a little bitta cousin fun

Let's just leave it at this: My little boys are the luckiest in the world to have the incredible, fun, charming and beautiful cousins that they do. And most of the time when the older two weren't telling on each other and the younger two weren't arguing they totally agreed! ;) Here are just a few shots of the millions I have of the cousin bonding these kids did.

 All four lovies about to go terrorize a wedding!

Swimming in their undies. I don't have any pictures, but they also did a lot of jumping on the tramp...in their undies! Yes, so, maybe my flower-child Everett wasn't the best example of proper dress for everyone else!

 Handsome little boys pondering life and drying off!

Everett probably ate his body weight worth of tomatoes fresh from the vine. He's missing them hardcore, and at Trader Joe's last night begged me to buy him a box of heirloom tomatoes to remind him of Pepa's garden. And that's little Kai on the right picking and eating the sweetest little grapes.

 A ride on a train (that really was the best picture, sad right?) and the movie Planes.

 The train museum--I just love this place!

Candy stores and gun games in Old Sac. Dear T, thank you for the entertainment you provide by looking at pictures of you. But you know what, smiling works too buddy!!!

 Listening to a live band at the Farmer's Market.

Gosh, this one melts my heart even though it's not the best picture. These two look and act like siblings and gosh, are they good at annoying the heck out of the other. I not-so-secretly love every second of them!!!

Our Wigginton cousins are a little younger, but the boys love both Lacey and Spencer and I know we have many happy years and memories to look forward to. Spencer's bright blue eyes are addictive and Everett couldn't get enough of that kid. Actually both boys begged to hold him nonstop! I somehow never captured a picture of the boys with Lace, but we love her a ton too!!!

celebrate good times, come on!

We had A LOT to celebrate on this trip. I'm of the opinion that even little things should be celebrated, a quality I'm sure I inherited from my Mom, but this trip was full of such BIG things to celebrate it was basically a legitimate party everyday. 

1. 31 YEARS

 

 My parents celebrated their 31st anniversary on the first day that all the McKee kids, spouses and grandkids gathered for our family reunion. We had the most delicious dinner and then went to Baskin Robbins (31 Flavors) ice cream to honor them. Unfortunately Maddie was sick and had to rest at home, but I thought it was so beautiful and touching to have everyone there to celebrate this great accomplishment. I am so proud and grateful for my parents and look up to them so much. They are great people and it was so fun to be together with them.

2. Three McKee Cousins

We could write a book, or at least a darn good Ensign article about the miracle of these three babies who were wanted so badly and decided to come down to earth as a little cousin team! Needless to say, having three McKee cousins born within 4 weeks of each other later this year will 100% be the highlight of the year, and a joy for all my life (and hopefully theirs). And the three of them are definitely worth a celebration--and so we had one! The only picture I have of the baby shower is of the cute diaper cakes that my mom made each of us: Ash is having a boy the end of September, I'm having a girl the beginning of October and Mad is having a girl the end of October. Luckily we got some great pregnant sister shots that I'll share later. But just for the record, the baby shower was just perfect and I felt so blessed that this little girl will be joining a family who love each other so. She's lucky and so am I! Thanks Mom for planning it!

3. Half a Century & Retirement

 My dad turned 50 years old on August 7th and after nearly 30 years as a Peace Officer retired on his birthday. Now if that's not a reason to celebrate, I don't know what is! We had a family party at Ferrell's Ice Cream Parlor to honor this huge achievement and the fantastic man that he is. Gosh, it was fun to hear the waiter's and waitresses sing silly made-up songs about birthdays and retirement and even a gorgeously off-key version of "This ice cream's on fire!" when they brought out big sundaes with burning sugar cubes. Logan dominated the ice cream eating contest and brought me to tears with laughter, the french fries were out of this world, and the kids all gave Dad some speaker thing he's wanted for a long time (yes, I kind of have no idea what that speaker thing is good for!) so I would say it was a slam-dunk party. We love you Dad and couldn't be prouder!

So now let's talk about ice cream, OK? We really like it. So, is that celebration worthy? Yes, I agree.

4. Ice Cream

James really wanted some Leatherby's before leaving California, so on our last night in Sac we made everyone come get ice cream with us. And by made we mean asked, because seriously who doesn't like themselves some Leatherby's?

This sign was hanging by the front entrance, and James requested that we have it in our house someday! Must you even ask whether or not I liked that idea?!

