Grandma Sheryl's Surprise Weekend

 My dad called us and asked if we'd be willing to come to St George to surprise mom for her birthday. We did a surprise party years ago and it was so much fun but that was when Hallie was the only grandchild...so it's been a minute. So we all made arrangements and planned to go to St George. At the last minute we weren't sure everyone was going to make it. I should clarify Nate and Maddi weren't able to make it because of work schedules and previous travel plans. Gray got diagnosed with RSV the morning we were supposed to leave. Nic of coarse felt super torn but her boys have gotten really sick with respiratory stuff in the past because of their asthma so she was really worried about leaving home and the suction clinic just down the street. So I started thinking about options. On our way down Thursday I made some calls and found out we could rent a suction machine in St George without a prescription.  It took us longer to get there than we wanted but we took a detour and picked up Kinners so that she could still be part of the fun if Nic needed to stay home with Gray. Kim got there and surprised my mom and then they got settled into the night and she was trying to stall until we got there. We arrived just as my mom was getting out of the tub so we hid and when she came out we all surprised her. She for sure had no idea that we were coming.  After we visited for a few we got everyone to bed since it was so late. We did our best to make space for everyone and then off to sleep. I let Nic know that it was an option and Friday morning she called to tell me to set it all up that they were coming. Dada and I ran to the rental place to pick up the suction thing but they didn't have the baby attachments that I needed to be able to safely suck him out. I knew IHC had them because that's where we got them when we did home suction with Liam's RSV. I called and they had them so we grabbed one there and some saline bullets. On the way home we stopped at the grocery store to pick up some items since it was a surprise we needed more food to feed us and make birthday cheesecake. Then we headed home to set the suction up and get lunch going before Nic got there. When we got back the kids were all in the hot tub "swimming" since my parents community pool was closed for the season. Luke gets so embarrassed about things and they were teasing him about the pink floatie he didn't think it was very funny.

Liam was the first to get his hands on a squirt gun...not everyone thought that was a good idea

The rest of Friday we just hung out and played games. We made dinner and had birthday cake. 

Saturday we had decided to go out for lunch before everyone headed for home. Both Kim and I had our primary programs on Sunday so we had to head home Saturday and Nic didn't really want to be gone from home longer than she needed with Gray not feeling good. Mom love Pizza factory...mostly the zucchini noodles. So Kim had made us reservations. Once everyone was dressed and ready we headed over for lunch. My mom was super disappointed when they told her they didn't have any of the things she liked but I guess her and dad went to the other location that night and she ordered what she normally does. We ordered pizza for all the kids to share and then of coarse the adults ordered for themselves. I had g.f. bbq chicken pizza and it was yummy.

We missed Kyle and the boys as well as Ez. On the way out I was teasing that we looked like poloygamists with Matt and the guy standing next to us said...so you're not polygamists? We of coarse said no and everyone had a good laugh. There are quite a few times that it looks like he is the head of multiple families. I'm so grateful for Matt and his wiliness to be where we are and as a family. It means a lot to me. On the way in we had seen this cool fire truck and of coarse Liam wanted to see it so we said after lunch we would check it out. It ended up being a great place to take a picture.

Then some nice people walking by offered to take a family picture. One of the things I love about this picture is you'll notice that all the kids are blended in with different families. I feel like when were together that we are just one big family so everyone stands where they want. I also love that grandma is in this picture. She turned 89 just a couple weeks ago and were grateful she is still here and doing so well.

Then we were all off to our homes. It was a great and fun weekend to be together and celebrate my mom's birthday. It's not always convenient but getting together is for sure a priority.