A Boyd Visit

July 2011

We always look forward to our summer visits from Shawn and Kellie's family. Our families seem to blend well together and of course Kellie and I love staying up through the wee hours of the morning chatting without an ocean or phone line between us.

The smaller kids had a great time playing in the sprinklers and pool and we went through quite a bit of sunscreen in 2 days. It was so nice to sit on the porch swing and watch them from the comforts of our own yard instead of needing to put on momma bathing suits and try to keep an eye on our own kids among a pool full of strangers and splashers. And there was no panic (or very little panic) of drowning involved.

We love simple summer dinners! Bread & milk or burritos and everyone is happy...even the moms who don't have to bake in the summer heat or clean up a big mess in the kitchen.

Our kids pair off perfectly and each pair has it's own unique qualities and cuteness. Derek and Brendan both love to create and build things with their amazingly brilliant minds. Justin and Jeremy are the entertainment of the crowd. Not just loud but funny. They can take off together or pal around with the younger kids but they are seldom alone.

Nathan and Andie are just adorable together. They are like a little couple. They are best friends, they argue, they can sit quietly to read or color or they can have the whole toy room set up as they play imagination in their own pretend little family.

Hyrum and Hailey are our babies. Hyrum adores Hailey and she doesn't seem to mind the hugs. This time around the age difference didn't seem to get in the way near as much as they played together and filled the role of "kids" for Andie and Nathan's playtime.

Nathan and Hyrum get so excited when Shawn comes. Since LeRoy's back surgeries he is unable to wrestle with the boys or throw them around like he did with our older kids so Shawn fills in. He can really make them laugh with his stories and they always feel so important after hanging out with Uncle Shawn.

Kellie was able to sneak a picture of Levi on the way to Arizona. He usually hides from the camera so we are always excited to catch one with him looking and smiling.

Levi and Shawn have been buddies since Levi was four. They wrote back and forth through Shawn's mission and a tour to Afghanistan and Levi even joined Shawn and Kellie in a picture at their wedding where it would look like he is their kid. Shawn and Kellie started taking him on trips with them when he was about 12. They have been to Disneyland, Las Vegas, many museums, Peru and Machu Picchu, a Grand Canyon camp and hike, and this year they went to Arizona for camping and hiking. Levi fits in so well with Shawn's family that he is almost like one of the brothers but he also holds a bit of the big brother roll for Shawn and Kellie's kids.

I regretted not having any pictures of Kellie and I together from when she lived here for a couple of months so this trip I made it a point to get some. It just so happened that I was having a friend, Michelle, take pictures of me as part of a birthday gift for LeRoy and Kellie was going with me for the pictures. She also knows Michelle so it was very comfortable (and FUN) to get our pictures taken together. It was a really good thing we did it this way because the two of us aren't in any of the other pictures that were taken this trip.