We had a fun family get-together for Eli's blessing. These first several pictures were taken on Saturday--the day we all got down to Phoenix. They are out of order, and clearly the blogging program wants them here, because I have been fighting to get them in the right place for long enough, so I'm going to leave them right here at the beginning of the post.
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| The grandad and his newest little love, Eli! |
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| David is helping Amy make the icing for the Grandad's birthday cake. Brian and Chelsea went to the Phoenix Temple, so their little guys hung out with us at Amy's house. |
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| Peter was very happy to show Amy and Cody all the things they would need to do to baby-proof their house for Eli. |
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| Amy made a special birthday dinner for her dad! We had hot dogs, potato salad, watermelon, and German Chocolate cake! The dad loved it all! Happy #58, Grandad! |
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| Micah meets Baby Eli! He'll be a great big brother! |
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| Uncle Brian meets his new nephew! |
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| The star of the weekend! |
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| He is so doggone cute! |
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| Steve reads stories to his nephews! |
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| This is our Pinterest pose. We nailed it! |
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| This picture of Papa was taken the week before this week, but it was too cute not to put in the blog! |
Now, this is where the blog actually should have begun.
Baby Eli was blessed and given a name and a blessing on July 29, his Grandad's birthday! What an exciting time. I love that little man! I love his family! I love our whole crew! As our children grow, and as their families grow, it gets a little harder for us all to get together. I love, love, love being with our growing family! I'm grateful every day that Heavenly Father has made families the basic units of the Church!
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| Micah had lots of fun playing with the trains and Grandma's house! |
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| Angela's mom let us know (via facebook) that it was National Hot Fudge Sundae Day. We just had to celebrate something like that! |
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| Grandad came home from work for just a minute in the middle of the day. Micah was running and jumping all around because he was so excited. This is what he looked like when Grandad left to go back to work. |
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| Steven blocked the next section of his magnificent creation! |
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| Playing "Oh, Rats!" |
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| Brian, Chelsea, David and Peter came! Pool noodle fight! |
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| Swinging in the backyard! |
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| Watching a video with Daddy. |
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| Steven really is the best story reader in the family. It's a fact I'm just going to have to live with. |
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| Micah woke up with tummy troubles. He threw up a couple of times. Then he took a long nap, and he was fine! Priesthood blessings can truly work miracles. With the sojurn to Phoenix ahead, this would not have been a good time to stay sick. |
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| It's Friday night. You know what that means... |
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| ...Pizza Night! |
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| It's never to soon to learn how to make pizza! |
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| Wheelbarrow rides! |
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| Grandad give the best wheelbarrow rides ever! |
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| Doing a little backyard fishing! |
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| On Saturday, we all went down to Phoenix for Eli's blessing. Steve, Angela and Micah went down by way of Mesa so they could spend some time with Papa and Carlene. This is a picture Chelsea sent from a rest stop on their way down to the valley. |
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Brian and Peter at another rest stop!
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This is where all the pictures at the beginning of the blog should go!
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| After we left Amy's and Cody's place to go to the hotel for the night, the dad and I went to gas up, and then we went to Target. When we got back, we saw Steve's family in the hotel pool, so I stopped to watch and snap a few pictures. Micah had a blast! |
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| Breakfast at the hotel on Sunday morning, and then on to Amy's and Cody's house to take a few pictures of the big day. It was just plain too hot to do it at the church after the blessing, so we did it earlier at their house. It worked out well. These are just pictures I either took on my phone, or other people sent to me. When Angela gets her pictures up, I'll do a separate post for those. |
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| Aunt Susan and her newphews before church. |
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| Papa holds his newest great-grandson! |
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| A four-generation picture! |
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| I got this picture from Susan. She said these are the most important men in her life. They are also the most important men in my life! |
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| What an adorable little family. The little man is all dressed up and ready for his big moment! |
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| Look! Here we are with all our grandchildren for now! Steve and Angela will be having a baby girl in December! Being grandparents really is "all that!" |
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| This wasn't that same Sunday, but I stuck it in here because I think it's really sweet! |
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| After Sacrament Meeting, we all headed back to our own homes. Brian and Chelsea spent the night with us in Gallup. They got home before we did, so they made a special birthday dinner for Grandad! Grandad is opening his present from David and Peter. Whole-wheat sugar cookies that David helped make! |
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| We put a candle in one of the cookies and sang to Grandad! |
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| On Monday morning, Grandad ate oatmeal with David before he headed off to work. |
It was a fun week. Family really is what it's all about!
