Aunts Visit

At the end of May, just days after we had Aunt Anna and Aunt Emily unexpectedly stay the night (their car broke down on their way back up to Flagstaff after a trip out east), Aunt Bobo (Elisabeth) and "Aunt" Fiona (really my cousin, so Second Cousin Fiona to the kids) flew in.

(Unfortunately we don't have any pictures of Aunt Anna, Aunt Emily, and the baby cousins from that hot and stressful evening. Thankfully they did make it back to Flagstaff without further incident the next day, after Jer fixed the belt that shredded!)

Our kids love visitors and typically treat them like celebrities. But a celebrity in our house gets lots of hands-on love--from early-morning visits for cuddles (sometimes involving bricks thrown at the door if the guest is reticent to let in the hordes!) to constant requests for stories. Aunt Fiona was dubbed "the next aunt" when the kids couldn't remember her name at first. As you can see, The Next Aunt certainly got her share of the love. 

Big hair twinsie aunts

Fiona was here Wednesday through Saturday, and Aunt Bobo stayed on until Tuesday. So we got a bit more time with her . . .

Aunt Bobo and Abby

Aunt Bobo tells lots of good stories, and the kids kept her telling them. They like stories from our childhood (pretty much any detail of something we did is good enough fodder for a story for them), but they also like her to make up animal stories. These are usually inspired by reality (like their love for my cousin Maureen's dog Daisy--whom they have never met) but quickly turn into fiction. Elisabeth spun a tale saga of Daisy the Dog and Daisy the Monkey on a safari in Africa. It was quite the thriller--and elicited many requests for continuation!

Aunt Bobo was a better sport than Mama about playing Robin Hood and other such games outside. She fought Josiah with PVC pipes and rescued Abby the Fair Maiden.

I can't remember why Lydia was so sad/pouty in these pictures, but obviously something had gone wrong. (Maybe she just didn't want to smile when I asked her to?) Aunt Bobo succeeded in cheering her up in the end.

 

Lydia usually is up to making a crazy face!

Clara likes to tag along with the big kids' games, of course, and wants to claim her share of visitors' attention. She loved having Aunt Bobo's help in riding the unicycle!

And we even remembered to take a sister picture before Elisabeth left for the airport!