Concrete Sequential: August 2012

This is the longest post I have ever written, seriously, I need a prize.

Before we get to the 80-something pictures that are to follow, let's all sit and contemplate together, the fact that my baby is already 2 and a half months old. I know that time flies, and all that jazz but I would appreciate if it would stop flying by, just a tad.

Thank you for that moment of contemplation and just in case you were wondering, he IS getting cuter and cuter, thank you very much.

OK, so this is the drill. I upload a bajillion and one pictures and give a very brief commentary on each one, tell stories that are benign and uninteresting and include way too many details that are not really pertinent in any way except to me.

Are you as excited as I am? Good! Let's get started.

At the end of July Clark and I struck up a little deal...he gives me all of his airline miles and I squeeze the budget enough for him to finally get the roadbike that he has been saving up for.

Done.

I took those miles and planned a trip to Sweden to see my parents one more time in that magical place, and spend time with my little brother and sister, both of which had babies just a week apart from Jonah.

See? Babies! The most darling, delicious babies ever (except for all of my children and the rest of my nieces and nephews too.) The trip to Sweden last year with my family was amazing and fun but going and spending time with just adults and a few newborns was completely different. We were able to go at our own pace without having to worry about keeping a lot of little people happy.

We changed diapers when they got fussy,

and fed them when they got hungry.

Occasionally, we sat down on a bench and just took our time and basked in our surroundings.

It was like frequent impromptu sit-ins by the La Leche League at any given notice.

This was the day that I found Hero's lost sock from the day before. It was laying in the middle of the road and may have been rained on and run over a few times. I can't imagine why Spencer and Sho wouldn't take it back.

Mo and Papa had a little mattress sitting out on the family room floor. At least once a day, babies were laid down side by side to catch a break, let them bond, and take pictures of course.

Unfortunately, Jonah came to be known for his tendency to spew forth large quantities after a choice feeding here and there.

And Spencer, ever willing to help out would take a turn from time to time.

(But not really, because that is totally gross. Babies don't like to find hair in their food either.)

And for the second year in a row, I got to spend my birthday in the land of my birth. I spared my Dad the indignation of sharing the picture of him in his jammies, but Mo and Dad sang to me and brought me breakfast in bed.

I think I gained 5 pounds last week, eating delicious home cooked meals that I didn't help with one single bit. I probably could have offered but I was too busy not helping.

Thank you Spencer for bringing your peace sign into half of the pictures on my camera.

We celebrated my birthday with a yummy Princess Torte...

But when it was time to sing, everyone suddenly got very busy with other things, and they made me wait...

and wait...

Good thing Mo had nothing better to do at the moment except wait with me, and take pictures of course, because that's what we do. (Consequently, we didn't really wait that long...in fact, we may have shoved the candle down a little further in the cake for each picture for dramatic emphasis.)

This next segment is what I like to call "Family". Some of these pictures were taken before I arrived but I had to include them all because I love my family, and their spouses, and their children. It is Heaven to hang out with them and I just really love them all, a lot.

Hero and Sho...I tried to tell Spencer via Skype this morning, that their moving to Japan really wasn't working out for me and could they please come back now...he suggested I move to Japan. But that would be silly because not only do I not speak Japanese, it's really hot there, and I can't afford square watermelons.

We jump for joy, a lot.

True story.

"The 3 youngest"...how we were often referred to growing up. I liked being part of the 3 youngest because it meant I was the oldest. And even though Spencer and I totally ganged up on Abby on a regular basis, I loved it (the 3 youngest thing, not the ganging up thing so much.)

The fact that Spencer is now a parent scares me just a little bit and even though Sho is amazing and totally compensates for Spencer's crazy, I hope Hero knows she can always come stay with her Auntie Em.

And even though I may have picked on Abby just a little growing up, we really like each other now. A detail that I sometimes need to remind myself of when the girls bicker. Someday they will grow up, mature just a little, have babies, wear them strapped their bodies and go to Sweden together.

