff and gave a bunch away. This is Henry giving away his toys. He wanted me to take pictures of them so he wouldn't forget them haha.
Another outside project was putting more gravel in the driveway and the kids loved playing in the huge piles! Henry liked using his little sandbox trucks to move the gravel and help us haha.
Schmiegel
Getting a border for the garden
We bought an enclosed trailer, and Rusty painted it and made it look so nice! Henry loved helping him. Rusty kept some parts where Henry painted it because he loved it so much.
We realized on our trip that we needed to do better about having time with our friends and siblings individually, and especially because we hadn't seen anyone in so long. Shortly after we got back Rusty took a Boys Trip with Levi and Chase at the cabin. They had a blast!!
After his trip he spent one day with Kandi, and then went riding at Thunder Valley.
Phyllis came back with Rusty from Colorado to visit us and see the kids and drop off Bailey! We had all missed Bailey so much, so it was very exciting to see her again! I thought Henry was going to die from excitement. It was kind of funny because Rusty had been gone for a while and we all just went to Bailey haha.
While Phyllis was here, we went for a short hike up to Timpanogos Falls. We didn't get all the way because there was an avalanche but it was a gorgeous hike.
We finally got to go camping!!!! This is something that we really missed while we were gone, and knew that we wanted to do as soon as we got back. Most of the places that we went were very crowded and full of people, and we desperately wanted a chance to just sneak away and breathe. We camped out at Strawberry Reservoir because it is beautiful but also because of the fishing. Rusty really wanted to help Henry catch a fish. We had a great time hanging out at the campsite, fishing (with all four of us and a dog in the canoe haha) and relaxing. I'd love to get out there and do some of the hiking trails.
Henry's Highlights:
- Loved the song "Chip" in Ireland so much we had to listen to it all of the time. And when we got home he would ask Alexa to play it all of the time
- Is so happy to be home with Bailey again, but started asking when we get to go on another airplane
- Henry loves to pretend to teach kids like me. It's so cute because he says things that I say in my class. "What is your name? My name is Teacher Henry. Great job! You get a star!"
- Loves Yankee Doodle
Adeline's Adventures
- Della likes to pretend to teach VIPKid like I do
- She loves sparkly dresses. Now that we are home with more clothes for her to choose from, she likes to change her outfit often and has strong feelings about things (like wearing two different shoes.)
- Her silly personality is coming out more and more and we just love it!
Extra Pictures
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