Easter Vacation

This was a very eventful week for all of us.  Utah usually is, though.  It's all about how much we can squeeze into a very short period of time.  One consequence of that is a long blog post :)

We decided to leave after I got off work because Harvey sleeps so good at night and we thought it would make life easier for everyone.  It did I think.  We made it home in 14 hrs which is pretty impressive because it usually takes us 13.  Well done Harvey.  The highlight of the trip home was probably when Tanner learned that Tracy Chapman isn't a white male.

We got in late morning on Thursday.  We stopped at Berrie's school to say hi and then we went to Farmington Station to get some deliciously legit sushi!  We stopped at Nordstrom Rack for a minute too and Harvey helped me try to pick out a new shirt.  Tanner was doing something else so I decided to just try and take him in with me.  The bench wasn't as big as I thought it might be but he dangled his legs off it and was happy as could be.  So funny.  

Then came the beginning of a long line of much needed introductions.  I tried so hard to get pics of everyone seeing him for the first time, but it was basically impossible.  Sorry to the ones I missed!

 Friday was a Stoddard day.  So Tanner and me and my dad went and played racquetball while Harv and my mom caught up :)  After that Tanner actually got to ride along with his fire fighter brother while we went to the park.  It wasn't as warm as I was hoping but it was still fun to play frisbee and picnic and hang out.

Friday evening he got to meet his Uncle Ben and Aunt Julie and cousins Adi and Vienna.  (And my friend Brooke and her family but I forgot to photograph that one.)

Vienna is just one month older

 

 

A perfect gift from cousin Adi :)

Part of the reason we really wanted to go home around Easter was to be there for my dad's big fancy Easter Egg Hunt.  It's kind of a big deal and is one of my favorite family traditions.  So that all took place Saturday.  We were in teams and the day kind of went like this: Everyone finds their own eggs outside our house.  In each of those eggs is a puzzle piece that when put together, has GPS coordinates to a location.  So we drive there.  And when we walk so we are at those exact coordinates, we all look for two larger eggs.  In those eggs are actual jigsaw puzzle pieces and strips of paper that have instructions for each team to find their eggs in that general vicinity.  Each team uses some combination of either range finder, compass, gps, or tape measure to get to the spot and then you search.  In all those eggs are the paper puzzle pieces that have the GPS coordinates for the next spot.  Then at the last spot, we put together the 100 piece jigsaw puzzle without a box, flip it over and that has the instructions for each team to find eggs.  In the eggs is a token that we turn in to the Easter Bunnies for our prize :)  SO MUCH FUN.  Seriously.  It's awesome.  It's evolved and changed a bit over the years, but that's how it worked this year.  We were up around Lamb's Canyon and Mountain Dell for most of the places.  Then a picnic lunch at the end.  My dad is super cool. 

The mastermind and the teams...

 Harvey's first hike...

 Some diaper changing and feedings had to happen along the way...and minus one meltdown in the car, Harv had a lovely time!

 Mr. Mom.  He's awesome...

All worn out. (His prize was that bunny)

Sunday was Easter and included blessing, Niederhauser Easter party and Burningham Easter party.  Busy day.  But perfect day!  It was the most glorious weather.  Harvey did awesome during the blessing and just about all day. Tanner gave him a really perfect blessing.  It was great to see family and friends who came to support us that morning and for the brunch after. 

The growing bunch of Stoddard grandkids

 

Some of the attendee's of the blessing...

Then Berrie did her Easter egg hunt with the Niederhauser grandkids.  She made a little scavenger hunt with clues and then all the kids had 6 of a certain color egg to find outside.  Then all the kiddo's got new swimsuits.

Harvey's eggs were baby blue

This is the best pic you get of 7 crazy kids

We took a couple other "Easter pics" of Harvey and I must say these first two might be my new favorite pictures ever practically.  Holy cute.

We had the Burningham party after which I failed to take pictures of.  But more egg hunting (and more moola for Harv's piggy bank!) and more food, family and fun. 

That night Tanner took Harvey for his first Corvette ride.  Pretty sure he loved it :)

 The next day was the last really nice day that we had and so we joined Tanner and Carson for a little golfing.

The last couple days we were there we hung out with Nat and family up in Mtn Green, had dinner with some friends that we hadn't seen since we moved here, saw my family again and a couple of my friends...

 went to Carson's baseball game...(Berrie and Harv were all smiles until Harvey pooped all over Berrie.  Oops...sorry!)

 and introduced Harvey to my last living grandparent - Grandma Stoddard.  She's been in a care center for a long time and really hasn't known who any of us are for about all that time too.  She actually perked up a little when we showed her Harvey.  She hadn't moved much until I set him on her lap and she actually made a big move (for her) to try and hold him.  I had a little moment realizing that was probably the last time I'll see her in this life.  It will be a lot more fun to see her in the next one though, because she'll be the grandma I remember again.

 He also had his first trip to Rio Grande - a Niederhauser favorite.  He was being pretty cute there. 

 But cute comes pretty naturally to him...

This was a tough trip to come home from.  It feels different with a kid.  We want him to have a good relationship with his grandparents and cousins and aunts and uncles like Tanner and I both did growing up.  It was definitely a motivator to get stuff done here as soon as we can! It will still probably be a year and a half at least, but hopefully no more than that!  The actual driving trip home was tough too!  Rozzi had diarrhea so we stopped every time she acted like she might need to go out (even though often she wouldn't do anything), we almost died hitting a moose, we were SUPER tired because we left at night again but were more sleep deprived after that week, so we stopped to sleep for an hr once, and Harvey STRUGGLED.  We had to pull off multiple random exits to try and calm him down.  It pretty much sucked.  Longest trip ever.  It took us over 17 hrs.  Yuck.  Even though I just said how hard it was to leave, that part of the trip made me happy it'll be awhile before we have to make that drive again! We're so grateful we made it safe, though, and so grateful we had the chance to go home and for our awesome family and friends!