Chase and Meghan (who are getting married in November) are another big reason to celebrate because, you know, they're getting married and stuff! We are so excited for the happy couple, who Talmage calls "the lovebirds!" And why hello Mom and Dad, you two are gorgeous!

In all seriousness, the ice cream was out of this world delicious. It always is. James branched out and got a strawberry shortcake sundae, but I stuck with my tried and true roasted almond hot fudge sundae. Have mercy that baby is good. T= mint chip clown. Ev= rainbow sherbet sundae with marshmallow cream.

Since we're talking about ice cream celebrations, and since my tummy can't handle another delicious post about the cold treat I thought I'd mention now that Uncle Buck, AKA the ice cream man, made that HUGE container of mint chip ice cream just for Talmage because T told him that it was his favorite. See what I mean about being surrounded by lots of love? Geez, we are blessed. And I'm happy to report that Talmage ate two giant bowls of ice cream that evening, and luckily shared with all of us too! That Uncle Buck is the best!

We're Back!

We just got back from the dreamiest of trips to California. We spent every single moment with family and filled our days with adventures and parties and all sorts of fun. My only regret was that we couldn't see every one of our beloved family and friends...the boys' only regret was that we couldn't stay on Farmgate forever. You ever wondered what extreme parental guilt feels like? Try being in my shoes on the way to the airport for a Sunday night red-eye where Talmage was praying that our flight would be cancelled (it was delayed, thanks T) and Ever was crying big crocodile "I just need one more day wif Mema" tears. It was ugly, and the worst part about it was that I totally understood--California is kind of my Garden of Eden too so leaving it for "buildings, buildings and apartments" as T explains New York is kind of wonky. Yes, we love it here. We really do. Hands down New York is amazingly alive and incredible and we can fit lots of joy in our 480 square feet of homebase. We just need a few days to bring back that loving feeling, that's all.

I don't know, the trip home sounds like the best place to start on what will probably be a ridiculously long travelogue of our summer in Cali. Clearly. Mostly I haven't gone through what feels like a trillion cell phone pictures and it's on my to-do list, but so is "feed the children" and "figure out where the baby's going to sleep" and somehow, those things seem to be taking precedence. Speaking of pictures though, without me knowing James has been working on getting me a DSLR since last Thanksgiving and when the opportunity seemed perfectly right he bought me one just a few weeks back. He told his Dad it was my Christmas present from last year, and I think it might count as my Christmas presents for life. Now if I can just learn how to use it, it'll be awesome! So fun, so exciting, so...here are some pictures from the airport.

  

Nice airport staff can really make or break a flying experience, true? We were delayed in the darn middle of the night after saying a painful goodbye and yet, my boys were given coloring books and flight wings and security stickers and they felt like kings in that castle. Not to mention that when it was finally time to board the kind woman said, "It's now time for families traveling with children under two to board. And also families with cute little boys who are wearing a red hat and backpack." Everett looked at me with his big, brown eyes and giant smile and said, "Mom! I weawing a wed hat! Is me, Mom! Dey talking about me!" You won this time, Jet Blue.

As far as the flight goes, well... this should give you an idea:

Actually it wasn't that bad. Everett slept like a champ in all sorts of ridiculous positions and Talmage made full-use of the Jet Blue sleep kit--it kind of looks like he has baby carrots in his ears, but he doesn't. Those are ear plugs. Glad I could clear that up for you. I couldn't really sleep due to swollen-leg syndrome but shoot, the kids weren't screaming their heads off and I kept myself pretty entertained by watching how my three boys decided to rest their eyes--James folded right in half with his head on his own lap, Ev with feet straight up in the air, and Mr. T who wanted to use some part of my body as his pillow at all times. We're all in a little bit of a daze these days, but isn't that how all good vacations should end?

 

I was up early for a doctor's appointment this morning and before I knew what was happening I was relieving the sitter and marching my boys to Central Park. It's funny how you forget how life is supposed to feel after taking a break from reality, but there was something oddly nostalgic about seeing T hang off the monkey bars and Ever chase the pigeons. And as they played I stalked Mommy Poppins and started planning our week and a little bit of my bitterness about leaving "home" left as I remembered that I am "home" and there are many adventures to be had. We're back NYC, you've been warned!

