Warning ~ this post is as long as my recent absence from blogging

Our house has been a little crazy over the last couple of weeks. It turned into a mini hotel, but without the buffet breakfast and complimentary mint on your pillow, for our family that came over to visit from the U.S.

Emma's family, all except 2 members, decided that they would trade a few weeks of their summer to enjoy our winter here in the land of Oz. We hosted Corrie, Andy, Andrew, Shelley and 15 month old Sophie for 2 weeks. Rita and Spencer stayed at hotel-de-mums.

I'll be honest, the evenings were crazy. Trying to keep my kids in some sort of evening routine became tricky at times - and I lost count of the number of evenings I didn't get to bed before midnight. But I wouldn't have changed anything. I loved being amongst my extended family and getting know them better, and them us.

Evening activities included:

Endless games of Skip Bo, Rummikub & Uno ~ man-oh-man are these guys super competitive, they know the rules to ALL games back to front - nothing gets past them.

Andy making pizza rolls.........a huge hit

Donut making ~ Nana's recipe makes the most delicious donuts and now Corrie and Shelley can now wow people back home with this recipe.

Tastebuddies ~ Tastebuddies went global. While in Oz they tested meat pies and lemonade (the sparkling type). Now we are an official Tastebuddies franchise with an official t-shirt.

One of the days I became official tour guide - we hit the beautiful Adelaide hills, stretching our legs at Woodside, Melba's Chocolate Factory, The Giant Rocking Horse and Lobethal.

I tried my hand at a little portrait photography. Corrie and Andy wanted some pictures so we tried a few locations and got some beautiful shots.

Andrew and Shelley's daughter, Sophie, officially became a toddler while here taking her first proper steps on Australian soil (just like her dad many years before her). My kids just absolutely loved having her around. Ailish, my little mother at the moment, couldn't resist the urge to scoop her up and carry Sophie on her hips at any opportunity. And the boys loved just hanging out with her and sharing their toys.

Unfortunately this crazy fun had to end and last Friday morning we waved them goodbye, and good luck, as they embarked on their 24 hours of flying with a toddler.

Lets hope it's not another 6 years before we meet again. xoxoxoxox