Our darling niece Mallory came to town for a week near the end of July and here are some pictures we took while she was here:
OH WAIT THOSE ARE DEF CIRCA 2005-2006.
Let's try again?:
Closer! 2013 at cousin Rachel's wedding.
One more attempt... Yesssss, here we are! Eating delicious buttery garlic chicken salad that Mallory made:
Girlfriend is a spectacular cook, which should come as no surprise because Melissa is likewise fantastic and has taught her kiddos well.
Mallory was the lone holdout in her family to come party with us - we've hosted George multiple times, Courtney two summers ago, and Lily the month before. We were SO happy that schedules aligned and we could lure her up to Nampa - although after making her go to Zumba and boot camp with me on Monday and Wednesday, she may never come back ;).
But we want her back! Who else would make delicious spaghetti and meatballs for these two??
We had a nice balance of activities and just hanging out - one afternoon we got ambitious and loaded up to bike to the library - exhausted pictures are on the way home in the 90s heat, blech.
It was really a working vacation for Mallory - she brought along the research material for her Dramatic Interpretation for Speech and Debate and spent time during the week writing and editing. Have I mentioned Mallory's extreme talent in forensics/speech and debate? (terms vary state to state...). Girlfriend is amazing. She's already gone to nationals once and (spoiler alert) qualified again this year with her DI! (again, dramatic interpretation, not Deseret Industries. If there were a way to qualify for nationals based on thrift store shopping, I would be there). Not only is Mallory an incredible... performer? is that the right word?... she's also super active on the speech and debate team at her high school and is the Interp Captain - meaning she generously spends tons of time helping other students with their interpretations, mentoring and supporting them. She's a rockstar!
Mal's visit coincided with Chuck being at scout camp, so she helped wrangle the kids off and on. One day I dropped the other three off at my mama's while I headed for the temple and then a dinner with friends, leaving Mallory and Clyde at home together. They formed a cute 'oldest children' society and made themselves chocolate chip pancakes!!
... which needed documentation because they turned out so well! Mal is gluten-free and pancakes of that variety tend to turn out flat, but due to a serendipitous measuring mix-up, they fluffed up admirably and were happily consumed by both chefs :).
Our big adventure came on Friday when we ditched all the other kids with Grandma Pam and headed over to Boise State for a campus tour - on bike! Mallory was heading into her senior year of high school and wanted to compare and contrast BSU with some Utah schools and we had a GREAT time:
We cruised around campus a bit and then headed over the bridge into Julia Davis park before heading into downtown Boise and then looping back around.
We caught a glimpse of the giraffes at the zoo and had to snap a quick selfie since Mallory's childhood (and current??) favorite animal was a giraffe!
We took a couple biking breaks to wander in and out of classrooms and buildings, including quite a few that have sprung up since I graduated - the new rec center?? So fancy and cool!
Even though Mallory isn't going to end up as a Bronco, it was still such a fun morning together! From my Instagram caption: "We loved the BSU-issued bikes🚲 (although we both kept reaching for the non-existent handbrakes 😳) and hopefully I only partially bored her to tears by complementing the official tour with my own commentary of campus (i.e. where my classes were, where Uncle Chuck lived, what things looked like back in my day 👵🏻😜😂). #janory2k16"
Carma was her typical hot/cold self, but she did love having Mallory around!
as did the boys! Especially during swimming lessons when the boys that were done could sneak over to the park with mallory instead of having to wait with Mom. I even let her drive the minivan one day -- she did awesome once she figured out that pesky parking brake ;).
Allll too soon our week was over and I had to give her back to her family - the only thing that made it bearable was meeting Melissa in Burley and bringing Courtney home with me for our week adventure!
Ohhh I love Mallory. She's our oldest niece and (along with Courtney) made me an instant aunt when Chuck and I got married, which was definitely a perk to the union ;). I'm so glad this visit worked out! Come back cute girl! #janory2k17?!?
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