Pictures of: a baby, a thunderstorm, a cancelled flight and flowers

Our Tuesday was full of doctors visits and disappointment. Let me explain, and the best way to do so is to pretend we're at the dinner table and I'm taking my turn at our nightly ritual: good thing, bad thing. This is when all of us say something good and something bad that happened during the day, but I'm pretty sure that didn't need explaining.

So, the good part of the day was that I got to see our baby girl. I'm convinced that she looks just like my sister Ashleigh who is a total knock-out, so I am perfectly OK with that! Mostly I just can't believe that she's big enough to look like a legitimate baby. Wow, I'm excited to meet that little lady in a few months!

It was also good that T's pediatrician let us borrow an umbrella on our way home from his pre-op appointment because in the 30 minutes we were in her office Mother Nature decided to unleash her fury on NYC. The air had been suffocatingly thick all morning, but boy did that thunderstorm come on quick. As the 3 of us ran home under a little black umbrella Talmage screamed, "Mom, I'm pretty sure this is the year of the thunderstorm!" Which it has been. And normally we don't mind a day to stay indoors and in pajamas, but why oh why oh why did Tuesday have to be such a horribly stormy day?

Cue tiny violin music, a pity party and the bad thing portion of our discussion.

I woke to a voice mail from Jet Blue saying our flight back to Sac had been cancelled. I'm kind of not at all a morning person so imagine lots of tears and whining and that was pretty much my reaction. Luckily, they were able to book the boys and I on a flight to San Francisco which was less convenient but still got us to California on the same day. I checked that darn flight status all day and every time I saw "On time" my heart was full of hope, because I'm dramatic like that.

So we went about our business, I checked the flight status a million more times and we caught a cab to the airport. But as my darn luck would have it they cancelled our flight just as soon as we walked through the door of the airport. And it you're picturing me gracefully walking through those doors, think again. I was pulling three suitcases, carrying a purse and two backpacks and pushing the double stroller with both my boys inside. I was a hot mess, and a grumpy one upon learning that flight number two was no more.

Then we waited like our life depended on it in a line that circled that darn terminal 5. For hours. I should probably mention that I had to calm down my disgruntled children multiple times who were so mad that they started chanting, "Jet Blue babies! Jet Blue babies!" It doesn't get much worse than calling someone a baby around here, and hopefully Jet Blue got the message that no one should come between some littles and their grandparents. Talmage was feeling particularly hot-headed about the situation and kept saying, "Mom, you go up and tell those Jet Blue people how mad we are that they cancelled our flight. You get really mad at them, OK?" Me and him, we were on the same page right then. Although I tried to refrain from calling them Jet Blue babies, for maturity sake. 

Long story short, way too many hours later we were dishing out dollars to another cab driver who promised to get us through traffic as quickly as possible, which was probably more for his benefit than ours since he had two crying little boys and one crying pregnant Mama in the back seat. We are California dreamin' for a few more days. Blah.

But, if we want to look at the bright side (well, do we?) then I should mention that I saw Brandon Flowers in the cab line outside, and made a total fool of myself by telling him how much James and I adore his music. I've met my fair share of celebrities before, but never have I been more star-struck. He's kind of a big deal around our house! And one more good thing: James knew I would need a little pick-me-up after such a yucky day so bright, cheery flowers were waiting for me when I got home. My mood didn't match theirs, but I must say they're rubbing off on me.

Dear California, 

We won't be seeing you as soon as we hoped. But we're still coming!

Love, Mama Wig and her 2 1/2 Wiglets.

Entering my 3rd with my 3rd: On Subway Seats and Dirty Looks.

I'm getting to the point where kind Subway-ers are offering me their seats on the train. At first I wondered why the heck they were being so nice, and then I looked down and saw what T refers to as the "huge mountain" and understood--she's really, really making herself known these days. Random people are also telling me congratulations and asking me when I'm due and such. We realize together that October 1st is right around the corner which causes a large part gitty and a small part anxiety in my soul. A man on the bus the other day read the exhaustion on my face (and was only slightly annoyed about my two littles playing endless rounds of musical seats) and said, "It looks like those 2 1/2 babies are keeping you busy." Yes, busy is the truth. And 2 1/2 babies is right. People are confident enough to come right out and ask about the little Miss--now that's saying something about the state of my stomach. The second trimester ran away from me and it leaves me rather shocked that strangers can already tell I'm pregnant. For all intense and purposes it's about time, but all of the sudden I'm realizing that this, in fact, has been a very short six (or is it seven?) months of baby growth and that that baby girl we've prayed so hard for is going to be here. Soon.

