Our second of three Utah weekend trips in a row involved the most travelers: all six Izatts! There wasn't a chance any of us would miss Nathan's baptism. I thought Clyde would feel more displaced being kicked out of the front seat after his previous weekend up there, but he was more than happy to mastermind a fort in the back for some sibling bonding:
We all practically leapt from the car in joy once we pulled up at Gary and Brenda's house - the kids all ran different directions which was just fiiiiine with us haha. I did get to check out the treehouse for the first time; Carma was pretty enthralled with it.
The baptism was first thing the next morning and it was beautiful! As always, Carma was inspired to create a dance for the occasion. I was inspired to keep her in the back of the room haha. She was very reverent during the actual baptism - I think we were all caught up in that moment of joy and cohesiveness as we watched Nathan make those covenants with his Heavenly Father.
Ahhh this was amazing. The day we went four wheeling in El Paso, we were talking about the upcoming baptism and Andrew asked Shelly if he could play his cello for a musical number. It grew into a legit orchestra featuring Andrew and including aunts, an uncle, and cousins from both Dan's and Shelly's sides of the family. There was an incredible spirit in the room and so much love for Nathan and the whole Swenson family.
And then a delicious brunch back at Walt and Ann's house with everyone and it was just what the doctor ordered for one and all:
Seriously, this backyard has it all. Except a pool - that's next door and generally open to all haha.
Quick photo op with Chuck, Dan, and Ryan. Pretty suspicious trio...
Caption via Instagram: My plan to catapult @camswenson off the see-saw did not ultimately succeed, but I’m committed to packing on some weight and trying again ;).
At this point we divided and conquered - starting with mountain biking! Chuck and Clyde headed up with Ryan, Tyson, Cameron, and Dan - three sets of dads and sons - and they had a great time. Dan remains pretty loyal to his road bike, but these five mountain bikers are prettttty committed to wooing him over to the bumpier side.
I took Will, Jack, and Carma up to Alpine and we were just in time to watch Bailey play in a soccer game! Will was also VERY excited to tell Bailey her Pokemon name (the other cousins heard theirs on the sidelines). We loved sneaking in some cousin time!
Then it was time to grab the mountain bikers and say all the goodbyes and head home (24 hour Utah trips are kind of our specialty). Jack and Jaxen were pretty chill for a thumbs up shot, I just happened to catch Carma and Dan mid-hug (don't even get me started on those two. Best friends forever), and Cameron specifically asked if the two of us could take a selfie. Or maybe I forced him into it? Hard to remember ;).
We rounded up the troops for an Izatt/Swenson picture and it turned out perfect. I'm a total sucker for side by side comparison pictures (see below for my rumination on how tall the kids all grew in 3.5 years, etc) but what strikes me the most is the spiritual and emotional growth I can see in the twelve of us. It's been a decently rocky road (spoiler alert: it stays rough for a while) but there's so much love and strength in this picture and I'm so grateful for that. I look forward to lots and lots more Izatt/Swenson family pictures and the new faces that will join this core twelve in years to come.
Instagram caption: It’s hard to say what I love more: ‘then and now’ photo updates or the eleven people in these pictures with me. (Also I feel like the children grew collectively like twenty feet taller in the 3.75 years between pictures?!)
Goobers. This was a tough goodbye - seeing them twice in a month and they not knowing when the next reunion was going to happen.
Such a worthwhile trip.... might have had to remind myself of that five hours later when everyone else fell asleep and I was truckin' along.... knowing that I'd be making the same dang drive in another week haha:
Can't wait until we're independently wealthy (first class flights, baby) or I get my choice of superpowers (blink and I'm at my destination) or allll the people we love move to within an hour's drive of us haha. Until then, we will make all the road trips we can and take all the pictures while we're there ;). Love you Nate!!
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