We had some visitors come! Mark, Mayela & Amber were the first. They came on Sunday so we hung out around home, had a "stinky diaper fight", did our sacrament meeting, Zoom meeting with the family, Come, Follow Me, watched some Book of Mormon videos and talked and played games. At dinner over pork roast, the question was asked by Cov who everyone's favorite aunt and uncle was. We are so blessed to have such great aunts and uncles for our kids, and to have had great uncles and aunts ourselves. Amber admitted that Dave and Kolby have always scared you, but Dave made some pretty good jokes that made her laugh. Haha! Monday, we had a lazy morning, the kids played outside, we went to the Zoo and enjoyed that and then to Rio Sabinos. That night, we ate snacks, played together, and had our FHE lesson and did some snow cones. Tuesday, we went on a walk locally and chilled, ate lunch and then they left. Too short of a visit, but we'll take our family any chance we can get!
8 years ago to now!
Then we had some visitors go with a few of our own! Emma and Callahan got to go down to Utah for just under two weeks together. First, they stayed with Mark, Mayela and Amber who brought them back. They had a tour of Logan, visited temple grounds, helped work on outdoor projects in their new house, skateboarded and scootered, did some crafts, including painting shoes, played lots of games, went to Culvers, and had a blast! Emma is so close with Amber and I am grateful. She and Tayla are really her best friends. Then, they went to stay with Erin and Randy at their new house in Morgan. They had movie night their first night there, then all day Saturday went to Pineview for some boating on their new boat. Cal tried the knee board, they both did the tube, they loved riding in the boat, hung out on the beach, and they hardly even got much sunburn. Sunday, they went to stay with Grandma Sue & Grandpa Dan for a few days. They went on walks, played with MacKenzie & Atticus a lot, as they just moved in the basement there, went shopping, caught up on lots of TV, worked on a few projects. Then they went to stay with Grandma Di & Grandpa Scott. They went kayaking one day, went to play tennis, made homemade suckers, and made homemade soaps. They were careful, as cases of Covid -19 are spiking. So they social distanced and had wonderful memories for them with the family we have!
Grandma and Grandpa Stoddard brought the kids home on Father's Day and we were so glad they came home! We missed them and were so excited to have them back! The week Grandma & Grandpa were here was great! Dave and I were supposed to go to Big Sky for Dave's retreat, but that got cancelled because some people at the resort we were going to got Covid-19. As Dave said, "Covid is messing up everything." Yep, it stinks sometimes, we were really looking forward to relaxing and going white water rafting, but we are glad our family is healthy and safe. The kids had a few bad attitudes (fun having a teenager and a few preteens who think they're teens already), but overall it was a great week! I did have one break down because I just felt fed up with their lack of respect, but they straightened out. The three older kids started golf camp that week and Grandpa was great to take them to and from every time. We did the Woodbine Falls hike, which was beautiful! We only had a little complaining. We went to the Burger Dive in Billings (to. die. for!) and then to Pictograph Cave State Park and Scheels. We went swimming at the pool for the first time in the season and the social distancing was interesting. We played board games, my mom helped the kids practice, watched movies, went to parks, went on walks and bike rides, slept extra (my Dad took lots of naps), worked on some projects, snuggled, played together, read books together, and we made some cute Hello Kitty cookies together they brought up. It was even my Mom & Dad's 38th anniversary while they were here. Lucy made them pink heart pancakes for breakfast, we gave them a card, and took them out on a double date to the Wildflower Kitchen for dinner - aaaahhhmazing food and service and the people who run it are from England, so my parents liked that. It is always a glad time when they are with us! Before my mom left, she said she hasn't laughed that much or that hard in a long time. We enjoyed their visit so much, too!
A week later, we had Amy, Kolby and Boji come visit! They went to Yellowstone and Cody and then up to see us. It was a super fun time! They got here on Sunday and we showed them around, the kids jumped on the tramp and wrestled, we had our sacrament meeting and Come, Follow Me, ate some naan, veggies, pineapple and Thai mango red curry chicken and rice, played around, had an oreo tasting contest, played some Mario cart and the kids were excited about a sleepover. Monday, we woke up, the kids played together and we chatted, we had cinnamon rolls and bacon for breakfast, then took them on a tour of our town, went to a few local shops and played at the park. Next we headed to Billings and went to Scheels, the temple, the Burger Dive, and to the store. We headed back to our house and then went dirt bike and four wheeling at the McCally's track they built. Last, we came back and had some snacks and made snow cones, put the kids to bed, and stayed up chatting until late. It was so great having them here! We love these guys so much!
We were able to have Amber, Mayela, Kaison and Tayla come up for the end of July/beginning of August. We have lots of great memories! Girls craft time, manicures, book reading fort, trip to the mall, playing at the river, fishing, going to the Laurel pond, playing kick ball at the park, playing volleyball or badminton in the backyard, shopping, walks or bike rides, going to the swimming pool, going out to eat, making new recipes, late night talks and plans, video and board games, drive-in movie to see the Goonies and some teen and pre-teen drama (ugh! teasing gone to far, kids pushing buttons and then getting it back, a little mom drama too, ahh!). But most was so good! I'm grateful our kids have such great friends in their cousins! We are blessed as they are all great kids and so fun to be with!
My mom joked with me that it was like we are running a hotel here lately, and we wouldn't have it any other way! We love these visits to and from seeing family members and it's one of our favorite parts about summer!
