Makin' S'mores

We arrived home on Thursday, and the past few days have been filled with time together as a family and new experiences.  My parents with their spouses each came to visit on Thursday, and Alicia's dad came to spend the weekend, so the children had the opportunity to meet all of their grandparents.  It has been great to watch all four of my children hanging out and playing together.  Alexa and Ariana have both commented about how exhausting it can be to try to keep up with Ashton and Alia.  We have done a number of projects around the house and reorganizing things.  My tools were removed from the shed and migrated to my woodshop in the barn, and room was made in the shed for bikes and toys.  We have done a lot of laughing together.  Yesterday, Alia decided to try on some of the boots in the house.  Watching her try to walk in the boots was hilarious, as we watched her struggle with each step.  Today, we went to church and saw so many friends...it was great for us to reconnect with all of our friends.  I think it was a bit overwhelming for Ashton and Alia by the end of the morning.  At the end of the day, we got a fire going in our backyard and introduced the kids to the sweetness of s'mores.  It was great to see the look in their eyes as they enjoyed the toasted marshmallow smothered with the melted chocolate smashed between two graham crackers.  Tomorrow, Alia will have her first day of pre-school, and we'll begin to get Ashton registered for school.

Getting to know our pets!

 We had some presents from Christmas waiting for the kids.  More Legos for Ashton...he loves building things with Legos.

 Some big boots to fill.