The White's came to visit!

The Shear Resort is now open for business :)  

The day after we got home from Idaho, we realized how much our house is actually going to accommodate visitors, so we ordered a trundle bed for Alison's room.  I didn't think anyone would really be excited about sleeping on cots and trundle beds, but then again, we do live in paradise...and people have slept on our futon for years, so I'm going to take that as people just really love us.

Laurel asked if they could come visit, to which we will always say YES.

And she brought us Chili Peppers!  

The most giant tortillas I have ever seen:

We stocked our freezer with bean and cheese borritos and tamales.  I don't think they'll last us that long, but we have a trip planned for October, so we just have to make it until then.

Back to the White's...they came to escape the heat and requested a day at the beach.  It was overcast and chilly, but we still had fun.

We bought a couple of boogie boards on the way and it was the first time the kids really ventured out into the COLD water.  The smile on Eli's face was worth everything.  I'm hoping to get some wetsuits soon so we can all get out in the water.

This is currently my favorite beach to go to because they have Junior Lifeguard camp going on and there's a lot of instructors out in the water.

The next day, we went to Underwood Family Farm to pick blackberries and raspberries.

Eli was very excited about picking raspberries, but refused to pick berries when he discovered tons of bees around the bushes. It wasn't long before all of the kids abandoned picking, except for Tolson.

 The second the boys were reunited, they hugged and then instantly started running around playing.  I couldn't get them stop for 2 seconds to get a decent picture.  The girls were much calmer.  They played with Smokey (I don't think I've mentioned that we have a new hamster) a lot...

and crafted out in the garage.  Hot glue + paint= creations for Barbies.

Oh look, I did get all the boys in one picture!  They stopped just long enough to watch some Star Wars and to look up how to build things in Legos on an iPad.

 The following day we went on a little girls shopping date.

That night, Ben grilled us burgers and made mojitos with mint from our garden.  We were sitting out on the patio and Laurel said that she felt like she was at a resort.  It was a refreshing time for all of us...if only they could just move here.

I don't feel like we've lived here all that long still, but talking with Laurel brought back all the memories of Yuma and it surprised me how quickly I forgot.  I can't believe we lived that life; it's not just a place, it's a very unique way of living.  The never able to forget a sunshade in your car-never step outside without sunglasses-ALWAYS be drinking water-can't be outside-can't cook unless it's in an insta pot- life.  It's no wonder why we're feeling so spoiled here.  I went on a whole run this morning without sunglasses!