Sledding

Our Family decided that the fun wasn't over just because Christmas was. We packed up and went Sledding. (Jake's first time. He had a blast.)

Christmas Wore Me Out

This was the first time that Jacob has ever fallen asleep in his high chair. It looks like Christmas wore someone else out besides just me.

Christmas Eve Chaos ... Christmas Eve Joys

This Christmas Eve we had three other families over for Christmas Eve supper (take-out of course. It is tradition.) Each of the kids were able to put together and decorate their own Gingerbread House. There were a total of 10 gingerbread houses when we were finished and a couple plates of gingerbread men. It was fun to have friends over for our Christmas Eve celebration.

After Everyone left, the kids opened their Christmas Eve Pajamas. Can you believe this is the best picture I got of them all in their PJ's. Oh well. It was a fun Christmas Eve.

I Lost my Baby ... O.K. so not really.

This has been going on for a little while, but when it first happened it really surprised me.  Jacob learned to go up and down stairs very quickly, and anytime my bedroom door or the bathroom door is open he is upstairs in a hurry.  

One day I began looking for Jake and I realized my bedroom door was open so I looked in there first and then in my  bathroom.  I didn't see him and continued looking around upstairs.  Then I heard a noise in my bathroom.  I had just checked there, I thought.  

Apparently, I didn't look very well because Jake had learned that one of his favorite play places is under the bathroom counter.

The counter has since been emptied and this remains one of his favorite places to be, that is unless there is water in the tub.

My other kids thought this was pretty clever and decided to join him.

ALL AT ONCE !!

I forgot to warn the babysitters about this fantastic hiding place, and Maddie was the last to be found in a game of hide and seek.  

Over the River and Through the Woods

To Grandmother's House we Go

We had a fun weekend visiting GG.  And of course the kids had fun sliding down the stairs.

Maddison and Scott were able to go help unload straw at Rod's house and Maddison was able to DRIVE her first four wheeler.  She laughed the entire time.  She also spent a lot of time in the straw and came home covered in straw, but HAPPY!   

It was such a fun visit.   We love these memory building trips.

Where did I go??

I haven't updated for quite a while.  We have been very busy in our new home.  

I love Harvest time and watching all the food be layed up in store.  This is one of the things I have been busy with.  This year I canned equivalent of 137 quarts of food:  Salsa, Tomatoes, Marinara Sauce, Jam, Peaches and Pears.    A big THANKS goes out to Vernal and Patricia for all the tomatoes.  They were absolutely delicious.  It was almost hard to use them in any way other than their purest form they were so good, but there was no way I could eat that many tomatoes, since I am the only one in my family that will eat a raw tomato.  And, we are excited to have more salsa in our pantry.

Another time consumer is getting the practice going.  I have been taking all the phone calls for Focus Vision Therapy and doing the books.  The good news is that I can't show you a copy of our current dates because it is full.  Scott has been so busy with patients.  We have been very blessed.  Scott truly enjoys what he does, and enjoys having the opportunity to help these kids and make such a big difference in their lives.  

A Little taste of Caden

After not posting for a while I am making up for it today.  However, this one I wanted to share to help you all get to know Caden a little better.

This is something that happened about a week ago, and is a good look into Cade's personality.

We were over at Lonnie's house to celebrate his birthday when Caden approached Lonnie and this is the conversation that followed:

Caden - "I know your name."

Lonnie - "Really, What is it?"

Caden - "Slonnie, your name is Slonnie"

Lonnie - "No, it is Lonnie"   (emphasizing the L)

Caden - "Ohhhh,    Like lawn, mow the lawn ... I will call you Mo."

I am Finally Done (better late than never)

I have finally finished posting about our trek across country.  As I said before I put them in order so sorry for the inconvenience but you will have to look to the bottom and beyond to find the conclusion of our trip.  

Eliza's "I CAN DO IT" Moments

This is what happened less than 10 minutes after removing Eliza's training wheels.  At first she was scared and didn't really want to do it.  But as soon as she decided she could do it, this is what happened.

