MAKE my YEAR

It really doesn't take much to make my year (and make me burst out laughing all day long), but a certain brother-in-law (who shall remain nameless) sent me this text about 30 minutes before he and a certain sister were to drop their children off at my house for the weekend.  

This is parenting...and this is how we cope. 

I managed to text him back and say "bring it", then I'd start laughing all over again...

Getting excited!

Oh yes...very excited.  The Holdsworth extended family is on the eve of welcoming the first GREAT GRANDCHILD into the world.  

The girls (Kristin and Rachey) have been waiting and waiting and waiting for this (and peeking in on a pinterest item or two...)  The party was absolutely delightful.  Good food and good company.

Kristin flew all the way out from Pennsylvania to let us shower her with love and gifts.  I even made a video aimed at convincing my nephew to give up on his claim to naming the unborn child...don't think it worked :(  

BUT...my nephew Grantos DID score a huge job move and they are on their way back to the homeland to be reunited with us just in time for this baby to get some serious lovin'!

 

In true Holdsworth fashion - no opportunity was wasted to party...so we took the party down to Lake Mary and had a big ol' fish fry - courtesy of Grandpa Grant and his Alaskan salmon.

Boys got in...and tried to show off muscles...

Then swiftly got out (yes David I realize he's shirtless again...)

Sobbed our eyes out as we bid our cousins farewell and good luck on their journey to the motherland.

Paddle board rides free of charge you just have to brave the muddy murky water.

Not quite sure how well the marshmallow/plastic fork roast turned out...

Moving on through the month...I couldn't pass up an opportunity to capture three brace faces...

Little Indy's first 11yr. old scout camp out (yes, he forgot to throw his sleeping bag in so we had to race home and grab it...no, he wasn't happy about the set-down his parents gave him)

9 kids and 1 crazy lady AFTER we saw the movie - everyone still happy...with shoes on...and ALL accounted for!

A random morning jog on the Willow Lake Trail

A random pre-teen who searched all over for the perfect fake glasses.

DAM good photo Uncle Ray Firedance - thank you for the awesome day on the awesome boat!

Last BUT certainly NOT least...we stayed at a hotel this summer that had a STRICTLY BALLROOM competition going on!! OK.  So maybe it wasn't called "strictly ballroom" but they were all doing hardcore ballroom dance competition...it was SOOOO awesome.  I wish I had written down the names of the classes (dramatic dance make-up etc...) I just wanted to sit in the lobby and take 1000photos...but I had to chase Ella and the rest was history :(  What I would have given to be able to sneak in and watch from the back corner...perhaps perhaps perhaps (pun intended)....another time.

Mary Mary Quite Contrary

Multiple outfits.  20hrs in the car.
This is the only photo she cared about....

Teenagers.  High School Senior Teenagers.  Sheesh.
(BUT we LOVE our little Mare....and wish her and her now vacant appendix spot a speedy recovery...even more speedy then she is!)

Be Still mY heart...

Seriously love these kids...(EVEN if Bridgey broke up with Ella last weekend...at least that was HER side of the story!!??) and I'm not sure they've ever been THIS STILL.......

Love.

Love it.

Tanner & Laura - Mesa Wedding

Little Tanner found himself a beautiful bride.  He took her to a beautiful temple to get married.  

I can't describe how wonderful the sealing was - being in there with my family - cousins, aunts, grandma...it was so peaceful and the room was filled with joy.  We all love Tanner so much - he chose a different route to enter our family (before the sealing began, Ami, Ashlee and I were reminiscing about when Tanner was sealed to the family...and Tia pipes in and says "sheesh...I don't remember that" - we had to inform her she was a child and therefore wouldn't have been able and/or invited to join the Nelson's sealing - oh it made me smile and started the day off just right).  I still say he's our family's one and ONLY hope for respectability.

They arrived ready to go - at 6am :) 

Young love....{sigh}.  

It's very hard for me to not tell any little cousin stories - I'll just play it safe.  He's a good lookin' boy.

And he found himself a beautiful - wonderful girl.

And they're going to be ever so happy together.

{sigh} Laura was beautiful...the light was beautiful... 

And Tanner so handsome.

We journeyed on to the reception and grabbed a few family photos.

Taylor barely made it in time...he apparently had to make a pit stop.

These 2 graciously tested my light for me...

These 2 get no comment...except that I have to point out the 2 small begging hands in the bottom left corner of the photo.

I love them. 

I'm sure it's obvious how much we all love Tanner and wish him the very best (yes we had nice family photos...but they're boring..I like these much better!)