After our amazing Ethiopian feast, we headed north to ID to visit DMP's oldest brother, Don and his family. These are some of my most favorite people in the world- I love my SIL Suzanne so much and I want to be like her when I grow up! It was also really fun to hang out with their two youngest- formerly known as "the monsters"- now all grown up and graduating from High School and driving and stuff...
I was able to confirm a suspicion I've had for a while- Bear is Ryan's long-lost twin. I couldn't get Bear to not "cheese" for the camera, but trust me when I say that these two look alike- and it isn't just because of their monchichi hair cuts (Ryan TOTALLY missed that cultural reference proving that I'm really old). When I joined DMP's family, Ryan was just a bit older than Bear. So crazy to see him all growed up! (Look, Ryan! No reference to wiping bums! Ooops- I blew it!)
We all got to spend time with Aunt Suzanne. She is the best Aunt/Grandma hybrid- she let the kids eat a ton of cookies, bought them chocolate chip muffins for breakfast. She spent a lot of time watching Bear play and being his audience. We got to go to church with these guys. Suzanne is a RS president, too, and I was so blessed to hear her teach. It was special to see her "in action" and hear her testimony. We also got to hear Ryan bless the sacrament. The kids were thrilled that their big cousin was the one to do it- I don't think they have ever seen anyone they know bless the sacrament. As a side note, people were great and asked who we were. DMP explained that he was Don's younger brother. We realized too late we should have said he was the older brother, just to confuse them!
In addition to all the visiting, they fed us really well here. Uncle Don made some really, really yummy curry for Sunday dinner- the girls loved it! He also set me straight on how Formula One drivers really are athletes and I stand corrected. They are at LEAST more athletic than pro golfers and baseball players :) I love how the picture above proves that it doesn't matter how old you are or how tall you get, the "kid table" is all about relative age :)
All the kids loved their big cousins, but Courtney was the favorite. She was nice enough to let Dave and I sleep in her room. Birdy was in there getting dressed and she looked around at her room (which features a lot of pictures of cats and kittens- Courtney really likes them). She said "I think she likes cats, Mom" (huge understatement). Then she sighed wistfully and said "I wish she was my big sister!" We walked home from church and Bear was really concerned that she wasn't with us and kept asking about her the whole time.
During Sunday dinner, Aunt Suzanne got a phone call, and Bear couldn't finish his dinner. He simply HAD to explore this relic called a "telephone cord". Good thing Suzanne has the patience of a saint- he played with it for 20 min. while she was on the phone!
We also got to meet our new niece Livia on this visit. Cody got married last summer and we missed meeting her (and the wedding- darn being far away from everyone!). She is really, really nice and told us funny stories about working at the zoo. We really like her and I hope they will come and visit us in TX someday soon! (hint hint)
Our visit was over too soon. We can't wait to see them next year!
P.S. This giant 2 or 3 story high fountain/sculpture in IF always makes me laugh. I think the eagle is one of the giant ones from the Lord of the Rings/Hobbit- check out its size relative to the mountain lion in the lower left...
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