Cay came to visit!

In mid-October, my sister in-law came to visit for a few days! She works for the airlines so took advantage of flying stand-by since I have two little ones who she didn't get enough of when she visited in July. Also, she absolutely LOVES fall, but lives in southern Florida, so came here right as the leaves happened to be at peak! The colors are so vibrant here as they speckle the mountains all around us with color. Even the yellows (which are my least favorite compared to the red and orange) are really bright and vibrant. We have thoroughly enjoyed fall here, and were so excited Cay could enjoy a little bit of it at its best on her visit.

While she was here, we went to a trunk or treat on post (a week before Halloween), and went to Seoul, checking out one of the ancient palaces as well as Dongdaemun market. I'll share about those in a separate post. I wanted to share some of the every day things we enjoyed while she was here.

One day, we went to the big park by our house. There is a big track, exercise equipment, a basketball and badmitten court, a splash park area, bridges, pathways, streams, etc. We love going there for family walks. There is also a fun playground there that I sometimes take Claire to. (I have to know I have time to give her a bath that night though, because there is a lot of sand, and baths are always needed afterwards.) Cay thought it looked like fun, so we went there together one morning.

We all think that little water spigot that looks like some sort of feline creature is funny.

Cay wore Maddie out by letting her crawl across the court over and over again. We just had to make sure she didn't eat the leaves or a random pebble.

The fun exercise machines.

This exercise machine may not look like much, but use with caution. It spins in circles, and the little disc you stand on is spinney too. After getting off most of these machines, it reminded me of putting your shoes on after going roller skating. Weird feeling.

I cannot describe to you how much Claire LOVED being chased by her Aunt Cay. I don't know who we wore out more at the park - Claire or Cay!

She was captured too. :)

Mischievous look on the playground.

Claire LOVED having a playmate here. Aunt Cay spent a majority of the day playing different games with Claire. They played regular games like princess yahtzee, and they played the more creative games like kitty and puppy games. Claire was in heaven.

Aunt Cay reading a story, protecting the board, AND playing the game. That is some serious multi-tasking.

I was really impressed with Cay's stamina. I know first-hand how tiring it can be to play with children for hours (especially those creative games), but to do it when you're jet lagged too...she's just plain awesome.

Not only did Claire and Maddie get a lot of quality Aunt Cay time, but Cay also brought us lots of goodies from the states like pumpkin pudding, basil pesto, and a few things for Claire like new black sparkly shoes (since she outgrew her old ones) and most importantly, her Halloween costume! Claire said for quite a while that she wanted to be a princess this Halloween. We were all set with the perfect costume from her dress up clothes. Then, she changed her mind and wanted to be a kitty. We didn't have time to order one and there was a limited selection at the px, so Aunt Cay brought her kitty costume. Claire was so excited, and she made quite a cute kitty. There will be lots of pictures when I post about Halloween, but here's a sneak peak. 

(Aunt Cay also bought cute bags for the girls. You can't see the front of Claire's but it's a kitty face. Perfect!)

I tried to spoil Cay a little and make some yummy things like turkey pumpkin white bean chili, pumpkin pie cake, cinnamon roll pumpkin pancakes, and a Thai chicken salad for lunch. In actuality, I was the one being spoiled. She fed Maddie numerous meals, entertained the kids while I showered and cooked, did dishes, helped make (ok mostly made) the chicken salad, etc. It was also so nice chatting with her throughout the four days she was here. I think people looked at me strange when I told them my sister in-law was coming all this way to visit without my brother. She's been my sister in-law since I was 9 years old though, so it was totally awesome! Even though she didn't have to pay for the ticket, she did have to pay for taxes, and most importantly, it was a loooong way to come for a visit. I felt totally loved and special that she wanted to do it though (even if the little ones were the biggest draw.) :) Stay tuned for more fun adventures with Cay while she was here!