Rooney and I

"Rooney" (Megan) and "I" (Isaac) - I forgot to ask where they got these nicknames for eachother.

We had a great week-long visit from Megan and Isaac (my brother-in-law and sister-in-law). The kids were so excited to have visitors, they stationed themselves in front of the window to watch for them a good hour before they were supposed to arrive. You would have thought Santa had arrived with his eight tiny reindeer, judging by their reaction. We love visitors! Nana and Papa sent pumpkins from their patch, along with some other goodies, which were welcomed gifts. Thank you!

Like many of our other visitors this summer, Megan and Isaac were good to just enjoy spending time with us while we carried on with our everyday schedule. Boo still had school, we had preschool at our house, mutual, naps, bedtimes, etc. Fortunately, they had school work to do and sleep to catch up on, and were happy just to venture out on their own if they needed/wanted to. They introduced us to some fun board games (Bananagrams, Jamaica, Pandemic and Nuns on the Run), which we busted out after the kids went to bed. We haven't played games in a while, so it was fun for us!

Tuesday we went to the city to show them around. We made our first stop at Manito Park to see how it looks in the Fall. We've now officially visited the park in every season!

The Japanese garden is so peaceful and serene.

Isaac was channeling his inner Karate Kid.

Monkey see, Monkey do!

I just liked this picture.

The English Garden was still in bloom!

Some took a little run...

others took a little stroll...

Some pondered deeper things, like how many more days until
"How to Train your Dragon" comes out at Redbox.

We left Diddles asleep in the car. Don't worry, we could see her from where we were! But we had to chuckle at this sign we read when we got back to our car:

"Attention: Area is randomly patrolled by law enforcement personnel.
LOCK YOUR VEHICLE. REMOVE ALL VALUABLES."

Sorry Diddles!

Following the park, we were ready to eat some lunch. Megan's family is in the restaurant business. You may have heard of Salt City Burger Co. If not, get thee hence, my fine Utah friends! Order any burger on the menu (personal fav is the Smokehouse Bacon Burger), with fries and a chocolate shake. You'll be very glad you did. Anyway, we relied on Megan's family recommendations, and ate at this little place called Chicken n' More.

It's not much to look at from the outside, but it was a real-live southern BBQ place with brisket, pulled pork sandwiches, fried chicken, etc. The place smelled like hickory smoke. The owner came out and visited with us, which was funny because that has only ever happened to us at Salt City Burger! The food was great.

Following lunch, we went down to Riverside Park. The kids (including Isaac and Megan), rode on the Carousel. I noticed that they had Bubble Gum ice cream for sale, so Diddles and I shared a scoop! I love Bubble Gum ice cream! I let Yaks finish it off and he said, "Mom, dere was little balls in my ice cream, so I just spitted them out." He also said, "Mom, I have a great idea. Evee time we take a ride on the carousel, we can get a scoop of ice cream! How does dat sound?" Sounds GREAT to me!

It's difficult to distinguish who has the tighter grip on this ice cream.

It's like being a kids again, right guys?

Megan and Isaac made us dinner the last night they were here: Chicken enchiladas and brownies and ice cream for dessert. It was great not having to cook! Then Megan sat down with me and we did some online shopping at J.Crew (she works there too! I know...). She recommended some fantastic clothes to help my outdated wardrobe. Thanks, Megan!

We loved having them here to visit! Thanks for making the trip. I know there are dozens of places you could have gone for your Fall Break. We're glad you chose us :)