4th of July

It turns out that the Fourth of July in Massachusetts is as big as it is in Utah. Each town has its own fireworks display, lots of parades and activities for the kids etc. This year we just stuck with the fireworks. It was actually the first "real" fireworks the kids have ever been too.

Originally we camped out on the grass, but as you can see from this picture, James had an allergic reaction (it was fresh cut you see) and was pretty miserable. So we moved to the paved basketball court.

Gillian eating her dinner.

James eating his dinner.

Tim eating his dinner.

Eleanor waiting.

(this is the least blurry Eleanor picture we could get)

Gillian waiting.

James waiting.

Gillian during the fireworks.

Tim during the fireworks.

Eleanor during the fireworks.

James during the fireworks.

The Trip Up

My parents helped us drive up to Massachusetts. Tim drove the moving van, my dad drove Tim's car, and my mom drove up with me and the kids. We drove a really long time. It was wonderful to have a chance to catch up with my mom though. I am not very good at international communication.

Mom, letting James drive the car for some unfathomable reason.

My parents treated us to dinner and ice cream at the family diner we frequented during my youth. We went in celebration of report cards, concerts, any achievement really. Friendly's is a chain of diners that really only exists in the North East, although we did have one in Norfolk. There are almost as many Friendly's here as there are Dunkin' Donuts (and I haven't yet seen a Starbucks since we arrived).

It really feels good to be home. Being in Massachusetts just feels so right to me. I have truly, truly missed the North East. I think I am definitely a New Englander and I am already dreading having to leave in 4 years to go live in the land of strangers (wherever that may be).

Weird how formative your growing up years are. I haven't lived here (the NE) since I was 16 and yet everything seems so completely familiar and comforting.

My parents bought us some new furniture (ostensibly as a graduation present for Tim) for our house. Odd how furniture from old houses never seem to fit new houses.

Dad and the kids putting the furniture together. It is not the best picture, but I love the expression on Gillian's face.

Moving Day

We had so much wonderful help on Moving Day. Both sets of grandparents came and it was so wonderful to see everyone and the kids loved and needed them there. There is no way, really no way, we could have successfully packed up and moved without their help. Thank You!

The kids handled it really well. The only indication of angst will take a little back story...

Gillian, either because of embarrassment or a desire for perfection, cannot allow herself to want something that she can't have. ex: If she asks for something, and I say no, she says, "I meant can I not have that"

The week of the move, I came into her room and found her crying on her bed. I asked what was wrong and she sobbingly told me, "I want to go to the new house right now!" Totally perplexed, I started explaining that she would just have to wait and that two days wasn't really that long. Half way through the explanation, what I knew of Gillian started to click and I changed to, "Oh sweetie, are you sad about leaving your house." She just started crying harder and said yes. I held her and told her I was sad too and that that was okay.

It never came up again and everyone really made the transition completely smoothly.

Jim and Amanda were nice enough to take my Lavender and Lilac plants with them to the Bunton Land. Oddly enough, leaving them behind to someone to didn't appreciate them was a real source of anxiety for me.

The kids in their Chinese Pajamas.

These are technically boy clothes. When my mom would say things like, "We'll get yellow for the girls," the sales person would go to great lengths to make her understand that these were for boys and to point her in the direction of the dresses. My mom persevered and my girls love wearing their China PJs.

This is one of my only good sibling pictures. It is my desktop wallpaper. I love my kids.

Everyone. I can't believe I am leaving them all.

Gillian's Surgery

In mid-June, Gillian had her tonsils and adenoids taken out. They let her pick out a cute little bear and found her some pajamas. It was a children's hospital so each little bed had its own TV. It is amazing to me how distracting that is for kids.

Just to prove I was there too.

When they called me back after her surgery, she was crying quite a bit. I hated being able to hear her cry when I still felt so far away from her. I hadn't know they would wake her up before they called me back and I had mistakenly promised her that I would be there when she woke up...oops.

As soon as I got back there to hold her, her little eyes started rolling back in her nodding head as she tried valiantly, but unsuccessfully to stay awake. She slept for 2-3 more hours. She never cried again and I would force her awake every 15 minutes to eat some of her slushy. She would watch TV for about 2 minutes and then fall back asleep.

They sent us home with a doggy bag in case she threw up. But she didn't. In fact the next day she went off pain medication completely and never once said her throat hurt. We were expecting a beasty child for at least a week.

We noticed a difference with her speaking as soon as she got home. She spoke a lot clearer and it took so much less effort. Previously she spoke like a stutter, only without the stutter. She no longer wakes up at night and no longer wets the bed either.

The only sad side effect is that her voice is a few pitches higher. So sad. I really liked the deep throaty quality of her voice. It never occurred to me it was the tonsils. Oh well. Now her voice seems normal to me, but for the first month it sounded like a high pitch little cartoon animal's voice.

I just kept thinking of that part in Emperor's New Groove where the Evil Advisor turned into a sweet little kitten. "Is that my voice?"

We've decided to find it Charming...

An entire container of sprinkles went into Eleanor's ice cream and hot fudge.

Hot Fudge

Strawberry Yogurt

Elmer's Glue

Last Visit

We made one final visits to Chauncey and Melanie in Raleigh, NC to say good bye and to meet Max.

Eleanor holding her new cousin Max. El is so into babies.

Nightgown party on the trampoline.

Mad Science Birthday

We gave James a Mad Science Birthday this year. The "Doctors" all got safety goggles as soon as they came in and we did all kinds of experiments and games. We had plastic beakers full of candy and little magnifying glasses as party favors. It was super fun. I think I had more fun than the kids.

James' cake didn't turn out exactly as planned. We ran out of buttercream and I didn't have time to get more ingredients and we also couldn't find dry ice anywhere (it was going to be legendary to have the dry ice coming out of the top of the PVC pipe) so we made due with cotton candy from a neighboring gas station. However it is very humid here so the cotton candy wouldn't tease out and didn't hold up very well at all.

But, it is not like any of these things affected the taste of the cake.

Graduation

Tim's graduation was just lovely. We had great seats and plenty to entertain us while we waiting for the ceremony to begin (two iPads and good conversation). Of course, it was a long drive for many just to get here and it was hot in there so it is understandable that some people fell asleep.

Tim and I disagreed about which picture was best so I had to put them both up.

Tim and his sister, Sara.

Tim's brother Daniel, his father Jim, his mom Amanda, Tim, me, and Sara

Tim and his hood.

Did you know that all MDs have green robes regardless of which medical school the attend? Green is the color of healing as any Jordan reader should know. My robes were purple, I wonder if that is law in general or just BYU. I think just BYU since I remember a lot of different colors on my professors at graduation. Of course, maybe their robes were all purple and just their hoods were different colors. Hmm, I may have to stop and look that up now.

Evil medical school?

Tim and Cameron (brother-in-law).

Go Team Bunton!