"The Month of Your Family" -- Tom

Woah, it's been a long time. So much has happened in August that I haven't had time to write anything.

First of all, my family came to visit so before they got here we ran to RC Willey and bought a couple of bedroom sets so they would have a place to sleep. It's been so long since they were here though that I forgot what we did besides just hang out and relax.

My grandma Belle and cousins Sydnee and Sadie came with my mom, dad, Jacks and Shyanne. Everyone but grandma got a lot of swimming in before they had to go home and back to school.

My dad can't just relax so we made one of the days busy for him. We went to the zoo -- Morgan's first time! Then we went to Red Robin for dinner.

The day they left I invited Jackson to stay. He was only willing to if mom would stay too but Shyanne said she would stay by herself. When we told her she could, her attitude changed and she started crying because she was torn between staying and missing mom. She ended up staying for a week and a half longer and she didn't cry again.

While Shyanne was here I gave her the idea that she could make jewelry and sell it to make some money. She took the money that mom left her and bought a bunch of beads and stuff to make necklaces and earrings. We spent a lot of time making pretty things, which was good because I don't have a lot for an 8 year old to do. She made 15 bucks and automatically wanted to buy something. She made quite a bit more after the first spending spree but I encouraged her to wait to spend it because she changes her mind on what she wants so quickly I can't keep up.

Shy made some friends while here and had a couple of sleep overs and swimming parties. I think she had fun.

My mom came back with Jackson and Sisi and spent about 4 more days. She babysat for us while we went to see Harry Potter, which was only playing at the IMAX at the time we could go so we spent double on tickets (but it was worth it).

When they left, my aunts Kay & Sheila and cousin Brittney and baby McKinley came for the weekend. The weather dropped to the 70's and 80's while they were here so we didn't swim but we did get to lay out by the pool and read magazines and gossip. We took them to our favorite Thai restaurant in Boise, Pad Thai (okay, not the most creative name, but still good).

Kay and Sheila wanted to go to the mall so I gave them directions. I offered to write them down but they said they would remember. About 5 minutes after they left, I got a call telling me that they still hadn't hit the freeway. I asked where they were and they said, "we're just passing a cute castle house," which is in the next city to the south. I told them they made a wrong turn and explained to turn around and get on the freeway. About 10 or 15 minutes later I got another call saying that they were in Nampa, which is the next city to the west. They were supposed to go east from my house. They found a JC Penney and shopped for a while. When they left they called. I told them to meet me at the gas station by my exit and I'd take them to the mall. Brit and I were waiting at the gas station and watched them get on the off ramp. They called at the light. I told them that we could see them and to turn right, then watched them turn left. Finally they turned around and came to the gas station. We were all laughing while I told them they suck at directions. Kay told me that she doesn't know north, south, east and west. I told her to turn right!

So we went to the mall with no mishaps. After that I needed to go to Walmart and they wanted to go to Kohl's. The stores are pretty close to each other so I had them follow me and I drew a little map from Walmart to Kohl's then back to the road they know how to get back to my house. The got to Kohl's just fine and we went home to put the steaks on the bbq. About an hour later I got another call from Kay. They were getting gas right by the freeway. I told them to go over the freeway and turn right and they would be on the road they know. Well, a few minutes later I got another call saying that they were back at Kohl's. Since the steaks were well done by this time and my chicken was like jerky, I stayed on the phone until they got to the road they really do know.

The best part is that they had a GPS with my address typed in so one button could have saved them a lot of getting lost. We had a good laugh during a delicious dinner. Tom made raspberry tort for dessert. Yum.

Tom was really a trooper sharing his wife, daughter, house and pool with my family for almost a month.

Thanks to everyone for coming to visit. It means a lot and I had so much fun.