The Sunshine of August

August flew by, not sure how it happened. It was such a fun month, we had a great time! I'll try to do it as much justice as I can in one post. First, August was our full month of self-reliance. I've enjoyed working with M on reviewing our finances and working a budget to help us save for our future home and emergency needs. We're blessed to have fairly similar stances on finance, so it's given us a nice forum to talk about everything and counsel with each other and Heavenly Father. He's blessed us and we need to be sure we're doing what we should with those blessings. 

We've had several adventures with the Merrill's in August, including visiting their new home for the first time! Oh, it's a beautiful home and so much better suited for their growing family. The girls couldn't wait to give us the grand tour. We played hide and seek, and it actually took them almost 20 minutes to find me because there were more than just two rooms to search. We loved having them come to our house in the morning so we could go swimming, and the girls rode up with M and I which added to the fun. We made chocolate grahams, cookies, and so much delicious food. Our second adventure was the cabin. M and I drove up early on Friday morning, and the Merrill's joined us that afternoon. Before they got there, M and I went out on the lake with Jay. Jay wasn't totally sure what he thought about the pond, so we didn't stay out too long. The weather was gorgeous and the air was clear. August was wildfire month and air conditions everywhere were awful. We felt blessed Leadville was clear, and we soaked up all we could. We played games on the porch until Katey and Jason arrived, and then it was all fun from there. We almost got the easy bake oven up and running, but we couldn't find the right light bulb. We went out on the lake several times, taking a twin or one of the girls in our canoe or on the kayak. The last time we went out on the lake, I switched to the kayak and got soaked when I underestimated how hard I pushed off the dock. And, M underestimated how much Tia weighed so when she jumped onto his kayak, he got soaked too! We went on walks around the club, and enjoyed every moment of sunshine. One evening we played Pandemic with an expansion M got for his birthday, which was loads of fun. It was sad to leave on Sunday, but we had a great time. 

It didn't take long for these kiddos to conk out. 

So sweet.

Chocolate GF Grahams

Aunt Katey, Jay, and Kade

Fun morning at the park!

Tia, Kade, Kylee, M, Jay

Jay loved all the new toys!

Roasting Mallows!

M, Abby, Me

M, Tia, Me

Kade, Jay, M, Kylee, Jason

Grandma Blaylock had surgery at the beginning of August, and we were very happy we lived close so we could visit. M and Grandpa gave her a blessing on Friday, and she got some good Jay snuggles in before she went to the clinic. Everything went well, and we are so grateful! We also got to take her and Grandpa Sunday dinner, which was a treat for us. There was one afternoon when Grandpa was in Utah for Uncle Mark Elliot's funeral, and so we made a special visit to Grandma. We called her and then drove over. When we arrived, she'd gotten out little treats and set them on the coffee table and welcomed us in. We had a great time visiting with her, and I almost felt like we had just gone over to the house for tea. I've never been to someone's house for tea, but I imagine they get little teacups and treats out and you sit and chat and have a great time. We loved seeing her. 

I was able to get together with a couple of my friends. First, my co-worker, Monica came over for a picnic dinner. We walked to the park, pulled up a little quilt, and enjoyed the evening outside. She's such a bubbly person we all had a great time. Jay also seemed to love her. Then, I went and got ice cream with Brianne. She was a fabulous first counselor years ago, and am grateful we can still stay connected. I tried to set her up with my friend in Utah, we'll see. I do love playing matchmaker. 

Finally, the best parts of August revolved around M. Which is saying a lot because we had a great month. M got his BYU Graduation party box! There were lots of cool do-dads and trinkets. It may have arrived 4 months late, but it was still very fun. And, M turned 26! Woohoo! Nathan and Michela's trip to Denver overlapped with M's birthday which made it extra special. Saturday was the day of the main celebrations. Nathan and Michela went swimming with us, and it was really nice to catch up with them. In the evening, we had a BBQ at Grandma and Grandpa's house and Mike and Jenna and their whole family joined us. We had such a great time! We ate yummy burgers and dogs, and wrapped up the evening with a long water balloon volleyball game. Nathan and Michela filled up several hundred balloons for us and we played for a long time. We threw multiple balloons at a time, and one time we even synchronized our throws to hit Nathan by surprise. When Nathan ran to get the hose and soak everyone, M chased him down and they both ended up pretty soaked. Good brotherly fun, I guess. It was the perfect night, and Jay was a champ. Jenna was nice and took care of him so we could play volleyball and have fun with the kids. I made Skor bar cake, and that wrapped up the evening. Woohoo! 

Hooray!

