Saturday night, the last day of the reunion, we went to a 90th Birthday Party for Grandma Mitchell. Brooke had such a grand time with all the kids that showed up. But then ... after we got back to the resort and put the kids to bed, and just after we'd gone to bed, Brooke started throwing up. For at least 12 hours, or so, she threw up every 30-45 minutes. Poor kid. She really didn't feel good. And none of us got very much sleep that night.
She stopped throwing up so often the next day, especially after we got to Mom and Dad Holbrook's house. But she didn't stop completely. And she wasn't very good at throwing up in a bowl, unfortunately. She got many showers and changes of clothes.
Our plan was to drive the whole way back on Monday. Brooke hadn't thrown up all night, which we thought was a good sign. But then when we were getting ready to go, and she was eating breakfast, it all came back up. Daniel and Adam gave her a quick blessing before we left, and she didn't throw up at all after that, though she still wasn't feeling well. She slept more in the car that day than I've ever known her to do, which was a pretty good sign to Daniel and I that she wasn't feeling good.
We made it back. All in one day. And it actually went pretty well, all things considered. Towards the end, Daniel climbed in the back to sit between the girls and keep them happy for the last bit of the trip. I think they really loved that. He's the best dad ever!
It was so nice to be home! No matter how awesome a trip is, it's always good to be home. And the girls sleep better in their own beds and rooms.
Wednesday, August 19, 2015
Sunday, August 16, 2015
NO. MORE. PACIFIERS.
Last week was spent recovering. Of course. Brooke was still feeling under the weather, and she had this lingering cough that wouldn't go away. And that she naturally gave to me, the last couple of days of our trip. So, most of last week, I was recovering as well, from being ill. Because of all that good stuff, we didn't get much done last week. We hit the pool for a day. It was blazing hot last week! And we watched a lot of tv and took lots of naps.
It was a bit of a boring week, especially after our awesome reunion. However, there were a few fun things that happened:
It was a bit of a boring week, especially after our awesome reunion. However, there were a few fun things that happened:
- We got rid of Brooke's pacifiers! We decided to let her pick out something she wanted at the store, and we'd trade her pacifiers in for it. We took a trip to Target on Saturday and took her to the toy section. When there, we pointed out some different things she could choose. And she's been SUPER into Elsa lately, so she chose a singing Elsa doll. She was pretty excited about it, but I'm not sure she understood the full ramifications. She's asked for her pacifiers a bit since then. And we always say that we don't have pacifiers anymore, we traded them in for Elsa. It'll take some getting used to, but so far she's handling it better than I thought she would. She's a good girl.
- Camille started teething last week! I've been watching for little teefies for a while. Brooke sprouted her first tooth at nearly 6 months, and Camille is almost 10. I always wipe her mouth and gums off with a washcloth as part of her bedtime routine, to prepare her for brushing someday. And one night last week, I thought I felt a little something in there. Sure enough, she has a couple of little jagged teeth coming in the bottom. And I'm fairly certain that one or both of her top teeth are not far behind. She's been a little fussier than normal for a couple of weeks, so it all makes more sense now.
- Daniel, before our trip, bought a little magnetized white board for our refrigerator. He wanted to get something to help teach Brooke the alphabet. They sit down in front of the fridge with some dry erase markers, and he'll ask her what letter to write, and she'll say one, and he'll draw it out. It's really cute to watch them. Really. Best dad ever!
- Brooke has started saying "I love you" at random times, which is so cute and melts my heart. We went to the park today, and on the way walking there, she just randomly said, "Mom, I love you!" She's such a sweet girl.
- The other day I asked Brooke if she wanted some green onions in her rice and beans for lunch (I was having some in mine). She said, "No, thank you. I don't like green onions. Someday, when I grow up to be like you, I'll eat green onions. Because I'll like green onions, just like you." It was so adorable.
- Today, again on the way to the park, she said, "Camille's so cute, I can't handle it!" I wonder who she got that one from...
- We got a babysitter last Thursday so that we could do some car shopping. We went to a few smaller dealerships that were either closed or didn't have quite what we were wanting, and then hit up the Nissan dealership. I think we've landed on a Nissan Altima for our second car. We test drove a little white one that was nice, and another. It was a fun little date. :) Now we just have to pull the trigger and actually buy one! We're having a hard time with that.
