Next we went to Arizona to see Amy and Mike! We saw their house and pool and it was a really laid back visit. We didn't do much at all! But that was what I wanted to do. Relax and do nothing. It had been a busy 5 weeks. The cousins all slept in Maddie's room which was really cute. I gotta say, besides seeing Amy, my favorite part was going to see the temple! Oh man! It really was wonderful. It was so beautiful and peaceful. I felt the spirit there. It had been 2 years since I'd even seen a temple. I didn't want to leave, to be very honest. It was wonderful to be there. It was just a reconfirmation of my faith.

Shannon lived a couple hours away so she and little Otsy drove up to see us and walked the grounds with us. I was really glad they came.

It was good to see Shannon.

I loved being there with my family.

I love this man!

Then it was back to Eugene for a quick weekend. We celebrated Brighton's 3rd birthday! We went to Splash! and swam with all the cousins and Brighton swam on his own (wearing a life vest) for the very first time! It was amazing! His little legs were moving so fast and his smile was GLOWING and he never looked happier. It was so adorable and just happy and exciting. I loved it and it was a total surprise. We had pizza at the pool and went back to Jeff and Hilary's for cupcakes and they were tastey! A couple days later the kids went camping with Greg and Marius and I went to visit Danielle!

It was a great week of just being a Mom. Running a few errands, watching a bit of tv, tending to the little ones. I really really liked it. We went through her kitchen and "minimized" it. It really gave me a high. I realized I could totally minimize people's houses for a living. I realized I really have a talent for it! The oddest part is my favorite moment spent there was simply taking a beautiful walk with the stroller and our babes in it. It was beautiful. It was peaceful. It was quiet. It was simply incredible. I loved how normal it was and I was so envious. I missed that more than anything while I was in Kyrgyzstan and was so glad we got to do it. Such a simple thing, but really- such a great memory! It was great hanging with Asher too and getting to know him better. Poor Asher kept getting his hair pulled by naughty little Marius. Seriously, Marius's naughtiness came out in Arizona and just continued on in Idaho. He would just grin and grin as he tormented Carden and Asher. I felt so bad for them, but there was only so much I could do.

I love my sis! Time spent with her is always time well spent!

We spent our last few days at Mom and Dad's which was just what the doctor ordered. Quiet and relaxing time. But then Greg had to fly to DC last minute and we got postponed an extra week! But to be honest- I was so glad. I really needed that extra time to recoup! Brighton got his Batman costume for his birthday and Marius put on the cape and you could tell he really loved it, so I got some old fabric and wrapped "capes" around the others and it was so much fun! I made real capes for them the next day. So cute!

Greg and I snuck away for a couple hours and it was SORELY NEEDED. It had been a couple months since we'd had even a moment alone together. We were either sleeping in the same room with our kids or staying up all night talking with family. Just constantly surrounded for 2 straight months. We love seeing family, but the constancy and lack of togetherness with our OWN family got a little overwhelming sometimes. We got really good food at a restaurant (I had this GREEK hamburger- so good!) and then we went for a short hike. And it was so beautiful. I feel like I've said that a lot this post. BEAUTIFUL. Everything in the states is beautiful!

Then it was back to Eugene for one last night. We went to a park and had mexican take out with Greg's siblings and we always love spending time with them. It was really great spending time with them this summer. I wish I was in this picture! I was taking it :)

I think we actually slept 4 hours that night and that's a record people! Usually it's 3 hours before a big flight. The guy that checked us in was so great. That's not always the case! These are our 8 bags and 3 carseats we had to check- and they went STRAIGHT TO MANILA! INCREDIBLE!!!!! On our way to Kyrgyzstan we always had to get all our bags in Germany and recheck them and go through security and everything again. Big fat pain. It was so much easier to not go through that again.

The flight went so well. I can't think of anything that went wrong and that's never happened before. There's always SOMETHING. Marius just played and walked around. Greg was an angel and took him for almost all the flights. I stuck with Brighton and Scarlet just takes care of herself.

 I was really excited check out the airport in Tokyo, but it was all pretty rushed. All these flight attendants were all excited about our kids, talking to them and staring at them. Particularly Marius of course. There was a random girl that took a selfie pic with Scarlet beside her, I think because their hair matched. It was pretty funny. Asian people are always noticing our kids, wanting to hold them or take pictures.

24 hours later (or so) we arrive in Manila! An hour later we're at our house! And it's pretty nice! This is our backyard, and not all of it.