Sunday Snapshots: Too Many Visitors and a Fall Photo Shoot

We had too many visitors today. 

Too many, you ask?

Photo by Kati

My dear daughter Kristin and her family were back today after a two week absence.  We had missed seeing them during those two weeks in which people were sick or traveling.  It was good to see those five sweet grandchildren again and could they really have grown in two weeks? Alaine (2) has certainly grown in vocabulary; she says anything she wants.  In sentences.  

No, they were certainly not the "too many visitors."

My parents (known as Gammy and Gampy to all of their grands and great-grands) stopped by for a little while, bringing treats for all the littles.  

Did that make for "too many visitors"?  Absolutely not.  We are always happy to have Gammy and Gampy visit.  

So who were the unwelcome visitors? 

As I awoke and came downstairs this morning, I felt like I was in the great outdoors!  A cricket was chirruping somewhere in my kitchen.  When Ron rose shortly afterward, I asked him if he was joining me at the campsite.  He looked around, but the insect ventriloquist would not reveal his whereabouts.  Eventually, the chirping ceased (or we quit hearing it).  

Later, Bekah was upstairs getting ready for church when she suddenly rushed downstairs, still clad in her pajamas.  She had picked up yesterday's jeans from her bedroom floor, and a cricket fell out!  (Let's just say that this did not please Bekah.  One bit.)  Ron went to exterminate, but the cricket had seemingly disappeared after Bekah had fled.  After church, a cricket was discovered on the stairs, it was exterminated, and we assured ourselves that it was Bekah's jeans cricket who would no longer lurk about her room.

Then this afternoon as we were cleaning up the kitchen after lunch, Kati looked up to see another cricket, mocking us as he chirped on the upper cabinet ledge right over our heads! Again, Ron's exterminator services were called upon.  He stood on a kitchen chair and slapped and smacked and beat around until he cornered the mocker and killed it with his bare hand. (Ewwwwww!)  

Only one problem.  The chirruping did not cease.  

There was another cricket!  

More slapping and smacking and beating around, and the chirper was silenced.  

Too many visitors.  

It was a gorgeous day, and Kati beckoned everyone outside for an informal photo shoot.  

Here's a (very) small sample.  Maybe she'll share some more on her blog.
(Edited to add: Kati shared many more photos ~here~.) 

Niece/Aunt/Friends
Photo by Kati

A row of cuteness
Photo by Kati