Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving came a week early for the Fullmer family.  It fit all of our schedules and meant that we could  see John and Audi before they moved to Virginia.  As it worked out, it wasn't a good weekend to take my whole family to Utah but it was a great time for me to hang out with nine of my ten siblings.

As usual, there was an abundance of food, games, laughter, stories, and plenty of reminiscing until the wee hours of the morning.  Watching all of the cousins play together made me wish that my little boys were in on all the silliness.  Then Max came walking into the room wearing a coconut purse as a bra while chanting "coconuts, coconuts".

I was glad it wasn't my little boys who had corrupted sweet Max.  They'd have him playing with guns or swords, even if the "weapons" were actually Barbie batons or a plunger.

A week later we had our own family Thanksgiving.  It was the first time that we had just our family, no extended family, missionaries, no friends or neighbors over.  Though I have loved having big group Thanksgiving dinners it was wonderful to have our own family all together.  Having Levi with us and having Bret and Erika come a day early to help make food and spending a couple of nights with us like they lived out of town made it seem like we were really transitioning to a new stage of life with older and married kids.  

The only picture that I took was of Hyrum working so hard to make the drink.  He wanted to do something all by himself and was so proud that he was strong enough to lift the heavy bottles of juice and soda and pour it all by himself without spilling.  Each time someone took a drink they praised Hyrum and he soaked up the love.

While the rest of us played games or took naps LeRoy caught his own little snooze on the couch.  Erika had been making all of us feel the inside of her new hat so for some extra comfort LeRoy stuck it over his head and didn't give it back until his nap was over because it was so soft.  

She quit sharing her hat after that.

On Friday morning after Thanksgiving we all slept in having spent the night staying up late playing games and watching movies.  Everyone wandered out of bed and had breakfast some time around noon.   

LeRoy and I watched a new TV series that we got on DVD for our Anniversary.  Nathan was on an adventure with a book, Derek played guitar until he fell asleep and Justin spent a little quality time with Oliver watching Hyrum. After wearing himself out as a super hero, Hyrum took a nap on the floor with Oliver. Levi decided they needed a little more excitement than that and offered to take Daymia, Justin, Bret and Erika to I-Jump in Idaho Falls. (Derek was invited but didn't want to go)

If I wasn't so worried about injuring myself I might also find it fun to jump into a pit of foam.  At this stage in my life, I'm content to watch my kids do it.  They were picking foam pieces out of their hair and clothes for the rest of the day.  

Vivien's 18th Birthday

What I really wanted to do for Vivien's birthday was put myself on a plane to go see her but that was a little out of the budget, even for an 18th birthday.  Instead, the kids and I put together a party in a box.  We included the gifts, the cake, and the activity.

In July, Vivien sent me a picture of a cake that looked like the American flag and told me that was what she wanted her birthday cake to look like.  Though I couldn't send an actual cake I did send a sugary, flat replica of one.  Though it was all edible when I made it (corn syrup makes great glue), I'm sure it was pretty solid and would break teeth if she had tried to eat any of it.  I had complete confidence that she would not attempt to eat it because she lives a much healthier lifestyle than the high fructose corn syrup Americans.

For the activity the boys put in glow stick masks and jewelry as well as glow in the dark fingernail polish.  We figured since she was already hanging out with her friends at night in the closed playground that they could all do it while glowing and spark some UFO rumors. If a security camera happened to spot them their glowing masks would protect their identity.  It might not be quite as much fun as playing Bang in the Rexburg Walmart but it was the best we could do for an activity shipped overseas.

For the gifts we put in some slippers that looked like shoes.  Her shoe addiction is so strong that we knew it would be a hit.  We also included a "wreck this journal" book which had ideas of things to put on the pages (like taping gum wrappers or tearing a page out to make an airplane or writing a list of what is under the bed).  And finally, we gave her a yearbook of her ten months spent in America.  The only frustration I had with that was that there were no new pictures to include.  All of the pictures of Vivien with our family have stopped.  We have new ones of her in Slovakia and new ones of us in Idaho but none of us together.  Hopefully, we can have a couple of months in the summer to make new memories, take new pictures and do another yearbook.

