Summer Vacation

We had the most WONDERFUL vacation to Utah last week. It seems like the kids brains just explode when we're on vacation. Anna learned to walk, drink from a sippie cup with the valve in it, and take straight cow's milk on our vacation. Michael and Sam didn't fight the entire week because they felt so loved and so stimulated by all of our fun family and activities. Alas, it had to end and we're back home, but feeling oh-so-rejuvenated and full of fresh ideas and goals. Nothing like getting out of the rut.

Here you go . . .

Thursday- Pioneer Village with Shawn and Sarah and their pretty girls. My boys loved talking with these fun girls! Here's Michael and Kristina in the train.

We spent four hours there, felt like we just saw the tip of the iceberg and the kids wanted to stay and see more! We'll have to go back there next time.

Michael finally got to ride a pony while Sarah and Josh finally got to sit down and catch up a little bit.


This was the first day Anna had to take a nap on the go. Used to taking two naps a day in her quiet, dark room at home she was a trooper.

Here's Kristina and Kristina. We kept saying each others' names all day. Our hair even matched, totally unplanned too. What a sweetie!

After Pioneer Village we headed up to Park City to swim and have dinner at Shawn and Sarah's hotel. Have you ever sat in a hot tub with a waterfall in it? At the base of a ski lift? While holding your children and giving them kisses while the water mists into your faces? I highly recommend it.We ate dinner in the hotel while the kids all watched The Backyardagains together.

Friday- We spent in Stockton with Josh's grandparents. The boys put on a show with the ukeleles and we had a nice visit. We visited his other grandparents in the afternoon and I didn't take a single picture.

Saturday - We went on a hike to Doughnut Falls in Big Cottonwood Canyon with Becky and Brent. Besides being the most generous hosts, they spent their entire Saturday morning patiently hiking with us. Michael declared a beautiful pine tree, "The Queen of the Trees" and said he was glad Heavenly Father created such a beautiful place. He was a slow hiker, but very observant and appreciative of the scenery.

Uncle Brent lives large in the boys' memories. The whole drive there they were anticipating playing with him on his Wii in the basement. He took them there the first night and played the jousting tournament that leaves the looser dripping in water and weeping huge tears while the winner is cheered by a wildly enthusiastic crowd. When asked what we did in Utah, Sam tells people he played Wii with Uncle Brent.

Uncle Brent also got the boys these great cowboy boots and hats! Michael has worn them everyday since. He wants to take his hat with him in the van and have it nearby whenever possible. He's been playing Sheriff and defending our home against stuffed animal robbers. Sam gets to be his deputy.
Saturday we also took the kids to the Conference Center where Anna took her first steps. She'd been taking a few here and there but decided to go for something in the auditorium and walked about 10 steps. We were all cheering! Great going Anna!

Here's when I put down my sunglasses and Sam's baseball hat which Josh had to go back for later.
The south visitor's center has a model of the temple, cut away so you can see how the inside looks and is furnished. After spending some time there Sam said he loved being there and that he wants to get married in the temple one day. Michael said he knows Heavenly Father is real when he sees the temple. This is why we go there.

Michael thinks this is how cowboys shoot their guns. Hee, hee!


Sunday- We went to church and spent the afternoon with Debbie and her kids. The boys were dying to see whether they had brought their knights, castles, and legos with them when they moved. They were in heaven playing with their cousins the whole time.

Anna enjoyed her special attention as well. That evening we had John and Linda's birthday cake back at Becky and Brent's.

Monday - We had planned on driving home but decided instead to drive 3 1/2 hours up to Rexburg to see Josh's brother Ben, Kristy, and their kids, including newborn Kohl. Michael spent the last 30 minutes of the drive screaming that he would "never be happy again" because we didn't have any scissors in the van to cut a string off of his new cowboy boots, but Josh saved the day by pulling it off without it unraveling. Neither one of us had been in Idaho and we had so much fun with Ben and Kristy! The boys with their cousin Noah, who is one week younger than they are, didn't stop moving until we put them to bed at 10:45 that night. Rowyn kept right up with them.


