Welcome Home...

The day that Hilary and Adam were scheduled to arrive home with AJ on June 21st, was the same day that Heather  and her family were driving to Utah for a family reunion with Aaron's family.  We met them at the Bountiful Costco so they could purchase food for the lunch they were in charge of. We hold the only Costco card in Utah and Idaho so at times, we are a popular couple. You see the cousins lounging on the Costco furniture while their mother and grandfather selected the very best items to purchase.

The whole shopping adventure ended just in time for all of us to head to the airport to welcome AJ to his new home in the USA.  The timing was perfect and Steve arrived with Jameson literally a minute or two before Hilary, Adam and AJ descended on the escalator.  They were tired and worn out.  We were excited beyond measure.  Everyone was relieved to finally have AJ in the US and to have their family reunited safe and sound.  Britton and Jenna were attending EFY so they missed the airport pickup.

Someone was kind enough to take a picture of our entire welcoming group!

Adam felt that he would be able to safely drive the 1.5 hours home.  I think adrenalin kicked in.  AJ seemed okay when Adam strapped him in the carseat for the first time.  He quickly tired of being restrained, however and proceeded to cry for about an hour of the drive.  Not so fun!

They took a few photos before it was time to put AJ to bed.  I thought this one in the front yard was cute.

As we drove away from the airport towards the Murray house, Steve commented how strongly the Spirit had confirmed that AJ was home and that he belonged in Hilary and Adam's family.  Such a blessed boy!  Getting him to the right home has been a real journey for his parents.

 A couple of days later, we were able to make it back to CV and couldn't wait to stop by for a brief visit.  AJ likes his mommy but seems to be pretty happy around his other siblings too.  He really likes food--especially chips  that the neighbors brought with their generous Cafe Rio style salad.

AJ loves playing with all of Jameson's toys.  JMO was allowing quite a bit of sharing.

Back at our house, my flowers are finally growing.  Some have died but many made it through the frost, snow and now heat.  Amazing!

Sunday was our stake conference.  That turned out to be a good thing as Hilary got ill and Adam was able to stay home with her and stream the session.  We took the older kids to the stake center with us.

After the meeting, we dropped off some dinner for the rest of the group and headed south to Mapleton.  My step-brother, Kelley, was hosting a surprise birthday party for his wife, Karen.  It turned out to be a very nice dinner held at their big red barn.  TJ and his friend roasted a whole pig in a pit.  It really was tender and delicious. 

 Below is the birthday girl, Karen,  sampling salad, potatoes, etc. to go with the pork.

After the dinner Karen sang and so did her daughter Hanna and a couple of granddaughters.  It was very nice.

We headed back to SL fairly early as we needed to be there for Anna, Brinley and Aaron.  Anna leaves bright and early the next morning for Oakcrest Beehive Camp.  Aaron flies out to CA for business.  Brinkley and her friend Aubrey are staying with us in Muarry in next five days to participate in EFY.

 That evening Anna, Steve and I took a really nice walk along the river parkway.

 We were thrilled to see the white pelicans.  Steve and I have seen them before but never this close.  It was our lucky night.

The next morning, Aaron dropped Anna off and headed to the airport himself.

Steve and I took the girls to EFY.  It was always fun to visit with them and give them a late snack after their busy day of activities and meeting new friends who are also committed to Christ's gospel.

Steve worked some and I took listings, did an open house, showed properties and hosted bookclub on Thursday night.  Aaron returned Thursday night too and he planned to pick up everyone when they finished on Friday and drive all the way to Rexburg that night.  What a guy!

Friday we headed north again.  It was fun to drop by and see how well AJ is adjusting and getting along with his family.  He really likes people and food.

Taylor and Jen had been in CV for a couple of days and willingly decided to stay until Saturday morning when Taylor had to return to SL and fly out to China.  Jen will stay a few weeks visiting family and taking care of medical checkups during that time.

Jen helped Steve swap beds around.  We got a new king bed. Happy Father's Day and birthday to Steve!  We put our old bed in the basement bedroom and put that bed into the old exercise room--now designated as a fabulously cool and quiet nap room.

Taylor and Jen invited us to attend Shrek, the Musical with them at the Pickleville Playhouse on Friday evening.  Of course we had to leave early enough to get raspberry shakes before the play.

A friend's daughter from Shanghai was a member of the cast so that was really fun for them to visit again.  She's a cute girl and the production was a lot of laughs and well done.

The next morning I made my homemade buttermilk pancakes by the dozen and buttermilk syrup too so we could feed everyone before Taylor's family left.  Adam surprised us by bringing AJ over.  We were delighted to see him and he LOVED the pancakes.  Hilary had gone for a bike ride so she missed the food.

Before we knew it, Jen, Taylor, Will and June were on their way to the airport.

One of our chores for the day, in addition to weeding, mowing, etc.  was to pick the pie cherries and put them in the dehydrator.  It's a good thing we got that done as it took the long weekend to get them dry.   

Sunday after church we had our first real dinner with the newly expanded Campbell family.  Everyone just loves watching AJ with his winning smile and his cheerful countenance.  He is a real charmer.

Monday morning Steve was creating extra storage in the rafters of the barn with plywood.  We managed to get some flower pots, dutch ovens, etc. put out of the way.

 When Korinne, Jameson and AJ stopped by for a brief visit, we were delighted to take a break.  This photo shows just how big Jameson is for a 5 yr old and how small AJ is for a 2.5 year old.

We cooked brats that evening and some of us watch some fireworks from the deck.  Tomorrow, we planned to attend the parade but Hilary's family has been invited to a BBQ with a neighbor's family so we will enjoy a quiet evening on our own.  Did I say quiet?  Ha!  Not with fireworks going on all over the valley.  We have great views from our deck of the action.

That afternoon, between the parade and the BBQ, Adam stopped by with the younger boys.  That proved fortuitous as Steve appreciated his help installing a sunshade on the covered patio.

 First the boys played inside since it was about 100 degrees, but then they put on costumes and played inside and outside.  Wow!  It was hot!

 We really like to shade.  We are eating more on the patio now.  The shade makes it more comfortable and the kids can play on the grass.  We enjoyed our 4th of July celebration very much.  We love the patriotic reaction of the crowd when the flag goes by at the beginning of the parade.  We love the chance to teach the children to respect our flag.  We are so grateful to live in the U.S.A.