A Wunderbar Visit!

A couple of weeks ago my brother Elijah, his wife Marinda and their three darling boys were here for a visit.  It was "wunderbar" as they might say, having just moved to California after three long years in Germany.  Burke and I hadn't been with them since we met up in Paris last year and it was shocking to see how much their little men have grown both physically and emotionally.  We had such a nice time sharing meals, visiting late at night when the kids were asleep and going on several fun outings.  Some of the fun included:

 An evening swim at Quail Creek Reservoir where Elijah helped Dan train for the swimming portion of his upcoming triathlon and Daphne dipped her toes contentedly in the lapping water.

An afternoon at the Veyo Pool which of course included purchasing a couple of scrumptious Veyo Pies on the way home as well as devouring ice cream cones and poking the captured crawdads in the wading pool (random) with sticks.  Burke even got off work early and enjoyed escaping the Mesquite heat in favor of the cool water for a few hours.

(When Elijah tried to pick one of the crawdads up for the kids to get a closer look, they all started screaming, "Put it back! Put it back!"  Also love how their faces are smeared with chocolate ice cream.  Love these babies.)

Putting Burke's birthday fondue pot to good use with a chocolate fondue dessert.  Look how funny Lydia and Joey's tiny mallow scraps are compared to Jackie and Emmett's chocolate-slathered morsels!  And yes...Joey loves to dress up in anything he can find, be it princess or dragon costumes.  :)

A joint Pioneer Day themed Family Home Evening complete with stories of our courageous and faithful pioneer ancestors, three-legged races, rolling homemade ice cream in buckets and delicious homemade apple crisp enjoyed while lounging on a freshly cut lawn.

And even a trip to the brand new carousel on the Main Street Square.

I am so grateful that Elijah and Marinda took the time to come and visit Cassie and I, especially in the midst of the unbearable St. George summer heat.  It is so fun getting to know my siblings on a more adult level.  For some reason marriage narrows the gap between ages and children nearly eliminates it!  I can't wait to visit Lij and Rin in California at their new home.  I love that they are only a 6 hour drive away now instead of on the other side of the world!  Now we just need to get Chelsea and Dixon to get on board and we'll have all 8 Bush children on the same continent again for the firs time in years!