cousins come to play

Kent's brother Sam and his wife Heidi live in California, and we love that we get to see them when we go visit everyone out there. These kiddos all get along so very well and have a ton of fun together,

and we sure wish we could see them more often.

So when they said they were going to be at a family reunion in Idaho and Montana this summer and that they'd drive down here "on the way" home to see us for a couple of days, 

we were so excited!

Kent had to make a last-minute trip to Times Square for work that weekend, so he missed our lazy Sunday afternoon and dinner with them. 

The next morning we got up and drove into the mountains to take them on our favorite hike, The Grotto.  

 It was definitely a little crazy taking that many kids up there, but it was a beautiful morning with perfect weather and oh so fun.

 I was so glad Daddy was there to help!

The rest of the day we just lounged around while the kids played and played and played. They played with swords and lightsabers, pop-up tents, dolls, horses, legos, blocks, and some crazy game that had to do with spoon fighting.
And I found myself wishing I had a ten-year-old girl to follow Christian around, read to him, play with him, and just be so helpful in general! Carlee is the sweetest.

I thought it would be fun to use what we've got (rocks. So. Many. Rocks.) for a tiny little rock-painting craft.

Then we had a Family Home Evening about temples and took them to visit our newest temple with Rockwell Ice Cream to finish the night.

We are so lucky they came to visit, and we can't wait to see them again!