Tom & Niki's Visit

My cousin, Niki, her husband Tom and their family came down a couple of weeks ago and we had so much fun with them. They gave us our "family fix" for a little while. It's so fun to have people come down here because when we go up to Utah, we usually see everyone in a group and when they come here, we get to visit and the kids play and it's a lot more relaxed and fun. Don't get me wrong, I love to go to Utah and I love to see our family, but it's just a little different having the visits come this way. I hope that makes sense. We haven't seen them in a while and our kids usually play at camp, but it's been a while. They were a little shy at first, but as soon as we got over to Cody's mom's house and went swimming, everyone was fine and they all got along great. I love that about kids.... We had a fun afternoon at Cody's mom's house swimming and then Niki and I made a Costco run and went back to our house and had dinner and set up the waterslide. I think the kids were all pruned by the end of the day.

We swapped kids and Emrie slept here and Bailey went with them and slept at their condo and we met up the next day for church. It was fun having visitors and our ward loves having more people, especially in the summer because everyone leaves, so they fit right in. We hung out all day Sunday, we went to their condo for swimming on Monday and then we met up again on Wednesday night here for pizza and games. They managed to do a few things around the desert while they were here and they let us know how it was because we still haven't made it to some of the attractions around here even though we've been here for 2 1/2 years. We had a great time with them and are so glad they were able to visit. It was fun for all of us and we can't wait for them, or any other family members (hint, hint) that want to come again. We had a little withdrawal when they left but the kids are just excited to see them when we make it to Utah. Thanks for a really fun weekend!
We've really been into water balloons lately....it takes 45 minutes to fill them up and about 2 minutes to throw them all. The kids loved them so it was well worth it, I think! :)
The kids all played so well together. We barely knew they were all here, well, most of the time.

Carson & Dallin were buddies! It was so cute to see them together. Carson loved having someone his own age to play with. I can see them being good friends at camp....I hope we can make it!
We ended up eating a lot! Niki said she's blaming her 5 lbs on me....I had a major sweet tooth while they were here so sorry about that! I had to do a little extra running the next week too. I guess I am getting older.

Water balloon fight! I think Tom ended up pretty wet at the end of this whole thing!

Niki left here with a great tan. I should've hung out with her more. We definitely don't look like we live in California. When it gets this hot, we stay inside! I need to take a day to lay in the pool!


You've gotta love the hair! The girls had so much fun and it was really fun to see how similar they are! Emrie and Brittany got along so well and Bailey & Casie were the little drama queens. I love it!