Belt Family Visit 2010

My sister and her family came out to visit again this year. I do love that I get to be the first stop (and usually the last stop as they start heading home too). I look forward to spending a couple of days with them, and I also love that it usually means I get to see them a couple of times during their month-long visit. This year they also brought their cats, which sadly, I didn't get a picture of. I do love Nemo and Max. They have fun personalities and I have missed them. The girls seemed to enjoy playing in my room and on my bed, just like last time. The adults continued to get a good laugh at Amy and Adelynne, as they would go into an empty room and close the door each time they got upset. They are pretty spunky for 3 and almost 5.
One day we went to Thanksgiving Point. We went to the Dinosaur Museum and to the Animal Farm. The girls enjoyed the sand/water table.

Here's Adelynne with a handful of dinosaurs.

I don't remember what Joe was doing here, but it obviously made Adelynne very concerned.

Their favorite part? the pony ride of course!

Love that silly face!

Not sure what she was thinking for this one.

There were some very fun animals to see, but I didn't take any pictures of them. The boy peacock was all fluffed out and trying to get the attention of one of the females, who of course
wasn't paying him any attention. There was also a brand new baby goat. So cute! On Sunday we made a fort in our front room and let the girls watch a movie on the laptop.

Tracy took a nap inside.

I love my sister and my brother-in-law Dustin, and my nieces. They are so much fun and I miss them so much! I sure do hope that when Dustin finishes school they will be able to move closer. My nieces are so cute and silly and funny. They make me laugh all the time. They are beautiful reflections of my sister too. I'm looking forward to seeing them again soon!

Retirement

Joe's mom is a middle school orchestra teacher. Well, she "is" one for just another couple of days. She is retiring. She is really excited and we are all excited for her. Ordinarily in her school district, when a teacher retires there is an open house gathering/shindig after school. But she petitioned to those in charge to have hers following her final concert due to the fact that none of her family could actually come. They agreed. So, a few weeks ago the entire (local) family attended her concert. We were also guest performers. We sang a family favorite called "I Can't Get Off Of My Horse." It's a pretty funny song.

Joe and nephew Josh accompanied. I was concerned about Joe playing the guitar because he got his meds earlier that afternoon. But he did great. Oh and that is Ryan on crutches. He was in his final track meet and his muscles were so strong that they ripped the growth plate right off the bone. He has this really cool scooter thing too. He's doing better.

And here's the whole picture. I just asked some parent behind us to take a few pictures. Most are pretty blurry, but at least these 2 came out. It was fun to be able to support Janet at her last concert. I know her children are all really excited for her to be done teaching. She has really enjoyed it, especially these past couple years. She has had 3 of her own grandchildren in her orchestra, which is pretty cool. She started with just 2 periods of orchestra, but has grown to 4 because the groups have gotten so large. Congrats to Janet! Happy Retirement!