Quick Snaps

The holidays with the Brubakers have gone much too quickly.

There have been a few bumps in the road--kids arguing, things breaking, running out of milk at the most inopportune moments (when fresh cookies come out of the oven, am I right?). But the worst was the vomit.

First Nathan on Christmas Day. We really thought it was too much junk until . . .

. . . Jonah threw up last night. But he always shoves huge bites in his mouth, and it didn't smell like he was sick, so we didn't think he was sick until . . .

 . . . Heidi dashed from the couch to the wood floor holding baby Thomas's head in Sam's shirt to catch the throw up.

Hmmm. Probably sick, but they're acting ok. Until . . .

. . . Ellie threw up twice in the night, and Jonah added to the count a few times himself.

And Tucker woke up feeling kinda crappy, too.

All the barf foiled our plans for the day, to be sure. And I think they're headed home Saturday instead of Monday now. Sometimes, you just need to get home. I get that.

So, despite the barfing kids, we all got dressed to take a quick family picture today. I hadn't planned clothes or a location or anything, but we got cleaned up and stood together in front of the camera for a few shots. I'm thrilled with them.

The Brubakers

 All four holding still--not all looking at the camera, but we'll take what we can get.

The Dentons with new baby Eli

Annie loves that brother of hers. Can you tell?

And each of my kiddos still at home.

Ben

 He's leaving for BYU next week, and I don't know if I can stand that thought.

Lily

 My girl is getting so beautiful. Before I know it, she'll be gone, too.

Hey! Who said Micah could grow up?

Rum. This kid's chocolate eyes melt my heart.

And my baby girl

You can't see in this photo, but she lost her front tooth two days ago. I hate when that happens, because they suddenly aren't little any more.

Here's the whole clan--all seventeen of us.

When I started my blog eight years ago, this is what the kids looked like on Christmas Eve:

Where has the time gone?

At least we haven't lost our crazy.

Goodbye, 2016. It's been an adventure.

Love,

Denton Sanatorium

I'd Like You to Meet . . .

. . . the newest member of our family.

Elias Christian Denton

7 lb. 5 oz. 20"

Eli was born late Sunday night, and he's just about as perfect as they come.

He's squishy and soft and smells divine.

Karli's mom took Annie to meet her baby brother for the first time and sent me this picture.

She loves babies so much, and now that she has one of her own, her world is infinitely better.

Karli is recovering better this time, Tucker is off from student teaching till January, and now that school's out for me as well, it's time to hug and love that beautiful Christmas gift.

Heaven never feels closer than after the birth of a brand new baby.

Waiting at the Airport

I wish I had time to edit these pictures the way they should be, but it's more important to me to get them posted--or I'll never get to it. Life is so crazy busy right now.

Flight status online put Ben's flight arriving 30 minutes early, so we made sure we were there in plenty of time. When we got there, the board said it was on time. That gave us lots of time to wait.

 Annie danced around with this flag for ten minutes, squealing and laughing at herself. It was funny.

Eve danced around with the cutest boy she could find--and McKay got a workout lifting and running and playing with her.

 Cousins. I love that these guys are growing up together.

 And these guys. They're practically grown now. Payson's a senior--where did the time go?

 Hyrum had more poster ideas in his head, so he spent much of his time on the floor with a pen drawing monsters.

 The time drew closer, and the kids grabbed their signs to wait in front of the security gate.

 These two girls are best friends.

 I think they thought they'd stay behind that poster until Ben came, but it got too long for them to wait.

This poster is a private joke between my big boys--I guess Dienton means "buck teeth" in Spanish? Karli drew this, and we were all quite impressed with her skills.

 This sign got a bit out of control, but I love it--and all of the people around it.

 As I walked to the chair to set down my camera, someone yelled, "It's Ben! I see him!"

And that's when . . .

California Dreamin, Part 2

Photo overload #2.This time--same beach, different folks.

These two left on a little adventure of their own--left Annie with us at the beach and hit Disneyland for three days. This was their last night on the beach, and Karli was so excited to start having a Disney experience!

These two are three months apart, and I can't wait to watch them grow up together.

Another night. Another dance party.

More Dad video

This girl's got the moves on the dance floor, that's for sure.

Eve would make these hand "flowers" and run screaming as the water washed them away.

Beach girl

This kid never got tired of the waves. He would tread while everyone else could touch and never got too tired. He did get hammered pretty hard a few times, but after catching his breath, he'd be back out there with the rest of the big people.

And Micah is so tan that I couldn't get pictures of him in the surf.

Here are our surprise visitors. We extended our stay two nights and flew Grandma and Grandpa Tucker down from Idaho for some beach time.

Grandpa thought the waves looked fun, so he tried to keep up with everyone else.

He loved it, but he got toppled a few times.

Once he came up and said he'd hurt his hand. When he got back to Idaho on Saturday, he went to the doctor--two broken fingers. I don't think that was worth time in the ocean.

I love these pictures, because they perfectly illustrate Lily's relationships with two of the men in her life. First--her dad.

She wanted that hose so bad to get the sand off, but he wasn't giving it to her, and reveled in teasing her as long as he could.

Then, when she finally got the hose from Brad, my dad started in on it with her.

So many memories in this one moment. I hope she always remembers these fun times with him.

We ate so much ice cream while we were there. So. Much. Ice. Cream.

My mom was content to sit above the beach and watch the waves that first night.

She's in a walking boot for a foot injury, but that boot didn't prevent her from enjoying the people and the place.

I love this.

That sunset was perfect.

And the next morning, Brad and I cajoled and convinced her until we helped her navigate the slick stairs down to the water.

All she could talk about was how the best feeling in the world is feeling the ocean suck the sand out from beneath your feet as it retreats. Here was the first wave.

They were laughing like little kids. And I couldn't stop smiling about it.

Brad and I buried Micah. He said he would stay there till the tide came in.

Problem was, the tide wasn't coming in for three hours. At least.

He lasted about ten minutes.

More watching the waves in her "personal castle by the sea." I think she would have sat there more if her foot didn't start hurting. But at least she got to feel the waves and the sand.

I think Brad's turning into an old man, because he sat by the beach for hours on this trip, just watching and chilling.

It really was a fantastic trip--one more post of our family pictures on the beach. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if Ben had been there--next time.

And I'm convinced there will be a next time.