The day after my sister Miriam and her family left to go home my sister Annette and her two kids came to stay with us. Annette's family moved from Russellville, Arkansas to Syracuse, New York last fall (making them a long 15 hour drive away from us instead of an easy seven hour drive). That means that now instead of Annette's family being able to visit a few times a year, they'll only be able to visit once in the summer.
I was still recovering from being sick the first few days Annette was here, but I fortunately started feeling better a few later. We had so much fun together! We didn't really do anything over the top or super exciting, but we had lots of fun hanging out, talking, playing games, etc. Here are some of the highlights from Annette's visit:
Ice Cream: One of the things we did with Annette was make homemade ice cream. Last year when Annette was in the market for a KitchenAid mixer I helped her find one online. I found a really good deal on a 6-quart mixer, and I even managed to get her a free ice cream bowl attachment (one of the extra things you can buy to go with KitchenAid mixers). The ice cream bowls usually sell for $75 and I knew Annette would never pay so much for something she would use so seldomly, so I'm glad I was able to find a mixer that came with a rebate for a free ice cream bowl attachment.
She decided to bring the ice cream bowl with her when she visited so that we could try it out with our mom's KitchenAid. We decided to make chocolate ice cream and we put cut up chocolate pieces in it. We all agreed that it was THE BEST homemade ice cream we've ever had (although, we thought that shaved chocolate would be better than cut pieces). I don't know about you, but I don't like having to chew up little frozen pieces of chocolate when I'm eating ice cream. The ice cream bowl attachment was so easy to use and I'm seriously tempted to buy one for my mom's KitchenAid mixer so that we can make ice cream for special occasions, like when family comes to visit.
I almost forgot to get a picture of the ice cream, so it was partially eaten and starting to melt, but I think it still looks pretty tasty!
Hair: Chandra gave Rebecah dutch-braided pigtails one afternoon. She was so proud of them and was excited that her hair was wavy after the braids came out.
Shopping: We went to the mall to do some shopping while Annette was here. She doesn't really enjoy shopping, but thought it would be fun if we could go together since it's always nice to have the input of a trusted sister/friend when you're shopping for new clothes. :) We went to New York & Company, my favorite store that I've converted Annette to recently. We weren't as successful as I'd hoped we'd be, but at least we didn't come away empty-handed. All of the pants were "buy one get one free" so I insisted that Annette get a pair of pants (for free) since I bought a pair of pants and didn't want/need another. She also got a really cute shirt. Everything we bought was on sale and I had a coupon for $40 off of a $90 purchase, so we came away with two pairs of pants, three sweaters and a necklace for $130. Not bad when you consider it would've cost $275 if we'd paid full price for everything. (I love getting a good deal!)
Yahtzee: Annette recently got an iPad and she downloaded a Yahtzee app. I've always loved the game Yahtzee, so we had fun playing it on the iPad several times during her visit. One afternoon while Mom and Annette were fixing dinner, Kimball and I played Yahtzee together. Whenever we played Yahtzee as kids and would attempt a Yahtzee (rolling five dice of the same number in three rolls) we would say, "scratch Yahtzee" if we failed to get it (meaning we would take a zero for our score if we didn't get a Yahtzee). Well, when I was playing with Kimball and didn't get a Yahtzee I told him to scratch Yahtzee. He's never heard that phrase before and didn't know I meant by it and proceeded to actually scratch the word "Yahtzee" on the iPad screen. I don't know if this story will make sense to those reading it, but it was hilarious that he took my instructions so literally.
K'nex: When I was a kid one Christmas the thing I wanted the most was K'nex (colorful pieces you can use to make creations with, similar to Legos, except better, in my opinion). I did get K'nex for Christmas that year and loved them. We still have them and they still get a lot of use from my nephews and other little boys that play at our house. (Little girls like to play with them, too, but boys seem to be more excited by them.) Kimball is very good at building things with K'nex/Legos and was constantly amazing us with his ability to follow the instructions (which can be quite difficult/complex).
She decided to bring the ice cream bowl with her when she visited so that we could try it out with our mom's KitchenAid. We decided to make chocolate ice cream and we put cut up chocolate pieces in it. We all agreed that it was THE BEST homemade ice cream we've ever had (although, we thought that shaved chocolate would be better than cut pieces). I don't know about you, but I don't like having to chew up little frozen pieces of chocolate when I'm eating ice cream. The ice cream bowl attachment was so easy to use and I'm seriously tempted to buy one for my mom's KitchenAid mixer so that we can make ice cream for special occasions, like when family comes to visit.
I almost forgot to get a picture of the ice cream, so it was partially eaten and starting to melt, but I think it still looks pretty tasty!
Yahtzee: Annette recently got an iPad and she downloaded a Yahtzee app. I've always loved the game Yahtzee, so we had fun playing it on the iPad several times during her visit. One afternoon while Mom and Annette were fixing dinner, Kimball and I played Yahtzee together. Whenever we played Yahtzee as kids and would attempt a Yahtzee (rolling five dice of the same number in three rolls) we would say, "scratch Yahtzee" if we failed to get it (meaning we would take a zero for our score if we didn't get a Yahtzee). Well, when I was playing with Kimball and didn't get a Yahtzee I told him to scratch Yahtzee. He's never heard that phrase before and didn't know I meant by it and proceeded to actually scratch the word "Yahtzee" on the iPad screen. I don't know if this story will make sense to those reading it, but it was hilarious that he took my instructions so literally.
K'nex: When I was a kid one Christmas the thing I wanted the most was K'nex (colorful pieces you can use to make creations with, similar to Legos, except better, in my opinion). I did get K'nex for Christmas that year and loved them. We still have them and they still get a lot of use from my nephews and other little boys that play at our house. (Little girls like to play with them, too, but boys seem to be more excited by them.) Kimball is very good at building things with K'nex/Legos and was constantly amazing us with his ability to follow the instructions (which can be quite difficult/complex).
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