A Return to Rexburg--The End

I seriously need to finish up this post, but it just seems like I never make time to get it finished. However, I have more things to write about, so I need to wrap it up. After getting to Grandpa-Great's house late on Friday I was hoping against hope that the girls would sleep in a bit. I guess they did they made it till about 6:30, but then they were ready to be up. Actually it was just Kylee that woke up which is why I took her upstairs, because I really wanted Tia to sleep if she would. Grandpa-Great and Papa were the only ones awake, but slowly and surely everyone else started waking-up. The only one I didn't see for a long time was Kitt, but turns out Kitt probably got food poisoning so I didn't see her much because she spent the whole day throwing-up. Anyway, about 9:00 we had a delicious breakfast of pancakes and eggs. Then it was getting ready for the day. Actually while people were still 'getting ready' my mom's cousins--Bob, Suzanne, and Scott came to visit. So, as more and more of us got ready we joined the chatting in the front room. It was fun to hear what some of my second cousins were up to. It is also kind of fun to my mom interact with her cousins.

After they left, we went to the greenshouses aka Brady's Plant Ranch. It is one of my most favorite places and sometimes I even dream of moving back there and running it. I love how the greenhouses feel, the people that come in, the product, and for the most part the hours aren't too bad. I don't know if I could ever actually do it, but its fun to have dreams. Even though it was opening day for the greenhouses they weren't really ready. I was kind of disappointed about that, but at least the back houses had lots of color and plants. I love taking my family there. I love dragging my kids all around, seeing how many different flowers I can remember and what I can remember about them. I love being there and the memories it brings back. Anyway, I had my family walk through the greenhouses with me. My girls were a little hesitant at but when they learned they could take the little shopping carts with them, they were all for it. After we got done with the tour it was time for lunch.

My Uncle (the owner of Brady's Plant Ranch) has fulfilled one of his dreams: to have a food stand that sells his meat. This food stand happens to be at the greenhouses and is called the Snack Shack. My mom and dad treated us to Brady Burgers. Oh man it was so good. The girls had a blast with their drinks, chips, and Hamburgers. I had a great time with it too. At the end, my Aunt Karen let the girls pick out one fairy each to take home. So, I think this summer I might be making my flower box into a fairy garden and to be honest I am kind of excited about that.

Tia with her chips and drink.

Grandpa-Great (who I am sure did not know this picture was being taken) and Kylee. I am back in the background too talking to Jessica Henderson. Kylee had just had a burger, drink, and chips. Look how happy she is. 

After lunch we came home and it was time for naps. While the girls and Gaupo napped the rest of us  just chatted and relaxed. It was pretty nice to just hangout. If you haven't noticed my family tends to just hangout a lot when we are together, which I think is so great because the time we are all together and kind of far between. Anyway, after the girls woke up they got to go on an Easter egg hunt. To be honest my nephew Ross probably did a better job of hunting the eggs than the girls, but everyone got some and it was really fun to watch.

Tia finding eggs.

After the egg hunt there was more talking and visiting. Then those who were not fasting had dinner and then baths and then we let the girls watch a little bit of a show. I couldn't help myself from choosing the Lawrence Welk show. We use to watch that show every Saturday night during bath time. My parents managed to get us all through the bath and hair combed in that one hour. I remember thinking that it was such a cool show. Kylee thought the show was good too. Tia and Ross liked the air mattress that was in that room better, but even Tia like the dancing. After a little of that show it was time for bed. Gaupo helped the girls get settled in while some of us adults played Forbidden Island. After we played that Gaupo came up and we play Pandemic. Gaupo, Seth, and I got really into it and Klaire and Kara were kind of like 'so what do we do.' Note to self--I need to be less involved when I teach people how to play cooperation games because it is so easy to just take over and not let them really get the strategy of the game. When those two games ended it was pretty late, and with the late night before it was time to shower and go to bed.

