Family weekend

This was a good one.

First, Friday we celebrated Azure's birthday.  My parents were there too which only made it better.

I love this picture of Mark and Azure.

She'd blown out one candle and was getting a pep talk before she attempted the rest.

When he's not riling his little cousins up with his wild antics, he's quite loving to them.

Here's the sweet princess enjoying her cake:

I am glad we're able to be a part of her life.

After the birthday party, we went to BYU to watch Clarissa perform.  She was fabulous as usual.  I love the way she extends herself with enthusiasm and tries new things and always has a big smile on her face.

I am glad we're able to be a part of her life.

We hit the BYU Creamery for ice cream after.  Marianne's family was there too and it was nice to be together.  Morgan went back to our house with us to spend the night.  We had left Adam's car at Ammon and Melanee's so while we were driving back to their house, Mark and Morgan were talking in the backseat--it was mostly Mark--and Emma and Braeden were in the middle seats, talking and laughing.  Loudly.  With enthusiasm.  And persistence.

When I was a kid and Olivia and I would get in trouble for being silly and told to settle down, I never understood what the problem was.  We weren't doing anything wrong; it wasn't like we were fighting (because we did do that sometimes).

Now I get it, Braeden and Emma can be a lot. A little much, like my mom used to say about Olivia and me.

Emma went with Adam when we got to his car and Braeden climbed into the front seat.  I said, "You have to stop.  I'm tired and cranky."

Morgan said, "I don't believe you that you're cranky.  Because my mom gets cranky."  Then he outlined a time they were given extra jobs because they'd woken Marianne up.

"Oh no!" Braeden said, after assuring Morgan that I could get a lot crankier, "You don't wake up Mama!" 

That's just basic safety.

Then they talked about how their dads don't get cranky when they wake them up.

I'm glad Marianne's kids and my kids have each other.  They can start a support group.  The main tenant of the organization could be You Don't Wake Up Mama.

We loved having Morgan though.  He is a darling boy and he and Mark have a lot of fun.

Saturday, Olivia and Edgar and Tabor and Katie came to town also.  The kids were babysat by their older cousins at our house and we all went to the Mt. Timpanogos Temple.  (My grandma too.)  It was Clarissa's first time.  What a blessing it was to be in the temple with four generations: my grandma, my parents, my siblings and dear Clarissa.  (I wish Enoch and Jennifer had been there too.  Enoch had basketball coach stuff and I feel like basketball coach stuff is severely cutting into my chances to see those guys.  And it is all about me, after all.)

I always enjoy going to the temple but being there with my family just made it all the sweeter.  At one point my mom whispered to me, "It doesn't get much better than this, does it?"

And she's right.

Because of the temple and the covenants made there, everything that matters most in life can be ours.  We are a family.  I can't put it all into words, but I was very grateful to be there.  And it's possible I cried.

But I'm not the only one.

Afterward we retrieved the kids and took over a corner of JCW's for burgers and fries and milkshakes and the like.  I guilted Marianne and Robert into sitting by us, even though they were in demand elsewhere.  If you can't guilt your own sister, who can you guilt?

Sunday morning we went to Provo and saw more family.   My very youngest cousin, Brett, who I hardly know because I am old and he isn't, returned from his mission and spoke in church.  Before his talk, the bishop asked everyone in the congregation who had returned from a mission within the last year to come to the front and sing Called To Serve.  There were 41 of them!  It was incredible.  (A lot of them were sporting Russian tie tacks--that's where Brett served--and they were there to see him.  I was also sort of blown away by Brett's talk.  I love listening to missionaries tell about their missions, particularly when, like Brett, I can tell they returned from their missions changed people.  I was glad my kids were there to hear him too.  It was fun to see some more cousins and aunts and uncles that I haven't been around for years.  When Brett got me confused with Marianne, I assured him it was OK.  I said, "I was the age you are now when you were born.  I'm your much older cousin.  It's OK if you get confused."

For most of my adult life, I've not been around so I love being able to do all these family things that fill me up with belonging and happiness.

I tell you, family.  That's the thing.