Today was absolutely gorgeous. Carey and I couldn't resist kicking the kids out and actually going out ourselves. While Carey ran around with the kids (and then took a little nap with Deedee), I puttered around in my garden with the kids. I got several things planted, as well as some little starters begun inside. Outside were carrots, general flowers, some dill, and some lettuce. Inside, I have tomatoes, watermelon and pumpkin in a nice sunny windowsill although I'm thinking of taking them upstairs before my daughter discovers them and dumps them everywhere.

Wow, Carey's family has arrived. Carey's sister Lisa and her family actually got here yesterday. Lisa, her husband Ali, and their son Drew flew in at Spokane and then caught a ride down with their sister Sarah. They showed up here at about five, in a big push pedal contraption that can be rented downtown at the local bike shoppe. Everyone had a blast on it, so Sarah definitely got her money's worth out of it. Ali, Carey's mom, and Drew actually rode the thing about 7 miles round trip today before we met them for lunch at the co op for lunch. So it was a nice visit last evening although I wasn't expecting the family to show up like that. Drew and James had a blast riding down the hill on sleds. Every time they went flying by, I was worried that they would get hurt but even with the numerous spills and tumbles I never saw one tear. Of course, I did feel a little better about insisting that James wear his bike helmet so that helped a bit.

Today for my free time, I ran off with Carey's sisters and we went shopping. We wandered through the boutiques on Main; some of my favorite stores. In fact, one we went in I had never gone in before, so that was nice. We got James a Lone Ranger t-shirt that came with a hat and a mask, for his birthday. We found Charles a little shirt with a fire truck on it that lights up. And for Deedee, we actually bought her a pair of snow boots for this winter. I know, I know. It's still months away, but when you find an awesome deal, sometimes you just have to take advantage of it. I love pedoodles shoes, but at $45, the price for the boots is prohibitive. However, we found this pair at half off, so that was a steal. I really like how they look. And best of all, they aren't pink! I got a new giant wood drying rack that I have been wanting for some time. Now, I can actually set out two loads of laundry to dry, which will be totally awesome this summer. We also hit the mall because I needed a short sleeve white dress shirt for Charles. Grrrr........ no one had any! Nothing went small enough, and most of the short sleeve dress shirts were part of outfits (which I didn't need). And even if they weren't part of outfits, everything was all plaids or stripes. Bleh. What a pain. I just don't get it. Do they think little boys don't wear nice white dress shirts when they're that little? We also stopped in at Claire's and decided to play a prank on our husbands. We bought some magnetic studs, and put them in our noses so they'd think we actually pierced them.

Lisa's husband fell for it, and you could tell he definitely wasn't pleased. He was quite relieved when he found out it was just a joke. Carey also fell for it when we met him and the kids at the park later. He surprised me though by not flying off the handle. He too was relieved when he found out it was a joke and when I asked why he didn't get upset, he just told me that it was my body and I could do as I pleased with it. His major complaint was this it was too big and that it stuck out too far. I have to admit that it did. If I was actually to get my nose pierced it would be a very small discreet stud.

Everyone had lots of fun at the park. It's been some time since I took the kids there, so it was a new experience for all of them. We were there for over an hour before we found out that Carey's brother Joe and his family were just pulling into town. We all arrived down at the winery just in time to meet them and I was very proud of my little ones. They greeted their cousins, and it seems as if they hit it off great. While it's only been a few months since they'd seen Uncle Joe, it's been almost two years since they've seen Aunt Carole, and cousins Julia & Cody (also cousin Drew) so I wasn't sure how'd they handle it all. But they were all soon playing like they'd known each other forever. Julia especially took a shine to Kitty and really enjoyed taking care of her.

We wound up staying for dinner although it hadn't been planned. I think we drove Carey's poor mother insane but it worked out ok. So the kids got to bed pretty late but that's ok. When family that one doesn't see very often comes into town for only a few days, concessions can be made.