July junk

July was a crazy month for us. It was literally non-stop. We had the Reynolds reunion. Then Daman & Morgen came for a few days. Then Tim & KaTasha came for a few days. Then Tay came for a week and a half to help (holy chickens-what a stellar girl she is! I hope my girls took some lessons from her. I was so grateful to her and impressed by her). Then my parents came for a few days for Uncle Tugg's funeral. Cody and Jess had a sleepover with our three big girls at their house (thus preserving my sanity and allowing me a chance to catch my breath for a day), and then stayed at our house another weekend. It was a great way to help pass the time. I can't believe we got to see so much family. We were also visited by our friends the Jensens from Alabama, the Rudds from Seattle, and the Daws from Hawaii. 

I had a hard time this month with what was apparently a stress virus. It was making me really sick every few days. Like throw up all night and can't get out of bed sick. During these days, the kids would run the house themselves, and you can imagine how that went (Nutella all day!). I would get out of bed to change Elise's diaper and it looked like Neanderthals had stumbled upon civilization, and in their curiosity, had pulled every item out of every possible place. Fridge included, door left open. Every time I got out of bed. It would take me a few days to reclaim the house, just in time for it to happen again. One day Maisey decided to eat 30 or so vitamins. She got very sick. She climbed up to the top bunk (WHY?!) and threw up an amazing amount. She continued to throw up all through the day and night and into the next day. People do some really amazing things in their lives. I may not. Climbing up on that bed and cleaning up all that throw up while I myself was throwing up, may in fact turn out to be my pinnacle of awesomeness. There were lots of hard days in July. I felt really so very thankful to family who stepped in to help me. I started July two months into the deployment and feeling like I had no love to give. Now I feel better physically and my mental state isn't quite so fragile. I feel good about August. And I feel blessed to have had a house full of people we love. I can't express how I will miss that when we leave. 

Water fight at the splash pad with Tim's family

Temple square with Daman's family

Impromptu dance party with Cody's family while Tay was here.