Road Trip

 I did pretty well keeping up with my blog during my month long trip to Idaho. But this last week, I resigned and gave up. The last week kind of kicked my butt. I was really tired, really ready to see my husband and really dreading leaving my homeland. This trip was bittersweet for me. I absolutely loved being around family and having help with the boys at almost every hour of the day. Scott works LONG hours, so the kids and I rarely see him during the week. It was a nice change to have adult conversations and company. On the flip side-- I missed my husband more than words can express. His companionship is worth more than a million hours of sleep. I missed my friends and the regular activities the kids and I enjoy. So, I was torn if I really wanted to come home or not. But, as I walked in my home tonight--I was so grateful to be here. I can't wait to sleep in my bed and wake up in my own home. My children were so happy to be home too. They ran around and laughed and played with toys and jumped and played and on and on and on.

During the last week my family from Texas came. It was amazing seeing my brother and his wife. I haven't seen them for a year, so I soaked up every little minute with them that I could. Tayden loved having his cousins and I loved having a week with some of my favorite people. It was lots of fun. We also enjoyed the Zoo with Grandma Packard and Aunt Ashley. A few nights of dinner in Inkom and then ended it with the Karlson family reunion. I have loads of pictures to share. I'm sure they will be in random order, but enjoy. 

My brother got all the kids a bubble gun the night he flew in. Tayden LOVES his. He has played with it almost every day since he got it. The cousins spent most the evening in a bubble war.

This is on post a really wish I got published on its own. It was going to be called, "Who Needs a Nanny?" And the text-- When you have a Manny. My brother was a great help with Beckett. Little B is enamored by Justin, which is appropriate since they share a middle name. Seriously, Beckett chose Justin over myself a couple of times. My heart melted watching my brother with B. It was only the second time they have met, so it was really great watching them connect like they did. 

I caught a few pictures at the reunion. My amazing cousins put on a rocking awesome kids carnival for all the littles and Tayden really enjoyed himself. They made capes and bird feeders (or Beckett feeders--as he ate the peanut butter and bird seed!), did face paintings, ran an obstacle course and colored musical instruments. It was definitely a morning of fun.

We enjoyed lots of swimming. Tayden is a huge water fan. HUGE! He did swimming lessons in Pocatello, but learned more from his cousins in 10 minutes than he did in two weeks at the rec center. He always wants to wear his life jacket, but insists on being a diver. He loves swimming under water and jumping in the pool. Beckett enjoys the water also. We got him a floating tube, and he loves it even more now. I also love not having to hold him the whole time.

And of course, we had a pine wood derby race. Tayden loved watching his spiderman car race. 

A little night time family putt-putt golf. 

It was a great trip. One of my favorite things was letting my phone die. It was a peaceful 2 days of no facebook, checking blogs, playing games, email, etc. I soaked up all the time I could with the 3 most important boys. I thought I'd die without it, but I actually loved it. It'll probably start getting turned off a little more frequently. 

I can't believe my July adventure has come and gone already. It was such a great trip and I am already looking forward to next summer in Idaho. I'm glad to be home though and getting back into our regular routine. 

Thanks everyone for making it such a fantastic trip.