Sunday morning we woke up and got ready for church and then said good-bye. It is always kind of hard to say good-bye, but it was a little easier this time because I knew they were leaving when church was over and I would see them again soon. So, we left and headed to Swanlake for Church. We got there just as the opening Hymn was being sung. It was a fast and testimony meeting and Swanlake ward is so tiny that there was plenty of time for testimonies. Both Gaupo and I bore our testimonies. I love hearing Gaupo's testimony. I often see or hear him bear it informally, but it is sometimes really nice to hear it formally too. Tia got to spend part of the meeting on the stand with Grandpa and of course loved that. Grandpa thought it was pretty fun too. After church we stopped by the cemetery to decorate Derek's grave. We got a couple of flower pinwheels in blue and green and a little frog to stick up there. I love telling my girls about their brother. I love just going and stopping by in some ways its as if I stopping to pick him up and take him on the next part of our journey. (Kind of weird I know, but its the way it is) Grandma came with us and I think she enjoyed going up there with us. Then we went home and had a scrumptious dinner. Then we had the girls lay down for a nap. I visited with Grandma and Grandpa for a bit until the girls woke up. Then Grandma showed us her greenhouse and all the plants that are growing in there. Then we went and saw the cows, swung on swings, and watch Uncle Aaron mix food for the cows. Then it was time to make pizza for dinner and have a treat and send the girls to bed. When the girls were down it was time for games. We played Pandemic and Forbidden Island. I think I did a little better and teaching and not taking over on the strategy, but I don't know. It was still fun to play. Then Gaupo and I kept Grandma up a little later talking to her in the kitchen and then we all went to bed.

Monday morning we had breakfast and then headed back to Grandpa-Greats to pick up Kitt and head home. The journey home seemed really long. It didn't help that Tia kept saying she needed to use the potty. However, we got a lot of our book read and we actually ended up finishing it late that night. The drive was uneventful and we got home in pretty good time. We had spaghetti for dinner, and then got Kitt on her way home. Then we had a mini-family home evening after which Gaupo and I read Percy Jackson: Titian's Curse until we finished. After that it was really quite late so we went to bed. Luckily the girls did sleep in the next morning kind of making us late for everything, but it was still really nice to sleep in our own beds.

This trip was a such a great getaway. I am so proud of Klaire for graduating. She sure worked hard and got it done and did great. It was fun to celebrate with her and I am excited to see what she will do next. I am also glad we got to spend so much time with family and enjoy playing, laughing, visiting, and celebrating. I feel so blessed to have and be a part of the families I am. They are full of unique individuals who continually teach me, love me, and help me along this life long adventure.

A Return to Rexburg Day 2

As I said in the previous post, we stayed the night with Jeff and Heidi. I kind of wondered how our kids would do because we haven't slept in too many unfamiliar places before. However, everyone was going to bed, so they crashed pretty quickly. Tia stayed up the longest, but did end up going to bed once I was out of the shower. Despite the late night, the girls were up at before the crack of dawn. Okay it was probably only between 6 and 6:30, but man alive they wanted to play right then. I was so afraid they were going to wake up their cousins who are actually good sleepers at their own house. However, we managed to not wake them up too early. Slowly everyone did start waking up. We had a great breakfast with Heidi and Jeff and then were done soon enough to just chill a little bit and let the kids play before we had to leave.

