July is almost gone....we love the pioneers. Thanks for getting us to UTAH!!

Well we have certainly had a fun and busy month. We started out by a trip to Newport, then girls' camp, then Bill's release from the bishopric. We had a pioneer sacrament meeting that was as amazing as ever. The sheep were so sweet. It was fun to watch the kids enjoy the animals. What a blessing it is to sit there and think about what the pioneers' lives were like. Don't forget the order of our line. John Jacob Zundel is thought to be the first German immigrant to join the church (1836 I think). He was married to Sarah Forstner, right Tracie?? My uncle Ben's middle name is Forstner. Then Abraham, then Abraham Eberhart. He was married to Sarah (I think Elizabeth-yes I knew when I named Liz) Welling from Farmington. I was just out of high school when she died. Then Eberhart (Grandpa), then Olof, then MK, then YOU!! Doing this from memory, so I could be wrong.

We have had fun activities at the park and swimming where you guys swam when you were little. We are so glad that Kate is learning to enjoy body slamming. Kate and Max have really learned to appreciate one another's strengths. Liz is becoming a cute auntie to the little ones. We just need to get Spencer out here. Above are a few pictures to help us remember how much fun we have had.

My six words......according to Liz

COUNSELOR

CLASSY

LAW AND ORDER

SUGAR

GARDENER

SENSIBLE

Aunt Marg and Aunt Ida

Seeing John at Newport caused me to reflect on my Aunt Marg, his mom. She was a great lady, and a VERY important influence in my life. She was my dad's oldest sister. Our families didn't do very much together. I can only remember one or two boat outings. I think the Oylers had a boat. Marg was such a classy lady. She came in our store a lot to shop. That is how I had the most contact with her. Sometimes I would see her at Grandma and Grandpa Zundel's house. She was a VERY important role model all through my life. She was gracious, generous, and lived a life filled with service to her family and others. She always showed love and concern to her parents. She spent a great deal of time taking care of them. She did not ever get mad at anyone or talk about people in an unkind way. She lost her husband when she was in her middle years. She was strong, and it did not get her down. She died the same week as my Uncle Ben. When we had his graveside service in BC, we went to a dinner afterwards at Maddox that she had planned and paid for. She died before the event happened, but her spirit was there.

We spent a lot more time with my Aunt Ida and Uncle Dee. We did a lot of trips together. They had a swimming pool. They shared the pool with their neighbors. The Smiths had it one day a week. On that day we were ALWAYS invited to come over. She always had trays and trays of doughnuts. She was the most generous person that I ever knew. Then and through the rest of her life. I admired her at a very young age. She was always happy and loved to laugh. When I was older and had some challenges, she stepped into my life again. Still being generous. She not only made a difference in my life financially, but filled me with encouragement. She was a very wise woman. I learned a great deal from her. Her life was filled with unbelievable challenges. She lost Dee at an early age. She was alone for about twenty years or more. She suffered just about any physical ailment that a person could imagine. She was, without a doubt, always cheerful and positive. She made the best of every difficult situation that came her way. Her greatest joy was always in serving others. She spent her entire year planning Christmas for her family. It filled her days with love and service to the ones she loved so dearly.

These ladies were a very important part of my life. I consider myself very blessed to have known them. They were a great example to me. I am so grateful for them. I think my grandchildren are SO blessed to have so many GREAT aunties. You are all so awesome at so many things. There will be times in your children's lives when they might need someone to turn to, and sometimes parents are not the choice. Just remember that all these little kiddies are watching you and everything that you do. Whether you realize it or not, you are influencing their lives.

It was fun to hang out at Park City with Jenn, Linds, "Tate", and "Matts" and Johnny. We enjoyed the park. It is always fun to have the out of state kids here. It is great to see what wonderful mommies you have turned out to be. Strollers, diapers, wipes, snacks, clean clothes, water jugs...I don't know how you do it all. I can't believe that I ever lived that life, but I am sure I must have. I am sure that I did not do it all so well as you all do. Your children and husbands are blessed to have you. Enjoy it.....it will be over in a minute.

Under friendly pressure....

