Summer of the Nieces and Nephews!

These pictures and videos make up one of the best summer weeks I have had in a very long time. My dearest hope is that I will always be able to see all of my nieces and nephews every summer like I was able to this year! I really love you kids!
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Okay, so my first stop was at my older brother Joseph and his wife Mary's house. (Our younger brother Hyrum was also with me, so you'll get to see photos/videos with him, too. Yay!)

Joseph & Mary
Rexburg, Idaho 2009

Don't let them fool you!

They are just getting started!!

Ha ha haaaa!!

Matthew was excited to play with the boomerangs

Aunt Bonnie sent over for everyone to play with.

Here's the wind-up...!

...And the pitch!

(Nice form, Matthew!!)


Darling Dallin


Eliza is always the life of any party!


Adorable Andrew
I love how his red scarf ties in with his T-shirt frog's red tongue.
The man can DRESS! I'm serious!

Hyrum, Baby Penny & Mary

Cuties all around

Dallin, Matthew, Eliza & Andrew

Puttin' the "hey, hey, hey!" into Haeberle

Makes me smile every single time I see these little faces.

When you're the best of friends...!

Joseph and his pretty Molly girl

And now for your viewing pleasure, we proudly present:

"Racing Uncle Hummy"

Runners on your marks...

Get set.....



GO!!!!!

YAY!!
Everyone's a winner when they're racin' Uncle Hummy!

Eliza hammin' it up in Uncle Hyrum's hat

Beautiful bouncin' baby girl!

Love you, Miss Molly Sue!

Andrew proves that with the right footwear,

it IS easy bein' green.

Dallin havin' a ball (so to speak)

while we played "keep-away"

Uncle Hummy crackin' up at the kids' antics

Uncle Hummy plays for Andrew (and the rest of us, too)

The Too Talented Hyrum Martin Haeberle

Awesome Andrew

Baby Penny, Mama Mary, Matthew, Eliza & Dallin

Say, "CHEESE!", girls!

Pretty girls all in a row

I'm not sure if the levels of fun we all experienced together were actually even LEGAL. Honestly. Whether it was watching Joseph try to retrieve the boomerang from the unsuspecting neighbor's roof or playing "keep away", tag , or "duck, duck, goose", we used every, single, tiny, ounce of energy Aunt Autumn and Uncle Hyrum had--and then some! Every minute we got to spend with the kids was like a tiny piece of Christmas, and we soaked it UP!

Thank you Joseph, Mary, Dallin, Eliza, Andrew, Matthew, Molly & Penny!! We love you!!

~~~~~~~

Our next stop was at my younger brother Miles and his wife Bonnie's apartment in Boise. I was really excited to see them and to FINALLY meet my nephew Clayton John Haeberle!! So here we go:

The lovebirds, Miles and Bonnie

Boise, Idaho 2009

Milo and his Bon Bon

! ! ! ! ! CLAY! ! ! ! !
We meet at long last!!

Profiles don't get much cuter than this!

Too cool for school,

Mr. Clayton John Haeberle

No words do this amount of cuteness justice.

Oh Clay....!!!

The Little Clay Man

Yes, he's adorable.

Yes, he knows it!

Havin' a swingin' good time!

Bonnie & Clayton

Loving Mama Bonnie & her Clay Baby.

Clay & his big balloon

Watch out! I'm mobile and these cheeks mean business!

Mommy tickles Clay

>sigh<

Just cuteness.

Climbin' Clayton John

(I love Uncle Hyrum's little interactions at the end. Classic.

Clay sure does love his Uncle Hyrum!!)

Hyrum, Miles, Bonnie and Clayton

It was REALLY hard to say goodbye and begin that long journey home! I wanted to stay a lot longer than the hour or so I was able to stay. Bonnie loaded me up with goodies and drinks and PERFECT driving directions though, and Miles burned me a bunch of SWEET music, and that made everything seem less overwhelming.

Thank you Miles, Bonnie & Clayton!!!

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After leaving Miles & Bonnie's place it was time for me to drop Hyum off, too, which was really, really hard to do. (Getting choked up thinking about it again!) What a week we had had together!! And we made some truly special re-connections with each other and our family members. I hope he and I can make a tradition of spending our family Relay for Life weekend together every year from now on.

Love you, Hini Whiney!!

Thanks for an unforgettable week!