We left at 9:35 which is only 5 minutes later than anticipated, so not too shabby. The drive was pretty uneventful and I am amazed at how much I have forgotten since moving. Luckily, Guapo hadn't forgotten and so we got there no problem. Once in Rexburg, I met up with my Dad, Mom, Kara, and Kitt to do a session at the Rexburg temple. It was so great to back. Gaupo and I use to go to that temple every week when we were first married. We went almost every week for 18 months. So, going to that temple brought, so many memories and so many great times to mind. While I was in the temple, Gaupo took care of the girls. Tia feel asleep on the drive there and since we didn't know when the next available sleep time would be we didn't wake her up and Kylee and Gaupo sat in the van with her and watched a movie. When Tia woke up, Gaupo took them around to a few different places and then to their Aunt Klaire's apartment. When we got out of the temple, I drove with my family to meet up with Gaupo and the girls at Klaire's apartment. However, when I got there I looked in the door and was so shocked to see my brother standing in kitchen. I couldn't believe he had come. I couldn't believe that we (all my siblings) were doing this together. It was so great. So, not only did Klaire manage to graduate with a bachelors degree she also managed to get all us siblings together for a short weekend. Also, thanks to Jack's awesome wife who took care of her kids by herself so Jack could come. I seriously have the best family. Anyway...next, we go get lunch. I really wanted all-you-can-eat pizza, but seeing as how Kitt is Gluten Free it was probably for the best that we didn't. We ended up going to Cafe Rio. It was pretty good, but to be honest the sweet pork isn't really my thing. I think I need to try their steak or some other kind of meat. Either way the food was good, they had food my kids liked, and the company was the best. We had set three tables together and enjoyed lunch all together. It was kind of loud, so I couldn't really hear what they were talking about at the other end of the table, but it was just good to know they were all there.

After lunch, we went back to Klaire's apartment and loaded her up. I went to the bathroom before I helped and by the time I came back they had all by like 5 things already taken downstairs. It was pretty awesome. My girls think apartments are so cool. They love all the rooms, the stairways, and all the people. It did take awhile to get everything packed into the truck. Not because Klaire had an amazing amount of stuff (she didn't), but because the weather was dreary and rain/snow was coming so we needed to make sure it would stay dry. However, we got it all done. There was some just waiting around while we decided what to do, but ultimately we decided that we would go take pictures and walk around campus, and then go to graduation.

Tia playing with the graduation cap.

Kylee's turn.

 I loved that. I thought tons of things would have changed, but not too much on campus has. It was so great to show the girls were Mom and Dad ate lunch when they were engaged, where Daddy proposed, where we spent the majority of our class time, the library, etc. Like I mentioned before I haven't been back since I left and I was worried that it would be different, but it is still so awesome. After pictures, and walking around it was time to get in our seats for commencement.

Me in front of the Library and Smith Buildings.

All of us walking down. Main pictured are Kitt, Klaire, and Jack.

The whole bunch. 

Me and my siblings. We are such a good looking bunch.

Kylee and Tia admiring this cute statue.

We did have to wait for commencement to start and Tia kept getting antsy. She wanted to move seats all the time, get drinks, use the bathroom, etc. Kylee on the other hand was loving the big seats, and getting lots of attention from Kara and Oma. At about 5:15 commencement started, I love the processional. It was cool to see all the grads and faculty walk in. Pres. Gilbert, Pres, Clark, and a member of the seventy spoke. I really like the first two talks from Pres. Gilbert and Pres. Clark. I am sure the seventy's talk was good, but by then I was getting antsy myself because it seemed like it was going forever. However, I did enjoy how he said, "No, matter what your degree, you are better for getting it then you would be without it." I think that is so true. Some people argue and I would agree to a point that I don't really use my degree. However, there was so much more that I learned from my education at BYUI then just the classes. I use that stuff all the time, and I became better because of the classes, activities, people, and experiences there. Anyway, it was so great to be there. It is always great to hear the pep-talks of how great of a graduate you will be and about the great institution of BYUI. It just stirred all the positive feelings I have toward BYUI. I had kind of lost sight of all the great as Klaire went to school. I thought maybe it had lost everything I thought it was, but as I went back and saw it, felt it, and heard about it all over again it is still great. It was even great for Klaire, just really really challenging too. Anyway, I would still totally recommend BYUI because I think it turns out great leaders and people.

Tia, Kara, Kylee, Jack and Oma before commencement.

Daddy's shoulder, me, Tia, Kara, Jack and my mom.

