...Did Last Weekend?

Dave, Grant, and I hosted an unofficial President's Day Tolman sibling reunion! It was so fun. It started on Friday night as the troops arrived. First Maddie rolled in from Rexburg, ID, then Morgan, Raf, Jocelyn (3), and Mallory (2) arrived from Rangely, CO, and finally Joey and her 4 kids (Damon (7), Keely (5), Kameron (2), and Brit (5 mo) luckily arrived safely after battling the treacherous roads of I-80 across southern Wyoming. She definitely wins the prize of worst weather and longest drive. Rock, Jen and Rhett (2 mo) represent the Provo branch of our family, and we didn't see them until Saturday. That's right, 16 of the 18 Tolman's (sorry Mom and Dad!) in one 1100 square foot condo. Here are some lessons learned from the weekend:

1. Bunk beds are worth their weight in gold. Our full/twin bunk bed set from IKEA (love it!) has been one of the best purchases we have ever made. It sleeps three adults comfortably at night and entertains 6 rowdy kids during the day, while the other 2 babies keep the adults entertained.


2. Raf's movie fetish has paid off. If he had never went to go see Rambo, we would have never known that Rock and Jen's car was being towed, and they would have been ready to leave and blamed our crazy neighbors for grand theft auto. Word to the wise: Just because it is a gray curb and there are no No Parking signs anywhere, doesn't mean that some random tow truck won't drive by and decide to tow your car.


3. There seems to be a one-way portal for cardboard between the back of Dave's Civic and the trunk of my Camry. One minute you're asking your brother to shove a bunch of cardboard into the civie and the next your standing at Costco with with cases of things you can't live with out and no where to put them.
   
4. Always wear plenty of rings if you are going to play up-chickens. It is a fact that 6 kids can sleep through 6 adults slamming their hands down on a table for an hour.
   
5. Grant gets the award for the crappiest sleeping arrangement (his pack and play shoved in our bathroom.)


6. Kameron sounds a lot like Barry White when he gets a cough. I've never seen something floor a two-year old like that (he was literally lying on the floor several times throughout the weekend.


7. Never, never, never tell your niece to lick her mom's ear. Even if she is completely willing. Both of you will get in trouble.

As you can see, there were a lot of lessons learned. There were so many poopy diapers, sinks full of dishes, piles of toys, bodies everywhere and laughter like you wouldn't believe. It was a great weekend, and I'd definitely do it again.