TWO much fun!

We were so blessed these past two weeks to have two sets of visitors! In the (nearly) 2 1/2 years that we've lived here we've hardly had anybody make the trek to the Pacific Northwest. And it IS a trek. But so worth it - it's gorgeous here! So we have been super excited these past few months anticipating our visitors.

First was Jeff, Angie, Cal & Monica Foster. Jeff did his last rotation of med school with a family practice doctor in our stake. We LOVED having you guys here! Angie is the coolest person and I absolutely loved being able to hang out with her and our kids all day. I feel so lucky to have such a fabulous sister-in-law! We got to know one another better and I got some great tips on how to be a better mom by watching her. She is such a great mom! They got here on Mother's Day and were here for 12 days. I think all visitors should have to stay with us that long. It was perfect. We got to do some really fun things, but we also had time to hang out at home and go for walks nearby and hit some parks. Hopefully it won't be their last visit to our corner of the country!

Classic Waterfront Park shots...

what can I say, it's our favorite place!

A little birthday pizza party with cake, ice cream, family and friends!

Hours of fun with
homemade playdough:
1/2 cup salt
1 cup flour
1 tbsp cream of tartar
1 tbsp oil
1 cup water
food coloring
Combine ingredients in saucepan. Heat gently, stirring all the time. Dough will start to form a ball. Take off of heat and allow to cool. Stores well in a large ziploc bag or tupperware.
(recipe courtesy of Elizabeth Foster)

Point Defiance Zoo!

The doctor Jeff did this rotation with was super laid back and let Jeff make his own hours, which ended up being very few. :) It was perfect because Jeff got to hang out with us a lot and was able to do the zoo.

We hopped a ferry over to Seattle and went to the Experience Music Project museum.
It was a fun-filled, long day!

Angie and I ran a 5-mile race for Poulsbo's Viking Fest. That's the longest I've ever run in one shot. Our time was 47:52, I think. Not bad for a couple of moms who didn't do too much to prepare! My friends Marcela, Tristalene and Jennifer also ran...

The day before Jeff and Angie left, my little sister Adrianne and her family - Trent, Jack and Lily - flew in. Tickets to come see me were her birthday present (in March) and she flew in on my birthday! It was a very fun night with everyone in our home. Jack and Cal are just 3 days apart with Max 7 months younger and Lily and Monica are 3 months apart with Kelly 4 months younger than Monica. Pretty cool how that's worked out on both sides. Anyway, I didn't take any pictures of my birthday festivities, but my husband (of course) treated me right and surprised me with a kid-free, super nice evening of dinner (that he made) and dancing the night before my b-day. He also got me a little i-pod to run with during my preparation for the half-marathon in October. Oh, plus I got a load of moolah for Mother's Day/birthday to go shopping with. It's mostly gone already. :)

You guessed it - Waterfront Park again!

Some random shots of some cute kids. They LOVED each other. It was fun to listen and watch Jack and Max play together. They had a lot of fun with a lot of cute little boy giggling. Kelly and Lily loved to smile at each other and we loved watching it. Sure wish we lived closer to cousins... *sigh*

We took a tour of Qwest Field (where the Seahawks play). Trent is a BIG seahawks fan so it's really cool that we live in Seahawk territory. We thought it might not be all that exciting of a tour, but boy were we wrong! It was awesome. Man, those people who have football obsessions AND a lot of money sure get treated right when they attend games. We're hoping that Adri and Trent are going to come back this fall so that we can all go to a game together, although we'll just be hangin' in the stands with the rest of the chumps who aren't loaded. :)

Kitsap Memorial Park on the Hood Canal. It was a beautiful evening - perfect weather and perfect company.I just want to say a few words about Adrianne. I love her so, so much. Isn't she beautiful? I love this picture of her and her little lady. Adri is such a pure person. She is so kind-hearted, she is a fabulous momma, her laugh is contagious and she laughs often. You can't help but feel happier when Adri is around. She is one of my very best friends. I love that she was finally able to come and visit me! It was a perfect visit. Well, almost perfect...I wish it could have lasted a little longer.**Now spread the word, Fosters and Tippetts...hopefully others will take the trip if they know what great hosts we are! :) **