I have affectionately named this past summer The Summer of Visitors. See why below.
GRANDMA & GRANDPA MORELLO
We started the summer with a quick visit from my parents. They bought a home in a retirement community in St George, so they were making the trip across the country from St Louis and stopped in for an evening. It was fun to see them, and they were excited for their new digs!
NANA WILLIAMS, AUNT SHAN & GRANDMA FOOKS
We spent our family vacation in Steamboat, meeting up with Ryan's mom, aunt and grandmother at the end. They came back to our home after the trip. We played lots of cards in the evenings, and Ryan and I even squeezed in a date to a live concert and ice cream in Old Town. One morning we took them to the famous Timnath Swetsville Zoo. And if you think we saw animals there, you need to come visit so we can show you this special "zoo."
BETHANY + 4 KIDS
A few days later, my good friend from Madison stayed for a few days with her four children (approx the same ages as ours) while on her trek from Michigan to Utah for a family reunion. They all sprawled out on the play room floor in sleeping bags, and the boys are still asking when they are coming to visit again. We had a ton of fun, including playing at a huge splash pad on the other side of Fort Collins. We'd never been before, and it was amazing. The boys jumped on the tramp, threw rocks, and spilled their cereal. It was great fun... and totally crazy.
JAKE & LAURA
The next day our "adoptive" grandparents drove from Illinois to visit. They lived next door to us in Peoria, and they hadn't seen Ethan since he was a couple months old and obviously had never met Kate. We had a great time, especially when we borrowed a friend's paddle board and went to Horsetooth Reservoir for a morning.
KOKI
Just a few days later, we picked up our Japanese foreign exchange student. He stayed with us Friday evening through Monday morning. He was only 14, and came with 6 other students from Asahi City. We were supposed to only have him with us for breakfast, dinner and evenings, but he got sick so we also had him here all day Saturday. He was so good with the kids, and we really enjoyed his company. We did a bbq and bonfire one night, another night we played lots of card games, and on other night Koki taught us origami. It was crazy fun, and we hope to host another student next summer. I was definitely grateful for Ryan's Japanese language skills when he got sick; being a "mom" and getting him to take "yucky medicine" with a language barrier was a little difficult!
JESSICA + 3 BOYS
The following week a friend from Peoria was driving home to Illinois from California with her three teenage boys. They showed up after midnight and left before 10am, but it was fun to chat and catch up over breakfast's cold cereal. I'd become a pro by this point of washing and remaking the guest bed each day in record time!
INA & AMY
My cousin Ina was driving her car out to BYU from Iowa this year, and her friend Amy came with her to help drive and pass the time. They stayed with us Sunday through Tuesday of last week. They were both super wonderful with the boys. We did some short walks near Horsetooth and went to Old Town on Monday. They drew pictures with long stories, played Legos, and read lots of books. On Tuesday, we went to the temple open house before they finished their trek to the Y. It was super fun for the boys, especially since they both play the piano and sing. There's was lots of entertainment!
RON, KRISTIE + 2 BOYS
Ina's parents, my aunt and uncle, went to Colorado State here in Fort Collins many years ago for my uncle's PhD program. When they heard about the new temple, they arranged their schedules to come to the Open House. With only two teenage sons still at home, they had to work around their busy schedules, but they made it here for Labor Day weekend. It was great to have visitors, especially since Ryan had been gone for a week when they arrived. They were by far the most helpful in the kitchen, and the boys loved playing Legos and wrestling. We hope to enjoy many visits from them in the future.
And that's the summary of our Summer of Visitors. It was great fun to have so many people come, and I'm so grateful we have a dedicated bedroom and bathroom for visitors. I have learned to streamline breakfast and utilize the crock pot for dinner with large crowds. We've also used a lot of paper plates and plasticware. It got a little tedious there at the end of July, but I wouldn't have had it any other way! Thank you everyone for coming.
Come one, come all - The Williams Bed & Breakfast!
