Tawnya's Visit

My sister, Tawnya, came to visit us from Arizona with her five kids the last week of June, and we had such a fun time with them! Her husband, Brad, has been on crutches because of a broken leg, so I think she brought all the kids to give him a little time to himself to recouperate, and to catch up on work at home. It was good of him to let them come for so long. My niece, Koralyn, stayed at Neil's parents' house for five of those days to ride horses, and then came back with us after the weekend. I don't think I've done as much stuff here since we've lived here as we did with Tawnya and her kids while they were visiting. Here's just a rundown of some of the things we did (that I got photos of. Sorry, this is my journal, too, so bear with all the photos):

We pulled out the slip-n-slide and sprinklers and played in the water...

... went to Kortney's last two T-ball games...

... ate ice-cream at Reed's Dairy (Emmrie was so mad that she had to share with me)...

... walked down the greenbelt to see the falls and the temple...

... met up with Neil's mom in Lava to swim at the pool (Kortney finally got brave enough with her water wings to go down the big slide, and daredevil Taylor wasn't afraid at all to dive right in to Grandma. Thanks, Mom, for going, since I won't be caught dead in a swimsuit right now)...

... and of course we had to see the horses back at Grandma's house...

... had a picnic and played at the Hooper Springs park...

... watched the Soda Springs geyser go off (and that was my first time ever watching it, even!)...

... met up with our sister-in-law, Sherry, and her kids, also from Arizona, who were close to town for a family reunion, and took them all to the Rexburg spray park (thanks, Sherry, for driving the extra 2 hours to visit)...

... let off small fireworks and sparklers in the driveway (the day Kortney and Koralyn got their ears pierced- sorry I had no photos of that whole dramatic event)...

... and then we finally said good-bye when they left on the second of July. It was sad, but I was glad that our kids had a chance to get to know each other again, and that we could show them our town. We sure love you, guys! Thanks for taking your vacation all the way up here to see us!

You know, with three boys in our house for that many days, I think the noise affected Neil a lot more than he expected, having lived in a quiet (although very dramatic) home of girls for so long now. I realize that boys are so much different, and even though those boys were very well-mannered, a boy in general is going to be a wake-up call for all of us!