An exciting visit from the Thompson clan

One day, during my lunch break at work, I got a call from Peter who told me that Christie, Tyler, and all their little ones wanted to come up over Conference weekend and that Christie, Tyler, and August were going to stay with us while the rest of the kids stayed with Lori and Zach.  I hadn't seen any of them in a while so I was excited for them to come.  

Friday rolled around and we spent dinner with them at Applebees and then we spent the rest of that evening at our place, just relaxing and enjoying each others company.

That evening was enjoyable but, due to my early morning schedule, I hit the hay and by ten the next morning, I was back at home from work to be greeted by all the little munchkins, ready to be entertained.  Christie and Tyler went to reminisce in Rexburg so Lori and I stayed behind and watched them.  

I loved watching Caroline entertain herself a bit and, though there was a moment where she did stumble, that didn't seem to phase her in the least.

I loved watching August explore the world and cuddle with me when exploring got too exhausting.

And, as evil as this sounds, I loved being entertained by Topher and Maddie as I watched them scare poor Farley into our bushes while a nervous Lori watched to make sure Farley made it out of the experience alive.

When Christie and Tyler came back, we all met at my place and decided to go to Green Canyon Hot Springs.  The place was a tad on the sketchy side as far as appearances go, but the water was great!  I didn't like the idea of my phone possibly falling in the water so, for that reason, there are no pictures.  But I got some pretty pictures on the way back to Rexburg.

(Before we left, we noticed Caroline sitting on our couch like this.  When we asked what she was doing, she simply replied, "Riding a horse!"  It was too cute to not document.)

Later that evening, we gathered everyone up again and met at Smith Park and enjoyed some yummy Taco Soup made by Lori and the kids loved running around and eating s'mores.

Just wanted to take another picture of how pretty fall is getting here :)

Like I mentioned earlier, Conference was this weekend.  I was in charge of feeding the family for the last two sessions so while everyone was relaxing, I made cinnamon rolls and beef stew with warm bread.  It took a while, but it was worth the time spent on it.  

After they left, I was a bit sad.  After hearing those kids' laughs, footsteps running, and sometimes tantrums, I had gotten use to the noise so much that the silence suddenly seemed strange to me.  It made me think that, whenever we have kids, as chaotic as it will most likely be, I will love having them around me.   Hearing those kids and having lots of people in my home brought a sort of comfort to me and I hope it happens again soon.