Best Valentine's Weekend Ever. Seriously. And Not Because of Rus.

Ahhhh!!

*Hugs* *Hugs*

Yaaaaayy!!

...That was pretty much the exchange between Lindsey and I when I found her in the Abq airport...after braving three separate and should-be-confusing elevators to wait for her in the greeters area. I missed her grand entrance through the rotating doors because I was using Bekah's spit to help me clean up her booger/rice krispie treat adorned face. You know. To make her presentable and non-neglected...Anywho, there is way too much to tell for me to keep going on like this...Let me sum it up:

Thursday: Lindsey's arrival...Naptime was spent catching up and um, then talking some more...Nighttime activites included glow bracelets, some rockin' music, and dancing in the dark...and Rus trying to "figure out" (code: mess up) Lindsey's new and amazing camera. We all loved how those pics turned out...Oh, yeah, and we also roasted homemade mallows (yum! - recipe from the food network) on the stove. This was a prelude to making choc chip cookies after the kids went to bed...so we could eat them all ourselves...BAH HA HA (*evil laugh)Friday: By divine intervention Lindsey and I were able to go to the temple. It was a wonderful experience and I was so happy to share it with Lindsey!The rest of the day consisted of brown paper traced people (aka Flat Bekah, Flat Jacob, Flat Lindsey and Flat Keri). The coloring was spectacular and the results were hideous/beautiful and memorable. I'm the one with the lips. Can't miss'em. Lindsey is the one with the bling. Hot, huh!And then Friday night my awesome friend Tara stayed with all my should-be-sleeping kids so that we could all go pick up Tyler from the airport. We hid when he walked through the doors, and then followed him down the escalators and talked loudly about him until he finally turned around with a sheepish "you totally got me" expression on his face. And then we went out for ice cream before going home. Yum. I should have mentioned that this whole weekend totally stunk of sweets. Now you know.Saturday: VALENTINE'S DAY! Who wouldn't want to wake up and eat pink heart shaped pancakes and read corny Valentine's poems? Beau certainly did, that's why he was so happy here. JK. He was happy because he got to smoosh Tyler. Yay!

After breakfast we all squished into the van and went to try out the Explora museum in abq, a children's museum that is completely hands on. It's two story and honeycombed into little stations where you can play and learn about water flow, music, color, air/wind power, bubbles, etc...and when you get tired you can just chill in the extra large elevator, complete with couches. There is also a high wire bicycle that we all had to try out. I could have spent even longer there if my kids weren't with me and I didn't have to worry about losing them every time they went around a corner. The little kid in me totally wanted to hole up in the craft section where they had everything you needed to make anything. ***Oh, and there should be a disclaimer about myself being ever present in most of the pictures, but what can I say, Lindsey had the camera and she made me look hot. Well, at least cute, presentable, and photogenic, which is not the norm.my good lookin' hubby (*goofy expression is caused by food in his mouth*)...who I must say I am completely in love with because he is my best friend and my favorite and my only. I gave him my first kiss, and I'll give him my last. Uh hem...after the crazy fun morning we sat on our butts and allowed the kids to provide us with entertainment. Bekah and Jacob went off to play pretend, with Jacob saying something like "Let's go, hon!" and then Bekah saying "Okay, but first we gotta do our taxes, hon!" Oh, funny. For dinner that night we had to go all out with heart plates and sparkling cider and homemade personal pizzas. Tyler the Uber Chef showed us how it was done and everything turned out delish. Again, after the kids were in bed we busted out the fondue pot to have angel food cake dipped in chocolate. Sigh. That was good.Sunday: The best/worst thing about Sunday was when Beau was standing up on the pew at church, facing the people behind us, a full belly because he had just eaten, and then BLECH, he spit up all over the pant leg of the man sitting behind me. I was sooo embarrassed I could have died. This man is probably my dad's age and he took it very well, with his wife whispering that "that's what cuffs are for!" So after the meeting let out I turned around and said, "Brother Soandso, I've just really been wanting to get to know you better! My name is Keri, and you've met Beau..." We all had a good laugh. Another man sitting across the aisle told me he won't be sitting directly behind me anytime soon.

Sunday night we had to ship Tyler back to AZ, but Lindsey got to stay for another day. So on Monday we hung out and went to the park at the new elementary school by my house. It was super windy and Beau was really tired, but we had a good time. Jacob getting stuck, but then seeing Lindsey take his picture he put on a brave face for the camera.

I made Lindsey take a family pic before she left. This was the happy version of us. (The sad version is in the following post) I love that Beau is wearing a Christmas bib because all of his other ones were dirty, and he's sucking on a pink play phone. If we'd taken this the night before, Jacob would be wearing those purple jammies Bekah has on, and Bekah would be wearing a blue pair. He really wanted jammies with feet, and Bekah was kind enough to supply him with some.

This next pic is somewhat inexplicable. Jacob had a sudden onset of mennonchinonipplitis. Serious, very serious.

And I just love this pic. His disagreeable expression, and the word "monster" on his shirt.

Okay, and just a few more pics, just for fun because I love them...

Thank you SO MUCH to Lindsey and Tyler for coming to visit and helping to make this the best weekend ever. I had so much fun and I feel so blessed to know such amazing people!

K, love you, gotta go now...buhbye!