Here Comes The Shay (in 200+ ways)

Our Mr. Ryan left us Thursday morning at 4:45am. Cosmo took him to Utah early so we didn't have to take all three Friday night. It was side but really did help us a ton. He is the easiest to send away because he's the most adaptable. Plus he and Papa really are bonded. Andrew took them to the flyaway before he went to work. Cosmo forgot his camera so their trip isn't documented, but he did tell me Ryan was fascinated on the bus and in the airport and he fell asleep about half way through the flight. Piece of cake!Mandi took these pictures of their arrival - needless to say he's not a fan of the Anderson clowns. Poor little man.Thursday morning showers were different - that's when Jackson noticed Ryan was missing. "Um mom, where's Ryan?" I explained the situation to which he replied, "Can we go pick him up?" It was cute! Then later he asked me again if we could go get him - I'm glad he missed him.
Friday I had to work as did Andrew. So the day began with my parent's coming to my house - wait, can I just say it really all began Thursday night because we had to pack and clean the house and prepare my lesson for the following day - ahhhh.... anyway, Friday morning my mom came to watch the kids and my dad came to take me to Andrew's work. I arrive to his office at 9:30am, picked up his car, and went to work. What a crazy crazy day at work, but it was ok. My mom on the other hand was here, then had an appointment with a client, she took the kids, then came back here and cleaned my messy house - that was just the first of many times my parent's saved us this weekend.
After work, I drove to Van Nuys were I met my mom, the kids and Andrew - we all then headed out to LAX, yes, LAX on a Friday afternoon. It took a while, but we made it.

We thought we made it across the departure hurdle, until it was announce our flight would be leaving at 8pm instead of 6:30pm. This is the third time Southwest has done this to us. So, grateful we only had two kids, we weren't outnumbered, we hung out.
While we were hanging out in the airport, Ryan was with his Papa at Shay's prewedding BBQ. I love this pictures - thanks Mandi! We were so sad to miss this, it's not like us to not do it all on family trips - but life is becoming too chaotic to make this possible. At least we had one representative.Andi wouldn't go to sleep but that was a hidden blessing - she fell asleep literally five minutes before we boarded the plane - PERFECT!

Traveling with kids is the only way for me to relax on a flight - I am so focused on them, I don't freak myself out over each bump or weird noise - it was the most relaxing flight ever. Once we left the plane, Jackson was running and skipping and said, "That was great! Can we go again? Are we in Utah?" I'm glad he loved it.
11:30pm UTAH time, we arrived and were greeted by two calm clowns. We were so thankful they were willing and able to pick us up. The first thing we did was drop off Andrew and the kids at the hotel my parent's got us - THANK YOU!

After, Mandi, Shay and I headed back to Shay's apartment to meet up with Tori and begin the Bachelorette festivities. But I did have to snap a picture of Shay's obsession with Friends!

Mandi and Tori created a game where they asked Mike questions and Shay had to match his - we've all heard that game in one way or another, but it's still SO fun watching. Her punishment for not matching him was a piece of "clothing". Yes, those are pickles around her neck!

As you can see, there were a lot of incorrect answers. First date.... seriously Mike.... Famous Dave's?? HILARIOUS!

Once dressed, Single Shay was ready to hit the town. Somewhere around midnight or so, we headed out to the Hospital where Shay works. Her first task, "save" a "patient", or pretend to suction Dirty South. CHECK!

Plans were altered due to my late arrival, so no more Walmart, no more Coldstone's.... off to Denny's - because it's always open. SING LIKE NO ONE IS LISTENING - CHECK!

DANCE LIKE NO ONE IS WATCHING - CHECK!

I am so not used to getting home at 2:30am, but it was well worth it. I would have loved to have gone straight to bed once we arrived in SLC, but looking back, I would have hated to miss that night with Shay. Thanks to Tori and Mandi (sister and best friend) it was very memorable!
Upon my return to our hotel, I found my spot in bed was taken - this kid is getting HUGE! It was a pretty good night's rest though so I can't complain. We were so grateful to my parent's for getting us this hotel for a couple nights!!
SATURDAY morning Andrew went to pick up Chris from the airport. They got back at 9:45, just in time to eat the FREE BREAKFAST before closing at 10am. It was delicious!!! Chris then headed back to our room to nap - poor guy finished teaching at AVC at 10pm, went home and packed and then drove to the airport to leave at 6am ish, or something like that. NO SLEEP! Ahhh the things we do for family :)While Chris rested, we headed back to Shay's apt. to meet up with everyone else. Pedi's for the men was at 1pm! Tristan and I decided to tag along even though all the other girls got theirs earlier in the week. No I did not get a pedi, I always feel weird getting one for my eight toe nails, so I got a set put on for the first time since..... maybe high school - 10 years or so?? Fun stuff - thanks Annette!