Uncle Ben had a huge pack of sparklers and fireworks and the kids were so excited they didn't know what to do with themselves.


I'll leave you with a little glimpse of the fun and the ukelele jam session. Twice, apparently.

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I love vacation. It is so RELAXING! I love taking a step back from my life to appreciate it and find ways I'd like to tweek it. Wish me luck following through on some new goals!

Show and Tell

We took a road trip to Utah for Independence Day to show off Anna. The boys did pretty well on the drive except they never fell asleep so we started off a little on the cranky side but being smothered with love from a dozen relatives quickly took care of that!
The first stop was Granny and Pepaw's house. The boys didn't want to leave. They talked about them for months last time we visited and it looks as if they will again. Here's Anna Ruth with her great grandma Ruth!
The love is palpable.
The boys tanked up on about three cups of chocolate milk each!


We sure wish we lived closer.My managed to visit with my cousins for a couple of hours. We grew up together as they let me be another sister half of our childhood. They are both gorgeous, talented women who I love!
We took the boys down to Provo to see BYU campus. I wanted to take them to the bookstore and get some little football shirts or something but it was closed. It was Saturday the 3rd and they were preparing for the Stadium of Fire fireworks event that night. We did get to go into the building where Josh and I first met. I nursed Anna on a bench outside while Josh took the boys into the Eyring Science Center to see the dinosaur bones and models of the planets. They were in heaven. We walked down Maser hill to eat at Brick Oven but the wait was over an hour so we ordered a pizza, salad, and root beers to go and ate them picnic style on Maser Hill. Michael says he wants to go the "Blue School" and play football someday. He kept looking at the mountains and laid on his back staring at the blue sky. He said he never wants the sky to die because it is so beautiful. By the way, Sam wants to go to the "Red School," the University of Utah where Josh went. Maybe the boys will face off in football some day!

Josh said he fell in love again with another beautiful lady on campus this trip, Anna!
Next stop was Grandma Anna and Grandpa Gail. The boys played in that cardboard box for hours while Grandpa grilled up some hamburgers. We went to church with Grandma and she was tickled to death to introduce baby Georgianna to her friends.
That looks like a lot of kids!
We stayed with Becky and Brent who graciously let us stay in their basement while they had other company and got ready for their own vacation.

The batman costume was a highlight of their house. Sam wore it during the day and when he went to sleep . . . Michael wore it! He said he could get all of the bad guys in his dark bedroom when he was wearing the batman costume. Indeed, he slept very soundly that night! Maybe I should get him some Batman pj's! He snuck upstairs to show off the costume and have some cherries and a glass of milk. Who doesn't love staying with family!
We saw Aunt Brenda and Uncle Jim. The boys love her warm smile and the monster trucks she had for them kept them busy on the ride home!
We had some down time between visits and drove up to the bop of the point of the mountain. We saw Utah county to the south and Salt Lake county to the north. We also saw four-foot tall reflective posts on the fire hydrants. I guess the snow can get that deep up there. I would be afraid my house would just blow right off the top of the mountain, but it was a gorgeous view!
We called our friends from Virginia who have a new baby of their own and went to Cafe Rio for dinner so I could try out the famed pork salad. It was enormous and delicious! We miss them!On the way home we stopped at the base of the Sierra mountains so I could nurse Anna. It was raining a little and Josh took the boys out to look at the Truckee River. They had the adventure of their lives looking up the canyon and down at the river.

Everywhere we went the boys didn't want to leave. They have never felt so much love! I enjoyed watching them feel at home in strangers' homes because they were loved members of the family and they could feel that they belonged. I want them to hold onto that. They are part of something much bigger than our little family. They are loved by so many and we are so grateful for that!

Now, here's the latest excitement around here: Happy Talk!

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Vacation is Good for the Soul

I think everyone knows now that I am pregnant.

I really should dedicate a post entirely to that, but to save time I won't. We invested 2 emotional months and we have another miracle on the way. I am 12 weeks along and due on April 6. How special is that? The boys were due near Christmas, and this baby is due near Easter. We feel so blessed and are grateful beyond measure.