Holbrook Family Renion 2015
This is a little taste of what our family reunion in Park City looked like:
*It seems like most days, we had something planned. Or at least, someone had a plan for the day, and we could choose to jump on and participate. One of the days, Bekah and Chris were planning to take their girls to the Hogle zoo for part of the day. Aleah wanted to go with her boys, and I wanted to take my girls. And Emily and Jennie came along, too. I got a big discount on entrance fees, because of our membership at the LA zoo. And we had a great time! It was a small zoo, a lot smaller than LA zoo. But I kind of liked that. It was easier to see the animals, and I thought it was more kid-friendly, too.*
*There was a dinosaur exhibit at the zoo, with mechanical models of various dinosaurs strewn about the park. Brooke and I thought it was pretty cool. :)*
* Enjoying our day at the zoo. Camille wasn't thrilled with the whole experience. She was pretty tired, and didn't take much of a nap while we were there. But luckily, she had plenty of people to hold and snuggle her and make her feel better. She and Brooke both crashed in the car about 5 minutes after we left. It was miraculous!*
*We spent a day at Deer Creek Lake, nearby where the resort was. Brian drove up to spend most of the day with us. We chatted and swam in the freezing lake; had a picnic lunch; Brian played a lot with Brooke, which she loved; we went out on Dad's canoe and also the jet-ski that Michael rented. Daniel took me out on the jet-ski, and it was so much fun! He taught me how to drive the thing, too, which I loved. He's pretty wonderful, I think. When we were all done at the lake, we drove back to Westgate Resort, had dinner with the whole family (we had dinner altogether every night; each married kid and their family was responsible for one night -- pretty good arrangement, I think), put our cherubs to bed, and then played games until Brian had to leave. It was nice that he took the time to come up and see us, and we enjoyed catching up with him.*
*We always do family pictures at our reunions, and this was picture day. Daniel had put a daisy in my hair for pictures, and Brooke had to pick one, too. My babies are delicious.*
*Brooke and Harrison really loved each other. They followed each other around and played together and it was really cute. Brooke really had such a fun time with all of her cousins, and they all seemed to really love spending time with her, too. They watched movies, colored, played with playdough, went out for walks. Brooke also really loved Uncle Michael. He took her out on a walk when we first got there, and even took her up and down the elevators, and he had her love ever since.*
*Daniel did a bunch of mountain biking, when he wasn't hanging out with us, of course. He liked going up with Michael and Damon. Bowman even drove up with his family to do some mountain biking with the boys. And I enjoyed hanging out with Stephanie and their cute kids. Bowman said Daniel's getting really good at mountain biking these days. I'm glad that Daniel has a fun hobby!*
*Great-Grandma Mitchell's 90th Birthday Bash! Saturday evening, a whole bunch of people met at a park nearer to SLC to celebrate Grandma's birthday (even though it was in June...). There were a ton of people I didn't know, a bunch of people I know only slightly well, and a handful of people I know pretty well. Brooke had a grand old time with all of the kids that showed up, playing on the playground and running around. And I'm sure Daniel loved catching up with all of his long, lost cousins. I, on the other hand, was a little uncomfortable. But it was still a nice evening, and a great chance to show Grandma we love her.*
*We did a whole lot of this ... swimming in the pool. Brooke went more than I did, with her aunts and cousins and Grandpa, of course. It was nice to go swimming with everyone and relax.*
*Brooke, doing playdough with her cousins*
Aside from what is shown here, I tried to workout every day ... and was fairly successful, too. I ran twice, and did zumba for most every other day with my sisters-in-law. Aleah had brought her zumba dvds, and they looked fun, so I jumped in a joined them in their workouts. I loved it! I didn't get as much reading done as I thought I would. The girls didn't end up napping as I hoped they would, mostly because we were doing so many other fun things and we just missed their naps. I didn't mind much, and I preferred spending that time with my family.
Wednesday morning, after I went on a long run, Mom, Dad, Aleah, Adam, Emily, Daniel and I went to the Salt Lake Temple to do sealings. I was glad to take the time to go, and we had a good time. But Aleah and I were both a little anxious to get back to our kids. I knew they were in good hands; not only were Jennie and Summer there to babysit, but Michelle and Bekah didn't have recommends and couldn't go, so they, I'm sure, did a lot of kid care. Still, I like being more in control of my kids' schedules and what they are up to. And I don't like that people let Camille watch tv. That bugs.
We played games every night. Since we were in 2 separate rooms, not super-close to each other, we usually had games going in each room, and people would just do what they wanted. It was pretty perfect. We would all wander around to the rooms, visiting, playing games. One night, we had a girls night, where we all congregated where Daniel, Adam, Emily, me, and the girls were staying. We had cookies and cookie dough, painted our nails, and watched Austenland. It was so much fun! Another night, Daniel and I sneaked away for a little mini date. We took a walk around the resort, and then went to the Adults Only pool to do a little hot-tubbing. It was lovely. Our last night there, Friday, after we did family pictures, Mom and Dad took all the Adults out to dinner, just at one of the restaurants at the resort. It was a nice break, going out with all the 'big kids', and we had a good time.