Shortly after her birthday Vivien was admitted to a hospital in the mountains for a couple of weeks.  Unlike our American hospitals, there was not a private room waiting for her with hours of quiet and TV.  She was in a room full of kids (nearly all of them younger that her) where she endured many sleepless, interrupted nights, volumes of noise and a major lack of privacy in the public bathrooms.  They had school time, music time, walks outside and all of the blood tests, breathing tests, annoying tests that any one person should ever endure.  I was so glad that I could keep in touch with her via texting.  Most of the time she just wanted to go home but near the end of her stay she had made a couple of friends.

She and one of those friends broke into an office to find a chair, snuck into the kitchen to get a knife to mix the hair color with and colored their hair in the bathroom.  Not what I had imagined her doing in a hospital but I'm glad she found/made some fun.

Finally, she was released, more tests were done and she has actually had a few weeks of feeling better.  Healthy (non-American) food, swimming, yoga and her own room have been good for her.  Unfortunately, she missed most of the first semester of school and has spent the last month trying to catch up and just as the new semester has started she has been sick again.

I miss her!  I miss her laugh, her smile, hearing her down in her room, seeing her shoes in the mudroom.  I miss that look across the table that we would share when the boys were being ....boys.  I miss seeing her hanging out with her brothers and all the craziness and laughter that it caused.  I miss our light chatter and silliness sitting in the family room with both of us working on our computers or reading while the guys watched a guy movie.  

Halloween 2012

October 31st was pretty low key for Halloween this year. We didn't even squeeze in time to gut any pumpkins. However, the month was full of dress up and imagination.  I had purchased a couple of costumes on clearance last year and pulled them out around the first of October.  Hyrum was in hero heaven!  

He was pretty convinced that if he was Whyatt and had a book he could solve any problem. 

He asked for a puppy because Whyatt recently got a new puppy.
I suggested that he teach Harrison or Oliver how to bark.

We didn't do any Halloween decorating around our house because I was too lazy Bret and Erika were having a competition 

at their apartment complex and we sent a bunch of stuff over there.

  

They won a gift certificate to a restaurant and many compliments from neigh"boo"s.

Originally Nathan was going to be Spiderman just like Hyrum

But then he changed his mind because "I'm Spiderman everyday" and decided last minute to go as "karate boy".  Because he was having a hard time making up his mind, I resisted the urge to inform him that he is karate boy twice a week and many other days as well.

My favorite part of Halloween was watching Hyrum.  He would put on those puffy muscles and hide behind that mask and suddenly he was invincible.  He would not respond to his own name and would bounce off of furniture spinning his webs.  He even insisted that he wear his costume any time we went anywhere.  During one of Nathan's Tae Kwan Do practices he was oblivious to all of the people watching him as he dramatically acted out his imagination.

Showers

Erika's Bridal Shower

August 2nd

Erika has watched her brothers attend d'Evegnee parties, seen pictures of d'Evegnee parties and heard her mom admire d'Evegnee parties so for her bridal shower she really wanted a Sarah d'Evegnee party.  It was even more than she expected and was a perfect reflection of Erika.

When we got the invitation in the mail Erika was so excited because it completely fit her personality.  

The food was fabulous!  

The way Sarah had the party set up was perfect for Erika.  She doesn't like to be the center of attention and have all the focus on her and she was worried about giving the right reactions to the gifts she would open so when Sarah told us how it would work it took the pressure off of Erika.  We played a game that let us learn about each other, from each other and give our gift to Erika.  It broke it up with laughter, a few tears and included all of us as the spotlight and Erika was able to really enjoy it.

We all left with a party bag.  Our favorite was the bookmark that Sarah had made. 

Thank you, Sarah!!!

Kate's Baby Shower

September 1st

During my planning time for the wedding I would have these overwhelming moments that would temporarily suck the fun out of it.  My refreshing relief was in planning a baby shower for Kate and Brooklyn.  It gave me a different set of colors and ideas to pour over and the excitement over a baby girl for Kate was just the mental and emotional high I needed to get back into party mode.

I had so much fun doing a full set of monthly onesies for Brooklyn, cutting out and gluing small pieces for the invitation, making a diaper motorcycle and planning the game, prizes and food.  It felt great to have fabric and paper crafts scattered all over.