This is what I learned in Newport....
1. Putting people's names on plastic glasses saves money on plastic glasses.
2. Tracie and Lindsay are the "on time" people in our family.
3. Punctuality is a virtue.
4. Bill, MK, and Jenn are the "late" people in our family.
5. Patience is a virtue.
6. Liz is on time or late depending on who she is traveling with.
7. Whenever I am meeting Lindsay, and I am late, I don't pick up my phone.
8. Whenever I am meeting Lindsay, I am late!
9. Cupcakes from Costco can make you fatter, even if you just look at them.
10. Liz wanted six kids when she went to Newport.
11. Now she wants only three, and many years in between.
12. Liz was so traumatized by all of the children that when she came home, she dreamt that Bill and I had a baby, and she didn't talk to me all day.
13. Jenn really does pack a lot.
14. Jenn has EVERYTHING that everybody needs.
15. Jenn can't find what you need, because she has so much stuff.
16. Tracie and Aaron practiced sleeping on the sofa bed without the air mattress to see if they wanted to offer the air mattress to Liz.
17. Tracie and Aaron STILL offered the air mattress to Liz.
18. Liz slept ON the floor, UNDER the pool table, BY the open glass door, on two couch cushions that didn't stay together, and the only thing she complained about was the cold.
19. Lindsay and Jenn slept in beds.
20. Lindsay and Jenn think that Liz is the princess.
21. I have never in my life ever seen Bill play volleyball, until we went on this trip.
22. HMMMMMM......Is Bill becoming a sports' activist?
23. I won the battle with Lindsay in the war over my phone.
24. I gained the most weight.
25. Aaron, Morgan, and Codye are good sports to put up with all of us.
26. Does anyone really think that I would take a chance on saying something about one of them??
26. I STILL REALLY love the ocean.
27. I don't think I will go back to Newport on the 4th, but I won't say NEVER!
28. I would have thought staying on the beach for a week would have been the most relaxing trip I ever took.
29. Staying on the beach for one week with nine grand kids was not relaxing, but it was totally wonderful. I think it will be a highlight memory for all of us.
30. I know it will be for me!

Things I Learned at Newport

I know you all must get so sick of my many postings, but I can't help but want to contribute my own thoughts and impressions about our recent vacation to this silly little memoir that seems to be happening.
1. Morgan doesn't need company to enjoy Disneyland. He could go on all the rides by himself and I'm sure that he would act exactly the same as he does when other people are around. He has a passion for Disneyland that I am rather envious of.
2. Before this trip, I wanted to have six kids who would be two years apart in age. Now I only want three and I want them as spread out as much as possible.
3. The Lewis Girls looooooooove sugar.
4. Jenn is very generous to lend money but does not forget a debt! [I have the money I owe you, by the way...]
5. Crystal Light and Diet Coke with Lime are essentials to this family.
6. We are all quite good at adapting to sometimes less than desirable sleeping conditions.
7. The dogs are greatly missed on vacations.
8. Except Bandit. [Just kidding! I love the little guy.]
9. Bill does not like things out of place, even on vacation.
10. Law and Order somehow manages to find us anywhere we go. And we never feel very guilty about watching it either.
11. It was nice to not have cell phone service in the house we stayed at and to truly be able to get away from it all.
12. "You're pregnant" is my no-nonsense way of telling you to stop bothering me with complaints about being great with child.
13. My brothers-in-law are very excellent fathers and husbands and I'm very afraid for my future husband and the standards that have been set for a Lewis Girl's man that he has to live up to.
14. Distance doesn't change anything between me and my sisters, just age.
15. I will never again bike in Newport Beach on the fourth of July because I am not aggressive enough.
16. I can't wait to have a family of my own to bring on family vacations.
17. Playing with my nieces and nephews on the beach was one of the highlights of the trip for me.
18. Tracie and Aaron are too thoughtful when it comes to offering to give things up for the family, such as body organs and air mattresses.
19. We are not a party family.
20. We are a very tolerant family. Mostly. Sometimes. If we're in a good mood.
21. I am the baby of the family and I always will be, even when I'm four hundred years old.
22. I think my nieces and nephews don't listen to me because they know I'm just like them: I don't like to share and I'd hit people too if I could get away with it.
23. The kids are better at sharing than I am.
24. I'm very lucky to have many siblings to use as examples as to what kind of parent I'm going to be when I grow up and have a family.
25. The child-raising part of my future family won't be happening for another 15 years or so.

