Family Photos

I wish it weren't so hard to get a good family picture. Make sure everybody is looking and/or not crying, everybody is sitting up straight, make sure I'm sucking in my stomach, extending my neck, not having too gummy a smile and not doing a crinkle nose. (These are all tips I've gotten from people over the years.) The real trick is getting all of these things to happen at the exact same second. This really nice guy came over and took family photos of all of us during our family reunion but it really was too late at night and all the kids were tired and sick of listening to their parents, plus the parents were tired after having had a long day of dealing with children who didn't want to listen so we all had to work extra hard. If Gavin wasn't looking, then it was Tati not listening. We were finally going to get a good shot when she announced that she had to pee so Greg ran off with her and then after she peed, she wasn't going to take any more pictures and plus there were plenty of other people to get their pictures taken too. I guess I had built it up too much in my mind that the picture would turn out awesome. You should never do that. Anyway, this is the result and if I were a lay man, I would say it turned out great but there's something you don't know.

Tati has this "gift" of knowing just how to drive me crazy sometimes and something that she does is this underbite thingy. She does an exaggerated underbite. It digressed into an underbite smile and even underbite talking. It started out as a joke and we'd always correct her thinking it was going to ruin her teeth. After talking to two dentists about it and having them both tell us that it wouldn't ruin her teeth, we backed off a bit and she actually was able to stop the joke. But then she started to do it just to bug us in moments when she was in trouble and or talking to her after a time out she would do what we've termed as "yucky teeth" (no offense to you underbiters out there--if she couldn't help it, it wouldn't bug us so much). So as I'm going through the 2 shots where Gavin and Tati are both looking and lo and behold but what do we have? The yucky teeth smile. Seeing her have this smile (and p.s. she did it throughout the entire photo shoot) just undoes the joy of having a picture of our entire family.


I know I'm being a bit retarded here, but there it is, that is the truth. I don't want to sound like I'm a psycho mom or that I have to have my children look "perfect" for photos because I don't but that is just the truth of this photo shoot.

Here is the one of everybody. We worked a little photo shop magic and tried to get everybody at least looking and somewhat looking good. Then here are some of the siblings and their families and some of the Fab-5, the original children.
These are all my siblings.


And this one is supposed to be like those old fashioned pictures when nobody smiled. Except that I was having a hard time not cracking up in most of them.

I don't know how models do this whole picture taking thing as a career. I guess because they don't have their children with them.

Idaho, You da Ho

Our next leg of our tour of the Western States took us to Idaho where my oldest brother lives. But on our way, we got to see the last and final Melton, Greg's little brother, Kirk or Kirky as we like to call him.

We felt bad that we didn't have more time to spend with him and his lovely wife, Heather, but after being slowed down a day by car problems, we were in a rush to make up for lost time. We definitely look forward to better quality time with them.

By the time we left Kirk, it was getting late and we were getting tired. The kids had all fallen asleep and me and Greg were barely hanging on. The special soda wasn't helping, the cold brisk air blowing in wasn't helping, conversation and snacking weren't helping, what were we to do? So we turned on talk radio. For some reason having a good conversation on the radio really wakes us up. The only station that came in well was doing this weird show called, "Crypto Zoology". It was all these callers calling in to tell about their personal experiences with big foot (ha, ha Natalie) and the thunderbird. It was hilarious. Supposedly the thunderbird is this enormous pterodactyl-like bird. One guy saw a thunderbird eating a deer on the side of the road and then fly off carrying it. It was fun and funny and it definitely got us through the driving low. And then we were there.

On my side of the fam, we haven’t had everybody all together since my little brother got married some 7-ish years ago. To say that it was great to have us all there would be a major understatement. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face for a couple days. The only problem was that now that the kids who were young when we got married are older, it made for quite the divide age wise and activity wise. It felt like most of my time was spent just dealing with my children instead of being able to really hang out (sound familiar?). Not that I don’t love my kids but it just would have been nice to be all together in a few years when Gavin doesn’t need to be on my person (literally) all the time because stanka won’t take a bottle. So I especially enjoyed the time after bedtime or during naps to just be together and the girls most definitely had so much fun with the pets and with their cousins.