In other news, enter more grumpy people than you could ever imagine glaring first at my boys and then at my stomach before leaving me with a disgusted look--right in my eyes. A few times the mama bear in me wanted to return a little attitude and ask why the heck they were giving me the stink eye. But I didn't. There's enough attitude in this city already, plus I need to save my energy for T and Ever's battles! Also, unless we've previously met in person I don't think it's any of your business whether or not I want more children. But just in case you're a random person asking me (insincerely, mind you) on the subway, just know that I'll tell you I hope I just keep having them forever and ever and ever. At least the dirty looks that statement provides makes me giggle all the way home.

Mostly Joshua, Our Camel Friend

 

Mother Nature was kind in her delivery of a beautiful Saturday July 5th and we spent the whole day at the Bronx Zoo with tickets I recently won in a Mommy Poppins contest. Mommy Poppins is a city Mom's saving grace because it tells you everything that is going on in the city for kids each day. I have always loved it, but now more so than ever because FREE TICKETS! The best part of everything was that James was able to come with us--his very first time at the Bronx Zoo. Hooray!

The boys really wanted to ride on the camel and that just seemed like the perfect start to our Zoo adventure. I know we all think our kids are the cutest, but seeing my three boys atop Joshua the Camel I honestly wondered if other people were as smitten as me. On the train-ride home they all said the camel ride was the best part of their day so I'm really glad we made it happen.

Another highlight was the bug carousel. We rode a couple of times so that the boys could each sit on the "perfect bug." T was happy with his yellow ladybug the first go-around, but the second time wanted a red one. Ever wanted a yellow bug the first time, but then he decided he wanted a red one with spots. He was pleased as punch when I sat him on a blue spotted bug, and it wasn't until half-way through the ride when I said, "What an awesome blue bug!" that he said, "I'm not on a blue bug!!!" Have I mentioned that we wonder whether Ev is color blind? Oh dear, he thought he was on a red bug that whole time and I ruined it for him! Everett especially loved the up and down motion and it made me so excited to take him on rides at the State Fair in a few weeks.

We saw every animal at the Zoo and I was especially taken by all of the babies nursing on their mama's. I seriously sat watching the crazy monkey baby swing from trees (and from his mama's chest) for way too long. Oh, it was adorable and made me want to have babies forever. But of course I forgot to take a picture of that sweet, baby monkey (or the baby seals or the baby giraffe, darn it!) I did get a picture of the T-Rex from the dino safari though, because right now I have two little boys and this is where their interests lie.

After a good 7 hours in the park I came out of the bathroom and found my boys like this:

 

Yes, I think a late night of fireworks on the 4th and a full day at the Zoo on the 5th pretty much did them in. We were tired (and some a little grumpier than others) on the ride home...but boy did we sleep well that night!

The 4th

This city rocks at just about everything under the sun but I've gotta admit, I was underwhelmed with it's 4th of July festivities. Let me preface this paragraph with the truth of the matter: It's not you NYC, it's me. Well...it's kind of you. OK, here's the deal.

I think for the most part the 4th of July is a small town sport, made amazing by parades and pancake breakfasts, waving to the Mayor, BBQing with family, and block parties with neighbors lining the street to watch little exploding fireworks purchased at a stand benefiting the local elementary school. We didn't really have any of that this year. OK, none of it darn it! Sure, Macy's hosted an impressive fireworks show over the East River (and even shot fireworks off of the Brooklyn Bridge--wowzers!) but there were over a million people bunched up in pens for hours waiting to see them (yes, Everett somehow talked me into going!) and for honesty sake, it didn't feel all homey and 4th of July-y and stuff. That being said, we did run into a dear, dear friend in those throngs of millions which was kind of magical in and of itself. And even better, her camera wasn't dead (but ours both were) and she just sent me a few fireworks pics, like this one:

The good news of the day was that James made me the most patriotic Belgium waffles in existence, just like I ordered them! And all that stormy wind (yes, the rainiest 4th you can imagine) made for some entertaining kamikaze kite flying down on the Hudson River. Actually, the best part of the day happened as we tucked Everett into bed that night and he said, "Dis was da best Fourf of Juwy I have evoh had!" So, there you go. Our 4th.