Family Reunions

I am so proud of myself, it has been less than a month sine my last post and I am writing again! Yea! I actually have been wanting to update for some time, but it is difficult to do when you are across the country from your home computer.

      Marquette and I went back out to Idaho (yes, only 2 weeks later) for my Durfee and Hiatt family reunions. We had a blast, but I will definitely state that I was more than ready to be home again. After being apart from Derek except for weekends since April 2, and then only getting about 2 weeks total in my home prior to this vacation...I was missing Derek terribly. It is hard to be away from your spouse for so long. You really learn how much you depend on your spouse and thrive off their company, support, and love. My family was great, especially my sister Laurel (she helped me a TON with Marquette. I would have died without her), but it's hard to be away from your better-half.
     Traveling with a baby is tough stuff. But Marquette was honestly a CHAMP for the plane rides both way with minimal crying during landing which I think was caused due to the change in pressure. Valerie picked me up from the airport. It was so good to see her. She let Marquette and me crash at her place for the night and spend the following day with her. We stayed up too late talking, but I loved catching up with her. Her kids are SO cute! Allie is at a really fun stage where she likes to show off and talk your ears off. She seriously is adorable. The Durfee reunion was great as well. It had been 4 years since I had seen more everyone. I got the pleasure of picking Grandma Durfee up 2 out of the 3 mornings of the reunion because Marquette and I slept at my Aunt Joann's house at night so that we could get a good night's sleep. I loved picking Grandma up. We were able to get some good conversation in. I really love her sweet and loving spirit. She is also very social for her age, which is really nice. I love her so much. I miss my Grandpa Durfee too...but I know that he is in a better place where he can be free of his pain. I'm sure he is very happy. The reunion was full of socializing, softball playing (I hit a double hitter, base hit, and made a double-play/out on my own! I was proud of myself considering I have probably held a bat 3 times in my life), staying up too late socializing, swimming at the pool, shooting guns, competitive little games, etc. It was so fun. The only down sides were the extreme heat and Marquette woke up every hour every night due to teething (and I also realized later it was constipation too). I felt really badly for him, but he was seriously the best baby considering how miserable he was.
       In between the reunions Mom, Laurel, Marquette, and I stayed at my Aunt Margie and Uncle Doug's house. Joel went to my Aunt Ginny's to play with some cousins and Dad had to go to work in D.C. It was wonderful to be able to relax and recuperate before the next reunion. We watched movies, napped, and enjoyed catching up with Aunt Margie. Uncle Doug is the Bishop in their ward currently so we didn't see much of him. I am really grateful to have had the opportunity to get to know Aunt Margie even better and have a wonderful place to stay with great food. Marquette also loved all the new toys! :)
       The Hiatt Family reunion was fun as well, but very different paced. My Dad was President (which means he was in charge of the entire reunion) for over 400 people. This meant a very busy time for my family. We tried to help and support him as much as we could. At the Hiatt reunion, almost every hour is planned with some activity. I think this has pros and cons. It's great because there is always something to do, but difficult because it seems as though there is never time to really sit and chat with everyone. This reunion was hotter than the first with temperatures rising into the 100s. Luckily, we borrowed Ross and Donna's camper and so Marquette was able to take naps in it and seek refuge from the heat. We really enjoyed catching up with our close and extended family. I really enjoyed spending time with the Murdocks and Hendershots who I had not seen in years. I loved their company.

                                                        July 4th outfit!!

Chillin with Landon waiting for him to take a bath

Playing on the floor

He grabbed the camera about 0.1 seconds later

Amber, Britain, Marquette, Me and Aunt Julie

My hot siblings

Me and Aunt Julie!

How cute is he?

Marquette with his Great-Grandma Durfee

Marquette loved Aunt Julie. And vice versa

Grandpa Hiatt and Marquette on the dance floor at the Durfee reunion

    Cheri dancing with her fiance Derek (yes, his name is Derek too)

 Splashing in the makeshift bathtub

 "Don't take the picture! I'm naked!"

  By the time we left to go home, Marquette and I were both more than ready to be back in our own home and bed with Derek and Baxter. Now...things did not go as planned. My first flight they took "50 bags of the plane at random due to the plane being 1500lbs too heavy to take off"...I later found out mine was one of them. My second flight was delayed almost an hour...once I arrived I found out my bags were not on the carrier after standing at the carrousel for 25 minutes. I finally found my carseat in some weird place...but my bag was nowhere to be seen. I ended up finding out that I needed to stand in line to see if my bag had arrived on an earlier flight before me. After standing in a line that was literally 100 yards or longer for an hour, I found out that my bag was in SLC, utah. They had to ship it to my house. UGH! Well, my formula was in my bag...and I had only packed enough for the day. So at 2:30am we were driving around looking for a store that would be open so I could feed Marquette in the morning when he would inevitably wake up before the stores opened. I finally got to bed after 3:00am. What sucks is that I was DETERMINED to go home, but as the day wore on I started thinking "maybe I'm not supposed to go home tonight." So I decided to go to bed that night at 3:00am so I could get some sleep before driving 2.5 hours. Well, the next morning I left and about as soon as I got onto the I-75 I started having this feeling like my tire was going to blow out. I immediately started praying and continued to do so for the entire 105 mile drive until I pulled off onto the main road. I wasn't more than a mile off the interstate when my tire gave out. I was going 40 miles an hour maximum instead of the 75-80 on the highway. THANK GOODNESS! The car had no damage (except maybe a little realignment), and Marquette and I were safe. Talk about answered prayers. That would have been awful!

Now we are safe and sound at home. Marquette and Derek are asleep though...so I need to go to bed as it just passed midnight. Goodnight!