All the Fam-part the last

Our last Sunday out west, the Jones' (Melinda, Taylor, Jackson and Abigail) were in town and blessing their new little Abigail, and we were able to make it up and be there for the occasion (Jeff in blue: it was really nice that we were able to coordinate these two happenings) . . .

Love those sweet sibling moments . . .

There were a few other "choice" moments while we were there. . . great food was had, down to the last morsel if you can tell from Grace's ambitious attack on the plate (I think she acquired that skill from me). . . and who could miss a chance to give a brother a hard time, even if he didn't know the look was being given? ;)

Fun to give the kiddos a chance to spend extra time with cousins as we drove from place to place. Hopefully, Bestefar and Bestemor had fun with all the kiddos as we drove around town (it made for a super quiet car ride, as we consistently only had Grace with us)!

On the way back down to Utah County, we stopped in to see Uncle Gary and Aunt Karen in their home. So nice to catch up and spend some time with them, loved the welcome there (Good to see you Uncle Gary and Aunt Karen. Thanks for always making us welcome in your home! I remember so many days being at their home with my cousins, and just hanging out in the backyard watching planes fly over head. My Uncle and Aunt are excellent examples of Christ like love, and being accepting and forgiving. It is good to have such wonderful family).

Our last full day together happened to also be Caitlyn's birthday, so we started it off with family pictures, I don't have any copies right now, trust me it was an experience getting ALL of the Tessem's in the pictures, including the slightly-unwilling-little-people (my favorite part about the pictures are that they are over. Just kidding. My favorite part was the picture where one child from each of the siblings-sans Troy, who is child (and spouse)-less-was throwing a major fit and the picture ended up having each of the siblings (again, without Troy) holding said child-of-theirs in order to get the grandchildren picture. Ah, memories). But hey, we were all there, and that's saying a LOT!

Love this huck-fin moment between Brandt and Goose, they're only a  few weeks apart in age.

We had lunch in the park, with the menu from Arctic Circle. I was trying to remember the last time I'd eaten food from Arctic Circle, and I think it was when I was twelve on the way back from a trip as we passed through Mountain Home . . . might have been more recent than that, but I'm not remembering (For those of you who do not know, Arctic Circle specializes in foods you may find above the Arctic circle. My favorite is the tundra salad made of peat moss and lichens. Their burger made of a combination of caribou and whale blubber is also very good :). The kids all thought it was great! (My previous comment was a joke, please no one complain to the Arctic Circle for their cruel use of blubber, which I have eaten and which isn't all that bad....)

Then we all headed over to rollerskate. I was a little cautious as we pulled up, not knowing how the crowd would be inside, but I was really impressed with the family-friendly atmosphere, and how much fun it really is to go in multiple circles to up-beat music. I'm thinking we'll have to start doing this as a family more often, hard to leave when it was time to go home . . . I had forgotten how much I enjoyed skating. Benjamin would fly around the ring, and I wasn't too shabby either. Who was I most impressed with? My 63 year old father. I swear, that man must have been a speed skater when he was a child. He is so fast and smooth when he skates. It just looks effortless. He may disagree with my assessment, as he is more critical of the steps he has lost and the effects of the polio, but man I was super-impressed with my Dad's mad skating skills. If I was going to start an army of skaters, my Dad would be the general.

Just wanted to point out the cute stripey family there to the right, ALL in stripes.  Go Scott, Jessica and Eli!;)

But, nice to hang out and enjoy a laid back moment or two with everyone together. The little guys watched a movie outside with Bestemor, and the "Big Kids" played games together (Can I just say I love my parents yard? I know I hated working in it as a young man, all the mowing and what not, but I think it is awesome. I just loved hanging out back there, the shade from all of the trees (which were all planted while I was on my mission-they are fast growers, but still that puts things in perspective. I loved walking through Dads garden and his pavilion and all of the things that he created. I have said many times that it takes no skill to destroy but it takes a craftsman to build-my Dad is a craftsman. I would love to be more like him). We all enjoyed cake and ice cream (some of which was left-over from Scott and Jesse's creations a few days before, YUM!), and Fai'anna came and joined us as well. She's Jeff's cousin, and totally awesome, in case you were wondering (Fai is half Tongan, her Mother is my Mother's sister. This just led to my thinking as a child that my family was some weird form of the United Nations. Americans (Utah-Mormon Americans at that), Tongan's, Norwegians.....since then we have added a Czech aunt.....I think there may be something to this.).

Hard to say good-bye, but it was time to get home to our house, and doggie, and life on the east coast. Great to spend time with everyone, and enjoy the mountains (besides my family, these are what I miss most. BREATHTAKING) that are so easily accessible! Love you all (yes we do. We can't wait to see y'all again)!