march: Braden fam reunion part duo (I don't actually know Spanish, that means two right??)

Everyone, gather round Quinn's phone to read this recap... and when I say gather round, I clearly mean, let Quinn sit on you haha:

Sunday morning we woke briiiight and early to bid farewell to our hotel, which Carma had become especially fond of haha. 

And then it was time to head over to Quinner's church for baby Jethro's blessing. I love babies. I love baby blessings. I love the visual of men gathering to collectively hold an infant and humbly use the Priesthood to facilitate communication between Heavenly Father and one of His beloved children.

Random cute pictures of a sleeping baby Jett later in the day. Ohhhh man he's cute.

Carma and Leila... so cute... so unwilling to smile for a picture together haha:

Dad hit the road back to Idaho after the blessing but we snagged some pictures of Quinner with him before he left. Handsome guys!

Quinn and Eden graciously welcomed all of us to their place for food and general family bonding and merriment:

A lot of which occurred outside... on the playset...

Also on the rocks...

Oh, definitely on the trampoline....

Oh yes, some more climbing on the rocks occurred...

As a dutiful doting aunt, I made sure to be photographed with Jett in various light and settings. I want him to have plenty of options for his phone screensaver someday...

Here's the H-I-J gang out on the trampoline together. Hazel and Isaac are the cutest little best friend cousins and I love when Jack gets to join in too when we visit:

Are any of us shocked that Carma found some dirt to play in? Also that scarf hahahahaha.

Here's Jack demonstrating a favorite pastime in Quinn and Eden's backyard area - runnin' down the hill at full speed and managing not to fall:

More random pictures. Eden is the prettiest sleeping person I've ever seen... and trust me, I creepily observe a LOT of sleeping people...

Mama with her four kids! Don't you love gathering grown adults for a picture, knowing that no childish antics will ruin it??

OH WAIT hahahaha.

I call this series "Progression of a Girl About to Pee Her Pants from Laughing Too Hard". I'm awaiting interest from various modern art/photography exhibits and museums:

Seriously though. Funniest brothers ever... especially when they use their talents for good and not evil (aka making fun of their VERY NICE only sister).

We got a good one! 

And a couple of just me and the boys. Quinn claimed home field advantage and purposefully stood where the ground went up a bit - I promise he's not that tall and I'm not that short!

Favorite outtake: Will starting a sneeze hahahahaha:

Good lookin' crew.

Aaaaand then it was time to bid everyone goodbye... which Cody apparently attempted to do in one fell swoop, er, hug ;). I loved having a couple of days with my mom and dad and brothers all together - not sure when the next time will be (circa 2019? 2020?) so in the meantime I'll enjoy these pictures and memories!

march: Braden fam reunion part uno

Once upon a time in March, baby Jett was blessed in Utah so my parents and brothers and families all gathered round and had such a fun quick reunion! 

Our first stop on Saturday morning was a way cool indoor trampoline/playground place with Grandpa:

Clyde and Will explored a bit with Chuck and Quinn while the rest of us mostly stuck to the kiddie zone area. Jack and Carma loved running around with cousins.

Chuck and I both got suckered into climbing through the (small! claustrophobia-inducing!) tunnels. I think he went through with Jack. I shot down my own kids' requests but finally gave in to a super cute Miko because who can say no to winning over a niece??

Quick photo ops! I don't get to be around my dad and brothers all together very often, so this was really really fun for me.

The slides were a big hit. I'll spare everyone the video of me going down with Miko on my lap, but rest assured that the loud squeal after hitting a bump came from the grown woman and not the preschooler haha:

And of course Uncle Cody cemented his place in the hearts of various nieces and nephews by taking them on repeated trips down the slide, including one attempt with Miko, Leila, Carma, AND Jack. Lots of giggles that time!

Quick attempt getting Grandpa and the oldest ten grandkids in a picture: 

Ha, we'll take it!

All that running around built up some pretty serious appetites so we headed over to BYU campus for some reminiscing and food. Carma and Miko were so so so cute in their matching braids and flowery skirts and held hands the whole walk and I just died:

We went to the Wilk, which is across the street from the Law building where I attended church every Sunday during my year at BYU! Our ward met from 2pm to 5pm which was kind of brutal but also meant that we walked back to Deseret Towers and got straight in line for dinner which worked ;).

We found lots of excellent food options and enjoyed a little bit more time together as we ate.

Carma enjoyed scamming Leila out of her ice cream haha. Such good little sharers though!

At this point we stole Grandma Pam away from her cute twin sister/good friend and college roommate Sandra! Sandra lives in Orem and has graciously housed my mama and various members of our family over the years when we've been there visiting. We love the Thornes!

We handed Will over to Grandma and caravanned over to a park near Sam's house to spend the evening. Clyde sought some peace and relaxation whilst surrounded by younger siblings and cousins:

Chuck explored the playground haha!

The hit of the evening was this random spinning device that Cody spun and spun and spun for the kids:

I love Carma's face in all of these pictures!

My cousin Janessa lives near the park as well, and came over to the park with a few of her cute kids which was really fun too - Mom and Cody talked to Janessa and we all loved watching Janessa's cute Hazel (just a few months younger than Carma) and her darling shenanigans :). Such a lovely evening! Almost enough to distract us from Quinn having 9 o'clock church the next morning AND losing an hour to daylight saving's time, grrrr.

march: some Utah cousin fun

Pictures of kids on trampolines is the best thing ever. Here are my four yahoos with Lily:

Seriously - the facial expressions? The mid-jump/mid-fall poses? Hilarious.

Uncle Chuck got some cuddling time with Emmie. Literally top left is his expression every time I take a picture of him... hence Emmie's trying to pretend like she doesn't know him in the top right hahahaha.

Jackers wanted a turn with his cute baby cousin too! Jack is pretty into babies right now.

I sneaked across town and met a brand new tiiiiiny baby Davis which was just wonderful:

Chuck was treated to some amazing theater via Will, Jack, Lily, Anna, and Carma. With costumes like this, I can only imagine the riveting storylines!!

Amanda and Melissa and I sneaked off to D.I. while Chuck kept the kiddos entertained with some board games.

 Bless Amanda's heart, she had held onto this green bridesmaid's dress from my wedding for almost 13 years before finally D.I.-ing it a couple days prior - so obv we had to take a picture. Let the record show I am greatly in favor of passing along things to D.I. when they're no longer of use - for three reasons: a) I think extra stuff around a house adds mental clutter as well as physical clutter and that's no bueno AND b) Deseret Industries provides so many amazing services and opportunities so I'm all about supporting them via donations AND c) I like a wide variety of things to choose from when I shop there twice a week hahahahaha!

 It was a quick overnight trip (bummed we missed the older girls who were on a campout!) but we love any and all time we get with cousins!!