Family Visit

We love living in Salt Lake . We get to see my family much more than we ever have before. Erin and her husband Kelly live here which is wonderful for us, and it is also a place where everybody comes. The last week in July/first week in August, we were able to spend a lot of time with my family. It was great. My parents were here from Florida at a conference. My Dad was able to stay for a few days, and my Mom stayed until August 9th. What a treat for all of us! While they were here, Carter was here as well, visiting from New Mexico. Jay, Ilene and Andrew who live in California came and surprised my parents with a visit. Everyone knew they were coming, except my parents, and it was a really nice surprise for them. They had not seen baby Andrew yet. Taylor and Krista came from Logan. All but 2 kids, and their families were here. We sure missed those who couldn't be here.

We were able to do some fun things while everyone was here. We had a couple of picnics in the park, did some shopping, hung out, and had a cookout up Big Cottonwood canyon one night. It was beautiful. Erin and Kelly cooked Jambalaya, and it was SOO yummy. They never disappoint when they are in charge of the cooking.

Camille was Aunt Krista's little shadow. One time, when asked what she was doing, Camille said that she was going to "go hang out with Aunt Krista." Is she old enough to "hang out"? She was so good to her. Our kids are so blessed to have aunts and uncles on both sides who are so sweet to them.

The kids had a ball playing in the dirt and rocks. There was a cave nearby, so they got to do a little exploring too.

Jay, Ilene, and Andrew. Andrew is the cutest baby with the best smile! It was so much fun to get to see them all for a few days!

Mom is the best! It was so nice to have her here for a little while. Poor thing, she got put to work! She helped me tackle my never ending laundry nightmare, and gave some good suggestions to help me. Also, a challenge to actually DO IT! She must be my Mom, because she knows me well. :) I loved getting to visit and just spend time together. We used to always do projects together when she came. We chuckled at the fact that life is so busy now, at the stage that I am in with our kids, that there never seems to be enough time to do those fun projects anymore. Someday.

It is always so nice to have Carter come visit. He and Erin were so good to me- they took the kids to the movie and the park one afternoon, and I had free time for a few hours. It was heaven! Guess what I did? I finished sewing a project that I have been working on. Ahh! What a thoughtful thing for them to do for us. We are so blessed to have great families. We are having a Payne reunion in Albuquerque in September. I am really looking forward to getting together again!