Konnichiwa

We've been enjoying a visit from my niece Kayla over the last few weeks. She's here from Japan and we've been busy swimming, playing Uno, doing origami and lots of other fun things.

She arrived just in time for my birthday and we gathered at my cousin Suzanne's house to celebrate all the July birthdays in our extended family. It was so much fun to have all the cousins together. I must say, it's a good thing that Kayla is the oldest. As the only girl, age gives her an advantage when trying to corral all the boys.

Holten and his big sister Kayla 

Group shot of the cousins 

My birthday hug  

Once it cooled off a bit in the evening (and by that I mean 100 instead of 108), we moved the party outside to let the kids burn off some sugar. Gray and Luke were in charge of filling up the kiddie pool. 

Jack tested out the sprinkler feature on the slide. He was so happy to be in the middle of the action with the rest of the kids now that he's walking (and running).

I love Luke's expression in this shot. They were having so much fun! 

Kayla's turn to show 'em how it's done. 

This shot of Holt cracks me up. He would have kept going all night if we'd have let him.