Bringing the Boys Out

Our family had the pleasure of having two of my nephews out for a visit in July. Eli, 14, and Josh, 12, stayed with us for ten days before driving back to Colorado with us. We had a really good time showing them where we live and letting them see the Midwest. We kept them busy, especially considering they are young men who generally sleep most of the summer away because 1. they can't during the school year, and 2. they are growing boys. Well, there is no rest for the weary at the Allee house, especially during the summer. We kept Eli and Josh on their toes!

What mattered most about their visit, however, wasn't all the cool, and not so cool stuff we did, the best part was getting to know them better. For instance, Eli plays the guitar SO well. He'd grab Kris' electric guitar, shut himself in the office and start playing, and singing away. Lucky for us I don't think he knew the office isn't sound proof. Eli also has a really good sense of humor and if you ask him to mow your yard, he'll do a mighty fine job!

As for Joshua, we learned very quickly that Alyson and Kourtney had one more thing to bicker about-who got to sit next to Josh at the table, in the car, on the couch...you name it! As long as Josh was out of his room the girls were stuck to him like glue! He could keep them entertained for hours, and preferred it that way over housework and whatever else might be going on at home. He has a sweet heart that little kids are drawn too.

So, here are some pictures of some things we did with Eli and Josh while they were here, mind you, some things we didn't document with pics. Let's see...I'd say 43 pictures for one post is quite enough!

The first three pictures are of us in Bath, MI at a little lake that has a cutesy ice cream shop next to it. You can feed fish from the dock. Eli wouldn't wade in the water with the rest of us. He preferred sitting on the beach with Keegan. After dipping our feet in the water and realizing just how goose poo infested it was, we realized Eli had made the better choice!

Spend a summer evening outside in the Midwest and you'll start seeing spot before your eyes! Josh got a kick out of catching fire flies in our backyard. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture with our camera of Kris, the boys, and Alyson, Kourtney and Ellary catching snakes in our compost pile. Snakes, and fire flies, oh my!



Alyson and Kourtney were still in tennis and swim lessons when the boys arrived. We made one fun, or maybe not so fun, I guess it depends on who you are talking to, morning of busing them around. At least the boys got out and had some exercise chasing tennis balls around.

Keegan amused himself by chewing on his stroller seat belt strap. Oh, the simplicity of being a baby. I think we should send this picture into the "Combi" stroller company and get them to pay us a bunch of money for advertising their stroller with such a cute baby inside. Then again, maybe I am just biased.
One of our family traditions, since moving to Michigan, is picking blueberries when the are in season. The boys had never picked blueberries before, so it a made for a new experience for them. In addition, their hard work paid off for us as we picked something like 20 pounds worth.

There's that stroller and that cute baby again!

At least once a summer we take the CATA bus to campus and explore the gardens. This time we had the pleasure of taking Eli and Josh on our little excursion.

Ellary didn't hold on too well and fell off of her seat shortly after this picture was taken. She wasn't hurt, but I doubt she'll squirm around again next time she rides a bus.

Kris joined us for a stroll through the MSU flower gardens. They are always so beautiful in the spring and summer and it's easy to find great places to take portrait pictures. We also walked to the MSU Dairy Store and had some ice cream. Yummy! Yummy!

The water fountain is Ellary's favorite part of the gardens. Apparently it is Josh's too!

Come on, can Keegan get any cuter?

Eli and Josh came up with such a creative name for this water fountain ball that I can't even remember the name of it! Call me, boys, if you remember!

Here are some pictures of a morning spent at the aquatic center. The highlight-the diving board, of course! The next day we went to Lake Michigan. After two days of swimming I think we wore the boys out...see below pictures of them asleep in the car!

Kris and I had a softball game later that night. Here are the kids a top a rock on the neighboring playground. Eli also posed as an adult (18 years old) and played on our team so we wouldn't have to forfeit. Although he was a little apprehensive to play, he got a couple of really good hits. We actually won our game.

We took a trip to Holland Beach State Park and enjoyed an overcast day in the water. A couple of highlights: Josh had fun drifting out on a tube beyond the buoys and Eli hitched a ride on our kite while sitting on another tube and quickly drifted out to sea (towards the middle of the lake actually). Kris had to swim out to bring him back in.

A different stroller this time...Same cute baby!

Eli's trip out on Lake Michigan powered by the wind while floating on an inner tube.

Notice how disgusted Ella is that her hands are caked with sand!

Eli couldn't resist texting his friends from Utah. What's her name again, Eli? Anna?

We wore the boys, and Ella out so much that they slept most of the way home, even with pouring rain pounding against the outside of our suburban.

We went to our ward's Pioneer Day Breakfast too. Here's Koco doing her best to eat whipped cream off a plate. The guys (Kris, Eli and Josh) also took their turn at tug-of-war and Kris couldn't resist trying to take everyone (all the kids) on. Ella enjoyed the food!

Well, there's our adventure with Eli and Josh, oh, yeah, minus the two day drive back to Colorado with 8 people in a car. Now that is a REAL adventure! Thank you for coming out to visit, and you are welcome back any time. We love you!