Oh -It's Bridal, not Bridle!

Ben asked for marshmallows this morning.  I made hot chocolate to go with them.  Big hit.

Ben joined Kyle at the magnets.  I helped Ben build a little house.  Ben put a door on one side, drove a car in, and declared that the car was in the garage.

Lewis was as amazed as I was.

A walk was on the agenda.  We left the house, and Ben declared that he was going to ride in the stroller where Lewis was sitting.  Ben's feelings about strollers are well known, but to our amazement, Ben rode in the stroller all the way to our destination.

The kids spied half an egg on our walk. A discussion followed about why it was there.

I love bridges.

Nathan was pulling in his arms to stay warm.  The rest of us were fine.

This walk takes us underneath a bridge.

Jacob and I had a little fun before catching up with the others.

We had breakfast at Kneaders.  Ben was fine eating free samples.

A few of us left the restaurant before the others to see if we could keep the stroller free for Lewis.

Ben loved the river and the rocks.

However, every time a car drove over the bridge, he would ask, "What dat noise?"

That particular noise is a little unsettling.

We still had fun.

The others caught up, and we headed toward the other bridge.  Adele found treasures along the way.

Ben pushed Lewis most of the way home.

When he got a little tuckered, Papa Ben came to the rescue.

Nate picked a beautiful dandelion for me.

Melanie borrowed my camera and took a very artsy photo.

i borrowed it back when I saw these droplets caught in a web.

The rest of our morning was relatively quiet.

Ben enjoys playing with his cousins.

He did not realize that he was leaving in a few hours.

Nate found an ancient game on a shelf in the basement.  I struggled with this version.  Dave sat in for me to help out.

Nate stumped us both, except for the part where he got the letters mixed up.

After I retook my place, Dave joined us at the table.

Nate choose good words.

He was not happy when I won.

Once Nate guessed this word, we had to quit.

A hike filled our afternoon.

We made our way up to Bridal Veil Falls.  This was my first trip.

The day was beautiful.

Steve and the 3 oldest kids went off on an adventure.  We chose a meeting place, but not a time.

It was cool and beautiful at the falls.

The climb was a little hard for me, but way fun.

We stayed a long time, long enough for me to take a few pictures.

Camille waded in the water.

Carolyn kept a close eye on the kids.

Meanwhile, Steve's group reached the upper falls.

We headed down, with Dave keeping me on the straight and narrow.

We waited at the bottom of the falls just long enough for the kids to wade before Steve and the others joined us.

Meanwhile, Ben and his mommy flew home.

A trip to the pool was in order.  Papa Ben and I remained behind to create a little breathing room in the basement.

To conclude a wonderful day, we enjoyed Cafe Rio for dinner, BYU ice cream for dessert, followed by two Star Trek episodes.

I'm Not Scared of Ferengi

Papa cooked breakfast this morning.  I won't tell you how late I slept.

His breakfast burritos got a thumbs up.

The consensus was for a quiet day.  This was actually a unanimous vote.

Before anyone arrived, I went to some effort to assemble good art supplies for the older girls.

Ella, Melanie and Kate are all artists.

Kate and Melanie both gave me input on materials.

Camille is also very experienced and has her own art station at home.  She enjoyed working with the big girls.

Adele joined them, too.

We pulled up a chair for Julia, too.  This made me very, very happy.

After five days of work on his special Perler project, Nate finally finished it this morning.  He's going to leave it here for me.  (I asked; he consented.)  He knew it would be safe with similar Perler projects made by other cousins during earlier visits.

Luke joined Nate at the dining room table.

Ben was nearby, but he found a different way to be quiet.

Jeff finished the final chapter of a children's story he's been working on for years.

Ben and I joined this group and worked on puzzles.  To my utter and complete surprise, Ben was very interested, paid attention, and put this puzzle together 3 times.

At one point I stood up to help Nate, and instead of waiting for me to return, Ben put this puzzle together all by himself.  I was astounded.  He said, "Choo, choo," while he worked.

When he learned all the kids had gone outside to listen to Uncle Jeff's story, he raced out to join them. He got side-tracked by Papa's shoes.

This was a very pleasant, mostly analog morning.

After the story, Camille helped Jane finish her Perler project.  Jane nicely asked me if she could take her dolphin home.  She was pleased to learn that if it wasn't Star Trek, it was hers.

Jill arrived.  Lewis was among those who were delighted.

Papa Ben took most of the kids downstairs where they watched The Little Prince, a recent birthday gift from Carolyn.  Dave was delighted to figure out the correct buttons to watch this in English.

While tidying up the kitchen, I found this masterpiece.

I listened to Dave and Melanie work on a duet.

Ben ran into the room to listen and ultimately joined them.

Melanie finished her painting project from earlier in the week.  After lunch, some of the group went tramping.  My camera and I did not go.  Maybe next week.

After dinner and the departure of Jeff's kids, my peeps and I watched a little Star Trek.  I cannot tell you the pure joy I felt when they requested a show we'd watched before.  This one is a favorite. 

Camille doesn't like the parts with the Ferengi.  She quickly grabbed some art supplies and went outside.  Julia and Ben joined her.

I love seeing their artwork.

Ben has grown to love these two cousins during this week and knows their names.

I sat outside with them, even though I'm not scared of the Ferengi.