The food was delicious!  We could not go wrong with Zuppa salad, a personal made Panini and fruit.  The game was fun!  Baby Bunko got everyone talking, playing and laughing.  The gifts showered clothes, diapers and baby essentials over Kate.

I love this picture!  It looks like Kate is wearing the outfit and she is so tiny.  Completely opposite of how she felt only a couple of weeks before Brooklyn's birth date.

Baby Brooklyn

B & E . . . the Receptions

Thornton, Colorado
August 18th

Our night at Kate and Mike's house went by way to fast. We always love staying there!  The next morning we loaded up our luggage as well as the wedding stuff and headed to Colorado.  The trip seemed to go fast since we were marking the hours in terms of movies. The older boys were lost in time with their ipod games.  When I put on Tangled I noticed that Levi, Derek and Justin had all set their ipods down and were just as mesmerized by the movie as the little boys were.

There is no shortage of crazy when traveling with the Edwards Boys!

The reception in Colorado was beautiful!  Jill had everything under control when we got there and all we needed to do was smile and meet people and, according to Nathan and Hyrum, eat cake and ice cream.  Again, Cory, Meg and Katie took in the little boys and it was a fun party for all of us.

Unfortunately, my camera died and I only got a couple of pictures at the reception.

And then I got one with my phone.

Nathan was a very entertaining door greeter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rexburg, Idaho
August 25th

In preparation for the casual backyard reception that Erika wanted I used my new skills gained during a couple of late night training sessions with Sarah d'.  I figured that if we could get through the 50 or so t-shirts that we did for her family reunion that the fifteen t-shirts that we needed would be a breeze.  Sarah cut all of the contact paper for us and then I passed my crafting knowledge on to each of the boys.  I had initially planned to get it all done with Sarah but the boys were excited to do their own (and some of the Hellbusch) t-shirts.  Everyone wanted to do Ron's t-shirt (Bret's dad) because it said "Give 'em Hellbusch" and they thought it was pretty cool.

The idea of the t-shirts is that ours had our nicknames from Erika on them.  Bret's family each chose what they wanted their shirts to say.  Even though Aaron, Cory, Megan and Katie weren't going to be here we wanted to do shirts for them.

I was very excited to do the treats for the reception.  Erika and I spent hours pouring over Pinterest to find exactly what she wanted.  My stubborn nature took over and I turned down all the help offered to me by friends.  It's not a secret that Erika has pretty much pushed me away for the last 4 years and I was thrilled that she wanted me to do this for her and was spending time with me to plan it.  I wanted it to be all from me.  However, I misjudged how long it would take for me to pull off the whole thing and I didn't count on having a  major headache on the days leading up to the party.  Still, I determined not to let anyone know how I felt physically because emotionally I was so ready and willing to do it all.

Kara saved me.  With the party set for Saturday I had all the arrangements for backdrop, dress, tables, chairs, dishes and foods all planned but when I started making it all, still wanting it to be fresh for Saturday, I realized I was in over my head.  Still, my stubborn self wanted to do it all.  I don't know if Kara read more into our phone conversation than I thought I let on but she decided to come a couple of days early.  I could not have pulled it off the way I had wanted to without her help.

She helped me finish the 200 cake pops and 200 truffles, which could be done a little early, and then she saved me from my own insanity as we did all of the other treats.  She even took random pictures like me doing my hair shortly before it started.  Most of Saturday morning was a blur because my headache was so bad and I had pretty much overdosed on anything to numb it and was still hiding it from as many people as I could.

Little did I know that Heavenly Father had things all arranged to save me from my own stubbornness.  I had a general idea of how I wanted the tables set up and the backdrop done but by Saturday I had to let go.  I needed to let those who had offered to help to completely take over and they were so great to run with it. I wanted to hug Kara, Sarah, and Michelle and bawl my eyes out when they came to my rescue.  But, I had shut off emotions at that point and determined that I would do everything I could to make it a perfect day for Erika. That probably translated to a lack of appreciation for Kara, Sarah and Michelle but I sincerely love those girls and am so thankful for them!  They saved the day, the party and my stubborn hiney.

Sarah showed up earlier in the day with a smoothie, which I think was the only thing I ate besides meds and a few vegetables that Kara handed to me throughout the day. Sarah and Kara put together the tables for the desserts, smores, drinks and gifts.  They made it look better than I had imagined in my head.  It all looked so pretty together!

