Cousins and Pickleball

 I didn't take enough pictures this week during our Miner time! We were too busy playing.

On Monday we had pizza just like all the Pizza Mondays we had back when I was roommates with Jaren and Lydia, just before Michael and I got engaged. That was such a fun time. Jenny has been so loving and kind to me through so many life stages -- she has had High School Maddie, College Maddie, Dating and Engaged Maddie, Newlywed Maddie, New Mom Maddie, and more as a sister-in-law and she has been such a sweet friend and example through them all. I had so much fun having her and her kids with us this week.

Jaren was a wisdom teeth trooper! He had them out Monday morning and was pretty chill through the process apart from being convinced afterwards that, "I just can't get my tongue back in my mouth!" But he quickly figured that skill out again. My boys were pretty mad that they had to go to school when cousins were here, but after our eclipse trip I just couldn't keep them home. But they packed in lots of playing when they got home.

On Tuesday I went to another Young Women's play for our activity that night, and little Julia came with me. That was so fun to have her along.

Thursday we had to say goodbye to cousins and it was luckily very doable considering I'll be heading out there to Julia's baptism in a couple weeks :) All goodbyes should happen with another visit on the calendar in the very near future. 

Friday we went to the church to play pickleball with friends since our outside plans got rained out. I love that our church had pickleball lines painted on this year. It really is a fun game to play.

Soccer games got rained out yet again this Saturday, and Bennett came down with a stomach bug on top of it. I went to breakfast with two friends on Saturday morning and it was really fun to catch up with them. Fort Collins has so many delicious breakfast spots and not enough open Saturday mornings!

Sunday we ate dinner with our friends the Whitneys and their sister and brother-in-law. Jake made delicious Spanish food, they moved to Fort Collins from spending a year in Spain. They are so fun to talk to and their Spanish food was delicious. Bennett was in love with their pet birds and keeps asking for them now, but I'm feeling like we've reached pet limits around here!

Plus I was terrified of taking care of the bird at Hebrew Rehab when I worked there in Boston, so, it's not in the cards... maybe we'll get him another ant farm :)

Asher is all about eating outside away from his high chair like the big cousins,
but he's the only one in the family that's not skilled at keeping his food away from Luna.
She would never dare take anyone else's but she still goes for this little guy's sometimes.
I think he's a willing accomplice.

Jenny assisted Michael in removing a mole on my arm and face and I was in awe of her.
Who can just randomly suction blood like that?!
Jenny can.
Michael did a great job too, that was the first time I've been a patient in his chair.

Saying goodbye to these sweet cousins.

Luna got her goodbyes too.
The Miner kiddos are Rover professionals and so good with dogs.

Slow morning snuggles with the biggest and the baby.

Bennett just loved holding this pet bird.
Also he keeps losing teeth! Makes him look grown up and also so little :)

Back Home and Miner Time

Back home from what felt like two different trips!

Our Indy time and Northern Indiana time were really fun days. We loved showing our boys where we used to live. They also really loved their quick day in Chicago before we went home. 

We made it to church after getting home and then picked up our Luna girl. She really loves staying at the couple's house we found on Rover. On Monday I took Westin on a mystery shop date to Texas Roadhouse and that cute boy consumed more calories than I've ever witnessed him eat. A steak, mashed potatoes, four rolls, a caesar salad, 90% of my green beans, most of a raspberry lemonade, and a bowl of corn. And I think he would've gone for more rolls if they'd been around. When these boys hit growth spurts their eating is just amazing to me haha. I love it.

We started soccer, which, I don't know if that was a smart thing. These boys are going to miss half their practices and games this season and Westin is hitting the age where a lot of his friends are starting to ditch the rec league and join the traveling, competitive league. But it's still good for them to get out on a field with their friends during the week and be part of a team. 

I was in charge of combined Young Mens/Young Womens this week and I put together a photo scavenger hunt for the youth to do in groups of 3. They had fun and were good sports. I loved gathering random facts from all the leaders for part of the scavenger hunt and watching the youth guess which fact belonged to who.

