Weekend with the Torres Clan!

Roberto got a job out in NY so the Torres family made the trek across the country last week. Iw as really bummed that they weren't going to be in Utah for Christmas but got to see them for a couple days last week. They stopped for a couple nights in Columbia to hang out with Aunt Nina. Melanie and Ethan each got their own room in my little apartment, while the three adults slept in the living room to ensure that the kids actually got some sleep.

Some highlights from the trip:
- Hearing little E talk! This kid's vocabulary has exploded since I last saw him in July. He is talking up a storm, which is alot of fun. In my opinion, his expressive skills are quite advanced. (What 18 month old can say the word "scrapbook?" Then again, what 18 month old knows what a scrapbook is and can intelligibly label it as such? Well, Little E can!)
- Mellie revealing her mischievious nature! Ethan had fallen and scraped his forhead pretty badly. He was receiving all kinds of attention from his scraped up head, so Mel found my red nail polish and painted herself a big old scrape on her forehead. When asked why she did that, she said, "I wanted to be like Ethan." She also had fun ransacking my bedroom when she was supposed to be asleep and used permanent Sharpie markers to color all over my sheets and her own face (pretending it was make up). Needless to say, she likes to use her face as an artistic canvas. What a silly little lady!
- Checking out the Mizzou tiger! There isn't too much to do with kids in Columbia, but I thought the kids love animals and might like to see the giant statue of a tiger in the middle of the University of Missouri campus. Mel and Ethan were so excited to go see the tiger. The whole ride there Melanie kept telling me that the tiger wasn't going to be scary and that I shouldn't be scared. I think she was trying to psych herself up to see the tiger because when we got to the statue she was too freaked out to climb up on it with me and take a picture.
- Toe pinches from Angie! Being toe pinched wasn't all that exciting. But snuggling up on my couch with my sister and chatting away is always enjoyable.

(Pictures from the weekend to be added soon!)