GRADUATE

Tanner & Caden, Brady & Cambrie, Nathan & Michela, Grandpa & Mike

The Cake

Lots of candles

Emery, Jenna, Michela, Nathan, Mike, Grandpa, Grandma, Tanner, Caden, Cambrie, Brady, M

The crew trying to be silly

Sunday was actually M's birthday, so of course we continued the celebrations. I made a fun sign, that we'll probably reuse, and we got to go to church. It was a great Sabbath and birthday. We went to dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's house, where they'd made steak and potatoes. What a treat! M opened presents there, which included a ukulele, books to learn how to play the ukulele, bluetooth headphones, a book about Abraham Lincoln, a book about being an awesome Dad, Pandemic expansions, and some Cajun Trailmix and honey mustard pretzels. And, Saturday night, Mike and Jenna got him a Pay Day which was pretty funny, and a gift card. What fun to be able to celebrate with family! Monday the celebrations continued a bit when Grandma and Grandpa took us and Nathan and Michela to China Taipei for lunch. I was able to switch my meetings around to make it, and it was Jay's first restaurant. The owners loved Jay, and they always remember M and bring extra rice for him when they bring out his meal.

Happy birthday to the best daddy and husband ever! 

Grandma, M, Grandpa

Mostly rolling, and trying to figure out how to scoot to Uncle Nathan.

Jay and M at China Taipei

Jay

Jay rolls everywhere, and we're slowly learning what needs to be baby-proofed. He's 8 months old now, and sits up so well. He does love to roll though, so sitting up doesn't last long. Jay is happy, loves riding in the stroller, and falls asleep on every ride home from Grandma's house. He continues to be a good sport on our rollerblading adventures too, which is awesome. 

Enjoying watching "Happy Days"

8 months and still crossing his ankles

Rolling under my desk to find cords

and getting stuck...

The challenges of diaper changes are getting more real

Sunday walk around the temple

Rollerblading on the path where M and I first went blading.

The crew

I think we even have a dating picture in this same spot...maybe

St. George Blaylock Reunion

A few days before we left for St. George, Jason came and stayed with us on his way to Arizona and we played Dominion. M loves Dominion and I have to be in a mood where I am okay losing to play or add another person into the mix, so he was pretty excited when Jason was up for learning a new game. And, we tied. M actually won because he had less turns, but he's gracious enough to let us have a portion of the victory because we all got the same number of points. We love having guests, so it was a fun evening.

Because of COVID, Aspen Grove closed for the summer and our family reunion was switched to taking place in St. George. We decided we'd rather fly than drive, and we were so glad we did! The drive to the airport was filled with heavy rain, which immediately put us on edge. I was uneasy before we left, but I wasn't sure why. Then, within only a few minutes of being on the road it started to rain, I knew why I felt uneasy. I was grateful Heavenly Father heard my prayers and filled me with as much peace as possible as we drove. We were so grateful to get to the parking area, be off the road, and on to St. George via an airplane. We had about an hour and a half layover in Salt Lake, and got to St. George about 11 PM that night. It was late, and we're very grateful Grandpa Blaylock was willing to pick us up. Jay did amazing on the flights, and on our way to Denver we had an extra seat so he was able to sleep in his car seat. We were so grateful to get to a nice bed and sleep that night.  

At DIA - Jay's first airport adventure outside the womb!

Sunday was our first full day with the family. We shared a town home with Andrew and Brad and their families. For church, Olivia and Tanner gave talks, we sang the EFY medley (As Sisters in Zion and Armies of Heleman), and Grandma Blaylock gave a little primary lesson. I felt the Spirit, and I know others did as well. In the afternoon we played "Who's Who." Andrew got 100%, he was able to decipher every single person's baby photo. I was surprised at how difficult it was to tell the 36 people apart, especially when I've only known them for a few years. 

Jay loved all the attention, here he is with Elise and Katelynn. 

Matthew joining the fun of Sudoku puzzles with Kyle and Olivia

I won't hit on every day in particular, rather highlights throughout the week. Of course, we had delicious food every day and everyone was so thoughtful to make sure I had enough to eat that was gluten free. We went swimming so often, and mostly had the pools to ourselves. Matthew, Mike, and Nathan did a variety of tricks in the pool, including throwing kiddos. The biggest adventurous one was the three man ladder, impressive and scary. Every day during nap time, we'd enjoy being with our town home peeps and catching up. 

Nathan, M, Brady

Mike, Nathan, M

M, Me, Jay, Claire

Every evening after the kids went to bed, we'd all gather in a town home for the evening adult time. I'm not sure how this started, but each night different couples shared their stories of how they met. It was so fun to hear everyone's! I loved it, and felt like I got to know everyone so much better. We tried to focus on hearing the story from the in-law perspective, which made everything even funnier. One of the best things was we found out at the end of Steph and Ken's story that they are expecting baby number 4 in February! Woohoo! And, on the last night, we all got together and did an escape room game. We won, with a few minutes to spare! 

Kate sometimes joined us for adult night fun.

Escape Room! 

Storytime!

Steph made shirts for all the grandchildren, and it was so fun to see Jay in his little t-shirt and he had a great time playing with Daniel. Brad and Kirsten's kids were so good with Jay. They loved on him, gave him smiles, and tons of attention. Jay ate it up! Towards the end of the week, M got into a little kick of scaring James and Elise. Well, he stepped away for a minute to get Jay something so, of course, I stepped in. I would scare them and chase them to the stairs and they would run up screaming, they'd come down and I'd hide in a new place and jump out and scare them again. They did it over and over again. My voice was a little hoarse by the end, but we all had a great time. M tried to scare them one time when I was busy and they looked right at him and said, "I'm not scared of you, I'm scared of HER." Too funny, because 10 minutes earlier they were running from M. James didn't play with too many of the adults, so I felt pretty special that he was so "afraid" of me and willing to play. He's also a master of dinosaurs and sharks, so M and I would ask him all the time about what facts he could share. 

