We had the whole Hernandez family back together for the weekend. The only one we were missing was Laura's (my sister in law) husband, Zach, who had to stay behind in Colorado for work. It was a full house here in Rexburg, but it was fun. I actually kinda miss the noise and people. It feels all too quiet here with just me and Lydia, while Jonathan's at work.
The past two months have seemed like nothing but parties. I almost feel like this has been one of the most packed summers I've ever had, and it's not even over yet. And guess what? We had a Stake BBQ party at Porter Park tonight, so still, the fun just never ends!! (and I have yet to figure out what we're doing for our TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY next Tuesday!)
Anyway, here was our weekend. :)
The in-laws which include, Ma and Pa (Tito and Tita), Laura Vaughn and her daughters, Anna and baby 1 month old Samantha, and then of course we had Anthony and Alex (who live right down the street from us) come over and we all hung out together. It was a blast.
Roaming around, waiting for the family to come!
primas {cousins} ... they look so thrilled. ;)
They came in Friday afternoon, dropped off Alex's car at his place, and then we all went down to the taco bus to grab something to eat. Then, me, Jonathan, and Alex took Laura to the campus and showed her around the buildings and where they go to school. A little while later we came back home and relaxed and Anthony's girlfriend, Kim, played and sang on her guitar. She then handed her guitar off to mi sueño (Pa) and he sang and played lots of Mexican songs, including Feliz Navidiad. It felt just like Christmas in July. After that we went shopping at Walmart to get an air mattress and a few other items to make baby Samantha feel better and more relaxed and just hung out and talked until midnight. (I can't remember if I'm leaving anything out, the whole weekend kind of seems blurred together.)
Saturday was a pretty busy day! Instead of the party I was sorda planning for Lydia, they had other plans instead. Alex and Tony were throwing an Elder's Quorum/Relief Society activity/BBQ where we helped make lots of Mexican food. His dad grilled lots of carne meat..stuff for tacos along with chicken. And Ma and Kim made salsa verde (spicy! But yummy. I think I was growing accustomed to it because after a while it wasn't as spicy to me :) ) and a bean soup. We had that at Smith park near the hospital because all the other parks/pavilions were taken! But, backing up, before the party, me and Jonathan woke up early and donated plasma! Gotta save lives..and make that mo-nay! Needless to say it was a packed day.
Right as the barbeque was ending the sun started shining a tiny bit. So, when we all got home, Laura and I took the girls, Anna and Lydia to splash park, even though by then it was back to its cloudy self. We even heard a bit of thunder. I was kinda glad that this weekend was fairly cool/rainy. It has been so extremely hot the past few days. Even yesterday it was really hot, 84 degrees, with everyone in our apartment! But anyway, we took the girls to the splash park and little Anna had a blast. Lydia kind of sat in front of the spouting water, but she enjoyed it a lot more than last time.. if only it hadn't been so chilly out.
When we returned home we took little naps and then started getting ready for the Patriots and Pioneers concert at the BYU-Idaho Center, in which Alex sang in the choir. Alex Boye was their honored guest and singer. Our good friends and neighbors, Jared and Whitney ended up babysitting ALL THREE GIRLS! They went from having no kids, to watching THREE KIDS all at once, and all different ages. There was Samantha 4 weeks, Lydia 1 year, and Anna 3 years. We were really grateful they were able to babysit for us last minute. We had completely forgotten about babysitters until the day of the concert, oops. But they said they would. They are such great people (honestly!) and have a love for little kids. We trust them with our lives!! :D
Waiting for the concert to begin!!
Well, the concert was pretty great. Alex Boye is a great singer, with an amazing story about how his mother basically abandoned him when he was young, and how he made it on the streets in London and with foster families, and how he later found God (yes he is a member) which changed his life and gave him hope. One of his songs he wrote called, Calling America, was inspired because of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. But he felt throughout the past 11 years there was something missing in the song, no matter what version he tried with different producers. Finally, this past February he got his American Citizenship. He told us after he got that he felt the song was complete and whole. It all fit together. I thought that was really neat. I really enjoyed the whole program. There were great songs by the choir and band/orchestra and Alex Boye and his band. On the big screens they played little clips and quotes from certain people on campus about what America means to them, and how appreciative they are of those who fight for us, and showed pictures of soldiers and cemeteries of those who have fought for our freedom, with the band/orchestra as the background music. It was all really inspiring and uplifting. It really made me grateful for the land in which I live. I love America!
He started off his portion of the night with this song, I Can Only Imagine. It is a powerful song.
And then this one is Calling America. How he is/dances in the video is how he is in real life. He has a funny personality.
There were multiple cameras...hence why we're all looking in different directions
Afterward we got pictures with Alex Boye and I got his autograph on the program! We took a few family pictures and then we went to Wendy's because were were starving! We enjoyed each others' company and Jonathan's dad kept cracking jokes (in spanish, so I had no clue what they were talking about), and kept making Jonathan bust out laughing, almost to the point of tears. Silly boy. We finally came home and relieved Jared and Whitney of baby duty and then got ready to go to bed.
Sunday we all went to church at mine and Jonathan's married student ward. It was the first time that all of us (well, the Hernandez family, parents and all siblings) had been together at church at once. I think the last time that happened, it was before Laura was in the marines or the boys were on missions. It was very awesome to see everyone sitting together on the church benches, including 3 beloved grand-daughters. We stayed for all three hours and there were great talks given about being virtuous, as well as great lessons in Sunday School by our wonderful neighbors, and then a refreshing Relief Society about missionary work. When we got home we cleaned the super messy house, and started making carne asada (the leftover meat from the bbq, cut up to put into tacos with rice and the green salsa). It was all very yummy. We had lots of friends come over and it was just a lovely Sunday afternoon. We even made plans to GO CAMPING! in Colorado with Jared and Whitney and their family at the end of August. You have no idea how excited I am for that. I am having camping withdrawals and haven't been out for 2 years!! I am so so so excited. :)
Later on in the evening Kim and Anthony made DELICIOUS Lasagna and rolls AND home made banana bread with chocolate chips. The night was grand, to say the least. We ended with Jonathan's father giving each of his children (Alex, Tony, Jon, and Laura) father's blessings in spanish. Then we took lots of family pictures and they started packing to get ready for the trip.
We were trying so hard to get Lydia to smile. Silly goose.
Uncle Alex and Sleepy Baby Samantha
...she's actually crying, not really really excited as you might think..
My father in law and Lydia..and me and Baby Samantha.. and I'm doing a wall-sit..no big deal.
Our good friends Gustav and Andrea were able to make it for lasagna and finally meet Jonathan's parents!
She is so cute..
Don't mind her little toe ring ;)
So much love for little baby Sam!
I caught Anthony and Kim sharing secrets in the corner ;)
Our great friends and neighbors Jared and Whitney and little baby Henry Hoeft
Little Anna Isabella being her goofy self hopping around like a frog :) I'm pretty sure I have a picture similar to this one.
Cousins :)
Kim..she's basically a part of the family already ;)
Heck yeah, Baby Samantha loves Tia Anna :)
They left early this morning at around 6ish and it's been calm and quiet ever since. I kind of miss the noise of Anna's little feet running around, or the baby fussing, or the spanish chatter that I can barely understand. I love my family, and I'm so glad they were able to travel so far and spend a weekend with us. It's been so great.
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