We LOVE Visitors

Living in Southern Arizona finds us quite far from most of our friends and family. I am so happy to say that so many of our family come to visit quite frequently. And I have never had to beg, plead or bribe them to come out. :)


Many of you might remember last year a day or two before my birthday, when my mom and dad showed up on my doorstep the day after Brian left for another Germany trip. I was 8 1/2 months pregnant and really having a bad day. All day I had been wishing the two of them would come out. I had actually exhausted every possible excuse I could come up with to get them to fly out. I was really "done". And then much to my surprise, they just showed up and rang my doorbell without me even asking... I can't tell you how much that meant to me. They didn't want me to be alone on my birthday. And I was so happy to have company and help.


My sister Amber has also made a few surprise trips out here too. And it was just because she wanted to. She's flown AND driven out here. What fun was had! She came out soon after Spencer was born to help me and just give me some moral support, of which I needed immensely. She'll make a last minute trip just for one day cuz she's so spontaneous.

And Nanette and her kids have driven out as well. One time she drove out with me and then flew back to California...taking my kids with her. Ya, baby! That was so awesome.

I appreciate it so much because I understand how hard it is to travel with kids AND how hard that drive is from California. Brian's parents and brother have even come out. Fun fun!


So, the next set of pictures are from my most recent set of visitors...Nan and her kids and the mom of all moms... ours. I haven't forgotten Amber's recent trip too. I'll work backwards. Cuz you HAVE to see the fun times when Amber came out in February.

This is right when everyone got here. The girls didn't know that Grammy was coming. They kind of suspected it because we kept giving it away. Rocky was the best when he realized he accidentally told them and then had to go back on what he said. Listening to a 5 year old backpedal is pretty darn funny. But it was worth it. The girls are always saying, "I just really wish Grammy would surprise us and show up on our doorstep like she did last year .

Bowling

The army base here has a bowling alley and a cute little diner...Jeannie's Place. For $2.50 you can get the kids a hamburger, fries and a drink. Can't beat that!

Do you love me in the background stuffing my face? Actually! You'd be proud. I was on a diet. (The keyword is "was". I've kind of dabbled back and forth. But at that time I was doing really well.)

Piper's definitely ready to bowl... We couldn't get over the fact that they had bowling shoes her size.

Rocky doin the happy dance!

Xoe & Xanthe doin a celebratory chest butt!

Xoe gettin ready to shoot one of the 6 spares she got throughout the game.

Wow, Nan. Prettyyyyy...

How cute is that little girl? And her clothes! What a doll!

"That Painting Place"

The twins' Girl Scout troop had a pottery painting class at our local Ceramics studio. Rocky joined in on the phone by painting a birthday plate with a race car. Brian picked all the kids up (well the three oldest...Piper was home with Grammy taking a nap...) with Wendy's in tow, and took them all to see "Monsters vs. Aliens" so the three of us girls could have some play time too. We chose to go to Ross. Of course, why wouldn't we? We found the best treasures there.

Christy's Birthday Dinner @ Chili's

I'm in love with Chili's, the restaurant. Why? Because they have the most amazing Cedar Plank Tilapia with a Chimichurri sauce. I dream about it. It comes with the most amazing rice too. I can't even talk about it without wishing I had some. :) We're going again for the actual day of my birthday. I get it without the seasoning cuz it's kind of spicy. And I raved to the waiter so much that he gave me a whole take home container of the chimichurri marinade. Yum!

Anyway, we went to Chili's the second night they were here so we could open early birthday presents they brought from my family. It was amazing to see what amazing "finds" everyone came up with for $5.00. We just started this pact to only spend $5.00 on each other. Our family is growing so big that it was becoming very expensive. I was seriously appalled. I got awesome shoes, a really cool purse, photo album, a really comfortable capri/jacket outfit, ribbon, makeup/and case, and.... did I miss anything? I can't remember everything off the top of my head and can't go check in the bags cuz I've already unpacked it and started using it. Thanks everyone! Nan, you were right! This decree has become really fun.

Here are some more pictures. Sorry if any of you hate how many pictures I put. Sometimes I feel like when I'm looking at someone's blog and they have lots of pictures, it's like finding a random high school photo album at someone's house and being able to snoop through all the pictures, or being able to look through all the pictures in someone's wallet. The more, the better...(well, sometimes).

So, have fun with the pics.

Spencer's in love with cup lids.

Wow. I promise I DID have makeup on. Maybe just a little, but this looks like I had nothing on.

Sorry. I HAD to post this picture. I laughed so hard when I caught him making this face. He's sick again so he was struggling. Did I mention I'm "done" with sick kids.

All the kids...Piper, Xoe, Rocky & Xanthe

So, if any of you ever want to come and join the fun here in Sierra Vista, AZ (I promise we CAN find things to do), give us a call, or just show up on our doorstep, and you'll be more than welcomed.