Anyway, after commencement we went to our car and drove to the Hinkley building for Klaire's convocation. By this time it was about 7:30, so we ate some snacks in the car and then we stuff some more to share in Gaupo's jacket and went in to sit with everyone else. You could totally tell we hadn't eaten for a bit because I think we finished off everything we took in and we took quite a bit of food inside. Convocation was great. It was great to see Klaire walk across the stage and finally get that diploma she worked so hard for. It was just a proud moment and it was totally worth the time. Luckily they kept it kind of short, so we were able to get out of there about 9:15. Kitt lost her pedometer at the temple, so we ran her up there to double check it wasn't there. She didn't find it. (She did later find it in her temple bag.) Then we dropped her off at the Hinkley building so she could ride home to Grandpa's with Jack and then left.

Me and Klaire post all graduations. She did it!!

Tia, and Kylee with Aunt Klaire.

Holy cow, the traffic leaving Rexburg was crazy. It wasn't like it was stop go or anything quite that bad, but holy cow there were a ton of cars and they were all leaving. You could also tell that many people were hungry because the McDonald's on the edge of town was packed. Anyway, we got out of there and luckily Gaupo was there to drive because the roads had quite a bit of water on them, it was raining, and it was dark. I don't mind driving in the rain, but I don't like driving at night especially in the rain. We felt very blessed to get to Grandpa's in decent time. The girls of course fell asleep in the car, but then woke-up when we carried them through the rain to the house. However, we Tia just crashed out again as soon as she was in bed and Kylee crashed out as soon as she was in her jammies. I stayed up a little bit chatting with my sisters who were still awake and then went to bed about 12:30.

It was so great to return to Rexburg and support Klaire in her graduation. It was great to go and see all the place where some great memories were made. It was awesome to be there with my family. It is the first time that we have been all together on BYUI campus. It was great to feel proud to be an alumni of such a great institution. I am so glad I got to back and remember some of the stepping stones that got me to where I am today both physically, and spiritually. What  great, big, long, fun day!

A Return to Rexburg Day 1

Just over a week ago, on April 6th we headed for Idaho. My sister Klaire was graduating from their and we thought it best to return while we had a reason. Like I said, we left Thursday morning pretty close to 7:00AM. I used my phone to help get us directions to Idaho and it took us on kind of crazy path. We excited from the main highway here in Colorado (I-25) and headed into what seemed like the middle of no where. We went on a dirt road, and even saw a cow right next to the road on the wrong side of the fence. Some might be thinking that is not very odd, but where I live in Colorado is pretty urbanized, and out old route took us right through downtown Ft. Collins, so this was quite unexpected, but it was also very pretty and nice. Our drive was pretty uneventful except that Tia, got bored quickly, so then we had to play the guessing game of whether or not she was bored or really did need to use the potty. We stopped in Rock Springs for lunch at Subway. I know kind of an odd place to chose considering Kitt is gluten free, but she gets all the meat and so she ends up with like superb chef salad. It was pretty funny to watch those workers try to figure out what to do with this sandwich that had no bread. However, it worked out well, we all got fed and so it was a win. The girls were good travelers. Kylee kept wanting snacks, which always kind of makes a nervous because if she eats too much she throws up and none of us wanted to deal with that on the trip. However, we did have plenty of them, which I pretty sure was the girls 2nd favorite part of the ride. There first favorite would be the movie they get to watch in the car. My kids LOVE television. I am guessing it is because they never get to watch it, but boy howdy they sure love it when they do. Anyway, after dropping Kitt of in McCamon with Grandpa we headed to Blackfoot to spend the night with Aunt Heidi, Uncle Jeff, Arlen, Namoi, Katelyn, and Jerom.

