Family Fun

The past few weeks have been packed with family adventures! We have been so busy I haven’t had time to post anything (that, and I’ve been exhausted). First, we were blessed to witness our nephew George get baptized! What an amazing experience for him. A lot of Justin’s family was in town for the big event (we missed those who couldn’t make it). Nanny and Poppy (Justin’s parents) stayed with us that weekend and it was a blast!

The morning of George’s baptism was pretty relaxing. We didn’t have to be at the church until 12:30 pm, so once we all were ready we played Mario Kart while we waited. I just have to say, it is a HOOT watching Nanny and Poppy race each other! Neither one of them is very good (who am I kidding, they both can beat me!), but they have so much fun trying to beat the other that it leaves everyone laughing!

Brooklyn and Kaylee playing with Bryce

Shortly before noon, Joey (one of Justin’s brothers) and his family came over to wait with us. As soon as they walked in the door, the girls ran up to me and asked, “Aunt Wyssa, can we PLEASE play with baby Bryce’s toys?” It makes me laugh at how excited they get to play with Bryce’s toys, which consist of things like Mardi Gras beads (we have TONS from Justin’s mission), jingle bells, pin wheels, pom poms and a few light-up toys. My favorite was when Kaylee wanted to help Bryce feel better after a seizure, so she shared a pin wheel with him! I know I have said this before, but it really does melt my heart (and brings tears of joy to my eyes) when kids play with Bryce.

Finally it was time to go to the church. The baptism was beautiful. George looked so excited and happy. We are so proud of him for choosing to be baptized. I know that having the gift of the Holy Ghost with him always will be a blessing he will cherish throughout his life as he has to choose which paths to take.

George and Uncle Justin

After the baptism, we went to Troy’s house for a luncheon. It was so nice to visit with family while we enjoyed some yummy food! The kids are getting so big, Bryan’s (another one of Justin’s brothers) little ones are not so little anymore! It’s crazy to think how fast time goes. I remember how little they were when I first joined the Bernard family. It was fun to watch the kids running around and playing together. They were having the time of their lives! Eventually they all ended up in the pool and spent hours swimming together. I am kind of sad I didn’t get a picture of them. In fact, it didn’t even cross my mind. I guess I was just enjoying my time visiting with everyone.

Nanny beating Poppy

After the luncheon we got together with Nanny, Poppy and Joey’s family and went to Fiesta Fun! Before we left I thought we’d only be there for a couple hours. I have never been more wrong in my life! We had a BLAST and didn’t get home until almost midnight! We started with the go-karts. I am not a competitive person . . . except when it comes to racing (I must get that from my dad)! I might have spun a few people around and caused a few pile-ups, but hey, that’s all part of the race.

Me, Jus, Lara and Kaylee getting soaked

Next we tried the bumper boats, which ended up being our favorite! It was so much fun squirting everyone with our water guns and trying to push each other into the fountain. We were soaked! We ended up spending two of our three attractions there. After that we went miniature golfing. Well, most of us did. Bryce was having a hard time with the heat and he needed to eat, so I stayed inside with him so he could cool down. Nanny and Hunter joined us while everyone else went golfing.

Bryce's turn to play!

We ended the night playing at the arcade. Jus and I competed on a few games, he won some and I won others. Mostly, we watched as Brooklyn and Kaylee excitedly went from one game to the next, wanting to play them all! We were sad for the night to end, in the morning they would all have to leave. On a brighter side, we also knew that we would see them again very soon.

Brooklyn, Kaylee and Joey playing at the arcade

The following weekend we had another family reunion, but this time with Justin’s family. Saturday morning came and we hit the road. It was a three hour drive to get to the reunion, but Bryce did AMAZING! We didn’t have to stop until we got there and he stayed awake for the entire drive!

Great Grandma talking to Bryce

It was so nice to see our family! We even got the chance to meet a lot of people we didn’t know, some who also have children with disabilities. It is always wonderful when we get to talk with other parents who can relate to us. My favorite was when Justin’s grandparents got to love on Bryce. Grandpa LOVED tickling his feet! Bryce even gave him a smile!

Great Grandpa tickling Bryce's toes!

After the reunion we drove for about an hour to Joey and Lara’s house. We had to be at Primary’s Monday afternoon (I will share more about this next week), so they let us stay with them that weekend. We had so much fun together. We went on a short walk while the girls rode their bikes, which somehow turned into a really short jog (the girls thought it would be fun to race us). The rest of the weekend we all just relaxed, played games, watched movies and ate yummy food (Thanks Lara!). It was really nice just to spend time with them. We were sad to leave Monday morning, but are so glad we got to spend so much time with them these past two weeks.