Jay and Olivia

Jay loves Grandma and Daddy

Daddy and Jay, Jay won the basketball because he's youngest camper

Daniel and Jay, number 18 and 20

We spent a few mornings outside, which included a hike and rock climbing. Our hike was in Snow Canyon on some petrified dunes. Everyone seemed to love it, even though we got a little lost. M and Nathan went way farther than the rest of the crew, and had a great time reaching the peak. Jay was a trooper as it was hot, and probably even hotter in that little carrier. Nathan and Michela took the family rock climbing on Dixie Rock. M was the champion, he was the only person to complete both of the hard routes and get totally to the top. What a stud! We were so grateful for Grandpa Blaylock, he took Jay in the baby carrier and carried him all morning so that M and I could both climb. Everyone had a great time, and we were grateful to Nathan and Michela for showing us the ropes, literally. 

M climbing

Andrew climbing

M and Nathan at the peak of the dunes

Jay having some fun with Mommy

Family photo of our first "real" hike

We also got to make tie-dye shirts! I love a good tie-dye party, and so many good shirts and pillow cases came out of it! We also had the kid Olympics, which consisted of sock races, M&M sorting, cup stacking, and Oreo racing. The kiddos loved it, and it was really fun to watch. Of course, M had to show them how the Oreo racing should be done, just like he showed all the Brady's a couple years ago, and everyone was amazed with his skills. 

Magic in action!

The Cup Challenge

My new tie dye

We also got to celebrate Mike's 40th birthday. 40th Birthdays are a big deal for the Blaylock family with themes and such, mostly inherited from the Eddington side, I believe. It was all a surprise, and BYU themed with game highlights, BYU brownies, BBQ, and a lot of people in BYU gear. The siblings gave little gifts that have memories of Mike attached, like M gave him some chocolate chips because Mike used to sneak into the freezer in the basement and eat chocolate chips while bribing other siblings not to tell on him by sharing the chocolate chips. 

Matthew doing Heavy Heavy Hangover

More birthday shenanigans 

Wednesday was a big day for us. M and I made dinner, which was quite the adventure. It started with about 8 pounds of hamburger which we made into 195 meatballs. Olivia was happy to help as we mixed the meat, oats, sauce, and a dozen eggs together. To help us start the baking, Grandma Blaylock put the meatballs in the oven while we were at the Aquatic Center. Which, we had so much fun! Elise and Caitlin weren't quite big enough to go down the slide on their own, so I went with them over and over again. I love slides, so it really wasn't a problem for me. We had a great time, thanks to Grandma Blaylock being willing to start the dinner cooking. Halfway through the baking, the oven in our town home stopped working. With that failure, we only had one oven to finish the meatballs and roast broccoli. I cooked five pounds of rice in two Instant Pots, and then rotated the broccoli into the oven between shifts of meatballs. Eight pounds of grapes was the last dish which thankfully didn't take the oven. Everyone loved the food, and surprisingly, we had very little left over. It's amazing how much 30 people can put away in one meal! 

Step 1, mix it all together

Ever seen a football field full of meatballs, well, now you have.

Kiddos having fun with the candy bar game

While on our trip, we started our self-reliance class, Personal Finance. We've been wanting to participate in this class for a really long time, and we were excited when the stake said we would be doing it virtually this semester. Perfect for us! We don't have to find a sitter and we can attend wherever we are. M and I have been blessed to usually be on the same side of the finances, and hope this class will helps us as we prepare for the future. 

Our last night there we had a big dance party, just like we would have at Aspen Grove. The kids relished the dancing and some of the adults too. I'm not a big dancer, but we had a good time. We were up way too late, as usual for a family reunion. We left super early Saturday morning and while we were in the security line we heard they had overbooked the flight to Salt Lake and needed three people to fly to Denver or go on a later flight. I went to the desk and said we were flying to Denver, and they switched us from Delta to United and a direct flight that was leaving only 10 minutes after our departure to SLC. Woohoo! Such a blessing with a direct flight, we were home by 10 AM. Jay again did great and slept most of the flight. 

Jay loving his toes

Claire loved Jay!

I did a fun new hairdo on Olivia

Dance, Dance, Dance

Another of Jay and Claire

The cutest travel bunch

Jays babbling got the attention of many in the airports

We were excited we got to go to church in our new ward on Sunday. It's great to be in a new ward, meeting new people, and embracing service opportunities. The last highlights are for Jay. He's consistently rolling back to belly with us watching and starting to do more torpedo rolling. He's very chatty, and learning to sit up. I think seeing Daniel was a big help, Jay really liked seeing someone close to his size at family reunion. 

Jay was exhausted after his first day in the new ward.