More of July

July 2023

So much in July....quick run through since it is now the middle of October, and I am just trying to catch up.  

First day at church with our Parker Bryce.  (Aub got home from her Taylor Swift vacation trip later that evening.)

Kaide loved Parker right away.  He would reach for him and want him to hold him often.  Parker would pick him up and ask "which way?" and wait for Kaide to reach out his arm in a direction.  Then he would walk down the hall to the next option and ask "which way."  It was pretty cute and three months later Kaide is pretty sure he gets to direct anyone who is holding him.  (I think I have heard Tanner grumble a little that Parker ruined it for the rest of us because now he is pretty sure everyone should pick him up and go in whatever direction he points.)

Parker and Kaide

Our Brinley Kate is home too, for a quick week, which has been awesome!

Parker just cried when he saw Gram again.  When he left on his mission, she was doing well.  She had to move slower, and she had broken her knee cap earlier in the year; but overall she was doing pretty great.  So seeing her huge decline was really hard.

The day Parker got home, July 15th, was Grandpa's 75 b-day!  We stopped by the next day, on Sunday afternoon, to visit.

Gram loves when Kaide comes over.  

Gram, Bryn and Kaide

Kaide's 1st birthday was the day after Parker got home, July 16th.  It was fun to have lots of celebrations.  We all love this little guy SO much.  He is cute and adorable and happy and smart and so loved!

We got him a xylophone and a Little People fire truck and a couple of other little things that I can't remember because they are not pictured!

Sunday night at the Birds.  

Tanner and Erin had a one year old b-day party for Kaide.  It was happening!   

Lots of Erin's friends came, Tanner's bosses and their families, and lots of family from both sides.  Kaide is SET with clothes, books and toys for the next year of his life.  

I think having a big party for a one-year-old might be a Hispanic tradition.  I still feel badly for not attending a b-day party for my friend's one year old when we lived in Provo.  Brian and I received the invite and thought, "What?  A birthday party for a baby?"  and we didn't give it another thought.  The day after the party, Mary, my neighbor friend from Mexico was so sad that we didn't go.  I felt horrible.

Back to celebrating our one-year-old grandbaby....

It was really fun celebrating Kaide Tanner at Erin's house with friends, family, swimming, food and fun.

His first taste of sugar...he was a fan!  

The cute family.  One month until these guys get married, settle into their own apartment. and start college.

Parker feeding Kaide watermelon.

My brother Chris with two of his grandkids (Lincoln and Christian).  Two of the Bird cousins: Ella and Hudson (holding Kaide) plus Bryn and Aub

Park was able to get together with some of his group before we left for the lake house on Tuesday morning.  

We left the lake house on Saturday, a day early, since Parker's homecoming talk was the next day at noon.  We knew about a really fun surprise, but he had no idea.  The Newtons, a couple he worked with in the office, was flying to Odessa for his homecoming talk.  How sweet is that?!?  They didn't want to interrupt family time or be a bother in any way.  They said they knew family might be coming into town etc... What they didn't realize is they were the excitement!  Most of my family lives here, and our out of town family of both sides were able to join via Zoom.   We were touched that this sweet couple wanted to fly to the middle of nowhere to support Elder Gwilliam.

We made arrangements for them to come over before church for the surprise and after church for dinner.  I asked Parker if he would mind having his talk prepared well ahead of time so he could help me take care of Gram on Sunday morning.  

So he was sitting on the couch reviewing his talk when the doorbell rang.  I was "busy" in the kitchen and asked him to answer.  He protested a bit but went to the front door to see "Elder and Sister Newton" standing on the other side!  Soooooo fun!!!!  He was definitely surprised.

Clay and Kathy Newton

They were awesome.  They were easy to talk to, and lots of fun.  Parker served as an office elder for 6 months, and that is when he really got to know them. It was interesting to listen to Parker and the Newtons visit about their mission experiences.  After church and dinner, we invited them to join us for our Sunday night gathering and they did.  I especially love them because they so obviously love my boy.

A family picture with the whole group!  

