Cousins

We enjoyed a much anticipated visit from the Arizona Cousins and Aunt K last week. Isn't it wonderful how cousins can just pick up were they left off, as if no time has passed?

Little Lady just loved having "sisters" for the week. They played dress up and played with the kittens endlessly. Every now and then we stopped them to go do something really fun, but I think they would have been just as happy to stay at the house and play.

The boys and the Arizona Cousins used to ride bikes together in Grandpa's over sized driveway back when we lived in AZ. Little Lady was too little, but she joined in the fun this time.

The girls with batty the cat.

There was a creative group of cousins in the front yard making sculptures and golf balls out of play dough (mud and mini marshmallows that had been shot from marshmallow bows all week)

Our mud rule is: get as dirty as you want, but you will get hosed off before you come in the house and the well water is cold.

So, they opted for the water rocket.

I was a little breezy all week and that can make an Arizona girl chilly!

Contemplating if it is really hot enough to run through the water . . .

(notice the difference in skin tone)

. . . In the end they did get wet but it was a "huge mistake".

We had a great time with you girls during your visit. Thanks for coming to see us!

We miss you all.

Cousin to cousin we'll always be,

Special friends from the same family tree.

A Visit with Grandma and Grandpa

My parents were here visiting last week and we had a great time with them. The kids spent Monday playing in the fresh snow. When they came in to warm up we played games and drank hot chocolate. We exchanged our gifts with them while they were here since we won't be together on Christmas. The kids made ornaments and had a few other special gifts for Grandma and Grandpa. My parents gave the boys a train set, which they have been playing with every spare moment since they opened it.

My Dad has always loved trains, and there is a 100 year old train station in our little city. It is no longer used, but has been kept up and can be rented out for gatherings. My dad also likes to do geo-caching. There is a cache at the train station, so we went to find it. Wyatt found it right away. Then we walked around and looked at all the character in the old building. We could see a train coming off in the distance, so we waited for it to pass by. The kids waved to the engineer and counted all the cars. We looked for a few more caches close by and walked around the water wheel. The whole wheel was covered in a sheet of ice and huge icicles. Big chunks of ice were sliding off of it even though it was still freezing outside. By lunchtime, the wind started to pick up and we were ready to do something inside.

We had a great time with you Grandma and Grandpa!