While we were there, we had activities all over the town: we were able to get some shopping in, passed the 10 year mark of our marriage, went to a super fun water park (twice), people shot guns, Greg did laser tag , some went rafting down a river, we put up an enormous tipi in the backyard, kids played on a jumpy house, we picked some cherries and raspberries, the little girls opened up a rock shop and sold some rocks, took some family photos and cooked and cleaned a bunch of enormous meals together.

Here is a little photo passport.

The big tipi. I mean, who puts a tipi in their backyard? So fun. All the boy cousins slept out there together. Tati had a grand ole time "helping" them put the tipi up too. She kept typing knot after knot. The tipi actually was put up twice. Once to learn how to do it and then the second time, once they figured it out. Now pretty much if anybody needs a tipi put up anywhere, just call these guys. After we left, my brother invited the scouts in his ward to come over and sleep in it too.

The water park. It was awesome. It had a fun kid area, plenty of grass to picnic or lay out on, a lazy river and a big slide and deep pool area for older kids. It felt so good to just soak up sunshine. I wished that I wasn't so flabby and white but you have to start somewhere and the great thing about being with family is that they always think you look great. We ended up going there twice because it was so much fun. The second time only half of us went because the other half went rafting. We opted out of rafting because of our small baby and the long drive to get there. I think the kids enjoyed our decision.

All in all I needed a few more days to be together because I still didn't feel like I got to spend enough time with everybody. Only one more vacation post to go!

Storytelling

I was babysitting this little girl today and while all the kids were coloring, I hear Tati telling her about life in our family.

"Last morning, Gavin was eating off Mommy's nibble. And Mommy was saying 'Ow!'. Funny huh?"

Ore-gone!

We took the second leg of our trip in Oregon. Unfortunately, we continue to be plagued with cold and rainy weather. It was great to finally see most of the Meltons. We stopped at Greg’s brother’s house the first night and then saw 2 sisters, his dad and another brother the following day. We did a lot of stuff in Oregon.

The Lake

Our brother-in-law, Dave, works for the city parks here so he was able to reserve this huge, awesome park with lake access and a beach so we piled up like a million things and spent the day picnicking and swimming and (gross), watching the children dig in and put mud all over their bodies as if it was sand. The cousins had a fantastic time together and it was so thrilling for our girls, especially to spend time with so many other kids. They especially loved having their bigger cousins hang out with them. It was like having 4 extra mothers around. I loved it too. The one extra we didn’t love was the dumb dog, Bono—although as much as I don’t want to admit it, he did sort of endear himself to us—maybe just out of pity at how idiotic he is. The girls thought he was great, even if they did call him Bruno most of the time. There were a few fights and injuries among the cousins and the dog but over all, they loved him. It was such a warm and beautiful day on the lake. Perfect weather. It was low 80’s with a nice breeze. It was great to finally just chill and hang out. I even had a chance to soak up some sun but I did put sunscreen on. It was funny how everybody had to comment on how pale we were. Hello, great WHITE north. Haven’t you heard of it?

Please note Tati looking just like Voldemort here. Also, please prepare yourself for collage city.

And here is Dave in all his glory.

And what family outing would be complete without Tati being a coo-koo?

We were also able to go to THE OCEAN! I was so excited and so were the girls. Greg isn’t really a water person so he wasn’t as excited. I haven’t been to the beach in way too long. Sadly, it was a cold and rainy day but we went for it anyway and we even lucked out with the rain clearing after a few hours.

Beach Combing

We walked a long for a while just picking up shells and crab claws in the wind and drizzily rain. It was super humid and freezing but after a while we got used to it. The funny thing was that the ocean water didn’t really feel that cold because it was warmer than the air. The funny part was for how cold and drizzly it was outside, the water actually felt warm. I wished I had brought extra clothes because I probably could've been convinced to get in the water. Mark offered but he was going to wear a wet suit. So not a fair playing field! I had to remind myself that when we got married in July, part of our honeymoon was driving up the California coast and the Oregon coast and it was so cold that I had to wear a sleeping bag to go sit by the water. So I guess it isn’t that different than it was then. My father-in-law said that late August was the warmest time on the coast. It was fun watching the girls pick up crushed shells or pieces of shells and be so excited about them. They found like 1/3 of a sand dollar and were so excited just to see one in real life. It was really sweet.

