LA for Labor Day

Michael:

had a busy week but came home early one day to take Westin out on a date. Westin chose Cafe Rio and he was so excited to go eat "just the two of us". I was happy for him, because I know dates with Michael are the best! He also had Labor Day off since he's at the VA hospital right now, so we were able to drive down to LA together and go to Michael's cousin's wedding. Shelley's family, Pam's family, and Michael's mom were all there as well and it was really fun to see them. 

We drove down Saturday morning, dropped the kids off at Gary's brother's house where they were so kind to watch all 16 kids during the wedding (!), and we went to Aimee's sealing at the LA Temple. Then we hung out at the house that day with the kids before driving to Newbury Park for the reception. Bennett and Westin loved eating cookies and dancing and running around with cousins.

On Sunday we went to Shelley's ward in La Cañada. Their church building is so unique and I love it! Bennett struggled in nursery, Westin struggled in sunbeams... struggle of a Sunday but we went. Then we went to Tony's parents house for the afternoon and had a delicious backyard dinner. After that we went to see the progress on Shelley and Tony's remodel -- their new house is so close to being done! I'm excited for them and I love how much I can see Shelley's personality in all that she's picked out for her home. Then we went back to our hotel to give our kids some much needed sleep -- no naps all weekend has its effects!

Monday we met up with everyone at Ocean Park beach and it felt like the perfect day. Shelley brought delicious donuts to the beach, Westin and Bennett were immediately happy in the sand with toys, Michael played in the water for a long time with Quinn, Anthon, Ella, and Lily and Gary, I had fun catching up with family and playing with the boys. We failed in the sunscreen department and paid for that later, but still such a fun day and weekend!

Maddie:

felt like this weekend was a mini family vacation and I loved it so much. I finally feel like I am better at turning off stressors during vacation and just let my kids miss the naps and eat the sugar and get dirty and deal with the temporary effects as they come, because it's all worth it. They love their cousins so much and they had so much fun having dad around. I also loved seeing Aimee's beautiful sealing -- it's been about 3 years since Michael and I went to a family member's sealing together. That is a beautiful moment that offers such precious perspective. 

Westin:

was so happy to be around his cousins. He loves to pretend that he is Anthon or Quinn. He called Tony, Uncle Tony, instead of Uncle Dad this trip. :) He played so hard and had a rough day Tuesday at home and at preschool because of it, but after 12.5 hours of sleep last night he's doing better today. He loved going to the zoo with friends this week, and he's still loving preschool. He always says, "Thanks for packing up a lunch for me, mama" and is so excited to go.

Bennett:

was so funny on the dance floor at the reception and I never want to forget when he moved around so much straight into laying on his back on the ground and somewhat attempting the worm while making crazy faces up at us. He was feeling it. He's getting so big and I love watching him every single day. Both boys loved the elevator in our hotel with the glass side. And Bennett especially loved the koi pond in the hotel, particularly the turtles. He says that word with such passion and they all came right over to him from all sides of the pond when he'd come by.

Grammy was so sweet to help Westin eat his lunch -- he had not one, but two, plate in the sand incidents,
and required some assistance :)

Anthon put chips on his towel to try and get a sea gull to land on him...

But a couple cousins came and took the bait.

Is life ever better than sprinkle donuts on the beach?
(Yes, actually... apple fritters on the beach are better... but my family is split on that opinion.)

Westin is team sprinkles.

Bennett is whichever team will have him -- no donut pickiness there.
And mostly he just loves buckets and shovels and buckets and shovels.

Bennett's favorite spot in the hotel. Mine was the omelet station.
Michael's too, because he joked that if I loved him I would make him a breakfast like that every morning :)
Haha breakfast food probably is Michael's main love language, actually.

I always feel this urgency to get out the door in hotels and Michael always feels this need to just watch Discovery channel and kind of just take in the experience. I can see which camp our children are going to belong in.

Bennett was all about the construction scene at Shelley and Tony's new house.

One day this week I notice Bennett had this little book of sticky notes and was super content. It was one of those moments when the entertainment outweighed the price and I let him stick to his heart's content. We got about 30 minutes.

Friday preschool with friends is back on! We started back up at my house this week and the kids were really sweet and creative. Bennett now feels part of the gang and was adamant that he needed a q-tip painting too.

Making Qs out of our snacks!

Q-tip Painting our Qs

Zoo trip with friends! We made it to the petting zoo part this time, which normally we seem to not have time for,
and the boys really loved it. I think Bennett made it his mission to give every goat at least one brush stroke.

Daddy coming home in his blue truck is a big event around here.
This particular day we all just climbed inside and took a spin around the neighborhood.

Westin likes building temples and cars lately out of his blocks, magnets, and legos.

On Monday after we got home, we learned that Michael's cousin's little 2-year-old was lost in a pool accident. Our hearts are broken for them and I have not stopped thinking about that since I heard that tragic news. We had just met sweet Griffin at the wedding the weekend before, and Jake and Ashley have such a sweet family. They've been on my mind so much, and I'm so grateful that families are forever. I know that Griffin will always be part of their family and that he is happy and loved. I am so sad that their family has to experience this loss in this life. These experiences cause so many to cherish their time with loved ones and truly appreciate little moments -- it's just so sad that anyone has to experience such pain. They are in our prayers.