12 days & 7 kids!

So, back in January, my sister and her hubby took off for Hawaii! In 14 years of marriage, they had never been on a vacation without their kids. So, when a friend of theirs found an AWESOME deal for a trip to Hawaii, they jumped at the chance. So, they asked us to watch their two youngest kids for them while they were gone for ten days. Of course, I said yes. :)

So, after all of their kids got out of school on a Thursday afternoon, they packed up and headed up here to drop the kids off. They got here later than expected, so they literally dropped the kids off, dropped their stuff in the front door, gave everyone a hug, and left to head back to Salt Lake. It was kind of rushed, but the kids took it in stride and were quite happy.

The first day the kids were, Spencer found our leftover Halloween candy and wanted a piece. He decided he'd try a WarHead. I told him they were SUPER sour, but he told me he could handle it. So, I gave him one, he opened it up and popped it in his mouth. It stayed in his mouth for a full minute before he decided it was too sour and spit it out. After that, he laughed and said, "Nee, can I take one of those home? I wanna give one to my dad. Only I won't tell him it's sour, I'll just watch his face and see what he does!" I got a good laugh out of this little boy.


This is gonna be good!


"See, Nee! It's just fine - not sour at all."


"Um, ok, it's starting to get sour."


"Gah! Get it out!!"

We also went to the Fun Park while they were here. (Our boys wanted to take them swimming, but there are not many places to go swimming in the middle of winter up here. So, they settled for the Fun Park.) Scott & I did some roller-blading (and I admit, I held Connor while I bladed. Since we were the only ones on there, I wasn't too concerned about it. Besides, which, I went slowly.)

The other boys played in the soft play area, and eventually made their way to the arcade games. We gave each of them $2 in quarters and watched them play. It was so fun to see their enthusiasm for each game (or disappointment when they didn't do well, or when the machine "stole" their token). All in all, we had a really fun night.


"I'm not sure I remember how to do this!"


"Me neither, Mom!"


Blurry, I know, but this kids smile is contagious!


Scott and Mom takin' it slow


Connor running around in the middle of the rink

A couple of days before they left, Brandon & I decided to do some cleaning out of closets. We got rid of about three dozen VHS tapes, but before we threw them away, Brandon had the brilliant idea to let the kids each take one apart. So, Scottie whipped out his tool kit and the kids sat at the kitchen table dismantling their tape, and then trying to put it back together. Spencer insisted that he get to take his home and show his mom, so we made sure to save it and pack it up.







And, of course, D & Connor played beautifully together. They loved taking baths together, and throwing balls around, and making noise, and making messes. These two will be trouble when they both get a little older. We'd better watch out, right Anne Marie?


I have to laugh at this picture. It looks like D is sitting there so patiently waiting for his turn to play and staying out of Connor's way, but he really was in the middle of things playing with Connor. He just happened to take his hand away right as I took the picture!

And, lately, Connor is seeming SO much like D. His facial expressions, the way he walks sometimes, the silly things he does. I look at him so many times and see cute little Dallin. I sure hope they'll be super good friends as they grow up. And, for that matter, when they're grown up.


Rub-a-dub-dub, two boys in the tub . . .


His expressions are to die for. SO cute!

Spencer and D shared Scott's queen sized bed during their stay, and each night when I'd put them to bed, Spencer would curl right up next to D, put his arm around him, and then talk to him while they fell asleep. It was so cute. :)

Thanks for coming guys! We had a blast.