Valadez Visit!

We were thrilled when my friend, Erin, contacted me to tell me they were coming home for a visit. She drove from Oklahoma and brought her kids Xander, T'ea, and Brecken. When Erin and I get together once or twice a year we catch up like no time has passed. Picking up where we left off. lol
One day we went hiking at Strawberry Creek. They hadn't been on the new trail yet so we thought it would be fun. Erin's dad, Ron, and brother Andre' joined us with his boys. It was quite the crew :)

Willow is only a few months older than Brecken. Right away they formed a love/hate one year old relationship.... haha

Brecken and Willow held hands on part of the hike.....

Ava and the boys ran far ahead on the trail. Isaac, T'ea, and Willow had a more leisurely hike and even asked us to take photos....

We caught up with the rest of the group at the end of the trail. Ava, JJ, Drew, and Xander were busy in the creek.....

 We sat down for some more snacks and to rehydrate.....

The day before Erin and the kids had to drive back to Oklahoma, we met up at Pruess Lake to play.
It was amazing how low the water had dropped from last week we were there! There was much more beach exposed which made playing in the sand easier. But you had to walk out a long ways through the water to get it deep enough to swim! Haha

Summer = watermelon
Mmmmm

Willow and Brecken we both so tired. Even though there were plenty of sticks on the beach they had to fight over the same one. One year olds........ Haha

If there is a critter around, Ava will find it. Like this baby crawdad.....

To my delight, Erin mentioned coming back in September sometime to do some hiking. This great visit may be continued soon ;)