~~~~~~

Oh! But I'm not finished yet, guys! Nope. Not by a loooooong shot! 'Cus you'll never guess who was waiting for me at home in California....

My little LoRe nieces and nephew!

They were visiting from Murfreesboro, Tennessee and it was so stellar to be able to spend some time with the kids and their parents, John & Michelle, while they were here, too!

 

Thank you John, Michelle, Cianna, Tyela, Zakiah & little Levi!

~~~~~~

Man, what a week that was, and what a wonderful way to spend those beautiful summer days!

Hope you enjoyed all the beautiful little faces as much as I did!! My life is truly enriched by each and every one of my nieces and nephews. If you want to feel God's love, just hold a child, and you're there. I can't wait to get these kids back in my arms again soon!

Love,

Aunt Autumn

Labor Day Weekend 2009 with Our Family

The amount of love I have and feel for my Family is so vast that it often becomes difficult for me even to express it. When Mike, his parents and I travelled up to Idaho last month for our Temple Sealing, I was able to show Mike and his parents just how special my family truly is. Or rather, they demonstrated it themselves with their usual gusto. The levels of generosity, caring and just flat out love which were shown to us was honestly amazing. Even writing this now, over a month later, my eyes again fill with tears and my mind with priceless memories. I characteristically forgot to capture most of what happened that weekend with my camera, but here are a few pictures I managed to take our last day there, Sunday, September 6th, 2009.

Grandaddy John Haeberle with great-grandson Clayton John Haeberle.

Grandaddy & Clay Baby

Clay had been making motor sounds for his toy car and was

intrigued at how well his Great-Grandad could do it, too. Do you

love this picture, or what??

Also of great interest was Grandaddy's watch.

The famous loving look from Granddad


Clay demonstrating that with the right amount of cheek chubbiness,
a neck is really quite superfluous.

L-R: Hyrum & Miles w/our Aunt Janie chillin' in the back.

Classic Hyrum & Miles

This is another of my new favorite pictures.
Mulverhill's, Haeberle's, Stangers, oh my!
L-R(ish):Helen Stanger, Miles, Bonnie, Hyrum, Jane, Clay, Jocie, Rosa & Pete.

Lovely Mesa Falls

Still purdy, Mesa Falls!

Papa Pete surveys the gorgeous sites.

Like father, like son!

Mike catches me surveying HIM! ha ha ha! Oops!

Hyrum makes any landscape that much cooler. :)

And he knows it! :D

My nephew Clay in all his perfection.

Miles, Bonnie & Clay Haeberle

Mesa Falls, Labor Day 2009

More Miles, Bonnie & Clay

Rosa & her Jocelyn at long last

Mama Rosa & Aunt Jane

Jocie, Janie & Mikey

Watching the family procession at Mesa Falls.
Something about this shot fills my heart with ennui...

Mesa Falls through the sun and mist

I love this picture because of the blend of family members.

Pete is standing next to Bonnie, Clay and Miles.

When does THAT ever happen?!

Truly one of my most favorite places in the world.

I love you, Mesa Falls!!

Papa Pete soaking in the goodness & grandeur

Clay was being adorable and while everyone else watched him,

I, of course, watched them.

When you think of blending families together, there is always the possibility that something or someone won't flow or fit in. Such was definitely NOT the case with our family's time together. It seemed like the moment everyone met, they had known each other for their whole lives. It was perfect. Seeing my father-in-law beat a quick path to hang out at my Aunt's and Grandparent's house warmed my heart more than I can say. Seeing my best friend Helen cozy up to my mother-in-law and my Dad and my Grandparents was just like old times. She flew all the way from Maryland to be with me that weekend, and my entire weekend--and my family's weekend--was made richer and better for it. I watched as my little brother Miles invited Mike to go on a drive with him to pick up our other brother. They had never met before, but hey! off they went anyway--like family does. My stepmother, Sheryl, recreated my mom's wedding bouquet for me to use in our sealing pictures. I don't know if anyone has ever done a more thoughtful thing for me in my whole life. Unless it was my Gran greeting us as we pulled up and taking us to the hotel rooms she had gotten for us to make us more comfortable during our stay. Our rooms even overlooked the river passing by below. And my Aunts were all amazing, too. I found out later that my Aunt Jocelyn had even missed one of her primary student's baptisms in order to prepare and provide our luncheon. There were just a million little things I watched happen while we were there, and each one showed me what I imagine heaven must be like:

Families without border lines.