Please don't go!

My brother, Blaine, and his family came to visit us this past weekend! We've been so excited to see them and were thrilled that they were willing to make the 12 hour drive out to the happenin' town of Lemoore. They came in on Wednesday evening and stayed until Sunday. The visit was WAY too short for my liking, but beggars can't be choosers. Graham and their son, George, are only 3 weeks apart, so it was fun seeing how them interact.

We had a great time. On Thursday we went to Kmart and bought a little water-pool-sprinkler thing for the kids to play in. (It got up to 103 degrees here!) The little ones were entertained for quite some time. George showed no fear and played forever. Blaine made us some wonderful bruschetta for lunch. That night we went to the big Farmer's Market that Hanford has every Thursday night. We rode on the carousel and then chowed on some kettle corn, snow cones, and glazed almonds. Soooo good! We then raced home to get the kids in bed in time to watch The Office. (Hilarious, by the way!)Friday morning, Blaine, Jason, and I ran a 10K that the base was having. Torturous! It was nearly 95 degrees already when they started the race at 8:30. WAY TOO HOT! We went home and played outside some more and then got packed up to go the coast.We stayed in a little cabin at Avila Hot Springs near Pismo Beach. Some friends from our ward here in Lemoore were camping there, too, so we had S'mores with them and breakfast the next morning. We had a fabulous time at the beach the next day! Graham and George had a rough start, but after just a little while, they were having fun playing in the sand and water. Lucy was in heaven! Lots of her ward friends were there to play. We played ultimate frisbee and did a little swimming. We wore the kids out. As soon as we got in the car the kids were asleep.That night we got the kids in bed and then ate pizza and watched The Invasion (very intense movie....I liked it). Blaine and Lindsay made us some Tres Leches cake (I think that's what it's called). Very good!

Sunday morning was a sad one. I woke up with a knot in my stomach and tried to keep from crying. We were so sad to see them go. Lucy and I cried for a little bit after they drove away. She kept saying, "Some people get to live by their aunts, uncles, and grandmas!" I told her it was okay to be sad and it would be okay. She went to her room, closed the door, and cried, "I want Blaine and Lindsay and George to come BAAAACK!" I wanted to join her in her grief, but had to finish getting sharing time together (I had forgotten it was my turn....oops).

We just loved having them all here. Here are some highlights from their visit:

-George's dancing. That kid dances anytime he hears anything even resembling music. Blaine and Lindsay have even made him his own mix CD that he dances to. Graham picked up some of his moves while they rocked together.

-Lucy's Kmart tantrum. She couldn't understand why I wouldn't buy the big pool with two slides. Apparently she thinks I have money to burn because it grows on trees.

-Singing, "Do the Tiger" all weekend. George loves The Wiggles and will do all the animal sounds to the songs. The song gets stuck in your head very easily.

-Jason's frustrated McDonald's Drive thru moment. We were all whispering because the kids were asleep. Imagine Jason and I arguing with loud whispers.

-Lindsay and I trying to order snow cones and are sandals sticking so hard to the nasty ground.

I loved it when we were hanging out in the evenings laughing and joking around. Blaine and Lindsay are two of my favorite people. We're so glad you came, but we were so sad to see you go! We'll see you in a few weeks!