Easter 2015

We had such a great Easter weekend!  It went by way too fast and we were kept way too busy but we definitely enjoyed ourselves!  The only thing we missed out on was coloring Easter eggs, that makes two years in a row now, darn it!

This was Luke's very first camping trip, and our first camping trip of the year.  It was also our first time out in the new trailer and we LOVED IT!  It was so nice having all of the extra room, even if we didn't spend very much time in it.  The boys did great!  The played well, ate well and slept well.  Things couldn't have been more perfect!

We headed out west of Nephi to our family camping spot on Friday after I got off work.  We camped with the Kay/Sutherland crew and we all had so much fun.  Tyke immediately covered himself in dirt as soon as we let him out of the truck.  Once Kayson and Swasey showed up then the fun really began.  Those three kiddos have so much fun when they get together!  They were playing trucks, building things in the dirt, throwing dirt, and riding bikes nearly non-stop the entire weekend.  The giggles from them were contagious.  They are the best of friends!  That night for dinner Chad grilled us some bratwursts, and Tyke had a corn dog (yay for microwaves...spoiled, I know).  We sat around the campfire for a while visiting with everyone.  It chilled right off and the kids were getting a little out of control.  They have no fear and kept either wandering out by the trailers or too close to the fire.  I finally rounded them  up and took them in our trailer to watch Finding Nemo.  We had: Luke, Tyke, Swasey, Cache (Hearty), and Kayson.  They had a good, giggling time watching Nemo and eating fruit snacks.  Luke kept his eye on the kids and not the movie the entire time.  They were wild!

The next morning we had our annual potluck breakfast with everyone.  We had yummy french toast, eggs, bacon and sausage, hash browns and fruit.  Tyke gobbled the french toast!  After breakfast and a quick clean up it was time to relax.  Luke and I sat around the camp fire with the other gals in camp while Chad and Tyke got out the rock crawler and gathered a crowd around them playing in the rocks.  It was kind of a funny site to see so many grown men and big kids gather around a remote controlled car.  Everyone anxiously waited their turn to drive it haha.  Luke was such a happy camper and hardly fussed at all!  He loved the new surroundings and watching the family play!

Around noon we loaded up in the truck and headed over the hill for the annual Bowles Easter egg hunt.  We showed up a few minutes late, as always, but it worked out good.  We had Subway sandwiches, pasta salad, 7-layer bean dip and lots of other goodies.  Of course Tyke would only eat Cheetos, silly boy.  After lunch we started the big egg hunts.  These hunts are out of control!  There is mega loot to score: money, candy, toys, movies, etc.  Tyke did awesome this year and knew just how to play this game.  Luke wasn't really that amused.  Both boys did really well and walked away with $10 between the two of them, movies, sand toys, bubbles, and stuffed animals.  There was a second round of egg hunting for the older kids (Callie Jo, Addi, Brooke, etc.) and then a third round for us older kids and spouses.  After searching for eggs we all gathered around "camp" to figure out what we had won and the kids played in the dirt.  We ended up making $48 and got some new tools and decorations for the house.  We spent about four hours total with the Bowles family before heading back to camp.

Grandpa Terry, Alex and Heather Jo and fam, Tiffany and Stephanie and kiddos followed us to camp and hung out for a while.  We had planned on roasting marshmallows but the time got away from us and didn't get to.  Grandpa Wally and Grandma Gaye showed up for a while for a visit too.  It wasn't long before they all headed home for the night.  Even though we were still full from lunch we started cooking something for dinner.  We found out (late) that it was another potluck meal that night!  We had yummy BBQ chicken, salads galore, potatoes and fruit kabobs.  Tyke enjoyed the jello salads and filled up on them.  We spent the rest of the night gathered around the camp fire.

Layne and I were the last ones standing.  Chad and the boys had gone to bed around 10 p.m.  Just after midnight I got a text message from Heather Jo informing us that Grandpa Wally had had a stroke.  We hurried and let Drew know and he and Charlotte headed straight to the hospital.  Gramps was given a shot of medicine and a blessing and then airlifted to the U of U hospital in Salt Lake City.  This stroke did some damage and his left side, for now, is gone.  It was a long night of little sleep for us out at camp.  Heather sent texts periodically updating us with the latest news on Gramps.

Sunday morning Tyke woke up to find that the Easter Bunny had visited our trailer!  He was pretty excited to see the loot on the kitchen table.  He wasted no time digging in to the candy!  We got some cute picture of Tyke and Luke with there Easter goodies before letting Tyke have a Little Debbie cake for breakfast.  Not a good idea...about twenty minutes later he threw up all over the bed.  We blamed it on the early morning sugar because he was fine both before and after that.  We got dressed and went outside to play some more before packing up camp and going home.  Tyke, Kayson and Swasey were filthy within minutes!  Aunt Lucinda brought out a big bunny shaped pinata for all of the kids to play.  We all gathered around and started beating on that thing one by one, youngest to oldest.  The kids thought it was so awesome, and even more so when candy and prizes started falling out!  After that we loaded up and came home.

We got everything cleaned up and put away quickly because we had Luke and Sophie's birthday party to be to at 1:30 p.m.  I started not feeling too well but didn't think too much about it.  Chad and I drove separate so that he could come home early and get his nap in before going to work.  On the way to Grandma Cheryl's house, just as we were getting off the freeway, Tyke threw up again.  I knew he was sick but tried to convince myself it was just motion sick/car sick (both times he threw up that day he was playing the iPad and playing a game that makes me motion sick).  I hurried up the road and delivered Sophie her birthday card and tried to leave.  I didn't want to get anyone else sick.  They all helped convince me that it was motion sickness and nothing more, so we stayed.  Chad cleaned the car seat up while I cleaned up Tyke.  He played well the rest of the day and we all ate too much good food (we had dutch oven BBQ ribs, yummy potatoes and cake).

Chad left for home around 3 p.m. and me and the boys left about an hour later.  I would've stayed longer but Tyke was acting like he didn't feel well and I wasn't feeling too great myself.  A nap is what we needed so we left.   We got home and crashed.  Chad woke up, sick, and got someone to cover his shift so he could stay home.  Tyke threw up once more that night.  And around 2:30 a.m. I woke up sick.  It was a long miserable night!  Luckily, I think, by the time I woke up sick Chad was feeling much better and was able to take over watch of the boys.  By 10 a.m. Monday morning Grandma Cheryl had to come to the house to watch the boys while Chad took me to the emergency room for fluids.  I was super dehydrated and needed some help.  It was a long day spent out there!  The iv made me feel better but I had an allergic reaction to two of the medicines they gave me.

We got home around 5 p.m., exhausted and ready for naps!  All in all, even though we all ended up sick, and Grandpa Wally had his stroke, it was a pretty good weekend!  We are so thankful for our families and all of the fun, loving things they do for us and with us!  We're grateful for the power of prayer and hope that Grandpa Wally gets feeling better soon!  We love him lots and are so thankful that he's still here with us!!  This will definitely be an Easter weekend to remember!