What I Learned in Newport

1. Morgan can outshop all of my sisters
2. My sister's like to prove Morgan wrong
3. There are starfish on Newport beaches. If you look on the rocks.
4. Buzz Lightyear guns are really great. Especially if there are 4 or 5 going off at the same time. Good times.
5. No matter how many times the dishes were done and the kitchen was cleaned up, there were always empty bottles in the sink.
6. Aaron looks like Mr. Incredible
7. When a child is in the same room as you, you are responsible for that child.
8. My sisters can't drive or park.
9. Liz is a Princess
10. A princess that gives good foot rubs
11. Tracie likes to be the boss
12. Kate does NOT like Disneyland
13. Kate can scream REALLY loud
14. Jenn HATES Disneyland
15. That I will never take Kate on another ride at Disneyland
16. Every grandkid ADORED Papa
17. Max likes to wrestle.
18. Spencer does not like to wrestle.
19. Max and Spence are good T.V. buddies
20. Jenn is Wonder Woman for handling 2 kids with no husband.
21. Tracie and Aaron were great at helping with Johnny.
22. Papa likes to invite naked girls to play beach volley ball with all of our husbands
23. Mom still reads the Ensign while she does her hair
24. Jenn's spaghetti is the best
25. Cleaning up Jenn's spaghetti dishes is NOT the best
26. Tracie and Aaron collect sitcoms. Many.
27. That I can quote any T.V. show and Tracie and Aaron will know which episode I'm talking about and laugh with me.
28. Morgan always pushes me 2 hours past my limit at Disneyland
29. Going to Disneyland 4 times in 2 weeks is 2 times too many.
30. I text faster than mom.
31. Liz stinks.
32. Mom is a good wrestler.
33. Max learned to speak better after hanging around Kate and Spencer.
34. Kate learned "Go away" from Max.
35. Tracie can run as fast as I can
36. Max can run even faster.
37. Max has a tendency to wander off...
38. Nicole Zundel is an excellent picture taker.
39. Looking at Costco cupcakes made me gain weight.
40. Pushing a stroller while running is a LOT more work than just running.
41. My family is a great example by going to church while on vacation.
42. Kate is a great older sister
43. That I am the only punctual one in my family.
44. That this is annoying to others.
45. That when my family says dinner at 5, they really mean 6.
46. Morgan gets lots of headaches
47. Not to pack seashells (I learned that in La Jolla, actually)
48. Sand gets into all sorts of "crevices"
49. My sisters and I should open a Bookstore/Bakery on Balboa Island
50. That my sisters are really excited for me to have a girl
51. Codye likes drives to the airport.
52. Bill doesn't really know his way around the airports in Newport.
53. Jenn packs a lot. and DOES do a lot of laundry.
54. Kate is good at sharing ice cream with her cousins
55. Mom really won't wear her swimming suit. Even for the grandkids.
56. Jenn didn't know how to clean out the tubs after filling them with sand.
57. Someone in the Norton family did not know how to put down the toilet seat.
58. Johnny does not sleep well at night outside of his own bed.
59. That Kate wakes up asking "where's Max?"
60. That Zurg is enemy #1 amongst the tots and wouldn't stand a chance if he ever wandered into our beach house.
61. Mom likes sunning, Law and Order, and watching the grandkids. In that order.

Newport List

On our awesome trip to Newport I was able to learn quite a few things about the Lewis Girls (families included!). Feel free to add your two cents to make the list all the better.

