A visit from the Gilley's

We were so blessed to have Moises’ sister Jezabel and three of her four kids come to visit us this summer!  Truth be told, they really came for Levi and Lexi (not surprising, those two little kiddos have completely stolen our spotlight – for life!).  The kids loved being able to hold baby Lexi, even Luke was surprisingly smitten by her.  And Levi was super happy to have so many people around to play with.  He was loving all the extra attention.

Sarah LOVED holding Lexi!

 

Levi loves his Aunt Jezabel

Just too busy to stop and pose for a picture.

Luke and Levi playing with Kady

Levi playing outside with Grace.

Luke is such a sweet kid, and just like Levi, he loves to play. 

Beautiful Grace

Blowing bubbles

More bubbles, I think this time Luke was trying to eat them to see what they tasted like. LOL

Did I mention how much Sarah loved holding Lexi? =)  Aren't these 2 girls so pretty?!

It was so cute how smitten Luke was with Lexi.  He was so excited to hold her.

Grace's turn!

So sweet!

Getting loved on is soooo exhausting!

Yawn!  Lexi-bug.

While the Gilleys were here in Washington, we took them up to hike around Mt Rainier.  The weather was perfect during their visit, temperatures in the 70s-80s, sunshine and blue skies.  Moises decided we would hike up the skyline ridge trail.  It was actually a lot steeper than it looked, and after just a few minutes into the hike we were all huffin’ and puffin’ (with a wee bit of whinin’ from a few. HA!).  But we all made it to the top and it was well worth the hike.  Well, not exactly the TOP, top… we’re not that amazing… but we did go as far up the mountain as we could until our trail was covered over with snow.  We figured that was a nice place to end our hike, considering we were packing 2 babies and hiking with 3 kiddos.  

 

Our first family hike.

Let the hiking begin...

It was 80 degrees and sunny.  Such a beautiful day.

Hitching a ride on Dad.  Despite the fact it was nap time he enjoyed the ride.

I think he was snickering because he just realized this trail was going to be a little challenging for the group.

Taking a short break in the shade.

Had to keep Lexi shaded from the sun.  She wasn't even 2 months old yet.

Halfway up and Levi was still awake and going strong.

Grace, Luke, Lexi and I ended up ahead of the group.  Here we are looking down the mountain at the rest of them on the trail.

The views were amazing up there!  God is quite an artist with his creations.  Everyone took a turn sliding down the snow covered hillside.  Even Levi took a turn on his Aunt Jezabel’s lap.  Everyone but me, that is.  I opted not to slide down and said holding Lexi was my excuse.  And no regrets either, I rather enjoyed hiking back down the mountain with a warm, dry bottom. =)  But the kids sure did have a blast, and I think our trip up the mountain was definitely a highlight of their trip here.

Waiving at Mommy.

Giving Lexi a break from the sun and the infant carrier.

The smallest hiker on the mountain.

These Texans were pretty excited to see snow and wear shorts at the same time.

Snowball fight!

Levi and Aunt J taking a turn sliding down the mountain.

Hiking back up for another turn.

One of my favorite pics with my favorite peeps.

So sweet to see how much Levi adores his Dada

Beautiful family

The hike back down was much easier.

I have been blessed with some pretty amazing Sister-in-laws!!

The whole gang!

Levi is fading... but STILL awake.

About 5 minutes before we made it back down the mountain Levi finally fell asleep.

 Our visit with the Gilley's seemed to come and go in a flash.  Tons of fun was had and tons of memories were made while they were here – Can’t wait til next time!