Can you see Gavin's little head sticking out of my jacket?

Exploring

There was this awesome beach where a river ran into the ocean. It was so beautiful! The only problem was that because of all the crab claws and severed bodies all over the place, it was pretty stanky and there were tons of flies but as long as you stayed close to the water and kept moving, it wasn’t too bad. After the wet jeans were traded for shorts and the rain stopped, the girls had a much more enjoyable time. It really was just so beautiful there. As annoying as the constant rain is, it does make for a very green and vibrant place.

Light House

Before leaving, we decided to hike up to the lighthouse and get a big overview of the entire coast line. It was such a beautiful hike! There were wild berry bushes growing everywhere (sadly not with any berries ready) and it was so green and full of trees and grass that it almost felt like we were in the tropics. Once we got up top, the girls climbed to the top of the light house and then we looked over at the water and just soaked up the sun and the beauty for awhile. Of course, Tati was just sure she saw at least one mermaid come out of the water and look at us. Then again, she has been seeing mermaids all over the place since we’ve left Canada.

And finally before leaving Oregon, we were able to finally go to Target (tear) and sadly, it isn’t as cheap as I remembered and also just spend some good, quality time together with family eating, BBQ-ing, watching movies (and movies) and of course, what good vacation would be complete without a little car trouble to add some excitement to your final day in town?

And just in case you're thinking Gavin didn't have any fun, check these out. That is his super cute cousin, Bella, sharing her beloved Jessie doll with him.

So the big question, would we want to end up in Oregon after Greg gets a job. The short answer is no. Having 9 months of rain and clouds is only a small step up from having 9 months of snow and cold. Although, it is beautiful there and when the sun is out, it is one of the nicest places I’ve been to. We’ll just have to visit our family there more often!

Ewok Village

Day 2 in Vancouver was awesome! It had rained all night so we were worried our trip to the Capilano Suspension Bridge would be ruined but it actually made it so it was quite enjoyable because it wasn't too hot. We also hoped it would make it less crowded, but we were wrong about that one. If you've ever been to Disneyland, this is kind of what it felt like. There were so many people speaking a bunch of different languages. That part was cool. It felt like a deluxe version of the Swiss Family Robinson tree house; another cool part. The part that wasn't so cool was feeling like we were on this people conveyer belt. Every time we wanted to take a picture, there was somebody who had to stop and wait for us and there definitely was a lot of pressure to keep moving. Because you're in such close proximity to all these people, it is quite common to ask other people to take your picture. That is always hilarious because of the varying types of people and camera skills that come along with those people. It just makes the vacation memories all the better.

This picture was taken by an old lesbian lady who Chloe and I stood in line for the bathroom with. I didn't know she was a lesbian at the time but as I was waiting outside of the bathroom for my turn, I was also having a heart to heart with Chloe about how the women's bathroom line is always long and the men's bathroom line is always short and how she just needed to get used to it. Chloe was asking me all these questions like, "Why is the line so much shorter for boys?" and "Do they just pee faster?" And I was trying to answer all her questions the best I could. Meanwhile, this lady had jumped in with these funny comments about how it was so unfair and how businesses and places should "wise up" and get more bathrooms for women and less for men. Anyway, afterwards, she joined up with her girlfriend and the girlfriend was like, "What took you so long?" and the other one answered about how the line was so long and the men's room was so short and blah, blah. Anyway, they were very nice and I hope for my bladder that they succeed on spreading this message of more women's bathrooms in touristy places.

The forest was spectacular. I've never seen something like this in real life. It looked a lot like the Ewok's planet (which I'm pretty sure was filmed in Northern California). It was just trees and trees and trees everywhere. It was so green and then we were also overlooking a river. It was unbelievable just how cool it was. Even though it was crowded, we all had an amazing time.

I don't know exactly what kind of trees these were but they were so big and awesome. It reminded me of when I was little and we went to see General Sherman (the big Sequoia tree).

