One wonderful thing about living in so many different places over the years, is that you make wonderful friends.  My friend Saundra is one of those friends, and it doesn't matter how many years it has been since we last saw each other, it is like no time has passed.

Well, when Saundra heard that Kevin was deploying, she decided to come visit to help give us something to look forward too, and it was wonderful.  (Please excuse how scary I look in this picture.  I had Lily snap this as they were leaving, and I hadn't even looked in the mirror.  Oh well.  I needed a picture with my friend.)

Saundra has six amazing kids, and her oldest is Lily's age – Abi and Lily met when they were only ten months old.  She has two boys that Derek is smack dab in between, and 3 little girls on the tail end, the youngest is Arthur's age.  We had such a wonderful time together all week.  It was packed full of fun times, which made it so we never had time to feel lonely.  We did all sorts of things, like . . .

Playing at the Zoo

I love our zoo, and I love sharing it with people.  There were so many new exhibits, it was very exciting.  The kids especially loved all the things they could climb on.

And we always love feeding the giraffes.

We wandered around checking out all the animals, but did stop halfway through to eat some lunch.

And the younger kids all got a ride on the train – for free, which was pretty cool.  I am not sure if Derek and Everett made the weight limit, but it was close enough, and they loved it.

And Arthur was a trooper.  After crying the entire way to the zoo (did I mention how much he hates the car?), he was perfectly content in his stroller.  At the end of the day, he did want to be held, and so Saundra let me use her Mobe wrap.  He liked that too (and check out how giant his cheeks look in that picture!).

It was a great way to introduce them to Colorado Springs and we all had a blast in the gorgeous weather.

Legos, Legos, and More Legos

Saundra's boys, Everett and Zachary, are just like Derek in their love of Legos.  In fact, they spent hours every day playing with them.  They also watched Ninjago, a Lego show, as well as Derek's new Star Wars Legos movies.  The highlight for them, however, was when I took down Kevin's awesome Lego Star Wars stuff and let them look at them.  They were duely impressed :).

Just Dance on the Wii-U

Lily and Derek love playing Just Dance, and so they love sharing it with their friends.  They got everyone dancing, including Saundra and I.  The kids loved it so much, they played it one last time right before they left on Friday morning.

Sister Missionaries Over for Dinner

I had signed up to feed the missionaries, and it just happened to be during Saundra's visit.  We had such a wonderful time with them.  The kids loved them, especially when they taught them cool actions to remember all of the ten commandments in order.  And then the sister that is Tongan taught all the kids a dance – including Arthur :).

Little Babies

Arthur and Harmony were so cute.  She is 5 months older than him and crawling all over the place, but we had to laugh, because they are the same size.  He would lay there and try to roll over, and she would crawl over and check him out.

At one point, Saundra really wanted to get a picture of the two of them side by side, and they were so cute.  I especially love the picture where it looks like Harmony is telling Arthur a secret :).

Playing in the Backyard

The weather was beautiful all week, and although it was a little too cold for swimming, it was perfect for playing in the back yard.  They were out there all the time, whether it was to eat popsicles, play on the playground, or climb in the big box we had from my desk.

And they used their imaginations like crazy.  Abi loves the Warrior books, and so she taught Lily all about it and even taught her how to pounce like a cat.

And Derek and Zachary decided it would be awesome to wrestle – something Derek rarely gets to do, since his sister really doesn't appreciate it when he tries to wrestle with her :).

Movies and Tea Parties

A few times, during the week, we all gathered together to watch a movie, which is always fun.

And one day, the kids wanted to have a tea party.  Lily and Abi were the hostesses and made little sandwiches and had other treats for everyone.

Amazing Desserts

Saundra and I both love desserts, and so we had to have something good every night.  We made smores one night, and I tried to roast the marshmallows over the grill like we did last summer, but the wind messed with it, and so we microwaved them instead.  We also made chocolate peanutbutter cup cheesecake, which was amazing.  And their last night with us, I used my new ice-cream maker to make homemade chocolate mint ice-cream.  So yummy!

Late Night Talks

Every night, after the kids were all in bed, Saundra and I would stay up late talking.  It was so much fun and I loved having the company.  

Saying good bye!

Before we knew it, the week was over, and it was time for them to leave.  Abi and Lily were especially sad.  They were friends as babies, and so their last day here, we pulled out old home movies of them playing together when they were one and two.  It was adorable and made Saundra and I so sad to see how big they are now.

I am so grateful to have such a wonderful friend, and that she and her kids were able to visit.  It meant more to me than I can ever say, and helped all of us make it through what could have been really hard week.