There's a new sheriff in town

People generally think of a dictatorship as a negative, but around here we love it. How could we not, when our dictator is such a tender little guy. Plus--and I may be wrong--but I actually don't think he knows he's such a tyrant. He rules with benevolence, good humor, and general benignity--as long as we provide him with abundant food and many, many opportunities for naps. I think we'd all be pretty good humored under those circumstances.

Also, just to stay in his good graces, we make sure he has lots of company. When the rest of us are busy, we invite an extra special friend for him to play with. As you can see, he's quite thrilled with this playmate, though he did ask us why that baby's onesie is spelled backwards.

And just for a special bonus (yes, just for you, Mom and Dad), here's a picture of Cole's latest: clapping on demand when anyone says "Yay!" It's a little bit sad how he can't help himself, but only a very little bit.

He said, "Cosette, I love you very much"

Fair warning: so, so long and so many pictures.

Another very grand event in our family took place in April, when my dear (and only) brother Christopher married his lady love Cosette. The Blessed (pronounced bless-ed) Event, as well as the anticipation of said Blessed Event, was cause for much excitement in our home. Jonathan, for example, told us in February that the best thing he ever did in life was to meet Aunt Cosette, and this was two months before we laid eyes on her (though I must admit that none of us were disappointed by our new aunt/sister/friend).

The only real cause for concern was how little Chris and Cosette seemed to consider our personal schedule when deciding when to get married. I am still alarmed that they don't seem to know around whom the good earth revolves (namely, moi). What I'm saying is that they had the audacity to schedule their wedding on their own terms (boo!), which meant I had to drive to Arizona (where they abide) all by my onesie with my three babies on board. Jeremy, who was deep in the throes of molding young minds, flew out the day before the wedding and did (mercifully) drive home with us. But on the way there I was flying (driving?) solo. Or, worse than flying solo, since I had to bring all those kids.

The drive wasn't quite as bad as I feared it would be. I was well prepared with lots of snacks and activities, and I am proud to say that only once in three days of driving did I lose my temper to the extent that I felt obligated to beg forgiveness of Clara and Jonathan. That's not too bad, I think. It also helped that we broke up the long drive most pleasantly with a stop at my aunt and uncle's home in Oklahoma (though they were, sadly  for me, on vacation), a night in Albuquerque, and two nights with Jeremy's sister and her family in eastern Arizona. 

My aunt and uncle's house is the perfect grandparent house, and my kids loved staying there, playing in the playroom, and giggling profusely over air hockey. I honestly think they would have been satisfied to stay there indefinitely. 

The next day brought an unexpected highlight of a stop in tiny Vega, Texas. I am inclined, after my visit there, to say that Vega is kind of an extremely sad little town, but it does have a really wonderful city park, though it's probably unbearable in the heat of summer. I guess most things are. But I think, truthfully, it got us through the day.

Albuquerque was nice, though I didn't get much time to explore. We did all manage to fall asleep in the hotel without much trouble, though I vowed very soon to never share a bed with Jonathan, who passed the night by kicking and punching me in his sleep. 

I was pretty pumped, on our drive past Albuquerque, to learn that we'd be going through Hatch, New Mexico, notable, as you may know, for being the Chile Capital of the World, and also home to the famous Hatch chile. As a fan and friend to all chile peppers, I was very happy to stop and eat one. Here are the kids outside the Pepper Pot restaurant, posing in front of signs just so my sister can have something to tease me about (Holla, Megan!).

Surely the highlight of our pre-wedding travel was our stop with Jeremy's sister, Sarah. You may recall from my last post how much those kiddles love them some cousins. And these cousins are such fun! Sarah and Chan and their girls recently moved into a beautiful new home, and their landscaping is not done (though some of it may be by this writing, if I'm remembering the schedule...). Nevertheless, you cannot imagine happier children who played all day in the backyard and came into the house dirtier than I've ever seen them. 

Then, finally, we made it to Mesa. My whole family (minus Jeremy) arrived the same day we did (yes, cousins again!) and although it was certainly a whirlwind of a weekend, I had a wonderful time. Chris and Cosette got married in the Mesa Arizona Temple in a perfect, beautiful, touching ceremony, and then the proceeded to throw the most boss reception I've ever been to. Even for non-party-people like me and Jeremy, it was terrific fun. Highlights (for me) included the lemonade with the flavored syrups, the potstickers, the Greek salad (oh, snap!), and the gelato. Was all of that food? Then I will add two more highlights: the photo booth (awesome) and watching my kids dance with their cousins. Also, I cannot help but mention the pre-wedding lunch at Tia Rosa's. I am (almost) ashamed to admit that I would drive to Arizona again just for those refried beans. I am not entirely joking. 

Also, Jeremy is concerned about just how much Christopher and I look alike. He may have told me he can never look me in the eye again. His loss.

Our trip home was long, of course, but fairly uneventful, though I was really excited about our much too short stays in Santa Fe, New Mexico and Dodge City, Kansas (yes, of  "Get out of Dodge" fame). I want to go back to both places (Santa Fe especially, if I could only pick one). But despite all the chaos and travel and exhaustion, I came home even more committed to making my marriage and family stronger every day. I appreciated the way Jeremy's sister and her family teach their children the gospel in their home. And being together with Jeremy and my parents and siblings while we witnessed the creation of a new, eternal family is an experience I will always treasure. I can't think of anything that matters more to me than what Jeremy and I are doing to raise our family. And I thank Chris and Cosette not only for the delicious food but for the reminder that family happiness can last forever. I think they're off to a good start.