It was a practically perfect vacation! I loved it! And I was so sad when we had to come back home. It was so wonderful spending all that time with our family, and I really appreciate my in-laws for the sacrifices they make so that we can all get together like that. I think it's really important. And I think that as time goes on, it'll become even more important that we stick to our families.
*We spent a day at Deer Creek Lake, nearby where the resort was. Brian drove up to spend most of the day with us. We chatted and swam in the freezing lake; had a picnic lunch; Brian played a lot with Brooke, which she loved; we went out on Dad's canoe and also the jet-ski that Michael rented. Daniel took me out on the jet-ski, and it was so much fun! He taught me how to drive the thing, too, which I loved. He's pretty wonderful, I think. When we were all done at the lake, we drove back to Westgate Resort, had dinner with the whole family (we had dinner altogether every night; each married kid and their family was responsible for one night -- pretty good arrangement, I think), put our cherubs to bed, and then played games until Brian had to leave. It was nice that he took the time to come up and see us, and we enjoyed catching up with him.*
*We always do family pictures at our reunions, and this was picture day. Daniel had put a daisy in my hair for pictures, and Brooke had to pick one, too. My babies are delicious.*
*Brooke and Harrison really loved each other. They followed each other around and played together and it was really cute. Brooke really had such a fun time with all of her cousins, and they all seemed to really love spending time with her, too. They watched movies, colored, played with playdough, went out for walks. Brooke also really loved Uncle Michael. He took her out on a walk when we first got there, and even took her up and down the elevators, and he had her love ever since.*
*Daniel did a bunch of mountain biking, when he wasn't hanging out with us, of course. He liked going up with Michael and Damon. Bowman even drove up with his family to do some mountain biking with the boys. And I enjoyed hanging out with Stephanie and their cute kids. Bowman said Daniel's getting really good at mountain biking these days. I'm glad that Daniel has a fun hobby!*
*Great-Grandma Mitchell's 90th Birthday Bash! Saturday evening, a whole bunch of people met at a park nearer to SLC to celebrate Grandma's birthday (even though it was in June...). There were a ton of people I didn't know, a bunch of people I know only slightly well, and a handful of people I know pretty well. Brooke had a grand old time with all of the kids that showed up, playing on the playground and running around. And I'm sure Daniel loved catching up with all of his long, lost cousins. I, on the other hand, was a little uncomfortable. But it was still a nice evening, and a great chance to show Grandma we love her.*
*We did a whole lot of this ... swimming in the pool. Brooke went more than I did, with her aunts and cousins and Grandpa, of course. It was nice to go swimming with everyone and relax.*
*Brooke, doing playdough with her cousins*
Aside from what is shown here, I tried to workout every day ... and was fairly successful, too. I ran twice, and did zumba for most every other day with my sisters-in-law. Aleah had brought her zumba dvds, and they looked fun, so I jumped in a joined them in their workouts. I loved it! I didn't get as much reading done as I thought I would. The girls didn't end up napping as I hoped they would, mostly because we were doing so many other fun things and we just missed their naps. I didn't mind much, and I preferred spending that time with my family.
Wednesday morning, after I went on a long run, Mom, Dad, Aleah, Adam, Emily, Daniel and I went to the Salt Lake Temple to do sealings. I was glad to take the time to go, and we had a good time. But Aleah and I were both a little anxious to get back to our kids. I knew they were in good hands; not only were Jennie and Summer there to babysit, but Michelle and Bekah didn't have recommends and couldn't go, so they, I'm sure, did a lot of kid care. Still, I like being more in control of my kids' schedules and what they are up to. And I don't like that people let Camille watch tv. That bugs.
We played games every night. Since we were in 2 separate rooms, not super-close to each other, we usually had games going in each room, and people would just do what they wanted. It was pretty perfect. We would all wander around to the rooms, visiting, playing games. One night, we had a girls night, where we all congregated where Daniel, Adam, Emily, me, and the girls were staying. We had cookies and cookie dough, painted our nails, and watched Austenland. It was so much fun! Another night, Daniel and I sneaked away for a little mini date. We took a walk around the resort, and then went to the Adults Only pool to do a little hot-tubbing. It was lovely. Our last night there, Friday, after we did family pictures, Mom and Dad took all the Adults out to dinner, just at one of the restaurants at the resort. It was a nice break, going out with all the 'big kids', and we had a good time.
It was a practically perfect vacation! I loved it! And I was so sad when we had to come back home. It was so wonderful spending all that time with our family, and I really appreciate my in-laws for the sacrifices they make so that we can all get together like that. I think it's really important. And I think that as time goes on, it'll become even more important that we stick to our families.
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