Grandparents to the Rescue!

We cannot say enough how much we love having our parents come save the day when our babies are born.  We had so much help after Archer was born, it was unbelievable.  Not only did my mom and Jenn's mom come for unscheduled trips when Archer came early, but then Jenn's parents came for nearly two full weeks and basically made Ellis' birthday party happen for us, on top of making dinner, doing the dishes, holding the baby, and getting the boys to school.  (see previous posts for those pictures!)

My parents came to visit again when Archer was about a month old.  They pretty much had to come, because I had to travel to Boston for a conference, and there was just no way that I could feel good about leaving Jenn with a newborn and three rambunctious boys all to herself.  While they were here we:

Made autumn-leaf cookies

Henry managed to pile a full inch of frosting on top of this one.

Had Archer's baby blessing.  Apparently, the even was so boring that Jenn fell asleep...

But she woke up for this family picture.  :)

Here's the man of the hour looking pretty dapper.

Archer also learned to smile while Grandma and Grandpa were here.

Extra hands made it possible for us to get out and enjoy the fall colors, which really can be spectacular here.

Even Archer couldn't stop staring at the leaves!

My dad just went to town on the yard.  This is the pile of weeds and trees that I had neglected that he removed for me.  It took me like 3 weeks to fit them all in to our lawn clippings recycling can!

And my mom?  She did a whole lot of holding this guy when he wasn't at his happiest.  Not to mention packing lunches, making dinner, walking the boys to school, doing the dishes, and on and on.  Aren't grandparents the best?

Grandma Griffin: April 20, 1934 - July 1, 2015

I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of my Grandma Griffin on July 1st.  She was such an amazing lady!

I have so many good memories of her and my grandpa, and I'm grateful that my boys were able to have some experiences with her.  This is her at Sam's first birthday party.

And one night at Kati's house when they talked about their marriage for Family Home Evening.

I was lucky to be able to fly to Utah for the weekend of the funeral.  It was such a spiritual bonding time for our family as we shared memories of Grandma.  I felt honored that my painting of her childhood home in Trenton, UT (painted when I was in high school) was on display.  

This was her parents' headstone - she was buried near them in Logan, UT.

This is Grandpa, Dad, and all of his siblings and their spouses.  I love all of these people so much!  I feel sad for all of us to lose Grandma, but I especially feel sad for Grandpa.  He has always been so sweet to her, and I just hate to see him be alone.

I can hardly imagine the world without my sweet, angelic grandma. She warmed up every room she entered. She made absolutely stunning breads, rolls, pies, desserts, gravy, stuffing - you name it - all from scratch, and somehow made it look effortless. She never took credit for any of her successes, but always transferred her praise to others. She made every single one of us feel like we were the most impressive thing she had ever seen. She loved unconditionally and taught us that "people are more important than things." She spent her entire life selflessly giving to others. I know I will never come close to her level of perfection, but I like to think that she will live on through me as I make a feeble attempt to be like her. I love you, Grandma!

I'm so thankful that Ben held up the fort so I could enjoy this special time with my family.  I think the boys enjoyed their time with Dad!

Iversons Stop In

Not long after my parents game, we got a quick visit from Grandma and Grandpa Iverson!  They stopped at our house as part of a giant road trip to see all of their kids throughout the country.  

We continued our fall celebration with them by visiting the Botanic Garden and seeing how the fall color had progressed over the course of a few weeks.  

We found some gorgeous trees . . . 

and some giant pumpkins!

They had a giant gourd mountain on display.  I loved all the different colors and shapes.

All of us enjoyed the beautiful day.

We had lots of fun grandparent time, especially Grandma reading her fun Halloween books.

Since they drove from Utah, Mom and Dad I. were able to bring eight boxes full of Ben's keepsakes that have been sitting in their house.  Two months later, they are still sitting in a giant pile in our bedroom!  But we did go through several of them and found a few treasures.  This picture, drawn by Robbie Mower in high school, was among them.

