Jaron's 6th Birthday, William Gary is Blessed, and We Get Stuck!!!

After our temple service on Thursday, October 5th (we get done at 5:00pm) we hurried down to Vegas.  We tended the kids (except William, of course) overnight so that Michelle and Brian could have a little anniversary trip.  Michelle had pizza all ready for us.  We ate with the kids, played with them, and put them to bed.  They were really good for us.  We got Gabbi and Jaron to school on Friday and had fun at home with Kenny all day.  It was a fun day and Michelle and Brian had a good time on their getaway.  Here are some pictures from the weekend:

On the day before William was born, Michelle broke her toe.  It was painful, so a few days after getting home from the hospital, she went to Instacare where they put her in this shoe.  For over two months, it just wouldn't heal.  

So she got an appointment with the podiatrist, who said that flimsy boot was inadequate.  He put her in this big, heavy boot which she had to wear for the next couple of months.

Late Friday night, Brian's brother Matthew arrived with his two children and Brian's parents, Gary and Cynthia.  On Sunday was baby William's blessing and we were celebrating Jaron's 6th birthday on Saturday.  So it was party time.  The guys made us a delicious breakfast before we all headed to soccer games on Saturday morning.

Good morning, Gabbi

We got to go to Gabbi's soccer game on Saturday morning.  She scored a goal! 

This kid!

Gabbi Fan Club

Such a fun tradition.  The parents form a tunnel and all the kids on both teams run through after the game.

Jaron was playing his soccer game at the same time at another field across town.  Brian coaches Jaron's team.  Gary and Cynthia (the other grandparents) and Mathew went to watch Jaron's game. We had to divide to conquer.  We felt badly that we didn't get to see Jaron's game, but we did get to see him later (foreshadowing for a later post.)

Can't get enough baby William time.

Kenny read me a story.   Enjoy!

Sweet Gabbi loves to make gifts for people.  Since it was Jaron's birthday, she made him this pair of flip flops out of duct tape!  She just figured it out and was so proud of herself.

Ready to party!

Wow!  It looks like it's going to be a good birthday!

Michelle and Cynthia getting the dinner ready

Jaron's cake 

Kenny and Cynthia reading a book

Heavy, heavy hang over thy poor head (Prince birthday tradition)

 Heavy, heavy hang over thy poor head.

I think he likes it!

Quilt made by Cynthia

It was also Gary's birthday

Happy birthday, Jaron!

Grandpa got carrot cake and Jaron requested "white" cake.

Our hosts

Sunday was baby William Gary's blessing.  We took some pictures afterward outside the church.

Kenny was done with pictures by now, but we got Gabbi, Jaron, and baby William in with us.

After the pictures, we left for home.  A sign warned us that there was an accident on northbound I-15, but we thought, "How long can it be?"  6 1/2 hours is the answer.  The accident was near Glendale, and the traffic was stopped for 6 1/2 hours.  That is a long, long time (with no bathroom!)

Is this really happening? selfie.

We just kept expecting them to open the highway and let us through.  The accident involved a fatality, so I guess that makes the investigation really long.  We would inch along for a short distance, then come to a stop.
After inching up, we were near an exit and were able to get off to go to the bathroom before the massive crowd hit that fuel stop.  We felt blessed for that.  Even though it was a harrowing experience, here are ways we were blessed:

1.      It wasn’t July.

2.      Michelle made us a generous “break the fast” lunch.

3.      I ALWAYS get sick after I fast.  Every. Single. Time.  Always, except this time.

4.      I was with Ken.  He is a great guy to be with in a crisis.

5.      We had Halloween Joe Joe’s in the back seat.

6.      People kept us entertained as they relieved themselves on the side of the road.

7.      We were stopped for over an hour right at exit 92. We were one of three cars who could get off to use the rest room.  Many had gotten off earlier, but when we finally chose to get off, there were no lines in the rest room.

8.      I had a phone, so could text with Brian, Michelle, and Cynthia (they were about a mile behind us)- at least until my phone died.

9.      I had time to work on memorizing my Keynote Christmas songs- Poor Ken.  Poor, poor Ken.

10.  High winds came up during the ordeal.  This made the trucks stop after they finally got through the accident.  So after those 6 1/2 hours of waiting, they had to pull off and wait more.  Bad for them, but it made truck-free travel for us the rest of the way to St. George. 

11.  We were safe.

Overall, it was a great, long weekend with family and dear friends.