the third quarter

So the reunion finished. You would think that the vacation was over. Oh no. Rob had to go to Rhode Island for work. Thursday after the reunion, we drove to Providence, and the next day, while Rob worked at Brown University, I got to take the kids to the Cliff walks, where we enjoyed the ocean views as well as the humongous mansions.

After that, we spent several days with friends in Boston. First we stayed with the Allisons, good friends from Ann Arbor. We enjoyed going to the beach, the Boston Children's Museum, and canoing at a lake near their home. They have a daughter Bekah's age and sons (triplets, actually) Kyle's age, so it was perfect. There was a sand-building competition at the beach, so we built our very own hammer-head shark.

After a great visit with them, we stayed with the Styler's in Belcher Town (nice). We knew them back in Provo, and then when we lived in MI, they lived in Ohio, so we would still get together. It was a blast. The only day it rained on our trip was the day that we decided to walk all over Boston. Of course. It poured the whole time, but with great company, who minds being a little wet? We also figured that with the rain, we were able to see much more of Boston. If it had been nice, chances are we would have spent several hours playing at parks in the Boston commons. As it was, that was not a temptation, so the kids stuck it out on the walking tour along the freedom trail. The rain actually came in handy later, when our friend Bryan, began looking for a bathroom for his daughter. Mmm... too late. We also enjoyed talks, the farming game, and hiking on one of the trails (not the Appalacian, but close).

After a wonderful trip, we got in the car, drove 6 hours to Buffalo, flew to Chicago and then SLC, finally arriving home at 1 am. But, oh, it was fun!

Now for the 4th quarter laundry and groceries!

AMAZING

Oh, and I also love that we actually got a family picture where we all look good. That is truly a miracle... BOTH my kids are looking the same way smiling. Thanks Kacey.

Bassett reunion

Ahh... the Bassett reunion. Can you believe that over 60 people actually come from around the US (and England) to spend a whole week with their extended family. And what is the most amazing part about it is that we all love it! I mean, we LOVE getting together with cousins, in-laws, aunts, uncles, babies of cousins, grandma. Although it is my husband's family, even my family always wants to hear what we did at the Bassett reunion.

This year we went to upstate NY, where we went to Palmyra, saw the Hill Cumorah pageant, toured Niagra Falls, played tons of games, laughed, ate, talked, and of course, took pictures. Here's what I loved about the Bassett reunion: I loved walking around at the Sacred Grove in Palmyra on Sunday. I loved feeling the spirit of everyone's faith in God. I loved playing 3-legged soccer. And the Ninja game. And volleyball. I loved doing the crossword puzzle competition (but only because Manny was on our team). I loved going on Maid of the Mist in Niagra Falls and getting soaked with about 30 other Bassett friends. I loved that Elise rubbed my back for at least 1/2 hour. I loved playing a super-hero for the Bassett movie. I loved watching the kids run around with their other cousins and second-cousins. I loved that everyone was always included... whether it be including a 3 year old in a game with the other adults, or the older adults playing volleyball (and whomping... thanks to an older judge) against a much younger team. I loved watching Rosey play with my kids... and how much they love her for it. I loved picking and eating blackberries. I loved watching Grandma sing and dance to "I like to move it move it." I loved how perfect the 70 degree weather was the whole week. I loved the award ceremony at the end. I loved the beautiful location.

But it is best said by my 4 year old, when she first arrived. "Mom, there are MY FRIENDS!"

So what have I missed?

It's been almost 1 month since I wrote last. Hmm... where to begin. Let's start at the very beginning. Do-re-mi...
- Summer literacy program (which I direct) running smoothly. Have the most AMAZING committee this year. Thank goodness.

- Decided to sell our house. You know what that means. LOTS of work. Retiled bathroom. Restained deck. Cleaned. Packed. De-cluttered. (Remember that Rob is still working over 70 hour weeks, bless his heart, and Kyle did not sleep through the night for 10 nights. Still, on a scale of 1-10, my productivity was at a 14! I'm not going to rate my parenting or patience.)

- My aunt died suddenly in her sleep at the age of 47. What?!? We drove to Vernal for her funeral. I don't even know what to say about it. It still seems sort of unreal. I'll probably start processing it in August when things have slowed down.

- Last week of June, my brothers and their families flew in for my sister's wedding, so we had a lot of fun together. It was like a dream come true watching my kids run around my parents' backyard, playing with their little cousins.

- July 3rd, the actual wedding. Perfect. The wedding was absolutely beautiful in the Salt Lake temple. Then the reception, in typical Miller fashion, was a PARTY! We danced up a storm. Now that all of us siblings are married, we need to come up with another reason to dance like this. Maybe Mom and Dad can have a big fiesta to celebrate their 34th anniversary.

-July 4th. Kaysville parade. Free candy. Water fight. Perfect weather. Doesn't get any better. I seriously get choked up every year at this parade. It just epitomizes all that I love about America. The marching bands, the families, the little kids dancing, the grandparents shoving the little kids out of the way to get the salt-water taffy. Love it.
Later that night, we did our fireworks show complete with patriotic music. Ooo Aah.

-July 5th, Sunday all together (except the honeymooners). I think heaven will be like a Sunday summer afternoon, sitting in my parent's backyard, eating cherries picked from the tree and watching the naked children (covered in cherry juice) running around laughing.

-July 6th, the Miller's Cherry Hill fiesta. My kids actually call the water park "Charity Hill"... I think because we went there with my neighbor Charity 2 years ago. I really think it was amazing that my kids lasted through all of this without major meltdowns. We played hard. It wasn't until we got home late that night that I began to pack for our 2 and 1/2 week trip.

-July 7th, flew to upstate NY, where my old roomie, Cindy Goodwill, picked me & the kids up. We spent 4 days with her family and had tons of fun. Seriously, who can not have a great time with her. She is one of those amazing people who is not only hilarious, but laughs easily. There is nothing like a friend who makes you feel funny. Seriously, I LOVE people who think I'm funny. And, she even put up pictures of me and her in her house, which she swore were already there before I arrived. Rriiighhtt. So I really loved visiting her and her husband and 4 kids. Tim was awesome to let us sit up and talk until 3am. It was almost like college times... except our kids woke up WAY before even our early morning classes.

The only downside of hanging out with nearly perfect people is that afterwards, it reminds you of how little patience you actually have, how poorly you actually eat, and how I seriously need to start working on those new year resolutions. Anyhoo... next episode: the Bassett reunion.