Fireside

Like a lot of families who found themselves confined to their homes and yards during lockdown, Brent and I made a lot of improvements. We spent weeks pruning, weeding, mulching and ripping out trash trees. Over the years we've been using the fire pit more and more but we had it in tip top shape by the time everyone came into town. After a delicious dinner of Lou Malnati's pizza (the BEST!), we invited everyone outside.

As a family, we read the entire Book of Mormon whenever one of the girls is baptized. This time around we made the decision to save the very last chapter, Moroni 10, for when the entire family was in town. We gathered around the fire pit and per tradition, starting with Brigitta, everyone read a verse. The Spirit settled on us as we read those wonderful promises that if we read and pray, we will know if this is true. I knew that our little family was in need of some edification, but it became clear that everyone gathered around the fire pit needed it too. 

By the time we finished the chapter, Brent had the fire up and running and we had lots and lots of supplies for s'mores. We brought out the Echo and put on some oldies music which was fun to have in the background. 

I have no idea what I'm laughing about in this picture but I'm standing by my sisters so that's par for the course. 

Love those ladies.

Whitney really attracts mosquitos for some reason and even though she brought her own repellant device (you can see it there on the edge of the fire pit), she still got some nasty bites. Memo to me, memo to me, fog the area around the fire pit next time!

There's something about the glow of a fire that makes everyone look so lovely.

This was our first time meeting Reagan's boyfriend Doug. As he is a man who constantly asks, "How can I help?" we quickly became big fans.

Joey is always keen to look out for someone who might be left out so he and Ireland formed The Glasses Gang. She snuggled up to him while her sisters played and chatted with cousins. 

Time with Julie is always time well spent.

We were hoping to have the trampoline installed. Ok, honestly we were hoping to get Doug to help us install the trampoline while he was here, but it was backordered. The little ones still had fun playing with giant bubbles so it turned out ok.

Julie took some of these amazing photos.

Twighlight turned to night...

...and we finally stopped stoking the fire and let it die out while people headed inside.

Somehow the evening evolved into Tik Tok dances:

And Hamilton sing-alongs:

Heaven help the man that Sydney marries. If he can't grow a decent beard, I don't know what she's gonna do! She set up camp around Doug and I saw her constantly rubbing his beard, just like she does with Brent's.

Eventually she snuck off with Rockwell to read together.

The evening was just magical and set the tone for a beautiful baptism the next morning.

An Epic Dinner with the Wuehlers

The Wuehlers flew in a day before the rest of the crowd arrived so they could get some time alone with Brent and the girls. They kindly treated us to dinner at Epic Deli which has one of the most zany yet delicious menus I've ever seen. The Wuehlers are more traditional and they don't necessarily like off-the-wall food, so they were really good sports to try it out. 

Brent and I started taking walks in the evening and one night we ended up talking about how and when our grandparents died. I decided to follow up on the fuzzy details with BJ and Jeanne and we had a really interesting discussion. Julie kept saying, "I didn't know that!" which made me laugh. It's important to me to get individual photos of the girls with their grandparents and even though the setting wasn't the most gorgeous, I'm glad I have these. 

First up was pics with Grandma Wuehler:

 Then Grandpa Wuehler:

Ugh, I'm trying to not let the broken tables on the side of the restaurant bother me not to mention the construction fencing set up for a drive-thru! If I had pointed the camera any other direction, a big, ugly parking lot would have been in the background. At least it's a record.

Jeanne relentlessly asks for our photos but she rarely takes any of herself or BJ so I snapped a few. I told them to just put their heads together and close their eyes like they were just taking a moment together. Then I told them NOT to smile and for some reason that gave them the giggles. These are some of my favorite photos of the two of them of all time. The way they both are trying to make a serious face and just can't make it work is so cute.

And of course a picture of Brent with his parents. As our discussion on how the grandparents exited this life proved, they won't be around forever!

Since the Wuehlers were staying in a hotel, the girls got to take advantage of the pool a couple of times. It was a welcome relief for me so I could finish deep cleaning and prepping bedrooms for guests. It was a welcome relief for the girls who couldn't do swimming lessons this summer due to coronavirus. 

Once Sydney was on Grandpa Wuehler's shoulders, they became something of a menace to the other girls.

There's nothing like a good swim to rejuvenate the spirit!

Warren Dunes State Park

Facing a hoard of people coming into town for Brigitta's baptism, I felt like we needed to spend some time just as a family. We also happened to have a huge amount of bottles and cans we weren't able to return when we visited Iowa. Thankfully, Michigan pays $0.10 rather than $0.05 per container so we walked away with $50. Not too bad, eh? Brent actually found this beach and I have to say, he did us proud. I have to say Michigan has been healing the beach-sized hole in our hearts from the ongoing shutdown of the Chicago lakefront. It was also really nice to have Brent with us since he misses out on almost all of our beach trips.

There was an innertube that somehow floated waaay out into the water. Brent and I watched as it traveled further and further from the shore, kind of like when Tom Hanks loses Wilson in Cast Away. Finally some people in a speed boat picked it up and I was weirdly relieved that it had been rescued.

Most kids just dig in the sand, Gita actually tries to swim in it. Personally I don't like the gritty feeling all over my skin but clearly that doesn't bother her one, tiny bit!

I'm obsessed with this tree. The wind has worn away the ground around it so the roots are completely exposed yet somehow it manages to thrive. I want to be like this tree. I want to be able to thrive despite my foundation being worn away. I want to just dig my roots in deeper and grow taller.

Such a cool tree!

When we pulled into the parking lot and the older girls spied that huge sand dune they immediately yearned to hike it. Once we were all settled and they'd played in the water a bit, I agreed to take them. Once we went to the Indiana Sand Dunes but apparently they are eroding, protected, and kids aren't allowed to run on them. It was kind of a crappy drive for nothing. This sand dune was theirs for the taking and they couldn't wait.  The sand was warm but not so hot it burned our feet.

I'm still blown away by the energy with which they attacked that hill. It's a huge hill, the pictures don't do it justice. 

There was a random tree at the top and each of them wanted an individual picture with it. 

Ireland was pretty proud that she reached the top of that sucker.

The view from the top is so pretty! The water is a beautiful shade of blue.

We relaxed in the shade and caught our breath for a hot minute.

Whether down by the water or up on the sand dune, Gita loves to play in that sand.

I mean really dig into that sand!

Needless to say, the trip to the bottom of the sand dune was much faster than the trip to the top! We even saw some people with sleds (memo to me, memo to me, bring a sled next time). 

I definitely could have used a day to deep clean the house and catch up on laundry, but I'm really glad we had a day just to ourselves before we hosted friends and family.

I love seeing the girls happy and sunkissed!

Matchies

The girls love going to the mall, but when they've been denied the privilege for a good, long time, they relish going to the mall! I found these rompers on sale and in the right sizes so they dressed up for the occasion. 

Liesel and Ireland wanted to peel off and go on their own and of course Brigitta wanted to hang with them (even though I'm the one with the checkbook). When we stopped by Lush to smell all the wonderful aromas, the people working there said without hesitation, "We just saw your other three walk by here!"

My days of seeing them in the same exact outfit are numbered, I know. But for now I'm going to enjoy it as much as I can- especially when they know how to pose like a boss!