Well we had a fun week!
Lots of fun,
beautiful weather,
not so beautiful weather,
family,
and pictures!
So, my mom's Uncle
(so my Great-Uncle?)
passed away, so my
mom came out to go to
his funeral.
And, since she was already out
here,
she and my dad decided she might
as well stay for a good
visit.
She stayed at our house
for a whole week!
And we had a blast.
My grandma drove her down
from Ogden to my house
(thanks Grandma!)
but the kids and I were at the park
when they arrived,
so they had to wait while
we walked back.
When Kale saw my grandma
in the driveway
he ran right up to her
and gave her a squeeze.
And then said, "But where's Nana?!"
We found her down the street
trying to meet us but we had
come back from the park
the other way (haha!)
But as soon as he saw her
he yelled, "Nana!" and
threw his arms open wide and ran
as fast as he could into her arms.
It was the perfect
way to start her visit!
The rest of that day was chill.
My mom hung with Janie
and the kids while I did piano lessons.
Kyle and Heather came
over for dinner.
And then Nana read to
her little grandkids:
And then Kale slept
with Nana on the air mattress.
He actually slept with her
every night she was
here.
What a treat!
The next day we tried to go
to the BYU track meet.
But we didn't stay very long
because of lightning in
the area.
The track meet got postponed a couple
of times,
but they kept trucking along.
We bowed out seeing as how
a track meet isn't all that
fun for two little ones
in the first place, but throw
delays in and it's just
an impossibility.
Plus, we didn't want to
be on those metal
bleachers when lightning was around.
I love in the above picture
that Ellory has her
mob boss face on.
Kale wanted to stay with dad
and was resistant to leaving.
But, Tyler convinced him that it would be
ok to leave once he'd
taped Kale's ankle:
And before we left
Kale was given his own
pre-wrap and tape.
So, of course, when we got
home he needed to practice.
He also practiced on Heather
and Kyle.
Future Athletic Trainer??
Later that night we gave
Ellory oatmeal for
the first time...
She actually really liked it!
Mom sprung for Chinese take out
for dinner for us,
which was super awesome of her.
Thanks mom!
The next day we headed back to the track meet.
The day was a little
cooler but we stayed and stayed
because I wanted to
watch one of our best runners
run in the 4X400.
Perks of knowing one of
the trainers...
So, we waited and waited
for the last race,
and just before they were about
to start the women's race,
this storm just blew in
WHOOSH!
It got windy and cold,
and then the rain started.
So, we had to jet.
I had mom wait with the kids and our
stuff underneath
a canopy where you pay to
get in,
but just as we got to that canopy,
Kale tripped and fell
right into one of the tables.
He was pretty distraught.
Poor guy!
But then, I got the car,
we loaded up,
and the rain REALLY started
coming down.
We headed to the nearest McDonald's
Playplace to wait it out.
The kids had fun there until
Tyler was done and we
could pick him up
and head on home.
When we got home,
we got on Skype to
wish my dad a happy
55th Birthday!
I'm sure he was bummed
that mom wasn't with
him on his b-day.
Thanks for letting her miss
your birthday Dad!
The next day was Sunday
so off to church we went!
Isn't Ellory's little
dress just the cutest thing?!
The rest of Sunday was chill.
Kyle and Heather came over
for French Toast and bacon,
YUM.
Mom and I stayed up
way passed our bedtime
playing cards,
and she kicked my butt.
Big time.
It was hilarious how badly she
kicked my butt.
Seriously.
We were giggling.
In the middle of the
night that night,
Kale threw up in bed.
Luckily not on Nana,
but everywhere else.
Poor guy!
The puke soaked through
all the blankets,
so they all had to go
in the wash and we found
new blankets for mom.
Kale came into bed with me
and Tyler headed for
the couch.
Not much later, however,
Kale threw up in bed again.
More blankets
were added to the laundry pile
and Kale went back to the air
mattress with Nana
while Tyler went back
to our bed in a sleeping bag
and I headed to the couch.
By this time it was 6 AM
and I didn't really see the point
in going back to sleep,
so I watched me some Dr Who.
Kale didn't feel well
the rest of the day,
so we didn't do a whole
lot other than feed Ellory
graham crackers
that were dipped in
baby food:
Tuesday was a much more eventful
day.
Nana and Kale started
the day with a little
Slap Jack:
And we spent some of our afternoon
at a new park:
The park was really cute,
but not much shade.
Also, I forgot to
pack Ellory's graham crackers
and when Nana tried
to give her
Chicken in a Biscuit crackers
she chucked them back at her.
So....she was a delight.
We brought Kale's T-Ball set
to the park and used
his shoes and some thing that
was in the ground as bases.
There were a few other kids around
and once they saw us playing they
came running over.
They were all so cute and lined
up to take their turn
to hit the ball and then
run the bases.
It was amazing how every
single one of them
hit a home run every time!
Then, it was time to go
to the Payson Temple Open House!
We had planned this with all
of Tyler's family weeks earlier.
It was really special to be
able to walk the halls of the Temple
with my family.
It just doesn't get much better.
It's the most beautiful place
on the face of the Earth.
And I was glad that my
mom, Kyle and Heather were
able to join us as well!
Look at this sweet picture
of Ellory and Heather:
And look!
Most of the Pattersons!
(I swear, I'm going to get
better at taking pictures
when we are all together)
I'm so grateful that we got
to do that as a family.
Afterwards,
Nana went back with Kyle and Heather
and headed to the Creamery
for dinner and ice cream.
They all got Earnestly Chocolate,
which is an O.K. choice,
I guess,
but I still can't believe
they chose that over
Graham Canyon.
Come on you guys!
Just Kidding :)
But seriously.
And while they were doing
that, we went to Janie's
where she and Mark
had provided a delicious
dinner and dessert for us.
It was sooo yummy.
Pork (a special kind, but I don't know how to spell it)
and sticky rice with some
delicious side salads.
Oh, and Pam (Tyler's mom) brought
a pasta salad that
was really really tasty,
so thanks Pam!
Thanks Janie and Mark!
Kale is always bummed
to leave his cousins,
which is a good thing.
It was easier this time
reminding him that Nana was
waiting for him at home.
The next day we headed to
the library,
the last one before summer!
Kale has really enjoyed going
to the toddler story time.
The Provo Library really does
an amazing job.
After the library we went
back home to have some
lunch and to wait
for the arrival of my grandma!
Once she got here
we headed to the
splashpad park.
It was pretty hot,
but we found some shade.
Did I mention it was hot?
Because it really really was.
So we headed home
to have a water gun war:
Don't mind those pasty
white legs.
YIKES.
I love that picture up there.
He is just the best
little kid!
Ellory kept Great Grandma
company in the shade :)
That night, Kale had Nana read
about 7 stories to him.
He just had the best
time with her.
They played Candy Land
and Chutes and Ladders.
They read books.
She just did everything
and anything with him.
It was awesome.
And just about every night
or day he would say to me,
"Mom, I just love Nana."
Sweet boy!
Ellory had so much fun with her, too.
She was happy to play with
her while I did other
things, and there were
a couple nights where
Ellory was just a ball
of silly energy and she just
played and giggled with Nana.
Ellory also tried walking a
little bit while Nana was here,
which was a fun thing
for her to be a part of.
And then, Nana had to go home.
Kyle and Heather drove her
to the airport,
so we said our good-byes
in the driveway.
It never gets any easier.
You'd think I'd be used to it
by now, but I'm not.
I'm always sad to see her go.
She's a wonderful mom
and I love her to death.
Thanks so much for coming to visit Mom!
