2.5 days is the answer…

…to how many days our extended family (my siblings and their kids) should hang out together before the fun wears out and we're all too tired, according to my brother. Since all 9 of us and our accompanying spouses and kids were here for the wedding over a long weekend, we decided to make a mini family reunion out of it.

We rented a big cabin up at Sundance, planned some meals and activities, and just relaxed. I thought it was great, and the kids were having the time of their lives (they of course thought all their cousins lived there in that "house made of wood and sticks" and keep asking when we can go back). With that many crazy Udall kids running around, the place was like a triage--we had so many injuries we just left the big first aid kit out on the counter.

We ate too much, gossiped not enough, held babies, played cards, sang songs, hiked and walked, played football, and took naps (oh, and my dad unknowingly tried to get all the kids drunk during FHE by offering them a questionable beverage--he thought he was making a toast to the newlywed couple, but some of us figured he must have already been swigging the stuff before then--see pic of my nephew Finn downing the drink).

But like my brother suggested, 2.5 days was it. We ended the whole shindig by letting the kids run out their energy (and our wallets) at Boondocks Fun Center. After a final meal at Cafe Rio, we all said good-bye to each other, until next year.

Congratulations to Brig & Shayla…

…on a beautiful wedding day. The sealing was nice (the above picture is of my family, minus 3 adults and 8 kids), the weather was perfect, and the reception was very enjoyable. Everything turned out great (I did finish making the DVD in time to show it at the reception), we had yummy food and awesome wedding cake, and even danced a little. I wish I had a picture of Ame when all was said and done. Looking at her, you would know there was a chocolate fondue fountain at the reception, and you would also hope that her parents would just THROW AWAY the white dress she was wearing.

Shayla made a beautiful bride, and together they are a pretty good-looking couple! They are honeymooning right now, making their way back to Oklahoma, where Brig is stationed in the army. I hope they enjoy the quilt that I helped make (my sis-in-law Heidi mostly made it, especially the difficult parts). It turned out wonderfully. The newlyweds seemed to like it. The other picture is of Brigham and his 3 sisters.

Why don't kids have the ability…

…to clean up those messes they so easily and quickly make? Ame has become Destroyer #2 in our family. I seriously cannot keep up with her. Today she tried to change her own dirty diaper with some messy results (THANK GOODNESS it was in the bathroom and I could disinfect everything), and once I got her all cleaned up, I put her back down for a nap. I guess she couldn't sleep, because when I went back to her room ~2 hours later, every last thing was out of the drawers and closets, off the shelves and out of bins, etc. I wanted to cry. Instead, I took this picture of her to remind me why I don't get mad at her. She's just so stinking cute and innocent (all she said was, "Uh-oh, Mama, I make a mess." And did she help clean it up? Nah…she went on making another mess while I stayed behind to clean the room.

I never knew…

…the human body could make so much snot, tears, and phlegm. I have the worst allergies I've ever experienced. It must be living in Tooele…my system is not used to something, and I'm dying here. My eyes are constantly red and swollen, my throat hurts and itches, my inner ears even itch, and I sneeze and cough so hard it hurts. I'm overmedicated, dried out, sleep-deprived, and generally CRANKY. I'm sure Aki would be glad to have me go somewhere else until this is all over and his real wife can come back home. I am keeping the Kleenex company (Kimberly-Clark?) in business, I'll tell you what. My kids have started including my allergies in their prayers--maybe that will bring the results I'm (and they're) looking for! Here's hoping.

There's nothing like a first birthday party…

…especially when the Grandma makes a big, beautiful cake like this! We attended Marcela's first b-day, and really enjoyed the day. It was great to see Daisy & Armando again, they served us delicious food, and of course I liked the cake and ice cream. The kids loved roaming free and couldn't get enough of the goody bags. I can't believe Marcela is already one--she is the darling little redhead below . As a sidenote, Ame kept her birthday hat on the entire day, absolutely refusing to remove it. We went grocery shopping and to Home Depot and got lots of smiles from passers-by.


Oh yeah, it is Mother's Day today. Aki and the kids took me shopping yesterday after the b-day party (yes, Ame wore the hat for that too) for my Mother's Day gift. I got two tops and am very happy. Church was nice today--we got mini rose plants and didn't have to teach lessons.

Mary, Mary, quite contrary…

…how does your garden grow? Well, so far, ours isn't growing anything (yes, the flowers are, but they're just bulbs--they just appear, and we weed around them). We're just in the planning and preparation stages for a vegetable garden. Since we don't really know what we're doing, we're calling this our experimental year. We'll prepare a small plot and give it a go with a few things. Aki really wants to grow some watermelons, so we'll try that, along with some carrots, green beans, cucumbers, and the inevitable zucchini. Aki's on the hunt right now for some manure to mix into the soil. Yuck. Shouldn't be too hard here in Tooele...surely there is a ton of cow crap around.

I've never quilted before. . .

…but I'll give it a shot! I'm helping my super-sewer sister-in-law Heidi make a queen-size quilt for Brigham and Shayla. It's a pretty cool pattern and I love the colors. I don't actually know how to sew, let alone know anything about quilting, so Heidi is teaching me along the way. The only thing I've ever sewn is when Mrs. Turley helped us make aprons in 8th grade Home Ec. Yeehaw! Again, keep your fingers crossed.