A Scarlett Comes To Town

 Back in July, my niece Scarlett came to visit us. For her birthday, her present was to fly to Edmonton (from Calgary) by herself and then spend a week hanging out with my kiddos.

We had a blast.

The first thing we did was celebrate her birthday, 

obviously. 

We went to a couple of different parks, 

With statues to climb,

Art to enjoy, 

and slides to go down, including the park closest to our house. When they weren't playing the swings, 

Scarlett was leading everyone in a role playing game about space explorers.

We also headed to Elk Island National Park, 

and yes, we saw bison. Many, many bison, including one in the middle of the road. 

It later came over by Scarlett's window. 

We also saw many leeches, big and small, and I was once again reminded why I am hesitant to do big outings without Kyler around. Too many whiny children all at once. At least Scarlett didn't add to the whininess...

We played outside and got wet. I figure it's fair that Craig is getting Scarlett wet, because she had the hose earlier and was spraying it around a bit. 

All is fair in love, war, and backyard sprinklers.

The kiddos also just generally abused Scarlett and enjoyed having a big sister. 

She mostly enjoyed it, and when it got too much she went downstairs to her bedroom and read.

It was really fun having her around. Scarlett got to be the "big kid" for a while, which as the third of four kids, she rarely gets to be. 

She even got to join our friends and be a grown up for game night, which Scarlett loved.

When the other kids were in bed, we watched Hamilton (she loved it but fell asleep) 

and Avatar: The Last Airbender. We also had a movie night with some friends from church, watching Princess Bride.

While I know it wasn't actually like having a teenager of my own, it was fun to borrow one for a week. She's welcome here any time! Especially if she'll babysit. :)