Today was the first day of school and the first time Eliza rode without training wheels, completely by herself.

More, I CAN DO IT  Moments

I AM A CHILD OF GOD

This was inspired by Caden's love of singing "I Am a Child of God"  wherever we go.  He also loves to carry this little red dictionary around.  The other day we were at the fabric store and Caden opened his book and began to sing (and if you know Caden, you know it was not quietly), I Am a Child of God".  People began to look and listen.  One particular lady noticed by Caden's Grandma began to really smile and pay attention.  This scene is not uncommon during our outings.

This just shows that missionary work can happen anywhere by people of any age.  Caden is our little Missionary in many ways.

Notice he says "an energy home",   that is descriptive of Caden in the home, full of energy.

A Look Back

We are officially moved into our home.  It took a little while, to get here but we are here.  Unfortunately,  sometime in the move I misplaced my camera.  Therefore for the next few entries I will be posting pictures from our trek across country.

Our First stop was Palmyra, New York.

As we were driving to Palmyra, we encountered a small storm.  However, once we arrived in Palmyra we were told that the storm was much bigger here.  This tree, which was almost dead, had been struck by lightning that morning and had sent bark spraying.  We were told that they had not removed this tree because it is believed that it was one of the trees that existed when Joseph Smith lived here. 

The Log Cabin replica was great to see.  It really put it into perspective as to how they were living at the time of the First Vision.  This upstairs room is where the Angel Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith during the night.

The Original Frame House.

The Sacred Grove.  

The spirit here was amazing.  It was as we sat and pondered the events that happened in this grove of trees that the spirit really overpowered us.  It has been a great blessing for our family to see where the Church of Jesus Christ began with the simple prayer of a 14 year old boy.


Next Stop:  The Hill Cumorah  

Hill Cumorah Stop #2

We were about two weeks too late for the pageant, but still fun to see.  Besides this way we were able to hike up the hill and then of course the best was getting down ....

Of course, the fastest way is to simply roll all the way down!

Next Stop:  Niagra Falls

On the Road Again ... Maybe !

Time to head to Niagra Falls.

Away we go.

There was a sign??  I didn't see the no truck sign.

Truck clearance 12' 1"

Bridge height:  12' 0"

OOPS!!    After checking with the police officer that came and realizing that there would be no further obstacles up ahead, we cleared the bridge, ON THE HIGH SIDE.  

Needless to say we took a different route on the way back

Niagra Falls

We Made it to Niagra Falls.  The kids and I are posing here at the top of American Falls.

Aren't we attractive in our Maid of the Mist "uniform".  

We had so much fun going on the boat to the base of Horseshoe Falls.  

Getting a little wet..

Next Stop:  Kirtland, Ohio

Kirtland, Ohio

By the time we reached Kirtland it was getting late.  We missed the temple tour :(   But we did get to see Historic Kirtland.   

Can you tell the kids are getting tired?

Next Stop:  Chicago

Chicago

Once we made it to Chicago, we went down town and went on the architectual boat tour with Blythe.  During this time we really enjoyed learning about Chicago and the many wonderful buildings along the river.  The kids especially enjoyed the corn cob building.

Unfortunately, Caden came down with something and he fell asleep on the boat after running a slight fever.  He didn't look too well.  Caden spent the rest of the night in the stroller fast asleep.  We were able to go to the American Girl Shop and later to dinner.  We did not return back at Blythe's home until after midnight.  But we had so much fun.  We were scheduled to leave the next morning.  

The next morning we awoke and went to a pancake house for breakfast.  Everything on the menu looked so good that we decided to order a little of everything and eat family style.  This was a great idea.  It ended up being the best meal of the entire trip.  It was wonderful.  

After breakfast we stopped at the park to let the kids play before we left.  This way we could wear them out a little before we put them back in the car.  Then they walked home with Blythe so we could leave ... or so we thought.