Grandma and Grandpa Come to Town

Our October was filled with beaucoup de visitors, probably because I keep telling people to NEVER come to Chicago between November and April, unless they want to FREEZE in completely unacceptable temperatures.  I am realizing that that is six months of the year, or in other words, half of my life.  I am working on my attitude (and my collection of wool socks and other warm, lovely things).

Anyway, yes, Chicago is lovely in the spring, summer and fall.  And we are so glad that people came to visit us in October.  It was my dad's first time seeing our home! 

The Chicago Botanic Garden was so lovely and enchanting that I bought a membership, so it can be my new nature retreat that I can escape to whenever I feel like it.  I am SO excited about this! 

The boys love running around here, and my Dad loved seeing all the different plants (and took pictures of many plants and their placards for his yard-planning purposes). 

Guys.  We played a lot of games.  Mostly Wizard and other card games, but we also enjoyed this game designed by my brother Tanner, our family's resident Board Game Geek.  The game is called "Hello My Name is Ernest," based on the play by Oscar Wilde.  It was really fun! 

 We had to visit the Bean.

 Yup, there we are!

 And I enjoyed seeing the Art Institute with my dad, who tutored me through every art class I've ever taken.  He was pretty disappointed that "American Gothic" was on loan for a few months.  We will have to go back someday!

 We went to Wisconsin to Oriole Springs orchard.  Apparently, missing school for an annual apple picking trip is becoming another tradition of ours.  We call it a "family emergency."

 I love fall and apple picking with my boys!

 Donuts from Harvest Time are pretty much the best thing ever.

Another highlight of the trip was that we got to put on yet another production of Newsies together.  Ellis insisted that I find a script of not just the songs, but "all the words" from Newsies.  "Just type it in!" he said.  And lo and behold, we found a script!  We shrunk it down to 26 pages (8 pt. font) and put it in a binder.  Which means, of course, we are going to have to do a live production of ALL THE WORDS AND SONGS from Newsies.  With Grandma and Grandpa.  We had auditions.  Ellis landed about half of the roles (he was the judge with the strongest opinion).  Grandma landed the part of "audience."  We got about 8 pages into it in the first hour, then took a break.  Don't worry, he didn't forget, and we got lots of chances to continue the play for a few pages here and there.  Trust me, it was a top-notch production!

Latergrams: In which we celebrate a lot, say many goodbyes, and arrive at a new home

 Absolutely perfect day to be traipsing around Boston with Mom & Dad Iverson.  We got a babysitter and went out to eat on Charles Streen in honor of Ben's big week!  #figs #beaconhill #publicgarden #iloveyouboston #graduationandbirthday

 Whoa.  I almost forgot about the ridiculous professor robes.  Is it too late to trade professions?  #gradrobes #pompandcircumstance #atouchofhogwarts #800dollarslater

One thing I'm pretty sure I'm not going to miss: the incline of most of my jogging paths here. 

Oprah.  Happening right  now in Cambridge.  #harvardgraduation #Oprah #nosebleedseats 

 And it is very grand indeed.  #grandcentralstation

 Graduation dinner with these two.  #robertnyc #overlookingcentralpark #fancyschmancy

 Gnocchi goodness.  #robertnyc

 A-maz-ing.  #newsies #buymelastpape #kingofnewyork #hotness

 Taking four kids to four different locations in the morning.  You can bet they all have their clothes lined up in hallway.  Rachel's kids are angels!