Being in Provo is incredible difficult for Andrew and I - everything about it reminds us of Wes, especially Andrew. Everywhere we go, he can point out where they rode the motorcycle, or ate lunch, or picked up supplies - I mean really, our time in Provo was a gift from God, a gift that was all about Wes. So it was an emotional roller coaster to say the least. We were talking about this very fact after pedis on our way over to get ice cream. Once we got there, Andrew noticed the flavor of the day.... Summer of 2007 brings back a lot of memories, one being the many KEY LIME pies WES made us! Earlier in the day Shay was telling me about an instance where they were talking about who in her family was going to be attending. Just as they were discussing it, she looked down and found a penny. I could go on and on, but these were just a couple I really wanted to remember years from now.

Getting to the wedding was a struggle!! There was a huge accident - HUGE! So Paige and Mike picked me up and Andrew and Chris and the kids followed us and we took a back road - it worked out well, but we didn't get to the wedding until 5pm - AN HOUR BEFORE. Not what I planned, but it worked out anyway.
Shay was on cloud nine I'd say - watching her get ready was such a pleasure!! It was even more amazing that she had her very best friend there to help her in so many ways! It's amazing just how much Mandi is apart of this family.

Shay and I had been looking online for dresses for a couple weeks - it paid off for sure!! She looked absolutely stunning in this dress!!!

Shay has been my "sister" if you will for maybe 13 years now - it's crazy all we have gone through and I couldn't have been happier for her on this day. It's not a big secret that I was very nervous for her because of how short of a time she and Mike dated, but watching her glow this very day swept away all my worries.

But that la la mood was gone the second I walked out, into the heat, and had to round of my crazy children. It wasn't the most romantic wedding for me and I wish I could have watched the ceremony more, but that's my stage in life I suppose.

Siblings: Tori, Andrew, Wes, Shay, MIKE (welcome!), Curtis, Chris

Adults: Tori, Wes, Rachel, Andrew, Cosmo/Dad, Nette/Mom, Shay, Mike, Tristan, Curtis, Chris, (Paige was eating and walked up right after this shot :()

Family: Grandma Ethel Anderson, Curtis, Tristan, Tori, Rachel, Andi, Andrew, Paige, Chris, Annette, Zoe, Cosmo, Ryan, Wes, Ivan, Jackson, Mya, Shay, Mike

Our attempt at a family picture - we were going to try another at a later time because while attempting this one, Andi pinched Ryan's face. But we forgot and so this is all we have :( And Andrew hasn't learned that adults need to keep looking at the camera while the photographer gets the kids' attention.

I love love love this picture - I think Mandi took it. INCREDIBLE.

Shay was such a happy bride - Mike truly blessed her with what a wedding day should be!

I love Richard and Mike's picture on the bottom.

All my kids were pretty crabby this day - little sleep the night before, no naps on the day of the wedding, heat and more heat, etc., etc. - so any cute shots that were taken of them, I am grateful for!

Our little man just LOVES to dance!

The "men" of the clan.

The garter and bouquet toss - yes the garter was CAMO.... oh Shay, what have you turned into!?!? :)

The top middle is my favorite of Ryan! This Mr. spent much of his time playing with the water! He loved that orange cooler. But I think he loves his Papa even more. I can't put into words the bond these two formed over the past couple of days.

This past weekend was the first time we were able to meet Paige's Mike - it was a pleasure and we are very happy for her. Wes told Paige he would not want her to be alone if anything were to happen to him - and I feel like she has picked a very good man to spend the rest of her life with! So I guess you could say, this past weekend we welcomed two Mike's into the family.

There is no party without dancing! And a special thanks for Tori for going out there with me.

The wedding was over, things were cleaned and so we headed home around 10ish I think - I don't remember. Anyway, we all went straight to bed thank goodness!
Sunday morning we cleaned up, ate, packed, and searched for our keys - for a half hour. Then I decided to ask Jackson if he knew where the car keys were and he said, "Yep, they're in my purse!" DUH! So off we went.
We met up with everyone at Shay's apt. and then headed to visit Wes. As if we weren't emotional enough all weekend - we cried here and there throughout the weekend, but it was nothing compared to that Sunday afternoon. They say time heals, but I don't think we are anywhere near that time yet.