When Michelle randomly called to see if she could come over early to take pictures and begged to help with set up I realized that I was not in charge at all and offered a prayer of gratitude accompanied by a few tears.

Derek used his carpenter skills to get the backdrop to stay up standing on uneven grass and fighting the Rexburg winds.  Michelle worked her boutique magic to make it all come together.

The "formal" side of the backdrop
Derek cut and sanded the cake top puzzle couple
I made the cake, including free handing all those chocolate puzzle pieces
Grandma Fullmer made the beautiful bouquet

The "fun" side of the backdrop
Crochet Bouquet made by Michelle Ray
Skittles and containers provided by Sarah d'
Kitchen cake put together by Kara and Kimber

The idea behind the back drop came from a poem that Erika wrote her freshman year called "Picture Perfect".  It was written out of desperation to be who she is while others expected her to fit into the perfect picture frame that society had created for her.  When Michelle told me about doing a trash-the-dress photo session I had to have her explain in detail what that was.  I knew immediately that it would be perfect and from there the backdrop idea blossomed.

The formal side is what everyone expects.  The beautiful white dress, the temple, a formal ceremony.  She did want that part and it turned out as princess as she wanted it to be but it did not reflect all of who Erika really is so she wanted her wedding party to show off her relationship with Bret and the fun people that they are.  The fun side covered that.  The thrift shop dress and suit after the paint party, the crochet bouquet, the puzzle picture, the kitchen cake and the colorful Skittles all seemed to showcase the unique, spontaneous, colorful kids that they are.

Some of my favorites . . .

We had disposable cameras for the kids to take their own pictures with and Korben took that job seriously! We loved watching him push his glasses down so that he could see through the camera to take his pictures and since we had an extra shirt for him he fit in as our backup photographer.

It was so nice to do the whole party in jeans, t-shirts and barefoot!
The boys each loved their shirts and still (5 months later) wear them frequently.

"Sup Shorty" and "Mornin' Lil' Bug" can be heard whenever Derek and Levi wear their shirts and "J-Man" is used on a daily basis.  That's just who Justin is right now.
When Erika shows up in her wedding party t-shirt she is greeted with a loving "hey there, Mrs. Hellbusch".

 I have no idea where Erika learned to frisk her man's booty


Instead of cutting into the cake (they didn't want to eat it then because they had been snacking on the party goodies) they decided they needed something a little less sweet.  There were some leftover chicken nuggets from when we fed the kids before the party started (thank you Kellie and Kate for thinking of that and making sure my little boys were fed).

So, to top off the party and complete the backdrop theme

they have pictures of feeding each other chicken nuggets instead of the traditional cake.

Hyrum was the after party.

While Bret and Erika opened gifts, Hyrum danced around with his ribbon "bra bras" (we have yet to figure out where he came up with that).  He did a slinky dance and kept singing "miracles happen" from Princess Diaries.  The fact that he had been eating sugary treats throughout the part, had not had a nap in days, was wound up playing with cousins and it was close to 10pm probably had something to do with this random show of entertainment.

After several hours of coma like sleep, a hangover day to let the drugs run their course through my body and some quiet time in my brain, my headache started to clear.  Erika came in and gave me a huge hug and thanked me over and over again for the party.  It was exactly the backyard neighborhood party that she had hoped for while still showing off a little of the wedding side of things.  The headache, chaos, stress, strain on the budget and all other inconveniences of pulling it all together were immediately washed away as I spent time listening to Erika relive the entire past week and telling me all of her favorite parts.
I think my heart "grew three sizes that day".

B & E . . . the Wedding Day

(That's Bret & Erika, not breaking and entering)

August 16th, 2012

I have put off writing about this day because I cannot form an adequate sentence to describe the beautiful experience that it was.  Even if I included all 904 pictures the blessing and emotions of the day would not come through.  And, how am I supposed to select only a few pictures to include in the family album?

Watching my daughter marry someone that is so good to her and for her and who brings out the very best in her was most definitely one of the top highlights of my life.  Witnessing their marriage in the temple was a magical moment as they, through covenants made to each other and to God, became their own eternal family unit.  I have never seen Erika so calm or peaceful (no bouncing leg, twiddling fingers, playing with hair or fidgeting). 