Anyway, so this is the actual bridge, complete with a random's face.

It was pretty freaky because you're so high up and so many people were walking on it so the bridge was moving all over the place and it is too wide to have a hand on either side of the bridge so you just have to hold on for dear life with one hand (while you're holding your child's hand b/c they are too short to reach the railing) and then you have to let go every time you get to a notch or cable. The kids kept switching to be with me and Greg and it was so making me nervous. I was just certain that the bridge never had so many people on it at the same time and was going to snap. By the time we got to the other side, I was so dizzy and not looking forward to the return trip. So if you do walk this bridge, be advised that you need to do some mental preparation.


Once you get to the other side of the bridge, there are all these trails you can take to hike but the fun part is the hikes are either on the ground or else in the tree tops. Obviously, we chose to walk in the trees. It was so fun. The one down fall is that it was much like Ikea in that once you start on the path, you can't get off without making it to the end. Looking back now, I am so grateful that Tati didn't have to pee because I don't know what we would've done.


When we finished our tree hike, we decided to do something crazy. This is called the "Cliff Walk" and it was the portion of our day at this forest that I enjoyed the most. This walkway jets out above the forest canopy. It is held by cables and is surprisingly not scary at all because it didn't wobble like the suspension bridge did. It felt so nice to be on stable ground after hours of wobbling.

There is something similar in the Grand Canyon or so we've heard.

And here is the one courtesy shot of Gavin. Poor baby had a hoodie over his face most of the day because I forgot his hat in the car. We finally took his hoodie off after the tree trails and then he fell asleep so I don't know how much he actually saw during the day but the awesome baby never complained about anything.

And how's this view of the forest? Tati is wearing her backpack with a leash to keep her safe.

This was at the end of the walk. Doesn't it look awesome? It reminded me of Jurassic Park. There were misting machines but it was quite humid so I bet it gets like this sometimes w/o the help of sprinklers.

Honestly, Vancouver is the bomb. I could've easily spent a few more days there. So beautiful! And in summary, you should definitely go here. Awesome, awesome, awesome.

Vancouver Aquarium

We are a family of total water women. We love to get wet and we love the ocean. Gavin is still undetermined and if you know Greg, you know that he is super anti-water. So since it is at least 3 to 1 here, I generally am in charge of making any waterish plans. Anyway, when I knew we'd be driving by Vancouver, I insisted we go to the aquarium. I'm not going to lie and say it was super awesome because it was a bit small and lame BUT for a family with three small children, it was perfect. We wouldn't have had the time or energy to conquer a park any bigger than this one. I look forward to one day taking them to the Monterey Bay Aquarium or to Sea World (even though I always feel guilty for enjoying myself there).

We set off early from Kamloops and then stopped at the Vancouver temple to use the bathroom and have some lunch. We knew we needed to get rid of any hungry crankies before we forced everybody to walk around for hours and hours. The temple was beautiful and the grounds were amazing. Vancouver is just so beautiful. It is like nowhere I've seen before. It is so lush and full of trees and flowers. Plus it was so sunny and beautiful! Apparently that isn't always the case so we totally lucked out.


Here are some of our favorite pictures at the temple:

Here we are pre-aquarium eating at the picnic grounds next to the Vancouver temple. It was so pretty.

Look at these cute, blue eyes.

Photo courtesy of Chloe*
*
* For some reason when her sister is taking the photo, Tati will do whatever she is told. Of course.

After we were done, we got stuck in traffic and red lights galore and finally made it to the aquarium. The girls could barely keep it together because they were so excited. They had a total blast. Here are some of our favorite pics.

We gave Chloe our old, crappy camera and she had a blast taking pictures of everything. I had to include a picture of her. When I showed her the different camera modes, she went nuts. Very fun.

Ha, ha, we watched this 4-D movie. It was cool and weird. Like you're riding on a boat and suddenly the waves are splashing and then this mist machine turns on and you feel the water. Gavin ended up crying so Greg left and then we had to leave early because the electric eels were zapping us and Chloe was about to have a heart attack. Meanwhile, Tati was laughing at the eels and their electricity. These girls.

