Memorial Day with family

Before getting married, Brodie and I each had family traditions for Memorial Day.  Brodie's immediate family always had breakfast together in the canyons.  My extended family got together at my Grandma's in Franklin for a BBQ on the lawn and games of Eevie Ivie Over.  At first in our marriage we tried to do both, heading up to Franklin, Idaho following breakfast.  Over the 10 years we've been married our family has grown as well as those of our siblings and my cousins and the big get togethers haven't been as frequently attended.  Last year we just went to IHOP with Brodie's parents.  And we haven't been up to Franklin since Spencer was little.

This year we met Brodie's parents at IHOP again for breakfast.  My kids loved going with them last year and every time we've driven by it since then they have excitedly remembered that's where we went with Grandma and Papa.  It was almost like Christmas for them to be going again this year.  They got the "Make a Face Pancake" that would actually be funner if they got to make the face rather than having the pancake with strawberry eyes, a banana mouth, and whipped cream already assembled.  But they did enjoy putting some of each of the 4 different flavors of syrup all over.  I got the blueberry pancake combo and let Clara eat all my scrambled eggs as well as half my hashbrowns and some pancake.  I swear that baby eats more than her weight in food each day and she is still so small.  We enjoyed visiting with Brodie's parents as well as eating our yummy breakfast.

We then came home long enough to pack up and head for Idaho.  I bought some new portable DVD players since one of the screens on the old one has stopped working.  These ones are smaller, but a clearer picture.  They also can either show the same movie, or show independently so they could each watch their own show.  And it remembers where it left off when you restart the car, which our last ones didn't.  It's made by Phillips, which is at least a name I've heard of, so hopefully they will last a few years.  We stopped by Redbox and let the kids each choose a movie.  Spencer chose Gulliver's Travels and Tessa chose Yogi Bear.  Spencer also brought his DS so Tessa could play with the Leapster.  Luckily Clara slept a little and entertained herself the rest of the way.  My kids aren't used to being in the car longer than 15 minutes so we had to be prepared for the 2 hour drive each way.

I couldn't believe all the snow in Sardine Canyon!  It's 2 days away from June!  I kind of missed driving down Main Street in Logan and reminiscing on my old Aggie days, but I remember how frustrating all those traffic lights are, so we cut through the town on 10th West instead.  My Grandma actually no longer lives in Franklin, but my Uncle bought the house and is still gracious enough to let everyone get together there.  Because of all the rain, we all crowded the inside of the house.  As much as I would have loved to see more cousins, I don't think we could have fit any more inside the house.  My kids were so excited to see their cousins, who they see quite frequently closer to home anyway, but they had fun together.  I enjoyed visiting with cousins and my sisters.  Brodie took a trip with the guys to see my Uncle's "toys" and a small tour of the town.  We took the kids across the street to the park and to see the old jail, which seemed to be the highlight of the trip for my kids.  I took so many cute pictures of my kids playing with their cousins that I can't just choose a couple to post, so here are a whole bunch:

This is Afton trying to push Tessa on the swing.  These two girls love playing together soooo much.

 Clara LOVED her first time on the swings.  She was laughing and smiling the whole time!

 This was Tessa and Afton swinging together at the same time, having a blast as usual.  Tessa is too short to get her boots wet, but Afton's feet and socks were soaked from the puddles under the swings.

This is Tessa and little Jacob swinging.  Pretty much all my swing pictures are Tessa and someone else because Tessa rarely left the swings.  I so would love a swingset in my backyard for her sake, but I think we're just sticking with the trampoline and play house.







The bigger kids were mainly running between the two slides and playing in the volleyball pit "sandbox".  Luckily  most kids had a change of clothes after going down the wet slides and playing in the sand.  Aliya did lose her pretty gold ring in the sand, apparently she buried it with an "X" to mark the spot, but nobody could find the "X" again.  These 3 cousins were all born within 4 months so they have always been close to each other.  I also love to see how each one looks so similar to my sisters and I, and just as different from one another.

My awesome sister, Tiffany, made me a bunch of really pretty bows for Clara.  My neice Bailee decided to try them all on Clara at the same time.  Then the kids moved the bows over to Grandma, who was a very good sport.

 I am so lucky to live close to family (and grateful my sister moved back to Utah) so that my kids can play with their cousins so often.  My brother and his family weren't able to make it up to Franklin, but we still see them at least once a month as well.

My girls adore little Abby.  Clara kept trying to pull the oxygen out of her nose, but was very intrigued by her.  Tessa loves to kiss and talk to and sing to Abby.









This is some family picking at the last of the food in the kitchen.  My baby sister is so beautiful.  I take it as quite a compliment when people can't tell us apart, despite the fact she is pregnant (yes, I know my non-pregnant belly is about the same size as hers).  We've both learned to answer to either name.





 

These are some pictures in front of the house.  I have so many wonderful memories of this place.

And of course the reason for all of this (and all of us) is my beautiful Grandma.  She's 96 years old and still sharp.  She can tell you the names and birthdates of her 4 children, 25 grandchildren, and exponentially more great grandchildren (I really don't know the number here--although she would--but over 50) and all their spouses.  She even sends birthday cards and gives Christmas presents to all of them.  She made Spencer a hat, Tessa a purse, and Clara a baby doll blanket for this past Christmas.  How amazing is she!?!