JOSEPH & AMY: A Full House

Last week we were happy to have our first house guests. Joseph's sister and my dear friend, Elizabeth drove here from Albuquerque with her four kids. We had a lovely, relaxing six days together in our little house. We had just met Adam and Courtney last month in Columbus but that was quick, so it was my absolute pleasure to have their squishy baby selves to kiss and hold for a long period of time. Noelle is four years older than the last time I saw her and Madeleine was just nine months old the only time I met her. It was really speical to have so much time to really get to know their funny little personalities. Here are some photos, in no real order, of how we kept busy during their awesome visit.

The boys hanging out in the kitchen.

We made several different batches of jam with all the berries we picked.

Just so exhausted, she couldn't last past dinner. Also, this was the first meal eaten at our new table.

The slip n slide was a huge hit. The girls and Cooper played on it night after night. All the adults couldn't believe how short it looked.

After breakfast at the Bluebonnet we went to Sweet Berry Farm and picked 15 pounds of blackberries and strawberries.

The boys in the kitchen again.

The babies were really good about playing together on the floor. I thought this picture was really cute, because Coop wasn't quite sure what to think of a house full of kids.

Courtney ate as much as an average adult while she was here. Seriously, she's an itty bitty girl but she can put food away. All the kids ate well, and Adam ate just as much, but little Courtney chowing down was a pleasure to experience.

Noelle loved playing cards with the adults, but especially with Uncle Jojo. They spent hours and hours playing War, Old Maid and Uno. They both hate to lose. It was entertaining.

Beautiful, sweet, ripe berries.

Elizabeth and I worked in the kitchen late into the night while Joseph worked and the kids slept. We have so much to talk about and the kitchen is the best place to do that.