That said, I've been feeling sick and tired and when Josh said he was going to Washington for a week, I asked him if I could come along.

We spent the first several days with Grandma and Pepaw where we all got spoiled to death. I took 2 hour naps every day! I had my meals made for me, my laundry done, and my boys taken care of. I could feel the exhaustion and nausea fading away. I soaked in the sights of the green trees and the sounds of the singing birds. Our house has pigeons, but it's not quite the same.
Here the boys are feeling Tio's (Uncle John) and Pepaw's whiskers.
Then we piled into the rental car and drove down to D.C. I met my friend and her baby at the mall where we let the kids play on the indoor playground. It was cool and rainy and I was in heaven again! Who knew I would miss rain!
In D.C. we stayed the first couple of nights downtown with Josh in his hotel. We took the boys to see the Washington Monument, which they still pronounce "Mommy-ment." We took them to the Capital Building. I couldn't believe I had worked there for a year. It is the most spectacular, uplifting building and I didn't want to leave.

In front of the Supreme Court Building.

Next stop was the National Gallery of Art. I was so happy to be there! I used to walk there on my lunch break from the Senate and take docent tours. This time we took the boys to see an exhibit on Armor. They were in heaven! They love playing knights and were thrilled to see some suits of armor for knights and their horses. We ate lunch in the cafeteria and bought them toy knights and horses, one of which is already lost. This is the fountain in the cafeteria.
Sunday we spent with the Lowe's. Matt gave his homecoming talk in church and it was just like old times to eat Sunday dinner with them and spend the afternoon at their house. Michael and Sam have been arguing over who gets to marry their cousin Lydia.


It was a special treat to visit my friend Melanie. I met her over two years ago while we were both walking our babies around our apartment complex parking lot. Actually, we were both walking to the near-by grocery store for some social interaction with the employees there! She has been and continues to be a huge blessing in my life. Somehow we just "get" each other. She is a comfort to my soul and I hated to leave her! Her daughter played with my boys like they had never been apart and sat on my lap for half an hour being a cat. Her new son is sweet and good tempered and we had a great visit together over her homemade chicken soup and mixed berries with yogurt.

On the airplane out and back, Josh sat with the boys and let me rest. I read a book. I thought deep thoughts. I thought. I listened to the quiet. I listened to my boys chattering away a few rows behind me and I smiled.When I got home I felt rejuvenated. I have been cleaning everything that has been dirty for the last 4 months while I haven't been feeling well. I think this is the first time I've cleaned out my fridge when I wasn't moving, just for my own enjoyment. I put up our fall decorations and changed around a few of the pictures on our walls and am feeling more and more at home here. On our trip, my prayer was that I would come home and not be homesick for D.C. anymore. My prayer was answered and I feel more confident and sure of myself than I have in a long time.

Now, on to enjoying my second trimester and blooming where I'm planted.

We Are Family!, or World's Longest Travelog

Last week was the Champion Family reunion in Heber City, Utah. Every single member of the family, all 49, were in attendance for some portion of the four day event. Our shirts say, "Champion, it's in my blood!" Michael and Sam loved having the same shirt as everyone else and have wanted to wear it several times since we've been home.

I was so proud of the way I prepared for the trip. I had been sick but still managed to pack every conceivably needed item and clean the house before we left, only 20 minutes after our goal departure time.
It was so exciting to see all of Josh's family. Since our last family picture four years ago there have been six new grand children born. Ben and Kristy's baby Rowyn was only 3 weeks old at the reunion. They were so tough to drive down from Rexburg, ID and be in a noisy place with a newborn but we were all so greatful they came to be with us.
This is how we spent our time in the van during the 10-hour drive there and back. Eating! . . . but not each other.

