Long Weekend

Saturday night fireworks before heading to the cabin (none allowed up there)

Livs adored this brownie and then cried after the first firework so we put her right to bed and she slept through all the fun :)

On Sunday we packed ourselves up after church and drove up to the cabin. It had been way too long since we were up there and the kids spent hours roaming the outdoors and the indoors too, rediscovering everything.

On Monday morning the Horsleys joined us for a huge peach french toast brunch and non-stop cousin playtime:

Love these patriotic kiddos

Bob and Brooke came up for a quick visit that morning (both in town from Chicago)
the girls cruising along on a jigsaw puzzle

the boys out on a hike

a few sparklers that evening (on the very flame resistant concrete)

Around 9 pm we took the big kids in to Park City for their fireworks show. We arrived just as they started and jumped out of the car in the Albertson's parking lot to watch. It started raining just as we got settled but the show was still vibrant and fun. The rich boom of big fireworks will just never get old for me. Love it every year.

On Tuesday morning we sent our husbands off to work and stayed in the mountains to play. The air up there was absolute heaven for me--nothing like crisp cool breezes and scattered rainstorms to ease any nausea. Plus, I hardly even saw my kids unless they needed lunch or breakfast--and even then they could hardly be pulled away from playtime to make themselves eat. They made forts and bases, jumped off the bunk beds into huge pillow piles, enjoyed a dip in the hot tub, ran around on the trails outside, played skee-ball and air hockey and mini Hot Wheels and created and performed skits and plays for all the grown-ups to see.

Cares and Maddie snacking on red, white and blue cupcakes out on the deck

Livs and Connor loved roaming the cabin calling after each other over and over again. Livs would call "Connor, where are you?" to which he replied "I right here!" And then Livs would say "OK. I coming!" and head happily out to find him. They held hands many times coming down the stairs and loved making each other laugh with silly faces or pretending to fall over. They also loved fighting over toys and claiming everything as "mine," so theirs is still a rocky, 2-year-old friendship :)

And what did I do at the cabin? Sit on the couch and snuggle Brigg or nap a couple times a day. I felt so useless and drained and still quite sickly. My mom and sister took care of everything from meals to kids to crafts and snacks and I was so grateful. Next year I will be more helpful! My caring hubby also came back up to the cabin on Tuesday after work to help look after the kids, make sure everyone got to bed, and (the critical part to me) wake up with Livs in the early morning to entertain and feed her while everyone else in the cabin snoozed on. He is my ultimate lifesaver. He also schooled us in "9's" so he got his due. And he can hardly resist spending an evening away from this blonde bather (luckily we have very cute kids that he misses terribly while he's at work :)