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Dear Ben,
Hi! How are you? Long time no talk.
I thought I’d show you a little of what we did while you were in Utah/Idaho for Grandma Johnson’s funeral.
After we dropped you off at the airport on Friday McKay and Jax cried the entire way home. Jax was furious that you had the nerve to get on an airplane without him! McKay was heartbroken that you vanished again. Sadie, Jax, and I are pretty adjusted to your busy lifestyle; McKay is taking it the hardest – by far. McKay is so obsessed with you lately!
On the drive home we stopped by Target but the kids’ behavior was horrendous so we left early. We went home and played out back for a while, ate a snack, and headed to the gym for Zumba. The kids had a great time and we went home and ate pizza for dinner. Easy, fun night.
We spent most of Saturday morning doing dress-up, sidewalk chalk, and going on a walk. The kids were convinced that since they were in costume they needed a treat. I found some lollipops which they were ecstatic about.
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Later that morning we went out to the store to buy a present for Joseph. The kids picked out the presents and Sadie wrapped them herself. You know how she loves wrapping!
That evening we met the family at John’s Pass Beach for Joseph’s birthday party. We all had a great time! Sadie ate two whole sandwiches and an entire plate of veggies and dip, Jax ran and ran and ran and ran and ran, and McKay was content to be independent and drift from place to place. It was a beautiful evening!
Ethan loved the rocket. He launched it right into my dad’s face once and his own once! I’m embarrassed to admit I laughed pretty hard. No one was injured.
Shown above is the very bat that broke McKay’s leg. I’ve kept it in a box and just brought it out again this week.
My brothers worked hard to get this shace shuttle kite to fly. Michael even had his little phone/computer out researching methods and directions. But, still, no success. The kids were sorely disappointed. I quite enjoyed watching the process, their determination, and failures. Very entertaining and it kept the kids occupied 🙂
We made a mess of the beach, huh?
I think my mask of pregnancy is finally going away again. Yippee! Look at sweet little Jax! He loves that jacket and asks to wear it every day!
After the party I headed back to my parents house for a little while. My mom let Sadie and Jax paint rocks into ladybugs while my dad and McKay built a fire in the fireplace. McKay was so captivated by the experience. His little face looked sunburned by the end of the night from standing so close to the fire for so long.
Sunday went just fine. The kids were fairly reverent during Sacrament meeting. There were a few times I had both the boys on my lap but they were happy to share me. So different from how things were a year ago! We’ve come so far!!! I told the kids if they were good at church that I would take them to the park that evening. So we went to Cruise Lake Park for an afternoon stroll. We were there for quite a while – 2+ hours. The kids loved the fresh air and enjoyed roaming around the ‘spooky forest’, as they call it. We went to the tower, dock, swings, and playground.
That evening, as you know, we picked you up at the airport. I should have brought my camera in. I wish I had a picture of McKay gleefully out-running the other two in an effort to get to you. He acted just how I felt.
We’re happy you got to go. We’re happy you’re home again. And we’ll be really happy when life gets back to normal again!
Loves to you,
Your wife
Christy - Great post! The pictures of Dad and McKay by the fireplace made me really miss home. I wish we could have been with you guys at the beach and back at Mom and Dad’s house painting rocks and making fires.
Your other adventures look fun too. Love the costume pictures. I wonder what your neighbors think when you four go on walks in those get-ups. 🙂 Doesn’t really matter but I’d give a penny for their thoughts–I bet some of them are pretty funny.
Thirdly, I’m glad you have Ben back and I hope life gets back to normal soon for all of you!
Love,
Kiki
Shannon - I’m happy to hear you survived your weekend without Ben. We did too, but it wasn’t as fun as yours. I can’t wait until we can go outside again so the kids can get out of the house!
I am VERY happy to have Bret back too. I’m glad he could go to the funeral, but it was also hard to have him go. We very rarely get time with him so it was hard to send him off knowing he’d have some free time without us. I’ll admit I cried when I found out he was actually going to go. We’re back to normal life now though. Bret’s back and although he is extremely busy at least we get to see him for a short time before the kids go to bed.