Happy New Year!!!

Well, we had a very good visit with Marie, Tansy, Peggy, Russ, Lindsay, Maura, and Emily. Peggy and family got here the day after Christmas, just in time for dinner. I had put on a chicken in the crockpot and made some mashed potatoes, gravy, and green beans. After a day on the road, home cooked food sure tasted good. Kate came over with Paisley, so she was there to visit. After staying up late, visiting, Kate went home, and we all hit the sack. Kate took Maura home with her to help with the boys in the morning. Saturday, we weren't really sure what we were going to do. We decided on a movie, and Marie and Tansy showed up right as we were getting lunch together. It was decided that Marie would stay with the boys and Emily, Kate would take Paisley, and we would see the Benjamin Button movie. That was a lot of fun. Lindsay and Maura went to the mall to visit some friends, and the rest of us came to my house for pasta dinner. Then Kate had to get the boys home to bed (I think it was the first time she had done it all alone, go Kate!) and Peggy, Marie, Tansy, Pam, and Emily played some games. We started off with "Last Word," which was hilariously fun. Then we played "Imagine If," which was more fun once we modified the rules. The girls (Lindsay and Maura) got home before 11, and we stayed up to visit for a little bit before heading to bed. Matt was on duty, so he was going to get off early in the morning, so I set the alarm for 6am, so I could put on the beignet dough early enough for beignets (New Orleans doughnuts). I didn't want to wake up the girls who were on couches, so I brought the breadmaker into my bedroom. Imagine that! Matt got home, everyone started getting up, and the dough finished. I started rolling it out, Matt got the hot oil ready, and we made some yummy pastries for everyone. Unfortunately, we didn't take any pictures. I think everyone like it. Then, everyone started to get ready for church, and Marie and Tansy started to get ready for their drive home. Peggy was straightening Lindsay's hair, and I asked her if she wanted to straighten MY hair. She was game, so after Marie and Tansy left, she began. One hour and ten minutes later, my hair was stick straight. I looked so different! That is only the second (and a half) time that my hair has been straight. I think it makes me look so different, it is weird. Maybe because my red curly hair is such a big feature, I don't notice my other features as much. So when the hair is gone (or straight in this case) it is easier to really look at my face.

Anyways, Sunday was church, when Kate's baby Paisley was blessed. Kate and Ben were the speakers in sacrament meeting. Parker and Preston were so cute! Then, after church, we all went to Kate and Ben's for "heavy hor d'oeuvres" which ended up being chicken wings and deer kabobs, with chips and dip. It was so good. We all had a good time visiting, and then we headed home. Matt and I went to bed early (he was exhausted) and everyone else stayed up for a movie. Monday, we weren't sure what to do. We thought about the mall, or the beach. Well, it wasn't as warm as Sunday had been (in the 80s), but we thought it might still be cool to go to the beach. So we headed down there. There's a playground right on the sand, and the boys had fun playing. Emily was looking for shells and rocks, and she and Russ headed down to the water to look. It wasn't hot out, but it was pleasant. We stayed there for a little bit, then decided to head back to Kate's house to play games and make tacos for dinner. We played "Truth or Myth" which was fun. Then we broke out Boggle. With so many good players, it was hard to score big. I ended up winning with 25 points. We ate dinner (thanks, Russ, for making the tacos) and with only one minor incident (ask Kate if she wants to tell you), we had a good dinner. After dinner, it was sitting around, talking, playing games. We tried "Singing Bee" but no one but Pam, Peggy, and Kate were really into it. The boys got bathed and put to bed, then we had to go home to go to sleep. Tuesday, Russ went out on the boat with Ben and Benji, and had a good time, even though it was cold. He caught a big fish. Meanwhile, Kate, Peggy, Pam, and the girls and boys went to the MacArthur Center Mall in Norfolk. We only really shopped the bottom floor before we got tuckered out. We headed up to the food court for some lunch, then headed home. Peggy, Pam, and Lindsay ran some errands, and then met everyone at Kate's. We decided to play another game, and I got Matt to come over and play with us. We played a new game that Peggy picked up, "Hit or Miss." Another good board game. Then everyone headed out to Donna and Benji's for fried fish. Matt and I went home b/c we had to take a friend to the airport. When everyone got back here, we had another good visit, and Peggy and I stayed up way too late before going to bed. The Blairs headed out at about 5:30, and Matt and I got up to see them off. Then we headed back to bed for some much needed rest. Having guests over is fun, but it sure is exhausting.

So, to recap, we had 4 Helm sisters in one room at the same time, and we all got along 100% of the time. The cousins had fun playing with each other. We played 5 different board games (6 if you count Singing Bee) and all around had a good time. Here are some of the pictures from the visit. Sorry, Marie. I don't have any pics of when you were here. My camera battery died, I think. Anyways, any time you all want to come back, you are more than welcome. We'd love to have you.