On Friday night the Miners arrived! Yay! We're so happy when cousins are around. And we were happy to have a full weekend to play with Jaren before Michael takes his wisdom teeth out Monday morning. I've become very good at serving guests soft foods! The boys' soccer games were canceled due to weirdly cold temperatures this weekend so we mostly just hung around home, but the girls did all go to one of my Young Women's school plays on Saturday night. She was Ariel in The Little Mermaid and little Julia loved watching it.

Then on Sunday Michael and I had our 12th anniversary. A dozen years married! I thought last year was 12 and didn't learn it was 11 until like the day of the anniversary so I can't lie, 12 felt a little anticlimactic this year. I thought we'd been there, done that! We didn't get a date in this year or even a picture, life is crazy with four boys + cousins around. But maybe for lucky 13 :)

Picking up Luna after our trip!
She's a loved pup!

Swinging after a bike ride looks extra cautious :)

Tied together to make a train. They do hundreds of laps a day on our deck.

I took Westin on a date to a Texas Roadhouse mystery shop and this cute dude ate more calories than I've ever seen him eat. Growing boys around here!

 

Miners are here! Brownies at the playground on a Sunday night.

Oatmeal before church with cousins.

We had a rainy Saturday to work with so we played some Slamm-o in the gym and just ran around.

Friday night dinner when they rolled into town! We love these people so much!
Some of them had a better visit than others... Poor Jaren lost four wisdom teeth this visit and didn't really get to enjoy his time like the rest of us.

Overachieving sourdough starter.

Before the Miners rolled into town we went to the Children's Museum in Denver with friends on Friday, because school was out. It was so crowded but still so fun!

The boys really love layering paint on this car.

Joseph is tired behind the wheel.

Camden could probably stay at the firetruck the whole day!

Finally getting around to painting my stair risers since our flooring project.

Solar Eclipse in Indiana

 Years ago in Fresno, when I missed seeing the solar eclipse in totality, I vowed to catch the next one.

I checked the year and the path and saw that it would go right through Indianapolis, so I promised myself that in 2024 I'd be revisiting Indianapolis and catching the eclipse. When the Toblers visited us last year they were saying we should make plans to do a trip together, and I told them they should join us in chasing the eclipse. Things came together and we had so much fun revisiting our newlywed/Dental School city with some of our best friends, and catching the solar eclipse in totality on top of it all.

Friday:
Flew to Indianapolis. Had a nightmare of a time waiting for our rental carseats and ended up getting our entire rental care for the week for free. Kids were verrrry tired by the time we got to our hotel, and having just flown to Hawaii and Arizona in the past couple months, we were over flying with them :) But we made it and it's always worth it.

Saturday:
Zoo Day! Apart from the eclipse, this was what I was looking forward to the most. We ran around the entire zoo all day, and then caught our very favorite restaurant (Bosphorous, for Turkish food) for dinner. The Toblers made it to our airbnb late that night. 

Sunday:
Tobler time begins! We walked along the canal, ran around White River state park, visited the NCAA Hall of Champions, caught some conference back at our airbnb, and had a wonderfully happy dinner at the Bunkers with a lot of our old friends. We met some of the very friends while living in Indy.

Monday:
Eclipse day! We had a low key morning, Kristin and I scoped out some eclipse viewing spots, Michael and Chris took the kids on a walk through Fountain Square and out for ice cream, then we ended up at Christian park to picnic and watch the eclipse. We were there from about 1-5 with the eclipse right in the middle of that. Jessica Walser came to watch with us and that made me so happy.

Tuesday:
Children's Museum! We had so much fun here with the Toblers. The dinosaurs! That toddler area I took Westin to Weekly! The water clock! I just love that place. The new outdoor area was so fun, too. We could have spent a whole day just there.

Wednesday:
Downtown walking, circle stops, war memorials, Steak N Shake at Holliday Park. We had to part ways with the Toblers then -- they spent a few more days in Indy and we headed up North to Indiana Dunes National Park.

Thursday:
Indiana Dunes hikes, recovery day, games at home.

Friday:
More Indiana Dunes hikes, trains in Chesterton, ice cream.

Saturday:
Chicago day before heading home! Willis tower, Chicago dogs on the pier, and flying home that afternoon.

So many pictures this week... I loved this trip SO MUCH.

