Katie's Visit

Micah was out of town this weekend for a class, and I was fortunate to have my friend Katie come out for a visit. She had been wanting to visit as she hadn't been to ABQ since last March, and although she has seen Alexis, Jack, and Faith a couple of times in Michigan when our trips back there overlapped, she hasn't spent much time with them in over a year.  I went to visit her in WA last July and this past January, which was great since I got a break from my usual responsibilities and we were able to spend a lot of time hanging out and having fun, but I love seeing Alexis, Jack, and Faith interact with Katie since she has been such a big part of my life, and it's really important to me that she knows my kids since they are such a huge part of my life now.

Katie arrived Thursday just before noon, and I was super thankful that I had scheduled our first professional house cleaning for Thursday morning. We have decided that it is time to hire a cleaning service since it is impossible to keep the house clean while taking care of our trio, and coming home to a clean house after picking Katie up from the airport was a wonderful feeling.

On Thursday afternoon, after the kids woke up from very short naps, we headed to the zoo. It was a gorgeous day and I'm really glad we went since we actually had a lot of rainy weather while Katie was here.

For most of the zoo visit the kids rode in the wagon, but we let them walk around by the less visited birds. 

Looking at a bird with Katie

I think I need a selfie stick as it's almost impossible to get all of the kids in one shot

Since Friday was rainy, we decided to try out a Baby & Toddler Story Time at a nearby library. We got to the library a little early in hopes that we could check out some books, but I don't trust our kids with paper pages yet and I didn't see many board books at the library, so instead the kids ended up playing with the three dirty stuffed bears and the puppets, and they spent some time fighting over the one child-sized rocking chair.

Walking into the library with Katie using our hold-on handles

Jack and Lexi loving on the stuffed bears

Faith 

Jack and Lexi rocking a bear

Usually story time is held in an enclosed room at this branch, but the room was being used this week so story time was in middle of the library. There were quite a few parents and children at story time, but none of the toddlers seemed as oblivious as ours to story time etiquette. Alexis, Jack, and Faith spent most of the time laying on and wrestling on the pillows that were meant to be sat on, they spent time looking out the window and pointing out every car or truck that drove by, and during one story Alexis walked right up to the story teller and stole the stuffed bear that was hidden behind her back. Katie and I stayed very busy trying to keep my three under control, but I suppose my kids need to do stuff like this more so that they know how to behave. I also think simpler books that rhyme or have animal noises should be used for the Baby & Toddler Story Time as our kids can't follow much of storyline yet so they found the books to be boring. Maybe they'll be more ready for story time this fall.

Faith and Alexis with the pillow at story time

Jack in the middle of all the action

Unfortunately it rained on and off all day on Friday, but we did get out for a very short walk with the hold-on handles so that the kids could have some practice around the neighborhood. They get better at walking together every time we use the handles!

Saturday morning we went to the Botanic Garden, and we had a great time. Although I was nervous to let the kids walk around the farm animals since the turkey was out of its cage, in the end we decided the turkey was harmless and we could keep the kids away from it. Alexis, Jack, and Faith love running around the farm area at the garden. The kids also had more practice walking with their handle, and all three did really well. They seem to love the freedom the handles give them since they are walking instead of riding, and they all know which color handle is theirs which makes it feel special.

"Mom, why is the turkey out of it's cage?!"

Katie protecting Jack from the giant turkey

Looking at the sheep. Jack loves to shout, "BA!"

Enjoying their freedom. Jack actually said "tractor" when he saw them this time! I think their speech is finally starting to pick up!

Using the hold-on handles to walk in the garden

Feeding the Koi. Notice that Faith is actually feeding herself instead of the fish. She doesn't mind sharing with the fish, but she's not about to give it all away!

There are so many Koi in the Japanese Garden at the Botanic Garden

And then it all fell apart. All three were starting to get tired and the handles didn't work any more.

They were content to ride around in the wagon after their long walk and all three slept for over 3 hours Saturday afternoon!

While the kids napped, Katie and I trimmed the extremely overgrown bush in our front yard. We had no idea what we were doing, but luckily someone working at the neighbor's house came over and gave us a few pointers which really helped. I'm thankful that Katie is always willing to take on random projects with me when she comes to visit!

I should have taken a before picture, but this bush was much taller than our windows before we trimmed it

Late Saturday afternoon we went for a run with the kids in the stroller. When I run with the triple stroller there is just as much walking as running as the stroller plus the kids weigh almost as much as I do, but Katie and I pushed the stroller together the entire way out since it was mostly uphill (and it's definitely wide enough for two to push), and I'm happy to say we ran almost 100% of the way. We ran three miles to a park, played at the park with the kids for a bit, and then ran home. Katie and I trained for a marathon and many triathlons together, so it always feels right to run together.

Lexi 

Katie and Lexi

Faith

Good thing it was bath night anyway

On the way home I mostly pushed the stroller by myself since there was a lot of downhill and the stroller practically pulled me. The kids were definitely over it since it was quite a long time to sit in the stroller, but they are troopers.

I truly enjoyed Katie's visit and today I feel really sad that we don't get to hang out more often. Katie and I have been friends for over 25 years. We went to elementary, middle, and high school together. We went to different colleges, but for five years we both lived in Colorado and during that time our friendship grew even stronger. Both of us left Colorado in 2010, but since then we've spent time in India and South Africa together (with Micah and Ryan as well). There are so many memories from the past 25 years, and we always have a great time together even if we are just trimming a bush in the front yard. I guess if it were up to Katie and I we would be living in the same place again, but Micah loves the mountains and Ryan loves the ocean, and there aren't many places we could live where both guys would be satisfied. So for now we will just continue to visit one another and enjoy our time together when we can get it.