 Ending things on a sweet note with my friend Linda.  #cheesecakefactory

 Ellis has been begging me for weeks to help him finish his Joy School homework.  #familytree #namesandfacesguy

 Teaching piano lessons has been one of my favorite parts of my life here, mostly because I got to work with these kids and their amazing families!  We had our final recital tonight.  I'm really going to miss this!  #ihateendings #thankyouforthemusic #bostoncountdown

 Three boys rock out to Fun. on the five hour drive to Maine.  Twelve minutes into the drive, Ellis asked if we were almost there.  #acadiaherewecome #tonightweareyoung #yeswearemovinginoneweek #yesweareinsane

 I might have to call this the prettiest "rest stop" we've ever made on a road trip.  It sure beats anything off of I-95 (south of Boston).  #portlandmaine #kindofperfect #newenglanderatheart

 I know three boys who think their dad is the coolest guy on the planet.  #happyfathersday #homemadecards #nothinglikeit

Sam: "Oh-bah!"  

Ben: "Oh-bah?"

Sam: "No, Dad don't say oh-bah; Sam say oh-bah!"

Ben: "Well, what does Dad say then?"

Sam: "Bishopric."

Ben: "What's a bishopric?"

Sam: "Say . . . gosh, dang!"

 Wishing I were still looking at this view... #acadiasunset #latergram

 ...instead of this view.  #theaftermath

 Proud of this handsome Joy School graduate!  He was disappointed that he didn't get to wear a gown like Dad.

 Saying my goodbyes to Boston with Brittany.  #bostoncountdown #beaconhill #acornstreet

 Packers.  Clocking in at 9:15am

Kind of.  #enjoyisrelative #andboxesarenotsobeautiful #butmoversare 

 Just found these passwords from Bryson and Henry's playdates.  Total death 2?  Seriously?  #screentime #bestfriends #yesiamcryingnow

 Man, moving is easy!  Can you tell I'm bored?  #notallowedtohelp #thiskindofrules

 Three guys, six hours.  And we're in boxes.

 It's an ice cream with friends kind of night.  #moozys #perfectnight

 A few more Boston goodbyes.  #swanboats #beaconhill #samandsami

 Last day of school, June 28th?  I don't think so . . . Chicago is calling!  Thanks Lowell School and amazing teachers.  It's been real.  #lastdayforhenry #thekingoflowell 

 We have shared a house with these wonderful people for five years.  They have been AMAZING neighbors, and we will miss them so much.  Sam will especially miss Artemy and Arkady, the funniest, sweetest boys ever.  

 Our moving guys had to load our stuff onto a Uhaul, which will later be transferred to the big moving truck.  I can't believe they got our whole house into this truck!  And to top it off, the one on the right fixed Stephanie's bumper, and the one on the left gave me a 20-minute sermon of parenting wisdom.  #moversandmore

 I hate to see an empty space where memories were made.  This is where we had family nights, read stories, wrestled/tickled/laughed/hugged, had piano lessons and recitals, hosted holiday dinners and sing-along parties, had playdates, and brought two babies home from the hospital.  Lovely little home, we will miss you.  #goodbyehouse #itsbeenreal #sobstory

 Road trip chalk-on-tire game.  Ellis wins the prize!  His prize was choosing the next movie.  My prize (at our next stop) was Skittles!

 Maid of the Mist.  We got soaked!  Ellis fell asleep and missed the whole thing!  #niagarafalls

 "Maybe keeping our kids up until 11pm and then making them go to Church history sights all day was not the most genius idea we've ever had," thought Ben and Jenn.  #ithaditsmoments #mostofwhichweredisastrous #afewwerelovely #sacredgrove #palmyra #bostontochicago

 Newerll K. Whitney store.  #churchhistory #betterthanyesterday

 We pretty much just discovered the coolest pit-stop along I-80.I-90: The RV Museum and Hall of Fame in Elkhart, IN.  We went because it sounded quirky, but we actually all LOVED it!  They let us climb in most of the RVs, starting with 1910 models to present.  It was really well-done and worth the stop.  #threeboysinheaven #roadsideamerica #happycampers

 After more than 17 hours of driving, boredom seems to have reached its peak.  #kinghenrythefirst #firstaudiobook #fablehaven

Home.  #thisisourhouse #evanstonillinois #newlife