2 Kids + 2 Kids = Lots of Laughter & Lots of Tears

My sister, Julie, came to Portland and spent the last week and a half here. We had lots of fun. With our kids together 24 hours a day, our house was a fun zone and a war zone. Kaden's 5, Ashlyn's almost 4, Austin's almost 2, and then there's Versii, almost 15 months. All the kids need nap time daily (except Kaden) or there's total craziness. The kids played well together for awhile and around the time that they were tired or hungry, there started to be a lot of fighting, crying and you would hear things like, "I don't want to be you friend anymore." or "We not being best friends now." It's funny how there can be a hundred toys and they all fight over one.

This is the kids playing duck duck goose. Although the younger ones just ran and ran.

Here's an example of the crying caught on camera...Kaden is actually crying because Ashlyn popped a bubble he deemed as his.

Here's Austin sneaking through the flower bed, while I was trying to take a picture of how Kaden's sunflowers are now taller than he is.

Ashlyn really does love her cousin Kaden. They wanted to sleep in the same bed every night, but of course we couldn't let them...all they'd do is keep playing all night long.

We actually didn't do anything big while Julie was in town. But we did go to IKEA a few times to let Kaden and Ashlyn play in the Smalland. (IKEA's play place) It's great if you have a young child who's potty trained. They'll watch your kids for an hour for free. No babies allowed though, bummer. Anyway, Kaden and Ashlyn begged to go there after the first time...it looks really fun. They have a big ball pit and a little rock climbing wall, a coloring area, and a loft where they can sit and watch a movie. And Mom took the big kids to Chuck E' Cheese which of course they loved! And Julie and I were able to get away from the kids long enough to catch a few movies. We went and saw Get Smart and Momma Mia. Julie's got a good review of it on her blog. (The Lara Family, if you want to check it out.)

I have realised that I didn't get one picture of Julie and I together. I wanted to get a picture of us with all our kids, but it just didn't happen. They'll be back in December though, to celebrate Christmas with us. We can do it then.