He made his bed just like this every day he was home.💕

Parker.  He has been a lot quieter since coming home.  There is a calmness about him.  He has changed, and he is probably still adjusting to life off the mission and back in the states.  I can tell he is making an effort to think before he speaks.  Growing up, he was often "stirring the pot" within the family ...kind of poking and picking on us to get a reaction.  In his homecoming talk, he mentioned how contention is not of God, and we should strive to be peacemakers in our families.  

One night we were on a late night walk and I brought up a gospel question I had been pondering.  He had answers.  When we got home, he excitedly took me from one scriptural reference to the next.  It was helpful and impressive.  

I'm grateful for the mission opportunity God provides for the youth of the church and very grateful Parker was willing to take that leap of faith, make the sacrifice and serve.  I know he has blessed many lives.  I also know, because God is so good, Parker's life has been blessed even more.  His mission opportunity will be a great foundation for home, church, and work in the years to come.

Lake Trip

July 18-22, 2023

I'm so glad we had a vacation planned when Parker arrived home.  It was nice to whisk him and enjoy time as an immediate family.  This would definitely be my advice to anyone with a missionary coming home.  Plan a little getaway.  Everyone wanted to see/be with Parker.  

He came in on Saturday night and we shared him with friends and family.  Sunday morning we visited Gram and then off to church.  Sunday evening, we had our Sunday night gathering at the Birds with extended family (20 plus people) and then he met up with friends until midnight.  Monday morning Parker and Tanner were invited to play disc golf with (uncle) Chris and then eat lunch with (uncle) Kerry and Grandpa.  

Hello...in the 48 hours he had been home, the amount of time I'd really been with him was very little.  I knew I could be patient and share because Tuesday morning, after Taco Villa Monday on Tuesday at Rosas, we were off to the lake.

Taco Villa Monday....on Tuesday....at Rosas.  Thanks for the good times Grandpa!  And we got to enjoy this yummy ice cream cake Holden gave Grandpa for his b-day.  

We went to Lake Granbury which is near Fort Worth.  We mainly picked it because the 1. The number of bedrooms in the rented lake house we found fit our family.  2. It was five hours away (which is better than 7-8 hours away.) We aren't close to water in West Texas.  3. It came with a few canoes and one kayak to use.  Luckily, the lake and the house worked well enough.

It was so nice just to relax even in the 108 heat.  We acclimated well enough.  It was actually perfect for Parker who is used to the hot/humid Ghana weather.

We tried Brian's Father's Day gift out for the first time.  Axe throwing.  It was fun, and the kids played this every day.

We played a ton of Spikeball and switched up teams a lot.  It was kind of stressful for me because I felt badly for Tanner and Parker who had me as their teammate when I was involved.   Erin F. said she felt the same way.  They were really kind and encouraging to us though. 

A side note, Brian and I bought this one Christmas for the boys when they were probably in Jr. High.  It was pricey.  They were unimpressed.  After missions (Bryn and Park) and with college coming up this semester (Bryn, Park and Tanner), it is a hot commodity.  I'm glad to know it will be enjoyed.  Parker called dibs and is taking it to BYUI this fall.

Aub, Park, Bryn & Tan

S'more night!  Nothing like using the firepit at 10 at night when it is still a muggy 93 degrees outside.  Brian took one for the team to build the fire and make this happen.

Parker, Tan, Brinley, Erin, Aubrey & Bri (stoking the fire)

LAKE SCHEDULE

Brinley was amazing and helped plan a little day to day schedule of things we could do each day.  We definitely needed that, or we would have all been waiting for someone else to make the plans,,,and not much would have happened.  Here is the schedule.  It was heavily modified once we got there but gave us a good start.

Tuesday – (Dinner and Clean up Brinley)

-         Paddle board, fish, eat, play board games, chill

Wednesday – (Dinner and Clean up Aubrey & Parker)

-         Boat (see if we want to do 3 or 6 hours)

-         Lunch

-         Cornhole tournament/axe throwing

-         Dinner

-         Movie night

Thursday – (Mom & Dad)

-         11:00-1:00 – e-bike trail

-         Picnic?

