Fun with Kingston Girls

Camping in the back yard with cousin Maddi

We were lucky enough this month to have two of my nieces with us for a few days. Karen and her family came up on Friday the 10th to pick their daughter Nikki up at EFY the next day. They had to be to BYU-Idaho by 7:30 so they spent the night at our house. They left all buy 1 kid sleeping at our house and then came back after picking up Nikki and her friend. While they were here Karen and Kenny came up with a plan to let the kids play longer. Karen left Maddi (11) and Gabbi (9) with us and then we were going to send them back plus Ben and Sarah with Grandma the following Thursday.

We had a wonderful week filled with many activities and we're so glad the girls were able to be here. I hope they had as much fun as our family did. Saturday night Kenny and I left the 4 oldest kids (Maddi, Gabbi, Sarah Kate, Ben) and we went grocery shopping. It was so nice not to have all 5 kids and our kids loved being home with their cousins. On Sunday night we took them to the river for a walk. We fed the ducks and let the kids walk around in the water a little. The following day was our zoo day. That afternoon we took the kids to the zoo. It's something we've been wanting to do since it opened back up for the season and having Maddi and Gabbi with us was a great reason to go.

Sarah watching the silly baby Llama. He looked so funny resting his head on the fence.

Gracie feeding the goats.

Riding the tiger!

Gracie, Gabbi, Ben, Sarah Kate, Hannah, and poor Maddi being drug behind

Tuesday was an interesting day. Gabbi was getting pretty homesick by this time so Karen and Cory drove up to get her. Maddi didn't want to go home yet so they left her at our house. Before they came to get Gabbi I took all the kids minus Dan, who I left home with Kenny, to the free movie they play weekly at the movie theater. The movie this week was Surfs Up and though I thought it had potential, the little girls were bored stiff. That goodness it was a theater full of kids and their parents and it was a free movie because I couldn't get them to sit for more that 10 minutes at a time. Even though the little girls didn't enjoy the movie it was a good outing and I think everyone was glad we went. I'm debating weather or not to be brave and take the kids again.

Playing in Rire Reservoir

After Karen came and got Gabbi we decided to take the kids to the reservoir. Rire Reservoir has a great swimming area near the dock and we enjoy taking the kids there sometimes to swim. The water was cold, but all the kids and Kenny got in. I'm not suppose to swim until 6 week after having Dan so I stayed on shore and watched the baby and watched the kids have fun. Kenny blew up the raft and pulled the kids around and everyone had a great time. The weather wasn't the warmest so we only stayed for about an hour, but it was a lot of fun. That night Maddi, Ben, and Sarah Kate decided to sleep outside in the tent. They were so excited and enjoyed being outside. Ben got a little nervous but did well once Kenny talked to him. Kenny set up the little tent next to them after they went to bed just to make sure they were OK. They did great and had a great experience.

Getting ready for bed in the tent.

Being silly in the tent before bed.

Wednesday we waited for Grandma to come. The kids enjoyed riding bikes, playing in the pool, and just hanging out. Grandma Newbry arrived around 3:00 and we all had fun spending time with her. Kenny and I left that night to go to the movie and Grandma watch the kiddos for us. The next day Kenny made a great banana pancake breakfast and then Grandma headed home with Maddi, Sarah Kate, and Ben. They were suppose to be picked up at Grandma's house by Aunt Karen, but due to some issues at Karen's house they never got picked up. Instead Aunt Karen arrived around 9:00 at night and spent the night at Grandma's house.

The big kids had fun playing at Grandma's and Kenny and I enjoyed life as parents of 3 for a day. Man was that easy. I got some much needed cleaning done, I played with the girls, and then we took them to the park and Walmart. It was a great day, but I did miss my big kids. I'm one lucky mom.