When we arrived Aunt Heidi and all the kids were waiting. I was kind interested to see how the girls would act because we have been to their house once, and it has been about 4 months since we last saw them, so I didn't know exactly how they would act. It was perfect though. Kylee made friends with Arlen and Tia explored on her own for a bit and then joined the rest of the kids. Mainly the kids played outside until Uncle Jeff got home, to which shortly after ALL the Merrills minus Gary arrived. There was a little more playing and then we had a great feast that Heidi had prepared for Glen's birthday. It was so fun to all get together. We started out all together. Then it sifted to some of us in the kitchen, and then the women moved downstairs while the men talked a bit upstairs and then everyone congregated in the playroom. It was so loud in there with the kids yelling and screaming, but it was so great and we talked for awhile and then about 8:00ish everyone left and then we all got ready for bed and went to sleep.

Grandpa smothered with stuffed animals. The kids buried him like this.

So, fun to be all together. Heidi did a great job with dinner and hosting everyone, It was so fun to let the kids just play and play. It was so great to just feel like a family all together. Of course it was crazy and loud, but you know what it was so great.

I write about more days at a time, but I run the risk of never publishing, so here is day one.

Spring Break 2017

We are not officially in the public school norm, but my employer is employed by the schools and my two kids are in preschool, so this year Spring Break was definitely welcome and a real thing for us. For my kids the most major difference was Trent and Tori didn't come over and there was almost nothing scheduled the whole week. It was AWESOME!! I totally intended to have no other children over during that week, but I watch a little boy on Monday so his mom could go get a CATscan and then we had Jensen and his mom over on Tuesday, but other than that it was just us and it was so great.

Our major news and event for that week was new bikes. We got the girls and Gaupo brand spankin' new bikes. Kylee's is bigger it has 16in tires and is kind of sea foam green color and she loves it. She does not love that we make her wear a helmet, but luckily she loves her bike enough to do it. Tia got a bike that was the same size as her last one, possibly smaller and she didn't really like it at first (painful let me tell you), but she has since gotten to were she really likes it. Both tires run true on this bike. Its a little lower to the ground, so she is able to get started on her own more easily and it is bright colored, so I know where she is. Gaupo got a new bike because his old one was worn out and had a bent link in the chain and so it was catching and almost throwing him over the handlebars. We looked into fixing it, getting a used bike, or new cheap bike, but alas we decided that this bike he got really was great and that we would get it. He LOVES his new bike. I think it is a toss up between him and Kylee as to who loves their new bike more. Gaupo has rode it almost everyday. Today he rode it even though it snowed last night and threatened to when he left. He actually had to ride home in some, but he was so pleased with himself. You could tell it made him very happy that everyone thought he was crazy to ride his bike today. We didn't do any grand bike riding adventures last week, but we did ride them everyday the weather was good around here. I think they will be super fun as the weather continues to improve. Plus it was so fun to watch the girls (especially Kylee) look forward to something they really wanted.

Kylee on her bike.

Tia on her new bike.

The bikes were fun, but my favorite day of Spring Break was Friday. The day flew by. I was seriously running behind. I did start out the day on time. Tia and I had a great time at OT. The OT really did a good job of helping Tia stick to the schedule they made together, picking things that were fun and challenging, and then ending with some down time. It was a really good appointment, much better than the first. Then we came home and picked up Kylee at Tori's house. Kylee was so excited to go over there and I think she had fun, so it worked out really good. Then we came home for a bit and went grocery shopping all over town. that took way longer than I thought it would, but it is kind of crazy to go shopping for trip food, conference food, and regular food, but we got it all and got home. It was so late by the time we got home that by the time the girls had lunch and got down for naps it was like 2:30. So, I let them sleep and texted Gaupo, "Can our kids stay up and watch a movie tonight?" Gaupo is usually always a fan of this, so he called me and we discussed movies and he said he would bring something home. So, he came home as I was finishing up cleaning my bathroom. We had cleaned the other's earlier in the week, but I had to wait for Gaupo to cut his hair, so I was cleaning it Friday because after he cuts his hair it is really bad. Anyway, I got it cleaned about 5:30. Then made pizza for dinner. Then we had popcorn and  the movie Planes. The girls (especially Tia) really like this movie. It was really fun to have Pizza, Pop, Popcorn, and Planes all together as a family. It seemed like such a good finish to the week.

