Auntie Dessa Comes to Visit!!!

 We have been waiting for what seems like forever for Auntie Dessa to come and visit.  That's not to say that she hasn't attempted to come.  She was scheduled to come a couple weeks after Quincey was born but COVID-19 put a halt to that real quick.  But, FINALLY they were able to come visit.  

I was sooo looking forward to her getting here.  I was really excited to get my first opportunity to host my big sister.  For years and years, I have traveled to her place to spoil her little ones and visit her so I was eager for the tables to be turned.  

They arrived on my birthday which made the day even more special.  Dessa's best gift... A back rub like mom used to give us.  WOW!  It felt amazing.  I couldn't get enough of it.  

Dessa was a tad tired given the early morning flight they had to catch.

She also came baring gifts for Quincey.  She got her a tent and a tricycle.  She is so good at gifts!  Quincey loved both and plays with them every day.

We went to the neighborhood park a few times which all the kids loved.  It was beautiful weather the whole time they were here.  Look at Sophia in the background- shorts and a tshirt and she complained about how hot she still was.  That girl was definitely born and raised in Jackson Hole.  Anything above freezing and she's sweating!

And the boys spent quite a bit of time in the hot tub together.  Asher, in particular, thought it was pretty cool that we have a hot tub in our house with a tv right there so, they decided to watch the weekly Mandalorian in the hot tub and Asher crawled right back in the next morning as well. 

The last afternoon, Joe made a fire outback and we made smores.  I offered to roast Dessa a marshmallow but she said that she would have to do it herself to make sure it was done right.  I went out there to snap a picture of them all and within the time it took for them to take the picture, Dessa's marshmallow had caught on fire.  She screamed louder than I think I have ever heard her scream.  It was hilarious! Check out the progression of these photos... all is well, and then, POOF!  There goes the marshmallow!

Quincey was so spoiled with love and attention.  It was so amazing having them here.

The only complaint I have... the visit was too short!  How I loved having her here!  Home really feels like home when a little slice of "home" comes to visit.  And, having my Reimer babies under foot just makes everything perfect.  On that note, I am so glad Quincey has those kids as examples.  They are so well behaved.  Quincey loved watching them play.  It was her first time she has spent a good amount of time around other kids so she was just soaking it in and, there's no better, well behaved, polite, thoughtful kids for her to be around.  One time Quincey bonked herself and was crying and Asher set aside what he was doing and sought her out to make sure she was okay and comfort her.  Melted my heart!

I was so glad that my big sister got to come visit me.  It was really important to me that she is proud of me and I think she was.  I absolutely loved hosting them, loved spending time with them, and loved sharing Quincey with them.  

Quincey's First Christmas Tree

 Christmas is almost here!  And, not just any Christmas but Quincey's very FIRST Christmas.  Of course we decided it is never too early to start creating memories as a family and establishing holiday traditions.  So, we went to the Jemez mountains to find our perfect Christmas tree that we could cut down and claim as our own.  Quincey wore her special elf outfit because she was our little helper all day!

Joe had never actually cut down his own Christmas tree and I had never actually bought a Christmas tree growing up.  We always went to the woods to get ours.  I had to smile when Joe pointed out the his first potential tree.  It was HUGE!  I told him it was too big.  I mean, relative to the trees surrounding it, it was just fine but once he digested the idea of hauling that tree home and in our front door, he ventured on.  

There weren't an over abundance of trees to pick from, especially because I didn't want a long needle tree.  Joe finally found another he really liked.  The only downside was that there was only one trunk but shortly up it, the tree split in to two.  It was also a big one but not near as big as the first.  So, we ventured around a little bit more, found a nice little guy, but I left the final decision up to Joe.  Of course he opted for the more challenging, split tree on the side of the cliff.  We grabbed the chainsaw and headed to take it down.

Quincey was such a trooper.  She never once whined until the very end when she was cold and hungry.  She loves being in the outdoors and we love taking her there.  

But, our little elf was a pooped little elf by the end of the trip!

So Joe lugged the tree back to the vehicle and strapped er' down.  

He ended up having to cut off a bunch of the trunk to leave in the woods and didn't tell me until we were on the way home that we essentially now had two separate trees because he cut the part of the trunk off that held them together.  I was a tad worried but knew that his ingenuity would kick in and he would come up with something.  His something.... bungie ties!!! You would never even know it.  

We ended up with a beautiful tree.  We turned on the lights for Quincey and she just sat there staring at it.  She loves the tree.  We did, however, have to hang the ornament just a little higher to keep them out of reach.