On Friday moring we went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house. I got Michael into the car by telling him, "Moroni's waiting for you!" He was so excited. We passed the Jordan River temple on the way there and he and Sam were upset when we didn't stop there. They couldn't understand having two temples so close together. When we left to drive down to Provo we passed two more temples. Michael then made up a new song called "Seven Temples." He was singing it to himself that whole afternoon. Inside, he found a nice chair, sat down in it, and refused to leave. He wanted to stay in there forever. He waved at all of the statues of Moroni on every temple we passed.
Sam was excited about the temple too. His favorite part were the "oxes" in the baptistry. There are twelve oxen statues underneath the baptisimal font, representing the twelve tribes of Israel. In the temple, faithful members of the Church can be baptised by proxy for relatives and others who have died without recieving this ordinance.
Here we are with Josh's sister Sarah and her family, Shawn, Rachel, Brooke, Kristina, and our cousin's daughter Elisa.
Hungry for lunch, we debated going up to the restaurant in Little America or down to Provo to Brick Oven. We called my nephew Andrew to see if he and his new wife Ericka could meet us for some pizza. The boys were so excited to see Andrew. They are in love with him, even though they don't see him very often. They both wanted to sit by him and talk his ear off.
Up at the cabin in Heber City, we spent the time visiting and keeping an eye on the boys. There were 11 kids under the age of three, so things were busy! The boys slept well in pack n' plays in our bedroom. We listened to them on the nursery monitor and heard adorable things like, "Don't get out, Michael! We're stuck in here!" One moring a crying baby woke us up and Michael shouted out, "Sam! Are you okay?" He thougt it was Sam crying and was worried about him. We have really seen their relationship blossoming lately. They've started ganging up on me and saying what THEY want to do. It's plural instead of singlar. "WE want to watch a movie," "WE don't want to go to bed, " "That's OURS!" they always tell me, one at a time.
Here's Michael with his great Grandpa Gail. They both performed on the harmonica at the talent show!
Outside on the rocks. Little boys were meant to live in places like this. They were up on the hillside with sticks "hunting." Sam got poked just under his eye, but hey, hunting wolves is dangerous business.
Josh and his dad had a great, long talk on the front porch one afternoon. A thunderstorm came and went and they watched the whole thing and visited. We really miss living near them and the time difference even makes phone calls difficult.

Here's Michael's harmonica solo in the talent show. Sam sang a family folk song, but he sang so softly the camera didn't really pick it up.

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All of you Oscarson's will appreciate this. I practised it while pushing the boys in swings at the playground and they picked it up.

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More togetherness.

Michael with his cousin "Baby Kristina." The first couple of days I was thrown off hearing "Kristina!" in warning and baby-tones, but I got used to hearing people call for this little cutie pie who shares my name and Michael's cheeks. Josh's Aunt Brenda made I don't know how many of those stuffed frogs and had her grandchildren put on a puppet show about the princess and the frog.
Shifting gears, we went to spend Sunday night with my sister Becky. Sam and Michael found action figure knights in the toyroom and soon Uncle Brent surprised them with their very own helmets! They segwayed into Star Wars and spent a good hour and a half wearing these ski helmets that made them a little top heavy and chasing Uncle Brent, a.k.a. Chewbaka.
John and Katharine stopped by and played for a minute and we ate a refreshing dinner of roasted chicken and vegetables with peach cobbler for dessert!
The next morning, Becky and Brent entertained the boys outside while Josh and I packed up the van. They picked strawberries in the garden and jumped on the trampoline until we thought they would fall over with exhaustion. At home the next morning, Michael was disappointed when we couldn't pick fresh strawberries in OUR backyard. Maybe next year, or next house, Michael.
Our drive through Nevada was long but beautiful. I wanted to watch a Western movie when we got home. That will have to wait until I catch up on my sleep and chores, though.
The state line between California and Nevada is where the green stops abrubtly and the stone and dust begin. Somebody was thinkin' when they drew that line!

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The boys did pretty well without naps and going to bed later than usual. Here is the only meltdown on the way home, just to give you a little taste. We hope to be making the drive again in August to welcome Matt Lowe home from his mission and we want to plan a GR Oscarson reunion somewhere similar for next summer. Bring on the family!