Rewind

Where to begin? You see, at 6 months old, Oliver STOPPED sleeping through the night.  It has kinda felt like life with a newborn...again. This weariness...it's the kind that steals all my brain cells and loses all the thank you notes that were written in January. (At least I THINK they were written!)  The kind of weariness you know will not go on forever but feels like it has gone on forever. Sweet Oliver. He has SUCH a great personality and it is truly God's grace that when I stumble to his room in the night, this crazy love takes over and it just doesn't matter. Sometimes I replay his birth day and I wonder...what if I didn't have him here to rock and sing to in the night? What if I had spent this past year longing for a little one to wake up for? Don't get me wrong, I am certainly looking forward to more restful nights in the future...just thankful NOW for the grace to see the sweetness hidden in a wakeful night.

All that to say...it has been 5 months since I last posted a single picture! So, I'm going to rewind to March and our trip to California. I have some other fun posts for you that will hopefully appear in less than 5 months from now. :-) 


At the end of March we trekked to California for two weeks. Elijah's parents were about to celebrate 40 years of marriage. Cory  (Elijah's sis...my brother's wife...and if you don't know that story then please let me take you out to coffee before you judge our family...it's all legit, I promise!) and I had been working hard to plan a surprise party in their honor. Many close friends were able to come, even from far away, which made the evening extra special.

We also squeezed in a quick trip to the beach, a day at Yosemite, and lots of time for the cousins to play at Grandpa and Grammy's (Elijah's parents). We were super excited to spend time with dear friends in Arizona on our way to CA and in Nevada on our way home. LOTS of pictures ahead. I won't be offended if you get bored and move on to someone else's blog. ;-)

this was our drive through CO from 1am until 5am

We traveled for 20 hours on the first day with minimal stops.  The kids were amazing. Other than Tilly refusing to use ANY potty..ANY where. No really...she lasted from 7pm one day until 2pm the next; and you better believe the tourists at the visitor center are STILL talking about the screaming child in the restroom.

We made it to Arizona sunshine and spent not-enough time enjoying our sweet friends. Of course, we have pictures of our names in fire...and NONE of us. Elijah took these cool pictures. Emily and Aaron have been incredible friends for 11 sweet years. They welcomed us into their home where we brought the kid count up to NINE.

Then off to Clovis and many adventures at Grammy and Grandpa's house. After leaving in a blizzard it was such a welcome site to find SPRING.

Emerson and Cole...doesn't take long for cousins to hit it off.

Quentin, Cole, and Emerson

Pleasure to meet you, Cole.

Look out! Don't mess with a girl and her Jeep. Thankfully Grandpa didn't charge her to replace tree posts or revive rose bushes.

This cousin love has been strong since our Alaskan Cruise 2 years ago.

Only minor injuries occurred from the many trips sailing down the dirt hill. Adventure with cousins...

Auntie Cory helping Tilly feed the pony

Oliver Roy meets Great Grandpa Roy

LOVE

And Great Grandma, too

Some silly faces at the surprise anniversary party

Our efforts came together and we somehow actually kept this party a secret! Sneaking into closets, planning imaginary day trips, stolen photo albums and address books...whew! Deceit is hard work!

My parents flew in from CO to help Mike and Pam celebrate 40 years.

After the party on Thursday night, it was a sweet adventure to head to the coast for the day.

sheer delight

sheer determination. Iwillnottouchthesand!

happy feet

EJ

sisters

my dad

I lost my feet!

naptime?

making cookies with Grammy

a thousand words

That's the whole fam. It's a pretty special thing God has going on here.

Grandpa Mike

Easter Sunday. The girls. Avery, Clara, and Tilly

Nana & Oliver

Love this little man

We really wanted to take the kids to see some giant sequoias. If you have never seen one...put it on your bucket list! I LOVE watching our kids get excited and awestruck by God's creation. We had a BLAST exploring and being wowed by His handiwork. And really...I would choose this kind of excitement over a week at Disneyland ANY DAY!

that's the root base of a fallen sequoia

Our family...all stretched out...and not even half-way around this giant.

Just coming up on the Yosemite Valley view

crazy kids...fairytale beauty

ready to roll

Nothing better than a Cali orange in Great Grandma's backyard

We headed back via Nevada and stayed with our friends, Melissa & John. Melissa and I have been good friends since we were 9 years old! We were in each other's weddings during the same summer. Though we have not lived in the same state since we were 11, God has blessed our friendship and used her to encourage my heart faithfully over the past 24 years. It was SUCH a treat to spend a few days with their family.

And the boys hit it off with piles of legos

Their oldest daughter, Hannah, doting on our girls.