It was a bit crazy in the house. Julie and the boys are living with mom and dad right now. Since August and for an entire year, or so. Plus, Mom had knee surgery in August, so she couldn't do much. AND she still watched Owen every Monday and Tuesday. It was pretty wild and crazy in that house. Brooke LOVED being with their cousins (most of the time. Ares and Roman were pretty mean to Brooke, and Makai was really mean to Owen and Millie). Camille took a long time getting used to everyone. She was pretty clingy to me, wanted me all the time, wanted me to hold her. She finally started warming up to people and doing her own thing after about 5 or 6 days there, over half our time! Maybe the next time around, it'll be quicker for her. I also think she was kind of overwhelmed with the number of people and how much was going on all the time. Plus, I often left her in the care of Julie or Mom so that I could run them errands or pick up Drew. And that certainly threw her off.
It was a fun trip, but mostly, I'm glad I went because I helped out a lot. I was helping to make meals for everyone, I did the dishes a ton and cleaned up the house. I kept mom company when she was holed up in her room. And I was able to be a listening ear for Julie, who is really struggling in her marriage right now. I like to think I helped them. At least, I hope I did.
The whole situation is a bit ... much ... for everyone. It's so hard for everyone, for different reasons. I saw my dad snap a few times, more than he ever did when I was growing up (that I can remember). And it kind of made me sad to see my family having such a hard time. I feel so sad for Julie, who is the most admirable woman I know. She is doing so much for her family and for Mark. More than other women would do. And she's handling it so well, although she thinks she isn't. She's so strong!
Anyway, we had some good times, too.
*Brooke loved playing outside with Makai, either on his bike or on a scooter. We went on a lot of walks while we were out there, or just sat on the porch watching the kids play. We hit the park once, too, with Grampa and Gramma, Aunt Schpuckie and Owen.*
*Just hanging out, watching a little Jake on Gramma's phone. Brooke had to borrow some of Makai's Jake jammies for a few nights. But, I don't think she minded.*
*Watching General Conference. Brooke was SO cute during GC. While all the boys, except Drew, were outside playing, Brooke stayed in and sat in that big pink chair and colored and listened and occasionally watched the whole of at least 2 sessions of conference. I was really astounded. It wasn't like I asked her to or insisted that she sit with us. She just ... did. Like she wanted to be with all of us while we watched and listened. And she was totally content to sit and color while we watched. It made me appreciate and love her so much for that. It was so sweet. At one point, I think during the very last session, she was out playing with Makai, and she fell really hard on the driveway. Julie brought her in, sobbing, and she sat with me for the last hour of the session. And totally fell asleep while sitting on my lap. It was so funny. I can't remember the last time she fell asleep on me.*
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