-         3:30 – temple

-         Papasitos

Friday – (Dinner and Clean up Tanner & Erin)

-         Boat

-         Spikeball tournament

-         Smores at campfire

Saturday

        -         Boat

It was 108° with 60% humidity.  We definitely moved the outdoor games to the mornings or evenings.  We also skipped the ebike and picnic and replaced it with the LDS Bookstore and shopping at the Galleria in Dallas. 

I LOVED the part of everyone taking a night to make/clean up dinner.  It made it so much more like a vacation for me.  The kids planned their own meals.  We had a Walmart pickup scheduled in Granbury when we arrived.  So nice!  

Aubrey & Parker

Boating was a lot of fun.  We ended up renting a boat for four hours on two different mornings.  Bri was our designated driver.  He was very selfless, as usual, to make the fun happen for the group. 

We water skied (Park, Bryn and Tanner were successful), knee boarded and tubed.  We were supposed to only have five people on the boat so we traded out.  Kaide, apparently, was the STAR on the morning he went. (I was staying back, trying to abide the five or fewer rule even though it was well past broken with everyone else on board.)  But back to Kaide, he was happy and waiving to each family member again and again.

Tanner is such a great daddy, and Kaide loved the boat.

Park, Aub and Tanner

Erin on the tube

Brinley & Aubrey

Dallas day!  I wasn't sure this was going to happen, but I'm so glad it did.  Tanner and Erin stayed back because they didn't think Kaide would do well on another long car ride (1.5 hours) and with not many opportunities for him to crawl and move.  We hit the LDS bookstore and baptisms at the Dallas temple first thing.  It was nice to be in the temple together as a family.

Aubrey, Park, Bri & Bryn

Then we headed to Pappasitos, a family favorite, for lunch. 

Me, Bryn & Aubrey

Bri & Park

Last was shopping at the Dallas Gallaria.  Bri realized we had a flat tire.  He had a great idea for us to Uber to the mall while he took care of getting the tire replaced.  Aub and Bryn shopped together, and Parker and I split off to find clothes for him.  He just quietly looked at everything from store to store.  He is still getting readjusted to life in the States.  He was kind of walking around with a dazed look.  He has been home for just one week, so it definitely makes sense.  We ended up splitting up and when he came back, he had purchased a few shirts.  We wrapped up the mall fun with a massage from the Chinese place.  Brian was back from getting the tire fixed and very happy to wait patiently in the van.

Bryn, Park, Aub

Brian and I were on the schedule to make dinner that night.  Covered!  Chic for us as we made the 1.5 hour trip back to Granbury, and Venmo for Tanner/Erin and Kaide to grab something.    

I love these two pictures of the kids laughing together while we ate.  It's really fun to see our teens/young adults interacting with each other.  They are good friends. (One million heart emojis here!.....)

Bryn, Park

Our place had a small living room were we gathered to hang out and for a couple of movie nights in the evenings.  We introduced Parker to Top Gun.  The kids watched a couple of other shows as well.

Aub, Kaide, Bri, Park

The boys fished in the early mornings and evenings.  We had three canoes and a kayak that we would take out on the lake and sit in a small group and talk while the sun set.  The kayak chats on the lake were one of my favorite parts.

Erin, Kaide, Tan, Bryn, Park

A little father/daughter love on the way home

I'm so grateful we were able to get away and enjoy a week at Lake Granbury together as a family.  We actually left on Saturday, a day early, so we could be home in plenty of time for Parker to give his homecoming talk in church the next day.  Fun things are happening around here this summer!

Parker's Home!

Parker is HOME!  He was supposed to get in on Friday, July 14th, but he and Elder Romney missed their connection in London.  It was a little crazy too because they did not have a phone or a way to contact their families.  Parker borrowed someone's phone to let us know, but it was 5:30 a.m. our time, and Bri didn't have his ringer on.  Somewhere around 10:00, Brian realized he had a missed call from London and listened to Park's message.  Eventually we received a call and an email from the church as well.  Crazy!

