1st Annual Paulson Family Reunion

With our move overseas and planning only one trip home each year, we convinced the family to move their annual trips home from Christmas to summer. It was really fun to get everyone together in the summertime when there are so many more outdoor activity options. My mom was so excited that she planned it like a "proper" family reunion and ordered t-shirts and everything!

Dave had brought a new camera with him when he came and we used that to take most of the pics from the rest of our trip... and then left it beind :( We'll be getting it soon but in the mean time, I'm using the photos my dad was kind enough to send me.

We spent a day at Red Oaks Water Park that all the kids loved. My mom spent the day capturing bees (there were TONS!). Wish I had that pic.

We also had a family photo shoot and got some nice pictures. Don't have them yet.

The boys had tons of fun just hanging out together.

Davey loved playing games with his older cousins

Enjoying some ice cream in the backyard. Enoch is really into it!

Hanging out while Michael made quite a creation!

Unfortunately, one of the Utah folks brought back a bug that we not-so-fondly called "The Sickness." It spread through almost everyone in the whole 21 of us - all staying in my parents house. It was just my parents and Desiree and I who were spared. Fortunatley it didn't kick the kids as hard as it did the adults - but that thing was violent and miserable. By the end of the week I was so scared of it that I walked around everywhere with a canister of Clorox wipes wiping anything I was going to touch or that a sickie had touched. It was almost funny how hard that bug hit us all.

Harmony was awesome to work with my mom to prepare a meal schedule and assignments for everyone to take turns cooking and cleaning. I worked quite well, but mostly thanks to Mom who did so much food prep in advance and was almost always helping in the kitchen. The meals were delicious!

Desiree workin' it with the mango chicken quesadillas

John, Jared, Harmony and Ben ejoying a card game

Our family reunion was so much a "real" family reunion that we even had a talent/skit show. It was so cute to see the kids participating and we had some good laughs!

The kids enjoyed some fun water and bubble play outside...

Charlie provoking Davey

You have to look closely but their faces are so cute and happy

Getting clean after a hard day's play!

Since it was just a few days before Davey's birthday, I thought it would be fun to take advantage of the first time he would be able to celebrate with his extended family and we had a birthday party at Pump-It-Up. The kids had a blast, of course.

It was a good opportunity to all wear our matching reunion shirts.

Davey has always loved people to do things the same and at the same time, like for us all to take a drink or bite at the same time at dinner. So he just loved everyone wearing the same shirt and this is now his all-time favorite shirt. He wears it every chance he gets.

Davey being sung to in the big birthday chair.

Enjoying the Hot Wheels after the party

It was so fun that two of my mom's sisters, Mary and Judy, came for a few days of the reunion. I just don't get to see my aunts and uncles, especially on my mom's side, often enough.

Aunt Mary playing with her grand-nephews. She has always been so much fun.

On the last day of the reunion, we had a barbecue and invited a bunch of neighbors and church friends. We warned them about "The Sickness" and held it outside so they would feel more comfortable coming if they did, and it was so nice to see how many people still came. It's always so nice to connect with old friends.

Hopefully next year we'll all be healthy and can fully enjoy ourselves. I was disappointed that I didn't get to interact more with my little nephews and niece (Isaac, Tommy and Megan) since they were all under the weather and not their playful selves.

I am so looking forward to our next reunion - we had so much fun! Hooray for having such a wonderful family! I love you all!

More Michigan = More Summer Fun!

After we returned from Texas, we had a week and a half more to spend before my siblings and their families started arriving for our family reunion.

Enjoying goodies from the ice-cream truck with Grandma

We enjoyed a visit to Midland to see the boys' great-grandmother Featherly

Davey loved his birthday present of a baseball and bat and football

GiGi and the boys
I think this picture is so cute!

We got together a few times with Amy and her girls and they had fun putting on a singing show for us...

Davey, Ada, Charlie and Lucy on the stage

A small clip of some singing... (I needed more room on my memory card) :(

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

By this point in our trip, the boys and I were really missing Dave. We talked on the phone and on Skype more than usual, but we still really missed him... so it was great when he changed his plane ticket to (unsuccessfully) surprise us 3 days early! We were so happy to be together again.

Lacey also came home a few days before everyone else arrived for the reunion. The boys really enjoyed her company. Lacey even took Davey to see his first movie in a theater and indulged him with popcorn and a huge bag of fruit snacks. He loved it!

Charlie insisted on her holding his hand while in the car, so Davey joined the chain too

Of course, we had to meet up with the Romneys for breakfast at the Pancake House and then was a trip to our favorite Birmingham park.

They have the best astro-turf sledding hill...

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The kids did have fun even though the absolutely wouldn't cooperate for a picture!

A Visit to Katy, TX

One of the highlights of our trip home was a trip to see our friends in Texas. Davey and I had been looking forward to it for a long time. We were graciously hosted by my friend and old neighbor, Mendy.

The flight from Cincinnati, though it was the shortest one we took all summer, seemed to take forever. It was strange. I guess when you expect something to go by quickly, it doesn't! The boys were occupied for a while by the flight safety instruction cards. They just love those things.

Figuring it all out

We arrived on a Saturday night so we were able to attend church and see so many of our friends. Davey just loved going Sunbeams with his old buddies. Charlie got a little teary in nursery but stayed the whole time. He was just old enough to go to nursery then so it was wonderful to get to attend Relief Society meeting.

