Reed Family Visit

We've had a very busy month. We started June off with a visit from Joe's grandparents. I met them at our wedding almost four years ago and since they live in Arizona we hadn't had a chance to see them since. It was a wonderful visit though! They were only able to stay a few days but they were ecstatic to finally have met Claire. The day they arrived we were feeding them dinner at our house. They pulled up, we had hugs all around, and then they brought out a brand new four wheeler just for Claire. She was beyond excited!

We all laughed and clapped at she tried to figure out the steering and how to work the button. Within a matter of minutes, she was a pro! I let her play with it in the house for a little bit until I noticed that the wheels were leaving black streaks across my{just mopped}linoleum floor and red marks on the walls where she bumped into them. From then on out it became an outdoor toy. It doesn't really have a whole lot of power so she can only drive it on the sidewalk and patio because it just spins out on the grass and gravel. Fine with me though! I had this picture in my head of a 6 month pregnant me chasing after my two year old on a four wheeler and I'm glad that that has never had to happen! They definitely found the way to Claire's heart though. She warmed up to them within a matter of minutes (which is a bit unusual for Claire) and instantly dubbed Joe's grandfather as "Papa" and his grandmother as "Granny". She loved sitting on their laps and loved all the attention they gave to her.

We spent a lot of their visit with them at the Marriott hotel. Joe had to work a couple of shifts while they were here so Claire and I would just come to work with him and spend a few hours with his grandparents. We enjoyed eating breakfast with them at the hotel and Joe's boss even let us bend the rules a little bit and allowed us to go swimming there. It was so nice to give my body a break from the weight that little Peyton is gaining. I love that weightless feeling, especially when pregnant. Claire was a little cautious about being in the water. She didn't want to jump in or get her head wet and the pool was a tad bit cold for her. Her little lips would turn blue and her lip and chin would quiver. The hot tub was her favorite place to hang out. I didn't feel comfortable getting into such hot water while pregnant but Joe's cousin Stephanie joined Claire in the hot tub while I just soaked my legs.

We took them to the nature park so that they boys could fish and us girls could just enjoy the beautiful weather. Claire loved riding on Granny's walker and the guys loved getting a chance to fish. Unfortunately, they didn't catch anything but Joe has been so busy lately I think he was just grateful for a little break and grateful to spend some time with family. 

She had that Papa of hers wrapped around her little fingers. Seeing them together made me a little teary at times. Claire doesn't really have a relationship with either of her Grandpa's (My dad visits once a year and Joe hasn't even seen his dad since before his mission). It made me so happy to see that her Papa loved her and cared about her and it eased the heartache I feel for her knowing that she doesn't really have a Grandpa to do those things for her. He filled that gap for her and I will be forever grateful to him for that.

And she loves that daddy of hers. Again, he's another man that's she's got wrapped around her finger. He will do anything and everything for her.

She's his little buddy.

It was wonderful to spend time getting to know Joe's grandparent's a little better, even though it was a short visit. His grandparent's were sweet and bought some groceries for us and even took us out to dinner one night. We were sad to see them go but were thrilled when they said they would like to come back for Peyton's baby blessing. His grandparent's are one of the few LDS members in the family and I know that it would mean a lot to Joe to have a member of his side of the family join him in the circle for the blessing. We're keeping our fingers crossed that they are in good health come October so we can see them again!