They had a whole Pacific dolphin show and the girls LOVED IT!

There was a small touch tank there. I was glad the girls got to get their mitts on something. I wish it would've been more extensive because they would've held starfish and urchins for hours. It was a little disappointing that the tank was so high and they only let the workers do the holding but they loved it anyway.

Chloe was extra excited to touch the urchin because of that scene in Surf's Up. If you've seen the movie, you know what I'm talking about.

Belugas are weird. Their whiteness coupled with their weird heads just makes me uncomfortable. Plus, their "show" sucked. It was just a bunch of propaganda about global warming and then at the end one of the belugas spit water out of her mouth.


The jellyfish section was awesome. They had some of all sizes. The girls ate this part up. Very a la Finding Nemo.

At the end, we sat outside the aquarium and had a picnic dinner in the beautiful park there. The big thrill was when a racoon came out of the bushes and tried to steal our food. I was sitting feeding Gavin, Greg and Tati had gone to the bathroom and Chloe was packing up the meal and this raccoon just kept walking up towards her and the food. She was so scared and trying to be so brave and helpful all at the same time. It was hilarious. And intense.

On our way out, we drove across the street to see the ocean and there was this trashy shore with litter and broken up shells and the girls had the best time just picking up bits of shells. Tati especially was so happy because she according to her has always wanted to have a real shell from the ocean. She was cute. Chloe's mussel even still had live barnacles on it.

There is just something about sunset over the ocean that takes all your cares away! Wait until you see where we're going to next!

British Columbia

(Note to reader: For the next few days, I'll be posting stuff from our big trip. I typed most of it on the road so the time periods in the writing might be off. Just go with it because I don't want to fix past tenses.)

We finally got out to start our big vacation across Canada and some of the northwestern states. We were barely just a few hours outside of Edmonton when things finally started to dry off and get amazingly beautiful. It was a full day of scenic driving through Jasper National Park and then to Mount Robson. We haven’t seen mountains in forever so it was a good feeling inside to be around the trees, and the views and of course, for me, all the rivers and lakes. This trip has been full of firsts: our first drive across Canada, first wild bear sighting (as a family), first time seeing a grown up pick his nose and eat it. [It was our housekeeper at our first motel. I was sitting in the car with the kids waiting for Greg to get our motel key and we were just all staring at this guy hauling sheets and towels to the laundry when he went for the dig. The funny part was how we all reacted at the same time, audibly in our car, and I was surprised that the dude didn’t even hear us. Funny. On the positive note, I guess we won’t have to worry about any troll bogies on our sheets (slurp!)] and first time to the west coast of Canada.

The kids have been great travelers. The big ones have been mostly entertained by looking out the windows and also watching movies. It has also been thrilling for them to see different wild life and scenery. Gavin has been a dream, angel baby. He only cries when he is hungry and then we pull over to feed him and let everybody stretch their legs. Other than that, he just coos at Chloe in the back seat and plays with his little toys. It has felt wonderful to be all together and frankly this is probably one of the most needed vacations ever.

Check out some of our awesome nature photos!

These bears made me a little bit mental because when we stopped to feed Gavin and nature pee, I was just certain that a bear was going to come out and attack us. Greg thought it was so humorous. If only, we all did.

Our motel after our first day of driving had an outdoor pool and all the girls needed to do was see it and that’s all they could talk about. Normally the idea of swimming sounds super fun to me but it had been raining all day and was still a little cloudy so by the time we had unpacked and eaten dinner, honestly the last thing either me or Greg wanted to do was swim in a cold pool so we decided to go lifeguard mode. That meant that Daddy put on his bathing suit but would only jump in in the case of emergency. The pool wasn’t that deep and both girls can swim pretty well with a noodle. Besides, in the end, Tati only really stayed on the stairs which was fine with us. They also only lasted about 20 minutes and then the shivering overtook their bodies. Ha, ha. We also stuck little Gavin’s footies in the water (his first pool experience) and honestly it was hilarious because he had zero reaction. Then we all showered and let the kids lay in bed and watch Masterchef with me and Greg until they both fell asleep. They are having a great time!