California cousins

Last Tuesday our 'California cousins' (as we always refer to them as :) were able to come up here to Washington for their first visit in 6 years! We have been waiting and waiting for this day and wow-have we made the most of their visit so far. They are Bryce's sister, Merrili's kids. Tiffany (10), Nicolette (9), and Ricky (6), Chloe (3) had to stay home with mom and dad-maybe next time sweetie!
We have seen everything that Olympia has to offer. Here is a breakdown of how our days have been:

Tuesday: the kids got here and our family went over to meet them at Grandma's house for roasting hot dogs and marshmellows. We also spent quite a bit of the evening playing soccer-Uncle Bryce spear-headed that event and the kids LOVED it!

Wednesday: Brody, Kelsi, and I again headed over to Grandma's to see the cousins, but the weather wasn't really cooperating that day. The kids spent most of the day playing in the yard and in the 'Batcave' (which is under a canopy of trees in the lower part of Grandma's yard and has been Brody's favorite hideout for years...hence the name....remember the Batman phase?). Then the weather broke a little and we put Kelsi in the stroller and all headed downtown to Bayview market to feed the seagulls and ride 'Big Red', the coin operated horse outside the market. Again, another favorite of Brody and Kelsi's.
That night the kids all packed up and came over to our house to stay the night. We introduced them to the finer points of playing Yahtzee and Disney DVD Bingo. I think everyone had a great time.

Thursday: Uncle Bryce took today off so the whole group headed down to the Farmer's Market to look for our name-engraved bricks and get shaved ice, a big tradition in our family. Gotta love those shaved ice! It was a beautiful and sunny day so then we went over to Tumwater Falls park and walked the park. I'll post a bunch of those pictures. Then we all got dressed up and went to have our pictures taken together. I can't wait to get those back! Next back to Grandma's for dinner and more playing until it was time for Uncle Bryce, Aunt Kelly, and Kelsi to go home. Brody hasn't slept at our house since Wednesday! He can't bear to part with the cousins.

Friday: Uncle Bryce had today off also, so we met up with Grandma and the kids at Priest Point Park. They had gone to Burfoot park that morning and collected a bunch of beach 'treasures' including 12 jellyfish! Then we had lunch at P.P. park, played soccer, played on the playground, and went for a nature walk. Then back to Grandma's to wash the van and have a water fight. Thanks, Uncle Bryce for taking on that too! Lucky Grandma had all of the kids that night for dinner and sleeping-boy is she getting her grandkid fill!

Saturday: Everyone showed up at our house this morning (still in jammies) for strawberry waffles with whipped cream and ham slices. (Grandma went home for a rest :) After our very filling breakfast, we took the kids for a walk around our neighborhood, then back home so each could make their very own loaf of bread! We ate the bread with our lunch and I believe it was a big hit because almost all of it is gone. Grandma came to get the kids to go to Burfoot again and we will be meeting up with them again for dinner any time. As of the posting of this, that is how far we have gotten. So I will give the remainder of the trips update later. So far, we have had such a great time and wouldn't have changed anything. More fun to come!