Something else that I love about my family is that they are funny. I find them all thoroughly entertaining. In fact, Abby made us all take note that when she dies she would like her tombstone to read "Abigail McCoy, a thoroughly entertaining person" or maybe it was "Abigail McCoy, always good for a laugh" I can't quite remember.

Mo felt left out that we were all holding our babies.

The "no mustard" group...not as cool as the mustard eaters. But it reminded me how much I love my mother. Not only did she make us delicious home cooked meals, but packed amazingly tasty picnics, complete with appropriately labeled baggies just to made everyone happy.

I missed the part where Spencer's body was strewn about the viking burial site...I would like to have been a part of that.

Abby does a great Lady Grantham face and she'll do it on demand...see? a thoroughly entertaining person indeed.

This is brother in law James just being saintly, and his wife looking less amused. James is fun.

I love this picture because it will remind me of Sweden and why I loved being there so much. I woke up early one morning with the boy and wandered down the quiet hallway. With the cool Swedish summer air coming in, I stood at the window and looked at the beautiful temple that sits just outside their front door. I feel serenity there, in every detail of that place.

Forget planking folks, Spencer has started a new trend.

Levitating.

Try it, you'll love it.

Mo loves our babies.

We love Mo.

Mo loves Swedish squirrels.

Mo loves squirrels eating cookies.

Mo loves riding giant Swedish squirrels.

I love Mo and Dad.

I love where they have lived and what they have been doing for the last 3 years.

And I love that they are coming through DC on their way home to Utah in November.

I love that they will be on the same side of the ocean as us.

I miss them.

I love the moments when my Mo still acts like our Mo.

I even love that she looked 12 when she was 7 months pregnant with me. (This was taken in Sweden in 1978.)

And I love my Dad.

I love him taking us all over Sweden, and buying us ice cream, and holding our babies, and being silly.

And for passing his dimples on to me and my children.

(I figured little bronze boy staring at the moon who gets his head rubbed countless times a day for luck, could use a little sanitizing.)

This is the palace where the royal family raised their children and currently lives.

There was a photo shoot happening. This was taken right before model-boy took his shirt off and ate some grapes.

We got to see a changing of the guards at the palace.

In light of just having seen the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington Cemetery by US soldiers, I was a little unimpressed. Especially since it started with a "changing of the walkie-talkie". (To be said in your best squeaky pre-pubecent voice: "um, your Mom called.)

OK, when I said that we don't pick on Abby any more and that we matured, I lied.

I like to call this little bit "how I look more glamorous eating bread in a foreign city than Abby."

Abby became (to the benefit of us all) a tad obsessed with these little chocolate espresso coconut things. Quite delicious if I do say so myself.

I didn't mean to leave off my pictures of Sweden with a picture of a hot dog but that's just the way it happened. Vendor food in Sweden, yum.

I don't really like to say formal good bye's anyway.

These are just a few other little details about the trip, worth honorable mention.

Even though I missed a connecting flight and was delayed on every. single. plane. on the entire trip there and back, I was lucky enough to score good seats on each flight (except for the 2 hour from Frankfurt to Stockholm where I sat rather close to the couple next to me making out the entire way.)

And on both transatlantic flights I had awesome seats with no one even close to me. This little bassinet deal also saved my arms from having to hold little boy the entire way. He slept quite well for lots of hours, even though he looks like he is laying in a planter box or something.

I ended up having an unexpected layover in Frankfurt. Jonah missed Germany altogether but I was quite awake and enjoyed delicious food. Their sandwiches kick American sandwiches' tails.

Aha! I wasn't done with Sweden (apparently I am just done rearranging pictures to try and get them in order.)

My cute baby.

Abby's cute baby, Poppy. Sporting the cute hats that they all had to have since we all were coming from slightly warmer climates (Virginia, Las Vegas and Japan) to a slightly chillier climate.

And back again to out of order. I flew through London on my way home and even though I was ridiculously tired, I recognized what I was seeing outside my window quickly enough to grab the camera.

I give you, the Olympic Stadium,