Kiera and Isabelle come to town

This last week my favorite sister, Kiera, (Yes, she’s my only sister) came to visit me with her daughter Isabelle. Her husband, Patrick, stayed home in Texas to work, so it was just us girls…. oh, and Joseph.

Our week probably wasn’t exciting by anyone’s standards, but we all had fun visiting and playing together. After all, we hadn’t seen each other since last summer when the girls were still under one year old! Now Elora is 18 months and Isabelle is 15, so they were much more interested and interesting to each other than at their first encounter in July.

Kiera arrived early on Saturday morning. Although she had to wake up at four AM to get to the airport (and we had to get up by 7:00) we drove straight from the airport to the Seattle Zoo for our big adventure of the week. (Okay, first we had a quick breakfast at McDonalds in Ballard. I love fruit parfaits!)

Kiera and I had visited this zoo together when we were both single, as well as with our family years earlier. Joseph and I took Elora last summer too, but she wasn’t quite old enough to fully appreciate it. We adults were quite entertained by the orangutans and the elephants. The girls seemed to be most impressed with the afternoon show, which consisted of some African acrobats and native drum beats. Isabelle is quite the dancer!

When we got home that afternoon, the girls were understandably tired, as were the rest of us. We had borrowed a port-a-crib thing from someone in our ward for Isabelle to sleep in while she was here. That first day, she was absolutely terrified of her new accommodations. Kiera finally had to lay down with her in our bed, but eventually we all got some much needed rest. The rest of the week, Isabelle (or “Belly” as I liked to call her) adjusted to the crib just fine.

(incidentally, my nickname for Isabelle somewhat confused her. Whenever I’d say “Belly!” She’d lift her shirt up and look at me inquiringly. “What about my belly?”)

Sunday we all went to church together, and Kiera got to come with us to the nursery, where Joseph and I have our calling. The highlight of that day was seeing the babies in their matching outfits from Grandma Kimber. Isabelle looked like Strawberry Shortcake, and Elora looked like she could work at the Green Show in Cedar City. Cute!

Most of the rest of the week was slightly more mundane. As Joseph has school in the mornings and work in the afternoon and evening, we were left without transportation most of the time. I really wanted to go on a nice walk or something on Monday and Tuesday, but the person we were borrowing a stroller from wasn’t able to drop it off ‘till Tuesday evening.

We did manage a jaunt around the apartment complex on Monday, with a stop at the playground. Unfortunately, we were all suffering from bad allergies and the onset of a bad cold (which Kiera brought with her) so we didn’t stay out too long.

Elora seemed to think Isabelle was a little baby, but was quite excited to see her everyday. She wanted to help put her clothes on, was extremely interested in her diaper changes, and was happy to help give her food and milk whether she wanted it or not. Bathtime was a huge success for everyone.

Since then, Elora has been treating her toys like babies for the first time. Maybe this is an indication of how she'll be with her new brother next month?

Our big adventure on Thursday was a trip to my doctors appointment then off to a picnic at the beach. While waiting for my appointment time, we stopped at a nice park where the girls played on the wet toys. Elora even climbed all the way up the plastic tunnel. What a big girl!

After my appointment (the new baby is doing fine) we picked up Joseph from school and headed to Picnic Point Beach, teriyaki in tow. This beach has a nice grassy picnic area before you hit the beach, and on this day it happened to be covered with beautiful little white flowers. (Elora loves flowers.)

We ate quickly then went down to look at the water. As I wasn’t even close to done with my food, I closed the Styrofoam carton and wrapped it tightly back in the bag it came in.
Unfortunately, we had forgotten about the abundant crows in the area. When we returned about 45 minutes later, our containers were scattered all around the grass and the food was completely gone. Even my tightly secured meal had been violated. There were giant holes in the box and the plastic bag was torn to shreds. My food!

Oh well, at least the beach was pretty fun.

Elora the Explorer

Elora, Joseph, tummy, Me

Kiera gives Isabelle a closer look

The rest of the week involved some movie watching, nap times, and one late night run for McFlurries at McDonalds. We played a few games, and there was some general sillyness from Kiera and I while Joseph fell asleep on the floor more than once. After all, he didn’t get a nap everyday like we did. Elora and Isabelle became fast friends -as much as toddlers can- and even learned to share once in a while.

Although it wasn’t much, the week passed quickly, and this last Saturday found us at the airport again, this time saying goodbye. Who knows when we’ll all see each other again…hopefully sooner than later! But I must say, I’m glad I have a sister and that she was able to come see me, even for a short time.

Good Bye Bellie!!!