Paca, Crissy, and Aubrey's Visit

Not long after Grandma went back to Illinois, we got a visit from Paca and Aubrey. Or should I say--Wylie got a visit from Paca and Aubrey?

Our girls got plenty of attention, too--it is always fun getting this crew together.

Aubrey swam and ate popsicles with Ramona and Mika . . .

. . . played with cardboard boxes in the basement . . .

. . . and took Paula under her wing, always making sure she was having fun, too.

Aunt Crissy drove in later that afternoon. She and Wylie got along great.

Forest and I hardly held him at all that weekend . . . it seemed like he was always in someone else's arms. He is so loved.

On Sunday morning he was kind of the star of the show . . . it was the day of his baby blessing at church. I dressed him up like a little man and we all took lots of pictures.

Three generations of Dixons:

Some stripey girl cousins, still smiling at the end of picture time:

After church, we had to say goodbye to Crissy, who needed to get back to Utah. Then the girls had some craft time and decorated wooden masks, courtesy of Teresa.

It was a pretty good day.

On Monday we took a little trip to the Butterfly Pavilion near Denver. The back seat of the van was full of giggles.

At the Pavilion, we started out by exploring the spiders and insects.

Ramona got to hold Rosie the tarantula.

So did Aubrey.

We also observed some bees,

and stick-bugs,

and smelled the rainforest.

In the next room, the girls touched a horseshoe crab . . .

. . . as well as a starfish.

But the most memorable part was, of course, the butterflies. We stepped out into a greenhouse-like area with lots of foliage, and there they were--flying around, above, and below our heads.

One landed on Paca's head . . .

. . . and another on Aubrey's shoulder, to her great delight.

After a walk around the outside of the Pavilion, it was time for lunch. We found out there was a "Parry's Pizzeria" nearby (spelled the same as Paca's name!) and decided to make that our stop.

It was an adventure taking that many kids + a hungry baby out to eat. But eventually, everyone got some lunch.

Then we piled back in the minivan . . .

. . . some of us dozed off . . .

. . . and a couple of exits before home, we stopped at Culver's for some ice cream.

The rest of the afternoon, there was some baby-cuddling, more swimming, and more playing.

In the evening, Paca and Forest went to play tennis, so it was just me, Wylie, and the girls. We had a sleepover party in the basement where we painted nails, styled each other's hair, and watched a movie. I guess this is just the beginning of Wylie being caught in the middle of overwhelmingly girly activities.

Aubrey's hairstyle:

Ramona's hairstyle:

Mika's hairstyle:

Paula's hairstyle:

Aubrey, Ramona, and Mika actually slept in the basement that night. It took Mika a while to wake up the next morning.

After a few more baby cuddles, it was time for Paca and Aubrey to hit the road. It was a short visit, but we were so glad they were able to spend some time with us here in Colorado. Hope they can come back again soon!