A lot has
happened this summer but I have not kept up with it so I will sum it up for
you.
1. Our
lease was up at the end of May and so we chose to put the furniture and boxes
in storage and move in with the Lambs to save money. We moved in to Jonny's generous
Parents', Steve & Margie Lamb. Geoff, Jonny's oldest sibling, lives here
too but we are only rarely privy to seeing him on weekends. When we do AJ loves
to have his uncle make him laugh! AJ also loves to have his Lamb grandparents
so close and has made a lifelong bond with each of them. Some of AJ's firsts that took place while living here are crawling and his first steps! He also enjoyed his first time swimming with Abby and her kids, Grandpa & Grandma Lamb, and Uncle Geoff, as well as mommy and daddy of course. : )
2. This
summer we also were blessed by Abby and their three kids weekly visits. AJ and
I would go to the Library for story time on Thursdays and lunch after at the
Hunter's. Then Saturday night they would come for dinner and sleep over so they
could come to our ward with us. Margie enjoyed teaching their oldest son's
primary class! AJ loved having his cousins around so often and we miss them now. They are in Boston now where Peter, Jonny's brother, and family are living
while he finishes his International MBA at Boston University. Abby is ecstatic
that he is back from a study abroad in China that was for three months and was
the first part of his MBA program.
3. We spent
this summer traveling and reunions!
First
the Lamb girls all gathered here in UT for a sister retreat/reunion. We all
picked some activity to do while here. So we did Zumba, went on a hike, made
cake pops, went to Sound of Music at Hale Center Theater, played a get to know
you game and tasted Tesha’s homemade traditional cooking. Basically we had some
great girl bonding time together.
We drove to St. George to the Shakespearian Festival where Jonny and I got to
see Les Mis. Jonny received the tickets for his birthday. This was my
first time seeing Les Mis live and we loved this performance of the classic musical.
When we arrived at the theater and had the usher take us to our seats we were
pleasantly surprised because we were sitting in the front row. Thank you Margie
and Steve for such a wonderful experience! This was a bit of a pit stop because
the main reason for our trip south was to attend the Lamb Family Reunion in
Orderville. Becky and Joseph brought their three kids from CA and were in
charge of the kids’ games. It was fun to learn a lot about the ancestors and
see the family perform talents.
Then
AJ, my parents, Kelsie and I drove to visit Amanda, Adam and the twins in
Corvallis, OR. Their first house is nice and has a great garden in the front
and back yards. We enjoyed picking and consuming fresh blueberries at a pick
your own berries farm. Dad took us to see his grandparents’ home and his
childhood home in North Bend. All of us enjoyed the coast but AJ loved it. We
captured on camera his fearlessness of the ocean, crawling right in from the
beach. The clam chowder was fantastic and I don’t eat clam chowder. : ) I was
ready to be back home with my loving husband by the end of the trip but enjoyed
the sights and time with family.
We had a family reunion with Jonny's family, sadly minus the Northern Californians. Since Gabe was going to turn 4 in Boston we celebrated early by going to Jungle Jim's and ate pizza & donuts, as well as swam at the Hunters while the men packed up the moving truck. After
we got the, formerly known as, OC Lambs loaded up in their moving truck, sent
Abby and the kids off to the airport, and said farewell to the Jensens we
packed up our bags.
Jonny, AJ, and I all flew to San Antonio to visit my family
and meet my nephew William. My dad had been up to UT for work and flew back
with us. We ate TexMex and had a BBQ with my Mom’s potato salad and TX brisket
and turkey! Mmmm!!! Played games and fed babies. The big adventure was a day at
Feista Texas: slurping Slurpies from a boot, splashing in the water park,
riding rollercoasters and watching Rock’n at Rockville High. I also introduced
Jonny to a funnel cake and got it a la mode. Thanks Mom for watching AJ on your
last day before work started up so we could go all day to the amusement park! Jake,
Jess, Will, Kelsie, my parents and our family all got to have a picnic and feed
the ducks, deer, and peacock at the Quadrangle. AJ liked the deer and when he
fed one he first put his finger right in the deer’s mouth before giving him the
celery stick. Fearless! Good thing the deer is tame and use to kids. To cool
off we went into the Visitors Center and learned that the Quadrangle is where
they kept the Native Americans at one point. We learned that the phrase
“Geronimo!” originated from the legend of Geronimo, an Indian chief who was
said to have jumped from the clock tower their in the Quadrangle. Skeptics say
he would have been going too fast to survive. Thanks for letting us squash in
with you all, especially Kelsie for the bed.
