Thornock Visit 2019

On Sunday my bestie, Christie Thornock, drove all the way from Texas to visit us. It was so much fun. She came to keep me company while Chris is gone to "annual training" and we had so much fun. Between the two of us, we had 7 kids ages 10 and under. It was insane but we had the best time. 

They arrived during the late afternoon on Sunday. We ate a quick dinner and then went for a walk down to the creek outside our neighborhood. 

Look at all those cuties- minus Benson who wouldn't sit on the log for me. 

The kids had a great time skipping rocks and playing in the creek. 

Benson loved using the bug net to catch lots of rocks. 

Tuck- always finding the seashells

These pictures of Aspen and Tanner cracked me up. 

Then it was back to the house for bed.

The next morning we headed off to the pool. We had the entire pool to ourselves and it was awesome.
Look at all those cuties.

Benson is fearless in the water and its a bit terrifying for me. 

It was so fun to watch the kids develop little friendships. 

Tanner and Bree picked up where they left off (from the Thornock's visit two years ago). It was fun to see that they weren't too cool to hang out and play together. They are starting to enter that "too cool" stage. 

After a morning at the pool, we ate lunch and then watched a movie and took naps. It was stormy and everyone was tired. Then we made homemade pizzas and watched the original "Aladdin". 

Tuesday morning we woke up early and drove down to Fayetteville. We made a stop at Hurts Donuts. 

After stuffing ourselves with donuts we went over to "Reagan Family Farms" to pick blueberries. 

So yummy. Benson really loved having his own bucket. 

Tanner and Tucker were both very picky about which berries they picked. Only the best! 

Bailey wasn't quite as particular but she worked hard to pick her share of berries. 

The group shot. 

Together we picked one full bucket. Can't wait to make some blueberry pancakes. 

After picking blueberries, we drove over to the library to pick up some books and they were offering free lunches for all the kids so we grabbed lunch too. 

Then it was home for a short nap for Benson and then we headed to Lake Avalon to play.

The kids love this cute little beach and we had the best time playing.

The lake has this fun little aqua pod the kids love and they played out there non stop. 

Benson mostly just enjoyed playing in the sand. 

Tanner played so much on the aqua pod and made lots of little friends. 

Tuck enjoyed the aqua pod but he also loved being buried in the sand. 

Bailey is becoming a great little swimmer, but with so many kids and to few parents I still made her wear a life jacket. She had a great time playing. 

Benson ever so slowly warmed up to Christie. Ever so slowly.

Christie was relentless in her attempts to win him over.

All those cuties! They had a blast at the beach. 

After playing at the beach, the kids dried off and played on the zipline swings. 

Tuesday night we were all exhausted from our big day. We ate dinner and the kids showered and it was off to bed for the kiddos. Christie and I ended our night with ice cream and a movie. 

Wednesday morning we packed our lunches and drove over to Tanyard Creek. We ate a picnic lunch and then hiked up the Tanyard Creek waterfall.

Look at all these cute little hikers.

Christie with her sequins backpack leading the way. 

Here's a group shot of all of us at the waterfall. Don't think for a second that both Christie and I weren't anxious mommas. 7 kids near a waterfall- we decided to hike back down to the creek where the kids could play quietly. 

Here are the kiddos under the waterfall.

Benson loved the creek. He loves sticks and water so he was in his element. 

The kids had a great time playing in the little caves 

Benson took this picture of Christie and I'm cracking up. I was holding the camera and he would hold it up to his eye and push down the button. He loves my camera. 

Love these little explorers

After Tanyard Creek we went to find some snow cones. We found this place in Bentonville called "Brain Freeze" and we fell in love. It was delicious. 

Wednesday night Uncle Joseph came over to watch the kids while Christie and I had a girl's night out. It was such a blast. We had an awesome sushi dinner and then went shopping. 

Thursday we had an "Aladdin" Movie party. It was really fun. 

We had all sorts of fun movie themed snacks. 

Look at all those cute friends in their Aladdin clothes. 

Seriously, love these babies. 

Benson loved all the suckers so much.

Then we dropped off Benson with Aunt Julieta and went to see the new "Aladdin". 

It was so good. We had the best time! I think I will always remember seeing the new "Aladdin" with my big kids. At one point, Tucker was sitting in my chair with me, and both Bailey and Tanner each had their little heads on my shoulders. We were all snuggled up watching together and it was one of those perfect moments that don't come around enough.

Happily, Benson was really good for Aunt Julieta and even took a nap for her. 

That night we took all the kids out for dinner for Mexican food.

It was a bit crazy but we survived and the food was yummy. And we didn't have to cook. So win-win.

Friday morning Christie and I came out of room wearing the exact same romper. We bought them across the country from each other without knowing it and we were cracking up. So naturally, we had to take a picture together. 

Then, after packing up Christie and I took the kids bowling. 

Again Christie tried to win Benson over.

Benson was definitely playing hard to get. 

It was the longest game of bowling ever with all 7 kids on one lane, but we survived it. 

After bowling we went to Chick-fil-a for lunch and from their Christie and her kids left to drive home.

We had the best time with the Thornocks and I'm so grateful for my sweet friend who drove 8 hours to come and help me for one of the week while Chris was gone. It made my first week of single parenthood really fly by. 

Thanks again Christie!!