After our visit, we had the chance to take Ethel to the airport. It was so nice being able to chat with her considering we didn't have much of a chance the entire weekend. She truly is an amazing woman! Once at the airport, Andrew picked up our rental car so we could leave Shay's car in Orem, and drive the rental to the airport the following morning. No one was around to take us, so it was the next best plan.
From there we headed to Springville to spend the evening with Paige and Mike. It was a bit difficult having left Wes to then head over near the golf course that Andrew and Wes lasted golfed together. The worst part about it was Andrew got sick at the very beginning of that round and wasn't even able to play it out. My dad and Wes stayed while I picked up Andrew and took him home. I am telling you, the memories are endless from that summer.
But once we were out at the park, it really was beautiful and relaxing. It was great to have this time with Paige because she truly is an incredible sister-in-law (luckily for me I have a few of those!). The kids loved playing and Andi loved eating the cucumbers.

But Jackson is simply PSYCHO - do you see this gigantic rock wall.... maybe EIGHT FEET high! He climbed to the top and decided to jump from the top. He didn't cry but was immediately limping - and still is. It doesn't look bad and he doesn't complain, just has a slight limp. I am not sure how long I will wait before I take him in - what do you think?

Andi, Paige, Me... we all wish we lived closer. Paige is so good with Andi and it was awesome that she was able to watch her from 1-5 that day. When we took Ethel to the airport, we only had five seatbelts so Andi had to stay back with Aunt Paige - I don't think either of them minded!

Mike and Paige raced up the rock wall - well, it really wasn't much of a race

Sunday night was our last night in Utah. We didn't fly home that night because Monday's flights were cheaper - BUT Andrew had to work Monday so we caught the very first flight. We woke up at about 4am and the kids woke up at about 4:30am. Luckily they were pleasant and fine being loaded up in the car in the dark. The drive was another story. We left the house at 4:50am and Andi decided then that she was DONE! We had to get gas close to the airport so we didn't get charged, so we didn't want to stop to fill up her bottle until then. Lost of crying before the sun is even up is not a fun way to start the day.
Once we arrived at the airport, we see that our car rental drop-off is at the very end of the airport, and our terminal is at the very beginning. Two rolling suitcases, one pack and play, two carseats, and one duffel bag all had to be carried by us - WHILE CARRYING THREE CHILDREN. Jackson was limping real badly and was exhausted and Ryan was so tired and would have walked too slowly anyway and Missy - well come on.
It was a journey with lots of crying and frustration - we were so grateful for the one security guard that helped roll one of our suitcases with a carseat attached to it. I had to go back twice while carrying Andi and Ryan and a backpack and duffel bag to go pick up Jackson's sandal that feel off - ahhh just thinking about it all is hurting my back!
But we made it to our gate at 6:30am - not bad. We boarded immediately which was better than Friday night. Andrew got kicked out of our row because there are only four masks in a row - so he and Ryan left us and Ryan fell asleep almost instantly. I was stuck with Andi and Jackson, our two non-sleepers. Grrr.... Sprite all over me, my sandals, Andi, her blanket - plus she was a total wiggle worm. Jackson did very well but he too needed to be watched. I felt so car sick!! They both feel asleep about ten minutes before we landed go figure - BUT I am grateful they weren't crying on the plane... that would have bugged big time. And most importantly, we landed safely.

What worked out beautifully for us was my dad had an emergency trip he needed to take to Utah! So he came to the airport, LAX even though he prefers Burbank, three hours before his flight so he could give us his car so we didn't have to take the flyaway. Again, they saved us! And the best part, ok there were many good parts about it, we didn't have to carry the kids and our luggage on our own again!!!
I was exhausted, falling asleep on the way to Andrew's work - yes, Andrew had to go straight to work after all that, what a stud! But he was terrified of me driving us all home once we dropped him off - so we got a donut fix before!
Once home, the kids went straight to the bath. I was not pleased with the fact that no one showered before leaving that morning and the kids traveled in PJ's - this all so goes against everything I believe, but we had to.
But I think they were just as pleased as I was to be clean! After this picture, 3.5 hour nap for all!! Well except my poor husband who was working.

And yes, even after Andrew got home from work, he helped me clean the house and he even mopped the floor without me asking. He then showered, went to bed and was out before I even made it back to our room.
It was a good but emotional and exhausting weekend. But it was full of blessings and joy - CONGRATULATIONS SHAY AND MIKE!

Andi @ 7mo.

Valeri Estrada - www.littleblueworldphoto.com