Past Blast

My poor blog has really fallen by the wayside lately. I have no grand ambitions to catch up with everything that I've missed, but I cannot ignore two grand events: a visit from my sister and her family in March, and my brother getting married in April.

The visit, to start (though I'll get to it in a kind of roundabout way):

Jeremy and I have lived in some pretty great places in our marriage--places that would seem like a natural draw  for visitors. Montana, for example, was a stunning, breathtaking, unforgettable wonderland. In fact, I can't really even think about Montana without feeling a very acute kind of lonely pain in my chest. I think they call that homesickness. I saw some pictures of Montana recently and had to shut down my computer because I couldn't bear how far away I was from that kind of beauty. Ugh.

Syracuse, while not graced with the same kind of rugged beauty as Bozeman, was a beautiful place to live. It was not impossibly far from New York City, and it was very close to some wonderful Latter-day Saint (Mormon) church history sites. It had hills and autumn splendor and apples and trees... We enjoyed it there.

Coeur d'Alene was a place I'd never been to until I drove into town, and I will never forget my first impression. I was in the car with my mom and young Clara, and we'd been driving for several miserable days before arriving in Idaho. I was pregnant, exhausted, and missing Jeremy. We'd been driving through some mountains, and then suddenly I started catching glimpses of a perfect blue mountain lake. I said to my mom, "We must be getting closer if we're starting to see lakes. I wonder which lake this is?" When I realized it was Coeur d'Alene Lake, I almost had to rub my eyes in disbelief. I absolutely could not believe we got to actually live in a place that pretty. I miss those mountains and trees and that lake.

St. Paul was a spectacular place to live. I don't know that I've ever lived in a city that was so full of fun and life and endless things to do. I know we didn't live there for long, and that we didn't even have to endure an entire winter there, but it did not take me long to fall for St. Paul.

And now we live in Smallsville, Missouri, population 11,000 (when the students aren't in town). I never in my life would have pictured myself living in a small town in the middle of the country. I used to think Bozeman was a small town! I am not saying, of course, that our new hometown doesn't have its charms. The countryside here is green, lush, rolling, and lovely. I love the trees and the birds and the kind of peace that comes from living away from the fray. Also, here as in other places we've lived, we truly love the people. But a vacation destination it is not. Consider some statistics: Closest city of consequence: 45 miles. Closest city of actual consequence: 90 miles. Number of places to buy groceries: 2. Number of notable tourist attractions: 0. Distance from interstate: 30 miles.

But here's the amazing thing: by the end of this year we will have lived here for approximately 18 months, and when we hit that mark we will have had by far more visitors in our Missouri home that we have had at any of our other homes combined. Truly! I'm not sure how that's happened, but since we've lived here we've had three visits from various combinations of our parents, one visit from some good friends, and a visit from my sister, Naomi, and her family. Coming down the chute is another visit from Jeremy's parents, a visit from some wonderful friends from Coeur d'Alene, a visit from my sister, Megan, and a visit from Jeremy's sister, Rebekah and her family. We may even see some friends from Utah, my parents, and my brother and his new wife at some point.

I know St. Louis is known as the gateway to the West, but I'm starting to think that our little corner of Northwest Missouri might be the gateway to everywhere else. We are thrilled with anyone who comes to visit, and our doors (and floors, and air mattresses, and gallons of milk) are always open.

So all of that really was a roundabout way of mentioning how excited we were to have a visit from Naomi, Jarum, and five much beloved cousins in March. We didn't tell the kids they were coming (I might have slipped and told Cole, but he didn't spill the beans), and their surprise and elation (and, let's be honest, their confusion) when the cousins showed up at the door was priceless. We spent a wild and wonderful long weekend together, exploring not only all the excitement our little town has to offer but also seeing what sites we could squeeze in on a trip to Kansas City. We loved every moment of their visit and hope they'll come again. And we're very happy to report that our little house managed to hold four adults and eight children with very few traumas and only the expected level of drama.

These pictures were all taken during and outing to a nearby lake. But other highlights, in no particular order, included:

1. Eating very much meat at Arthur Bryant's BBQ (we still prefer Oklahoma Joe's, if you're wondering).
2. Going to Kaleidoscope for some creative fun.
3. Going to church with cousins!!
4. Enjoying the world's greatest toy store at the Moon Marble Company.
5. Going on walks.
6. Doing 40 yard dashes at the university football field (I am surprisingly fast, but, if the pictures are to be believed, I look like an absolute moron when I'm running).
7. Snuggling with nieces and nephews.
8. Playing Trivial Pursuit when the kids were in bed (Naomi is super competitive! And the guys kept beating us!)
9. Visiting the Liberty Jail historic site.
10. Eating delicious food (something that always makes my top 10 lists).

Thanks for coming, Cousins! And anyone else who's been looking for a new place to travel, now you know this is the place to go!