My parents' visit

My parents flew in from Michigan two weeks ago today, and have been back at home for a week now. We had a great time with them when they came to visit!

It was really fun to show them our part of the world... the Phoenix area, our home, our church and special people here. The weather was about 10 degrees warmer than normal, so I think it was a bit hot for them. But I still think they had fun visiting us. :)

The kids made this welcome sign, and I taped it to the door between the garage & our kitchen, so my folks would see it right away. :)

This was taken the morning after Dad & Mom got here. Dad was a great sport about reading to all of them.

We had several lunch-time picnics with my parents, one of them at the local regional park. I think they enjoyed seeing the natural plant life here... saguaro & cholla cactuses among them. We stopped at the visitor's center to see the many critters in glass cages... think rattlesnakes, scorpions, etc.

We went to a park in Phoenix for a free Phoenix Symphony concert on Saturday afternoon, and ate a picnic on the lawn there. Nothing fancy, just pb & j! :)

Ahead of time, we planned for Marissa to be baptized during my parents' visit. She was baptized on March 1st at our church, in what our pastor affectionately calls the "holy hot tub". Matt got to help baptize her... it was a really special time, and Marissa was pretty excited about it. My eyes were wet, and not from the hot tub!

The kids & I sang a special that morning, too. The girls & I wore skirts I made with my mom's help the day before. I'd always wanted to have matching skirts/dresses!

Matt's brother Mark & his wife, Anita, were able to be at our church for Marissa's baptism, too, and we had a party at our house afterwards. Our pastor & his family came, too.

Here are the dynamic duo, Marissa & her friend Hannah, playing around after church at our house. You can see what our skirts look like... somehow, in all the hub-bub of activity that day, we didn't get a photo of Marissa, Naomi & me wearing our skirts together.

I was trying to add a few more photos but seem to be having technical difficulties, so I'll have to wait on that. But for now, at least you know about my parents' visit with us, and can see a little bit of it!