Last week my little brother Brayden returned from his mission in London, England. I made the kids a countdown the last couple weeks. They were able to rip a chain link off each day. It helped them get really excited. My kids haven't been able to really get to know my brothers because of missions and since we lived in Nebraska. Lily had only met Brayden once.
I got in my craft mode and made a few things for his homecoming. We were able to re-use some signs from Matt returning last summer. I made a poster with the England flag. I had to do most of it free hand and it made for an interesting night. I was able to use my Cricut Explore for the rest. I recently got the the new one. It made my cutting out flow so much better. I am in love with the new machine. Good bye to reseting my machine after every cut! :) I also made a burlap bunting and found England burlap. I was so excited!
Back to my brother, my dad got a text from a random guy at one of Braydens layovers. He saw my brother and another missionary, took a picture and then sent it to the parents! It was fun to get a picture of him on his way home. His flight didn't get in until 7:10. Bryson stayed back for mutual, so my sister rode in my car. We were able to fit 6 carseats and two double strollers in my minivan. I loved it! We were notified that his flight was landing early. We were hurrying so fast. After running it, we sat and waited. Everyone made it on time. It was so fun to watch him come down the escalator. My mom ran up and gave him a hung. All the grandkids quickly followed. While Brayden was gone, he had 5 more nieces and nephews! 5! Our family is growing like crazy. Lots of new people to meet. My sister in law Rachael (who didn't have a kid while he was gone) was holding Graham. My brother Brett convinced Brayden that Graham was theirs. Brayden {in his english accent} said "Did I miss something?" It was funny. Lily wouldn't give Brayden a hug because he was "Akoy's Uncle Brayden" not hers....??? After the airport we went and got ice cream. Unfortunately the flu was going around ALL the family and Lily started throwing up on the way home. Luckily, Brooke was able to catch most of it so it didn't get all over the car. (most spread flu. Seriously 95% of my family {31 people!} all got it. Bryson and I rarely catch bugs like that and it is now working its way around brysons family)
Through out the rest of the week, we just spent lots of time with the family. My little brother Bryson was supposed to go through the temple. So he was ordained an Elder and got his recommend. Since Brooke is in town, we wanted everyone to do a session together. Who knows when we will all be together again. We had something going on every day. Saturday came for the temple and everyone had babysitters. Apparently, he can't go through the temple because he is still in High School! He even had temple prep and a recommend with the stake presidency. So after being bummed out and my mom throwing away all Bryson's undershirts and underwear we decided to go to lunch. It was so nice to have most the family together with out any kids! (Brandon and Margot were sick and Bryson Gregory was camping for Young Mens). During lunch, a guy was trying to figure out why we were all dressed up. He manages a lot of the Cold Stones and told us all to go get free ice cream afterwards. Yummy!
Brayden had his homecoming the following Sunday and it was delightful. His talk was amazing. We had family pictures later that night. We have had a few family pictures taken in our family room or back yard, but this is our first professional one. I'm so excited to get them back. My sister in law, Amanda was so sweet to work with a big group and lots of crazy, cold kids.
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| The kids countdown |
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| During his layover |
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| When you have 3 brothers close together, then you just laminate the sign and reuse it |
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| I know you can't tell, but my brothers are really tall. Range from 6'2'' to 6'7'' |
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| These boys LOVED riding together! |
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| The next day, my brother Bryson was ordained an elder |