We relayed the message to friends and family and were so excited to pick him up at the Midland airport on Saturday evening.  Then we invited everyone over the house for a light dinner, visiting and Parker's release.  President Vore, otherwise known as Uncle Chris, was out of town.  President Greg Young was kind enough to meet in our home so we could enjoy gathering together uninterrupted that evening. 

Here are a few, okay a lot, of pictures from the night.

It felt soooooo good to hug my boy.

Brinley made this adorable sign, and Tanner had him in his colorful Ghana shirt Parker had sent home.  

Best picture we have of Bryn greeting Parker.  That is her, I promise.

No pictures with Aubrey because she was living her best life in Denver at the Taylor Swift concert, with her friend Parker Huse.  She was home the next evening and wa able to give Park a big hug.

Grandpa Vore was the most faithful email writer throughout his mission.  He sent a letter and pictures every Monday.  I had made these Ghana shirts for our family and Grandpa to greet Parker at the airport.  Grandpa paid for all the family coming to have a shirt.  So fun.

I love that the Bird group made a sign.  Charlotte, Hudson, Lincoln (Vore) & Ella  Also, the littles held up this sign faithfully for a good 10-15 minutes before Parker's plane landed!  Sweet cousins!

Adam Vore (first cousin of Park's) with his three boys: Christian, Noah and Lincoln

Luke Bland, Cole Brannan, Austin Jacobo, Bethani Fiero

So grateful for Parker's awesome friends.  They wrote him often, and some even weekly.  They saw him off and welcomed him home.  Several more were coming on Friday, but were not able to make it on Saturday.

Sweet Bethani.  She quietly asked me before his plane landed if she could hug him or not.  I said I wasn't sure.  (Technically no, but he was getting released 30 minutes later so....)  I just said to let Parker lead out.  He did with a handshake.  Good thinking Elder Gwilliam.  He gave her a side hug later at the house.

My favorite picture of the night!  Parker just cracking up with his friends.  It made my momma heart happy. 

Lft-rt (back row) Bri w/ Kaide, Brinley, Park, me, Tanner, Hudson, Braddock, Sister Danielle King (currently serving a service mission!), Char, Ella, Adam w/ Noah, Quetta, Kerry, Grandpa, Megan (baby Grace in the stroller), Adam, Britney, Christian and Noah

We had to take two pictures because there was no one outside of our group left to take the picture.  So we did a family one and then Brit and Adam stepped out and took one for us with the friends.

Everyone headed back to the house, and I was a little stressed because President Young was going to meet us there from Andrews.  We were already a little late with everyone greeting Parker and the pictures.  I wanted to be considerate of Pres Young's time.  Then, Park realized his luggage was broken, and of course, the airline was understaffed.  It took FOREVER for them to address the issue.  I just wanted to leave and buy another suitcase later.  Parker was super chill and kept quietly saying, "Let's just wait small."  It felt like an hour and a half, but it was probably 30 minutes.  

Brit got the food (Chick-Fil-A nuggets and sides) going at our house and we arrived eventually.

Parker visited with President Young and was released, and then bore a beautiful testimony.  Here is the link.

Friends and family stayed for quite awhile...especially friends.  We have always had to share Parker with friends if we want to be with him.

Parker pulled out the unicycle and was pleased to see he still could do it.  He purchased the unicycle and learned how to ride during Covid.

Parker pulling out his Ghana gear and got a picture with Bethani.  His friend Ashton came by too.

Sadly, Erin Flores had to work.  She had asked to have Friday off for Parker's homecoming, but when he missed his flight, she wasn't able to find coverage for Saturday.  She missed the airport fun but came as soon as she got off work.

He had these beautiful dresses made for the girls in the family.

He was so tired due to the time change and traveling for almost 48 hours, but none of us wanted to call it a night.  He showed us lots of cool souvenirs he brought home including two beautiful carved nativities and hand beaded bracelets.  We had a wonderful night being together.  

I'm so glad Parker was willing to serve a mission.  I have seen him learn and grow and love so much over the past two years.  I'm so glad he's home.