Needless to say he has missed his best buddies. Wes and Ross were sort of made best buds since Kim and I arranged to swap boys while we exercised...it worked out so nicely - we did it all the way through having our second babies even. It makes me laugh thinking of how they started off together - no acknowledgment. They'd just separate and go play with their individual toys. Eventually when the routine sunk in, they started getting excited when they'd see each other with a "Hi!" or "Hey!" and giant smiles...and then go play with their individual toys. Finally they actually started playing together which was really fun...with bouts of sharing issues here and there, but they definitely liked hanging out together (since they had to be twice a week two hours at a time).
When we moved back to Utah we skyped with Wes on the computer and Ross would reconfirm that Wes was in Colorado (on their internship) and then ask to go to his house since he was over talking to Wes on the "compeeter" (as he calls it). One benefit of getting our three bedroom apartment was having a bit more space to work with - so we made sure to snag Wes and the fam to stay with us on their way back to Oregon when their rotation finished.
We had a few moments of panic with Ross getting sick the day before in the morning and then again when Wes got sick the night before they were leaving, but we got to keep them here anyway for a couple days.
Ross and Wes chatted like no time had passed and played toys like old times (which growls, grunts, and squeals in the sharing department) which I'm sure was good for both of them since sharing wasn't at the top of the list with fewer play dates occurring.
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| These are the smiles I got...their dinner conversation consisted of, "I'm eating my dinner!" "What's on your shirt?" and "This is my cup." Adorable. They chatted at each other like no time had passed. |
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| Chillin' |
We had fun chatting, eating, and trying to line up nap times so we could all play some games without kids pulling at legs or snatching cards. That lasted for about 45 blissful minutes. ;)
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| Buckets on heads always make for good pictures |
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| Cameron knew how to sport it well... |
The night before they left we chatted till it was super late about all our ideas for future parenting. It was quite fun brainstorming how to monitor and teach our children important life lessons. Some of them included:
1) Keep chickens and a garden. If they want eggs for breakfast, take care of the chicken, you'll get your eggs...don't take care of it, and no eggs. Simple.
2) Small bedrooms and a big play room encourages families to spend time together more often.
3) Don't be afraid to power box your house if electronics become an issue.
4) Phones chargers located in the parent's room, also electronics get turned in nightly. Nothing important needs to be played or person texted to after midnight.
5) Every kid needs to have a job they hate for a time...to learn that work won't always be fun or what you have in mind...makes you appreciate having any other sort of job.
Those were a few of the gems we came away with. I think I'm all for brainstorming with other couples more often. You get some great ideas from each other!
It went way too fast and three months till we see them at graduation seems so long, but we're so happy we got to spend some time with them anyway!
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| Dog piling in the mornings :) |
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| Quick kids! |
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| Dawson needed a snuggle. Ruby figured they had it covered. |
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| Wes liked following Ruby around making sure she stayed out of trouble. Ruby liked the following around part...not so much the staying out of trouble part. |
On Sunday, Steve's dad was called to the Stake Presidency in their ward. He will do a great job serving the Church in this way we know. We got to go to their Stake Conference and be there for the setting apart. It was a privilege to hear Elder Evans speak and have our testimonies strengthened throughout the meetings and the setting apart.
The next day, President's Day, seemed appropriate to celebrate Steve's dad! ;) Haha. They burned their Christmas tree - which went way too fast. We were supposed to have a weenie roast, but ended up grilling them instead. It was fun anyway and we enjoyed a family night presentation by Steve's dad sharing the counsel he received during his training.
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| The tree! |
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| Wahoo! |
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| Rubes was trying to figure out walking on the grass. Piece of cake if she had one of your fingers. Alone...and no idea what to do. |
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| Still a happy pants though! |
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| Heading to try a different fire with President Grandpa ;) |
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| Ruby still hasn't moved... ;) |
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| Trying to decide how to approach this. :) |
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| Trying out the swing. |
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| Ross wanted a turn! |
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| This is how Ruby would hold her hands when she wanted you to come get her. |
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| Trying to blow the fire! |
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| Cute Daddy Daughter pic |
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| Love ;) |
Today I took the kids out to the park for the morning since the weather was so nice. We had a great time and in turn, the kiddos took great naps! Wahoo for me! Life is good. :)
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| Rubes preferred running away at the park - it was the perfect game :) |
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| Throwing pinecones is the BEST at the park. |
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| Swingin'! |
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| Bubble Girl :) |