1. It usually takes the three kids (Kate, Max & Spence) a few days to warm up to each other. At least 24 hours.
2. Spence enjoys morning cartoons.
3. Spence also enjoys afternoon cartoons.
4. Spence's daddy also enjoys cartoons.
5. Max lights up like Temple Square at Christmas at Disneyland.
6. Morgan lights up like Temple Square at Christmas at Disneyland.
7. Mom has turned us all into Crystal Light aholics.
8. She and Lindsay like their Crystal Light really rich. And FULL to the top of the pitcher!
9. Tracie is addicted to Diet Coke. With Lime.
10. Lindsay is addicted to Diet Coke with lime.
11. Tracie does not operate well while hungry and/or hot.
12. Lindsay has an accent. It's called "Valley Girl."
13. Mom wants to buy everything for us- but tries not to. (But she still wants to and she feels bad if she doesn't.)
14. Jenn is awesome.
15. Kate is the most well-behaved of all the grandchildren. (Max totally bit himself!)
16. Spence and Max look way too much alike.
17. Max has a lot of cool toys. And he's the best of the bunch at sharing.
18. Liz is a good shopper.
19. And a good traveler.
20. Mom has and always will have the best taste in clothes. (All the t-shirts she picked out for us were awesome!)
21. Jenn does way too much laundry.
22. Codye snores so loud he scared all of the people out of the ally. (Is this a complaint or an awesome secret?)
23. Bill & Mom need to live on a beach. In a house with a moat around it. So it isn't filled with sand.
24. On our next family vaca, Mom & Bill need a bed large enough to sleep themselves and their grandchildren.
25. The little kids need to sleep together next time. (I promise I'll drug Kate if need be.)
26. Spencer has flat feet. They make the coolest sound on the tile when he runs down the hall.
27. Hitting a parked car is an art form.
28. So is parallel parking.
29. Aaron and Codye succeeded in their experiment- "Does fat float?"
30. And how cool that they got to swim with dolphins!
31. Wall-E. One more movie to buy Spence toys for.
32. Jenn wears t-shirts that are too tight. She shouldn't.
33. Lindsay & Brooke always looked so dang cute- the fact that they're both prego didn't even matter. They look awesome.
34. Todd & Jeff & Kels all went running in the mornings. How cool is that.
35. The best part of the trip was visiting every morning with mom and sisters out on the beach before anyone woke up.
36. Johnny LOVED the pack-n-play Lindsay & Morgan brought. THANK YOU GUYS!!
37. Ice cream at Haagen Dazs was so fun. Kate was so thoughtful to share it with the boys- just to show them what they were missing.
38. Swimming in the fountain at Fashion Island.
39. Tracie is adorable with baby Johnny.
40. But gets easily annoyed when the topic of conversation is about breastfeeding.
41. Lindsay likes Disneyland.
42. Secretly we all wish we didn't have kids so we could have partied with our upstairs neighbors. Sigh.
43. Captain Jack on the boardwalk. (Is it possible that he was cuter than Johnny Depp? He had awesome muscles!)
44. Don't tell Kelsey, but, I peed in the ally, too. Only, I didn't use a cup...

Spencer is not a toy!!!

Gramma has been busy since we got home from the trip so I decided to try this "blogging" thing and let everyone know about how much fun we had.

I had a long plane trip from Philadelphia before I even got there. It was fun to see Valley Forge the day we left. We got to Newport a day ahead of everyone. We got to see the house before the Utah folks got to town. I liked the ocean, but mostly I liked the beach. It was fun to dig and bury. The best was seeing Buzz at Disneyland. It was fun for me to take my dad, because he has never been. It was fun to be there with my cousins and grandparents. I really liked most of the rides. I think my parents had fun. My dad fixed a great taco meal for everyone. Everybody really liked it. They swam in the ocean, looked for star fish, went to Laguna Beach, and Balboa Island. Mom and Gramma found a great candy store in Laguna. Wouldn't you know?? We also got to see Wall-E. That was fun. I am not sure Gramma liked it as much as I did, but oh well. Our rental car even took a ferry ride from the island to the peninsula. That was WAY cool. Kate and Max were OK, but sometimes they treated me like a toy and I had to say firmly, but nicely, "SPENCER is NOT a toy!"

My mom and aunts were glad they got to see their cousin, Brandon, and his wife, Nicole. She brought us the best and biggest cupcakes I have ever seen. They have a really cute little girl named Ellie. Kate was glad to have another girl there. They also got to see their Uncle Craig and Cousin Amanda, too. That was fun. My gramma's cousin, John, is a cool dude. He gets to live at Newport all year long!!

Kate liked hangin' on the beach with me, but she was afraid of the ocean. She got better as the time went on, but she was watching it very closely. She didn't like much about Disneyland. John was OK with it. He just mostly hung out in the stroller. Her mom had fun cooking great food for everyone. The steak she fixed was awesome, as was the spaghetti. She really liked doing the bike/stroller thing. Kate loved going out on the pier to eat at Ruby's. She thought the ocean was "sparkly". She wanted to get through the little fence to check it out. She was sure glad to see her daddy when he came. Her mom was VERY glad to see her daddy. They had a lot of fun playing on the beach together. When we went to Fashion Island, Kate was nice about sharing her ice cream with me, but she got it all over my face. I was annoyed until I tasted it and then I wanted some more. She really liked the nursery at church. She was upset when we left after Sacrament Meeting. Girls??? Go figure?? Gramma said that Kate cried when they got home and didn't want to get out of the truck. She wanted to go back "to da beach!!"