These guys love the front of the train at the Denver airport.

The Kansas City airport has a playground and I love them for that.

Ready for the zoo day!

We love this zoo so much.
The April flowers looked so beautiful!

This sea lion was hilarious. He loved hanging out with the boys.

The penguins! Best spot.

We could've watched them for so long.

"Mom, take a picture of me on this rock!"

They had a little mirror maze there and it miiiiiight have been the kids' favorite part of the zoo.

The dolphin show!

I sure love those orangutans.

I know this is the very same spot even though they changed the bear fence. 
We skipped trunk or treating and went to the zoo instead when Westin was one,
and I loved it. I remember that day so well.

I wish the tiger was doing his signature walk-by-the-glass that the playgroup kids used to love,
but he was pretty tired today. Still the prettiest animal in my opinion.

Oh hey, dental school!

Bennett's face is misleading, the boys LOVED their turkish food at our top favorite Indy restaurant. 
The same owner was still there and he was so sweet to the boys all through the meal and gave them all a package of Oreos at the end of dinner. They did a great job at the restaurant and I was so grateful for that!

Putting kids to bed on vacation....
the worst.

Canal walk!

This city just has my heart.

Tobers are here too! It was so fun renting a place with them.
Our kids had a blast and we loved catching up and playing games and doing all things Indy together.

We actually never went to the NCAA Hall of Champions when we lived there,
but we knew Westin would totally love it.

The little kiddos just loved pushing a button to make this tennis ball fly at the glass at you.
They couldn't get enough.

Our first place!
Apart from like 4 weeks sub-renting in Provo.
But really this is our first place :)
We haven't been back since moving out and it was just really sweet to walk around here.
Best friends and memories from here.

Rainbow on the way to dinner!

We had a dinner at the Bunkers which they were so, so kind to host.
I love so many souls in Indiana. And plenty that aren't there anymore, too.

Ice cream before waiting out the eclipse!

It's starting! The boys were really great about their glasses.
We have been looking forward to watching this for so long.

I wish pictures captured it more.
What an unforgettable experience!

Even our down time was a good time.
I love this crew.

Children's Museum day!

I remembered taking a picture right here with little Westin and we recreated it. 
I just remember bringing him to the toddler space as a one-year-old guy so vividly.
It's wild to me he has three little brothers now and is like 6 feet tall. Ok not that tall. But he's really grown.

Both looking much older haha. What a sweetheart.

Westin was just learning about Chihuly at school so he was excited to see one of his glass sculptures in person.

What a fun place. So many trips taken here in my early mom days!

The new outdoor section was so much fun! We could've spent another whole day just there!

Cozy dinner at Yats during some rain.
The kids did great. Our boys totally loved the food here.
Gumbo, red beans and rice, etc.

Deep conversation for June and Asher.

Had to head to Greenwood for dessert at an old favorite.

They have a new park across from Mrs. Curl and the kids really loved it.

A drive by our Stop 11 church building.
This is a sacred space for me.

Running around downtown on our last morning.

My old office building!

I loved a lot of my jobs, but this one was not on that list...
I really did not enjoy days in that building. Visiting with all my cute kids years later was a happy moment. We've found a city we love, with a crew of sweet boys, and writing work on the side that I like way more than this position. I felt very grateful while sipping on that Mexican hot chocolate.

Final Indy meal: Steak N Shake at Holliday Park. 

This was where we said goodbye to the Toblers.
I am so happy we revisited Indy with them. It was the perfect way to do it.

Indy temple drive by on the way out of town!

Indiana Dunes National Park

I love this quote.
"I had measured myself with the world -- and the results were not encouraging. I came here to measure myself with nature." - Alice Mabel Gray (Diana)

"Mom, take a picture of my ladybug!"

"Mom, take a picture of this deer track!"

I drove my boys across the border of Michigan so they could check it off their 50 states list.
If they're anything like me, they'll thank me someday.

Chesterton, Indiana has dozens of trains every day, so we had fun waiting for a few.

One last sunset over Lake Michigan.

A Chicago day before flying home!

This was pretty wild.
I think the boys will really remember it.

Chicago dogs for our final meal