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Last Monday we left the wonderful hospitality of Paul and Candace for Idaho and Grandma and Grandpa Jones' house. We arrived in the afternoon - tired and ready to be out of the car, but happy to be with Grandpa and Grandma. Eileen quickly ran for the back yard to check out Grandpa and Grandma's new play house and swing set - in testament to the spotless house that Grandma keeps - she ran promptly into the transparent back door. Haha - she's never seen glass so clean! Thankfully that didn't dampen her excitement.

We got the girls hair cut - Eileen and Anna have been asking for shorter hair for awhile now - and so Grandma called a lady in her ward and let up a time for them to get their hair cut. I told them that they could have it cut however they wanted - they both look adorable!

The kids had a blast running around with cousins, playing with Grandma and Grandpa, going swimming and running around outside. Mommy and Grandma had fun sewing, and choosing out the fabric for Evie's quilt.
On Thursday more cousins started to arrive. Steve and Claire showed up and Eileen loved having an older girl cousin to play with - she and Elise got along wonderfully.

On Friday, the rest of the gang arrived - Paul and Candace, John and Melissa and Dave and Stephanie all showed up with their kids in tow and best of all - Dan got in from Florida. We all got together for a wonderful hamburger dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's house. The kids all had fun running amok and playing together and even doing a bit of eating. It's amazing that SO many kids and people can get together and still have so few traumatic situations. I was excited to meet Stephanie finally - she's awesome - she fits right in with this crazy bunch!


Saturday we headed up to the cabin - but it wasn't "ready" for us - so we spent the morning and afternoon down playing in the river. The water was FREEZING for those of us spoiled by Texas water and weather - but it was a beautiful spot. The kids all had tons of fun - Eileen and Anna (and some of the other younger kids) were a bit scared by the current. Evie with lack of nap time and too much play, got a bit cranky at the end. Finally we were able to head over and settle in. We had a yummy dinner, played some games, put the kids to bed, played more games and crashed hard for the night.
Sunday we went to church near by and doubled the size of their nursery and primary. Then came back for an afternoon of crafts, and games and relaxing. The kids (and some adults) got their faces painted by some of the older girls - LOL - some of the paint really didn't want to come off though.... We had a family home evening together that night and had fun singing and learning together.

Monday morning, we loaded up the car with kids and stuff and hit the road for the long trip ahead. The car trip was uneventful and late that night we arrived back in Colorado and quickly went to bed.