House Guests

We had so much fun with our Canadian friends!

We've had so many house guests this year that we actually bought a cheap bunkbed so that we could put up a few more people. Now that none of Natalie's sisters live in Utah, it seems like they stay pretty often, so it seemed worth it. We actually had two sisters and their families here before we went to Bear Lake. Right after we returned, we had friends from Canada come and stay for a week.

Tyler and Lisa and three of their boys came in on Saturday from Alberta. They wanted to spend a few days with us while Colby was at EFY. It turned out to be a vacation for us, even though we were staying at home.

We had a quiet Sunday with our three boys and their three boys attending Church together. It was Fast Sunday, so we had a big evening meal and mostly tried to keep the boys doing Sunday activities. We even got to study scriptures together. The boys enjoyed playing games with Brock and Drake, and Dad and Tyler enjoyed talking about their missions and the people they had forgotten about.

Tyler and Randy realized that they were wearing the same shirts as the last time we got together in 2018.

The boys love playing games together.

They brought us some treats from Canada. All were good except those awful ketchup Doritos. 

Tyler and Randy spent over an hour stalking old missionary companions. 

We had some other great adventures, too. One day we went to the Aquarium. This is a bit of a splurge for us, but we were glad to go. Since Tyler has a large saltwater aquarium back in Canada, he was telling us all about the fish: what kinds go together, what each requires, and how rare or expensive each fish was. We really enjoyed our time together, and of course, the boys were happy to be at the aquarium again.

Our boys love the aquarium.

The youngest boys in our families. 

We loved showing them around our aquarium.

Turning your glasses upside down is so hilarious!

Dax and this crab posed for a picture.

Aaahhh!

Mark is pretty brave at the touch tank.

Everyone wanted to touch the sharks and stingrays.

We had such a fun time together. Even Seth who is hiding in this picture!

Seth loves Brock, and Brock is so kind to Seth.

Another day we went to the pool down in Provo. It is a large indoor/outdoor pool, and we had a great time swimming, sliding, playing basketball, and talking. The boys mostly took care of themselves while we talked and sat on the edge of the pool, which was nice, too. Afterward we went to a favorite local restaurant called Chubby's for burgers and fries.

Tyler bought a one wheel and all the kids had to try it. We made them wear helmets, of course.

It takes some great skateboard balancing skills and a guide. 

Dad was pretty good!

We had fun cooling off in the pool together. So many boys!

Dad played some basketball with the boys. 

Dax is such a champ at climbing the rock wall in his swimsuit. 

Seth just orders the scones at Cubby's. 

After dinner we tried out a new ice cream place called Brooker's Founding Fathers. It was all based on American history, which was lost on our Canadian friends, but amazingly, we saw another missionary from Alaska as we were standing in line. It was pretty cool, even though it was our boys' pediatric dentist.

We had a great vacation right at home with our friends. Now we need to head up to Canada to see them!

We had so much fun at this ice cream shop.

And we couldn't believe we ran into another Alaska missionary. 

Great treats and great friends makes for a great night!

We also took them to Waffle Luv. We are so grateful we have reconnected with Tyler and his family.