To put the frosting on our week it was General Conference weekend. I loved it. The speakers brought a really special feeling into my home when conference was on, and I loved the talks. I have a hard time focusing with the kids around, but I loved what I got and am excited to read them again and again. Also, our Aunt Kitt came for a visit. She came Saturday morning just before the first session. We didn't do a whole lot besides watch conference, until we sent Gaupo to Priesthood session. We had really big plans, but then at dinner when we were having Kitt's birthday meal of greasy taco's Kylee got sick. Like throw-up sick. It is so awful because not only does she feel crummy, but it exhausts her. So, we cleaned up dinner and then all she really wanted to do was watch TV, so we watched one episode of Bernstein Bears. Then she started feeling good, so we hurried and went up stairs and filled the tub with some water and some special foot bath salt my friend gave me and had a foot bath. She made it through most of that before she threw-up. Then she felt okay again and she really, really, really wanted to have her piggies and fingers painted. So I painted her fingers, and then she was so exhausted that I let her lay down while I painted her toes. She stayed awake for awhile, but she eventually crashed right on the kitchen floor while waiting for her pedicure to harden. Tia did her nails to. Kitt painted her toes and fingers pink with sparkles. Then Kitt and I painted ours. before we were done Gaupo got home, but he just chatted with us while we finished and then helped get the girls to bed. It was a pretty fun girls party. We would have done way more, but you know throwing up kind of hinders that, so I am super glad we got to do what we did.

Kylee sleeping while her piggies dry.

Sunday was Kitt's Birthday and true to our traditions the party mostly centered around food. We had waffles with toppings: bananas, blackberries, strawberries, raspberry pie filling, and whip cream. They were so good.

The waffles.

Gaupo at breakfast.

Me and my true morning self.

After breakfast Kitt opened her gift from my mom and dad and we video chatted them for a bit. Then it was General Conference. After conference, she tried to get ready, but chatted with tons of people. I did get dressed and then took the girls for a much needed walk. They get pretty antsy on conference weekend with all that quiet-ish TV watching. When we were done with our walk we came home and had lunch then I got the girls down and had time to read scriptures before the second session. It was so great. We watched the second session. Gaupo made Brazilian cheese rolls during that session so we had a super good snack too. Then after that session I made monster bars, so Kitt could have a 'cake' with candles. We made chocolate crockpot cake the night before, but that would have been too hot for candles, so we did both. Anyway, then we chatted with Grandma for a bit and then had dinner of crockpot potatoes, carrots, and roast finished off by monster bars. Then it was Bryce family chat time. We stayed on until Oma made Kitt go home. It was fun to see her and I am glad she is coming tomorrow.

Me, Tia, Kitt, and Kylee with the monster bar 'cake'

We are silly.

Tia, Kitt, Kylee, and Gaupo.

Our Spring Break wasn't epic like some peoples, but boy was it great to just be here. I loved that when Gaupo's bike came we could go get it, have a short picnic with him and then go back and play for a bit. We could do that because I wasn't waiting for kids to come and I just know my own kids limits, and our families limits so it is easier to make exceptions to the schedule. I loved playing Frisbee again. My first set of games was Thursday night. I loved hanging with my friend Bethany and letting Kylee figure out how to play with Jensen and Tia without Tori. I loved that we could do chores after breakfast even though it was like 10 or 11 o'clock. I loved that I didn't really have any schedule but my own to worry about it was AWESOME!! I loved loved Friday night. It was my favorite to cuddle up with my favorite people and watch a great movie, have great food and know that it was special for us. Sometimes more than getting out I need a vacation from schedules and commitments and norms and that is totally what I got.  It was perfect, plus it helps I am going on a leaving Longmont vacation really soon too.