Our first item of business Monday morning was a visit to our old pediatrician. Charlie was very late on his well-child check-ups since I was nervous to go to a doctor in Bahrain, especially about getting shots here. I had seen terrible infections on kids' arms (apparently they say its normal for whatever shot they give them - luckily that one isn't required for non-Bahrainis) and heard that the nurses are slow with the shots.

Also, Davey had had a bad cough for a while that we needed to get treated. And he ended up on a nebulizer treatment in the office. I was busy talking to the doctor about Charlie and looked over and Davey already had the machine going and these big, scared eyes. But he was a trooper and just sat there.

What is this thing, Mom?

While I was in Katy, I lined up our old babysitter to stay with Charlie at the house while he napped so I could go do things. The first day I made a huge shopping trip to Costco and Wal-Martof things to ship back to Bahrain. Mostly anti-bacterial wipes, Oatmeal Squares cereal and healthier on-the-go snacks for the kids that either just aren't available here or are way too expensive. Also included were vanilla extract, pecans and birthday party gifts (everything is so expensive here there are tons of bday parties to attend).

One of the afternoons we met up with our old friends, Fumie and Roberto. Davey had so much fun playing with Roberto.

Cute boys loving the heavy machinery

Our great friend, Amy, had a baby girl just a couple weeks before we went for a visit, so I really enjoyed getting to catch up with her and seeing her beautiful new baby. And Davey was in heaven playing with his buddy Lauren. They've always played so well together and he really missed her.

Sweet baby Julia

We also had the chance to attend our old playgroup and met up at the park and pools during the week. It was so nice that our friends made so much time for us. They were game for anything we wanted to do. We also had a girls' night out dinner at Lupe tortilla. Yum!

As if we didn't fit enough into the 5 days we were in Katy, we also had an early birthday party for Davey. We sent out the invite only 2 days before the party and everyone except one person came! It was so fun living in Katy because all of my friends had kids Davey's age so all of his friends' moms are my friends.

Kristin, Kim, Jamie, Amy and Alyssa

Fumie, Laetitia and Charlotte

It was crazy getting it all together so quickly and with rain all week, but it was really, really fun and the weather held out for us. We held it at the park and splash pad in our old neighborhood, Pine Mill Ranch.

The boys enjoying the water

Mackenzie had fun pal-ing around with Jace and Kai

Cool fountain

Avery and Lulu

Lauren and Jace

Roberto and Davey

Mendy was so nice to get the cake for him

Ready to sing and dig in!

Happy birthday to Davey!

Sammie, Avery, Lulu and Lauren

Davey's best buddies from Katy

Charlie enjoyed the cupcakes waaaay too much...

He grabbed two and dove in face-first.

Notice the sick, I-ate-too-much-sugar face.

Once we had the party and sang to him, Davey was sure that he was four years old. No matter how many times I told him that it was an early birthday party, he would not be convinced, with is defense being, "But I had a four candle!"

Now, months later, I've finally convinced him, but it is still a big enough deal to him that he loves to recount to adults he meets how, "when I had my birthday party in Katy, Texas, I thought I was four but I really wasn't." Along with telling them about how, "When I was in Ohio, I got mosquito bites."

The next morning we fit in a meetup with the Griffeths and Knies at Pump-it-Up and a quick visit with Dave's old boss Cliff's wife Betty and then it was off to the airport.

It was a wonderful whirlwind of a trip!

Cousins, Cousins, Cousins!

We spent three very fun days with Colter, Kelly and their boys. My boys were in heaven with all the cousins to play with!

One of our excursions was to the Cincinnati Children's Museum. The boys especially loved the water area...

Charlie could barely reach the water "ball" but loved the feel of it

Michael turning the wheel

Davey, Peter and Joseph

Davey and Joseph filling up the dam

Colter & Kelly have a wonderful water park run by the city right around the corner from them. It was great fun!

The water park

Playing with Peter was a favorite of both boys, even two months after we've seen them, they still talk about him often

All of the boys enjoyed some good outdoor time but we ended up with major amounts of mosquito bites!

Joseph and Peter giving some great wagon rides

We also got to attend a fun pack meeting that Colter was in charge of. Joseph and his buddies did a really cute skit based on Goldilocks and it was fun to see him in that role. He did great!

Also, Charlie loved everything Kelly made, which is a huge feat! I need to get more of her recipes.

We love you guys and can't wait to see you again! Thanks for letting us crash your house! :)

Michigan Fun

It was so nice to see my parents and little brother Ben when we got to Michigan. And to be in a beautiful, green environment with fresh, fragrant air. The boys enjoyed lots of time outside and had lots of fun hanging out with Grandma Paulson...

There was lots of water fun

The boys loved playing with the neighbor's hose and their grandsons

Charlie was happy to do nothing but be the hose-holder

We played with Grandma at Great Lakes Crossing, stocked up on shoes at the Stride Rite outlet, and rode the carousel

We also really enjoyed hanging out with my good friend Amy and her girls...

Davey LOVED the water slide at the Troy Community Center

Ada, Lucy and Amy

Some good one-on-one with Grandma making marshmallow men!

A pony ride at Chuck-E-Cheese

As you can see, we had lots of fun just in the first week we were in Michigan. We all adjusted pretty quickly to the time change, with Charlie deciding to continue his usual 5am wake-up time. I had really hoped to adjust that later, as you can imagine.

By the end of the week, though, things got really hard for me as I miscarried our third baby. It happened at only 6.5 weeks, but as you can imagine, there is never a good time to lose a baby. Luckily only a few days later we were off to Cincinnati to see Colter and his family and then on Texas to see our friends and both provided good distraction for me.