Family Time

My mother and sister came up to visit for a few days this past weekend since John is working in New Mexico and my in-laws are on vacation in Italy. It seems like whenever my family comes up we sit around and visit most of the time; but this weekend I wanted to have more fun-filled activities.

The morning after they arrived I took them on a hike at a nearby trail. The end of the trail reached out to the Mogollon Rim in the White Mountains. It is such a breathtaking sight when you reach that final destination! Here is my sister and I on our hike:

That afternoon, I scheduled all of us to get pedicures together as a reward for our one mile hike. It was absolutely relaxing getting a foot and leg massage after that long hike:

My sister picked out a dainty blue and my mother and I picked out a glamorous pink:

That night I made spaghetti with homemade meatballs from this easy recipe. The meatballs came out tasting amazing!:

The next day my mother taught my sister and I how to use a pattern to make matching pajama bottoms. When we were at the fabric store my sister picked out a blue pattern and I of course picked out a pink pattern, but since we all wanted to match, my mother had to make the deciding vote. Here is what won. Isn't it cute for pajamas?!:

Sadly though, the two sewing machines my mother brought up were broken so we couldn't finish our project. Since our sewing plans were put on hold, I decided to take on a 350 piece puzzle. It was a picture from the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida. It was definitely harder than it looks but I think it came out looking spectacular:

We spent the following day going to a local swap meet, a fine art and craft show, an annual festival held in Show Low, and clothes shopping. My sister and I picked out the same shirt to try on (completely on accident!! She just happened to like the blue one and I OF COURSE just happened to like the pink one! Haha!). Too funny!

However, this is what I picked out. It's just a fun summer dress that I could wear to either church or a picnic in the park:

That night I felt a little ambitious and gave another new recipe a try. It was chicken and bacon shish kabobs with pineapple, mushrooms, and a delicious marinade to go on top. It was heaven in my mouth!:

After a long weekend of fun, even Caleb was exhausted!

It is always so nice to have family come over but sometimes I think it is more work trying to entertain guests and make sure everyone is comfortable. So I guess it is my turn for a vacation. There is nothing more relaxing than being able to curl up on the couch, watch a chick flick, and have ME-time!