Hyder Days

You know the drill.

We play outside when we visit home.

My mom has a wonderful new house that fits us all so nicely, but those wonderful sunny days keep calling us to the outside, especially the boys.

The girls got started on their art project.

My mom made them giant paint-by-numbers to work on.

Idea from Lil Blue Boo

Ellie really enjoyed it and Emma did too, for a while, but she is still easily distracted.

They didn't quite finish them and they were a bit too big to make the plane ride home, but I plan on printing them again on this side of the States for them to complete.

And no visit is complete without some manicures.

Or Fourwheel riding.

Ellie was super excited to learn how to drive the four wheeler this year.  She spent a lot of her time giving little kids rides around the yard.

Getting to know cousins and uncles and aunts.

My sister Lisa and her Holly Doll

Aunt Christine and Sam

And the most anticipated event of the visit; Paintball Wars.

I loved that I caught them in thier last game as the sun was beginning to set.

Even dirty old farm equiptment looks pretty in that kind of light.

 Still your hearts girls, my brother Kurt is off to his mission in just a few weeks.

 Meanwhile, the little ones found a perfect dirt mound to roll in.

After a few days of fun on the farm, we made the drive to Chandler to visit the extended Skousen family.  They have a traditional party at a park with food, games, kites, and pinatas.

Uncle Steve and Cayden bonded.

Cayden had such a fit waiting for his turn to hit the pinata, that when his turn finally came around he was too upset to have anything to do with it.

Sam gave it some great wacks.

Gracie got in a few dainty taps.

 Emma nearly busted it open, nearly.

Before heading back to the farm, we went to find the newest temple being built in over here.  

It sure is majestic and beautiful.

I took this picture of the temple and the road sign because it reminds me of my Grandpa.  He and my grandma's farm was a few miles West of the temple on Pecos and Cooper.  All my childhood I watched their neighborhood change.  From dirt roads and canals and farms on each side to Walgreen's on each corner, housing developements crowding in, and those farms quickly disapearing.   We used to have a game we played with grandma where we would count the red cars that would go by as we picked up the pecans in her yard.  It used to take us forever to count to them when I was little, we could get a whole bucket of pecans picked before we found 10 red cars, but it would only take about 5 or 6 minutes today with the big four lane street that is there now.  As sad as my grandpa was about the farms disappearing, he would have been so pleased to see this temple being erected right down his street.