Max is our official tour guide at Newport. He has been there so many times that he really knows his way around. He had already had a week to check everything out. He knew all of the cool things to do at Disneyland. He sure likes Buzz. His parents are so cool!! They took him back for a second trip just so that Auntie Liz could go. Isaac got to go too. LUCKY!! They got to eat at a cool place in Disneyland. They like a place called Club 33. I hope my dad gets that idea for us. Max likes to shop with his parents. He helped his folks find a lot of cute new things for his new baby sister that is coming in November. Max and I had way fun with our cool guns. We also had a lot of fun riding the merry go round at Fashion Island. Max liked hangin' out at the fountains. He showed me some cool stores that I am going to have to go back and check out. His parents really liked hangin' out at the beach. Max and Kate liked having the ocean chase them. They got pretty brave, for little squirts. Max and his parents had to drive to Utah on Sunday. They are going to be in Utah for a month. Max's dad is practicing to be a doctor.

Sometimes I got along with Eli, and sometimes we did battle. We had fun with his dad. He held us up by out feet out on the beach. I sure liked that. Eli got to do a lot of fun things with his brothers, Isaac and Jonah. In November they will have ANOTHER brother!! They got to go to Disneyland. They stayed til MIDNIGHT!! COOL!! They also got to go on bikes and go to a skateboard park. I did get to ride my skateboard around Laguna with Gramma. Eli stayed up in the apartment with his other cousins and parents. They were pretty crowded, but they never complained. Eli's brother, Jonah, couldn't figure out why Gramma would have us stay at such a wild place on the 4th of July. Newport Beach gets locked down for that day. No cars in, and no cars out. PARTY- PARTY!! The upstairs renters were PARTY CENTRAL! It was kind of scary, except when Captain Jack Sparrow visited.

Noah and Stefan loved the beach. Noah really likes hanging out with the big boys. They spent a lot of time in the ocean. Jonah and Noah got to go to dinner with Jonah's parents and they had fun. Noah and Stefan got to to see some friends of their mom's. They really enjoyed getting to see their mom's cousin, Leslie, who lives near by. Their parents got sushi for us, and that was a big hit!! Noah was excited that his Uncle Trace came. He and Lisa are a lot of fun. They missed Tyler, Mariah, and Toryn. Maybe next time! They were glad they got to go home in an airplane. Gramma and Papa brought all of the bike gear down for the kids in Papa's truck. Gramma said they looked just like the Beverly Hillbillies. I don't know, because I don't know who that is.

Gramma and Papa said that they had a lot of fun. They said the best part was just getting to spend time together and hang out at the ocean. They both really like the ocean a lot. Weird that old people like something so fun. They were so glad that everyone got back home safely and with all of their kids. I don't get why they wouldn't take their kids home, but oh well.

We had a long day home in the airplane. We had to stay over in Phoenix for two hours, and then drive from Philly to Whitehall. We didn't get home until after midnight. I am glad to be home. I think it would be fun to go back to the beach some day, but Gramma needs to get a bigger house, with ceiling fans, and.....and......

Thanks for the trip!!

Thanks, Gwamma and Poppa, for the AWESOME trip!! We had such a great time with everyone and were so sad to go. I wish we could have stayed all summer.
The best part for me was getting to see Tracie, Aaron and Spence, cuz it's been so long. Even though we didn't spend all that much time together, Disneyland and Balboa Island were fun and I'm glad we at least got to do that. Max now asks for Spence and it's so hard to know that they won't see each other for a while. Then we could lock them in a room with those super rad Buzz guns and let them have at it.
Jenn, you did awesome with your kids, I bet you need a vacation now that you're done. Kate and Johnny are adorable kids and Max loved spending time with Kate. They are going to have a ball this summer! We'll do lots of walks, parks, and swims.
Thanks again, mom and dad, for the great time. You guys do so much for us and I just want you to know how appreciative we are. It's going to be so fun next year in Boston. YAY no kids!:) But seriously, we had a ball and want you to know we love you and can't wait to see you soon!