While Michelle was here...

Michelle (my older sister) and here family came for a visit in July {yes, I am behind in my posting - but you try to blog while fighting with your kids for the computer during the day and your husband at night}. They came one day and then Michelle and her husband Brett left the next day for a much needed and WAY overdue trip to Washington DC. While they were gone, I was lucky enough (for reals) to get to watch their kids. There are only three of them at the moment, she is pregnant with number 4, and they are ALL potty trained and VERY well behaved (at least for me). I even took advantage of the extra help!
Not really, I am not that mean of an aunt. They all thought that it was fun. They stayed with us for three days and then they stayed with a friend one night and then my little sister Lisa for a couple nights before Michelle and Brett got back. After that, we went up to Lisa's house and celebrated the 24th of July (it's actually a holiday here in Utah). We started out with some pizza. After that we had some s'mores! And I use the term "we" in the same way I use it when when I ask Steve if "we" took out the trash. I didn't have one, and don't know why, that was some serious oversight on my part, I LOVE s'mores.

Then, we camped in Lisa's backyard. And again, this is the "we" as in not me, I slept in a bed, in the house. And from what I've been told, it rained. All. Night. Long. But the kids were still excited and happy to have slept in a tent. Since, I don't camp. I know, sometime in my life I will have to remedy that, but I am still in the process of getting myself psyched up for that it so far, it just hasn't happened.

You can see there in the pictures a hammock between two of the tents. My brother David was going to sleep under the stars. But seeing as how there weren't any stars, only raindrops, that didn't last too long.

The following week, Brett flew back home and left Michelle and the kids here to play for the week while he worked. So play we did. Only I didn't get pictures of it all. We took the kids to a park and fed the ducks, had a picnic and played.

Melissa is the only missing in the picture below, because she was the one actually taking the picture. Actually now that I look at it again, Lisa's youngest isn't in the picture either. In the bottom row, there is BJ (Lisa's), Jayden (mine), Brandon (Lisa's), Spencer (mine), Meagan (Michelle's), Jenna (mine), and Brittany (Lisa's). And in the top row Rebecca and Tyler (both Michelle's).

Another thing we did was took all our kids to Old Navy for some back to school shopping. We took up 6 dressing rooms and it was total chaos! The kids loved it though, and so did I. We walked through the store grabbing a bunch of clothes, a putting them in the shopping cart. Then went to the dressing rooms and the kids grabbed their stack and started trying on clothes. They would go in and come out with something new on, we'd (the mom's) decide whether they worked or not, and then by the end, had a stack to purchase and left. And other than needing some shoes and Melissa needs another pair of long pants, I got everything I needed. I think we permanently scarred the dressing room workers for life, I think that it will take them a long time before they decide to have any kids, like I said, it was pure chaos to anyone watching. For me, it was totally under control. All except for Jayden finding it funny to hurry and shut the kids dressing room door so that it would lock on them and we had to get the worker to unlock it who knows how many times!


All in all, fun times! Can't wait for the NEXT time Michelle comes for a visit!