Cool sister in law and donut falls

The first week of vacation is already done! I can't believe how fast time has gone. We only have one more week of fun left and I feel the impending doom of reality sinking in. Keiths sister Julie and her family came to stay with us. We LOVE it when we get to spend time with them. We have had a few family dinners with all of Keiths family. Last Sunday everyone came and we were supposed to enjoy the new playground area in our back yard. It was perfect for big family dinners. As some of you know, it has been raining like CRAZY.  Crazy, crazy rain. So, the big outdoor family dinners had to be moved indoors. I forgot to pull the camera out while all the cousins were here. On one of the very rainy days, I decided to get a picture. The little park across the street started to flood in a matter of seconds. The street was also flooding. I didn't get a good picture of that.. but you get the idea.

We usually get some kind of project or chores done when Mike and Julie come. This year we didn't have a very big project planned. So, we worked on little projects. This part of the blog Im going to title "My sister in law is much cooler than your sister in law."  Julie helped catch chickens so we could clip their wings, band them, and move them to the back yard. She is an awesome chicken catcher!

Julie also helped Keith bottle pickles.  I wish Julie could stay through the entire canning season.

We took the kids on a hike to donut falls. Kate wanted to walk... all by self.  This worked well for about 100 feet.

Then, she wanted to go somewhere the rest of the group wasn't going. I'll give her points for being a trailblazer... but Im pretty sure I shouldn't let a 2 year old wander the mountains  "all by self". So, she started to scream.

She screamed while Keith carried her.  She screamed while I carried her.  She screamed while Uncle Mike carried her. Finally she decided that the back pack would be ok... but it had to be HER decision. 

Donut falls was a pretty place to hang out!

Sariah, Anna and Corrine. These girls have been inseparable the past week.  I love them all!

The boys are excellent mountain climbers! I couldn't keep up with them in any way at all!

This was a quick and enjoyable (except the screaming) hike. I highly recommend it.  I also recommend taking help if you have little kids.

Screaming all the way up a mountain makes a girl very tired.

 When you are done at donut falls, you need to eat a donut!