Summer Break Week 6

The first half of week 6 was spent trying to catch up on needed chores and getting our home ready for our next round of visitors.  Finn also had CF clinic this week and had a good appointment.  The doctors are all very happy with the weight he is gaining (he is over 40 pounds now!) and how he is doing.  We did have a few issues that they recommended we discuss with the ENT and GI doctors, but other than that, it was a pretty basic appointment.  His next appointment is scheduled for October and will be his "annual" appointment, which just means they do his blood work and spend more time talking to us.  Since he will be 6 this year, it is also time for his next CT scan (they do them every 3 years), and so we were asked to schedule that.

Bree insisted on wearing all of her beads!

While I was cleaning the house Finn managed to drop a magnetic rock into the toilet.  We went fishing with a paper clip to get it out.  YUCK!

On Wednesday we spent the day cleaning the house as we were expecting Reid's sister, Kristi, and her family to be arriving that evening.  We always love having them come to visit and this time was no exception.  We were all very excited to see them and the boys took off playing with their cousins the minute they walked through the door.  We did not expect Maci and Bree to play that much together, just due to their age, but they surprised us all by really enjoying each other.  They even actually played together and not just side-by-side.  It was super cute and just so fun!

Thursday morning Finn had an ENT appointment and Reid had to get a couple hours of work in, but then we were all free.  After a quick lunch we loaded up in the cars and headed to Denver to visit the aquarium.  It had been three years since we had been and our kids were very excited.

Kai

Finn

Kai, Issac, and Finn having a good time

Ok, isn't she the cutest thing you've ever seen??  We love Maci!

And this was just too funny!

Yep, that fish is bigger than Kai.

Who's in the bubble??  (PS.  The answer is Finn and Bryn.)

Kai touching a chocolate chip sea star.

Bree wanted to touch, too.

Finn, Isaac, Kai, and Bree (and you can see Maci's bow sticking up behind Issac)

Love these two!

After the aquarium we went to the Spaghetti Factory for dinner.  They must have seen the 8 kids and the 4 adults and known we were going to be trouble, and so they gave us a nice room all to ourselves in the restaurant.  That turned out to be a blessing as we didn't feel the need to continually tell the boys to be quiet and to stay in their seats.  It was a good dinner despite trying to control the chaos and we were glad that we chose that stop.

Our dinner table.  Don't ask what Reid is doing!

Maci, Kristi, Bryn, and Bree (yep, it's my child with food all over her face!)

Friday morning we headed out to hike to the Palmer Reservior.  I'm not sure how the others felt, but for me it seemed a much easier hike after all of the hiking in Estes Park.  I'm sure the altitude made it difficult for our Kansas family, but they didn't complain.  We all made it up the mountain and the kids enjoyed dipping their hands (and Bree's feet) in the reservior before we sat down for snacks.  After snacks we headed back down the mountain, which is always the easiest part!

Starting our hike

We made it to the reservior.  I love this picture.

Cousins!

These two were enjoying their snack on a rock.  Kristi asked them to smile for the camera and this is what she got from Issac, and Finn would not take the picture without showing off his juice.  

Saturday morning Reid and Erik headed out very early to get us seats at the 4th of July parade.  Kristi and the kids and I managed to get off of the school bus shuttle just as the parade started and we had to make our way to the middle of the parade route to find our seats.  But once we were there we all had a great time.  This was the closest to the start of the parade route we had ever sat and the kids got a whole lot more candy than we have ever had.  And a lot of otter pops and water as well.

I spent an afternoon with these girls and played a game that involved me tucking them into bed.  They would ask for hugs and kisses (even Maci!) and then they would shout "Time to wake up!" and get up, run through a pop-up tunnel and play tent and do it all over again.  So sweet!

After the parade we were all pretty worn out.  We spent the rest of the 4th relaxing and visiting at home and just enjoying being with family.  We were so glad that they had come to visit us!