Erika went to Utah a couple of days early to meet up with Bret and his family.  They had to get a Utah marriage license and also wanted to meet up with Mike and Kate to have some pictures taken while the temple grounds were a little (or a lot) less crowded.  Poor Bret had been driving all day long from Colorado and then had to put on a suit and look awake for pictures.  

Thanks, Mike and Kate! 

Erika stayed with Mike and Kate for the couple of days leading up to the wedding.  Kate worked her girly magic on Erika's thin straight hair not only once but twice!  It took hours on her feet which couldn't have been very good for her swollen feet, puffy hands, bulging belly-button hernia or her eight-month-pregnant body.  She paid a big price to spoil her niece on her big day.  

I chose this picture knowing that Kate is a bit sensitive about pregnant pictures (the rest of us think she is one of the most adorable pregnant women ever!) and because I love Erika's expression....."I'm getting married today!!!!"  We heard that several times that morning.

While the women worried about hair and clothes and the actual time, the boys were good to entertain themselves.  No stress on their part.  Put on their "church" clothes and get in the car.  Easy peasy.

It was a really good thing they had their individual time for pictures a couple of days earlier because the day of the wedding was beyond crowded and crazy though all of it was a joyful crazy.  When they chose to be married on a Thursday we thought it would be less crowded than say, a Friday or Saturday.  Evidently, it doesn't matter what day of the week it is at the Salt Lake Temple.  They had over 100 weddings scheduled for Bret and Erika's special day (it was exactly nine months from their official first date).

We did have a few minutes for some family shots but not a whole lot of time to pose or chat while having pictures taken.  

After a few group shots and before we were shuffled off the stairs for the next group, Michelle was able to catch a few candid shots.  One of my favorites is of LeRoy and Erika. 

He has given her a goodnight on the forehead since she was a baby, clear up until the last night that she lived at home.  As he gave her this kiss he was completely choked up with emotion.  The last month had been hard on him emotionally even though he was excited for her and completely approves Bret.  After all, she is his little girl.

As we were looking through pictures a few days later, the one of Levi and Erika seemed to capture the highlight of my day.  It was wonderful to be in the temple with Bret & Erika.  I don't want to take anything away from that experience.  But, that joy was multiplied as we met up outside with all of our kids . . . our eternal family. 

We weren't sure if Levi was going to come to the temple or to Colorado for the reception with us but when Erika personally invited him he decided to come to all of it.  When I saw them hugging and laughing like best friends, I couldn't hold my tears back any longer.  What a beautiful moment to see my children love each other and cheer for each other and support each other.  

Most of the group headed to the park where we were going to have a picnic while Michelle, Bret and Erika stayed a little longer to get some pictures.  Kara stayed behind as moral support for the mother of the bride. (Really?  I'm the mother of the bride?) I stayed to pack the camera bag for Michelle and to help Erika change out of her dress once pictures were done. Grandma & Grandpa Fullmer were our designated drivers . . . I was to drunk on happiness to drive in Utah.

It was pretty obvious when they were ready to be done with pictures

Then it was time for a picnic.  

Bret's parents had Cafe Rio catered for us at the park.  The food was great, the company was the best!  We already knew that we liked Bret's family but after having some playtime together it was like we had known each other for years.

Cory had his skateboards with him and was so patient to teach Nathan and Hyrum.  They followed him around the entire time we were at the park. Megan and Katie stayed close by to offer hugs when they scraped their knees and fingers.  When it was time to leave the boys didn't want to come with us.  They wanted to go with Cory, Megan and Katie.

After our early dinner we all went our different ways with plans to meet up in Colorado the next day.

We headed over to Kellie's to play in the pool for a while. The boys had a great time!

  

Nathan finally got up the courage to put his face in the water and was even able to stay underwater for a record 8 seconds.  Not bad at all for a boy who is afraid to have water even splashed in his face in the tub.

Hyrum loved jumping in the water to Kellie.  He isn't afraid of water at all and actually had to be rescued as he bobbed up and down in the water, not realizing that he had gone deeper than he should have.

Derek and Justin had fun goofing off with their cousins (sliding off the sides into the water like a walrus) and took turns watching out for the younger kids. 

By the time we got to Mike and Kate's for the night we were completely worn out!  

It was perfect day!