After checking his pockets Scott realized that he did not have the keys to the truck.  We proceeded to check the house as well as all of our luggage, and the van.  They were no were to be found.   AAAHHHH!!!   Now What ???  (No Jamie this is not just to make the story interesting.  They were really gone.)

We ended up calling Penske and luckily they have a code and were able to make another set.  Scott just had to brave Chicago traffic to go get them.  However, this gave me three extra hours to visit with my sister.  Yep, that's right a 4 hour delay.  Oh Well we weren't on that tight of a schedule, and I enjoyed the visit.

Next Stop:  Mt. Rushmore (of course we did have to drive through Madison, Wisconsin.)

Mt. Rushmore

Mt. Rushmore was fun ... honestly it was different than what we imagined.  We looked at it, said "cool", time to go.   Actually, we did go to the visitor's center and see a couple of movies.  It is amazing what they were able to do, but it is not on our "top ten things to do again list".

However, it was interesting, because as we were driving toward Mt. Rushmore we saw a few bikes, then more, and more, and even more.   The closer we got the more we saw.  Scott finally said, I wonder if Sturgis is soon.   The answer was Yes !!  Sturgis started the day after we first arrived.  Hotel accomodations were tough to find, at least for a decent rate.

I think we had as much fun watching and looking at all the bikes as we did seeing Mt. Rushmore.  The mountains and surrounding area is beautiful, though.

If you look really careful you will see that bikes are just lining the streets on both sides.

Driving Across Wyoming

O.K.  many of you have done it and know what it is like.

You are driving across Wyoming and this is about all you see. ...   And then it hits you (or rather your child in the back seat).   It is time for a bathroom break ... you drive a little further, something has to come up where you can stop.   But it doesn't, you keep going, and going, and going.   I told Eliza well I can stop and let you use a bush.   Her face was classic and I wish that I could have captured that picture.  NO WAY !!!  she said.

We continued on.  Eliza continued to dance in her seat.  Pretty soon with eyes moistening up, I hear Eliza say, "I think I better use a bush."

Now you know it has been done many times, and yes, it was done once again.

We were able to get back on the road, Eliza feeling much better.  Unfortunately, when your in the middle of nowhere it seems to trigger something.  Pretty soon Eliza and Maddie are both in desperate need of a bathroom.  After waiting for what felt like eternity we pulled up to a gas station.   

This is what greeted us, right in front of our parking stall.  I felt like this accurately portrayed the feelings that were being felt in the car.

Finishing Up the Trip

A good game of Leap Frog at a rest stop is always a welcome escape after a week in the car.  

Actually, we were at Independence Rock.

The next stop was Martin's Cove.   This was a fascinating stop and we would love to go back and spend more time there, when we are not feeling rushed to get to our final destination. 

The kids had fun pulling small handcarts and we loved hearing about the stories of the pioneers who passed through this area.  Eliza especially enjoyed the story that started out by the missionaries looking at her and saying "this story is about a little girl who was about your age, ... her name was Eliza."   Eliza's eyes shone bright and her excitement was noticeable.   

I will quickly end.  We were able to stop at Nana and Papa's house to enjoy the evening with the.  We were extremely late getting in and had to leave early the next morning in order to sign some papers for the house.  However, we were so glad that we were able to stop and see them.

Then of course, just as you have FINALLY arrived at the end of our trek across country, we arrived to our new HOME.

Whirlwind Weekend

The weekend before our family drove across country,  our family went to spend the weekend with Steve, Brandi, Ali, and Savannah.  It was great to see them and spend time with family before we set off for more adventures.  There is nothing like adding 14 hours of driving in the car before setting off on a week long drive.  Sorry kids, but we sure had fun!

Our first day together was celebrating Maddison and Eliza's birthday (joint birthday party).

The second day Eliza found a toad and Ali caught it.  The kids spent the rest of the day playing with the toad, holding the toad, and building a jumping arena for the toad.  Yes, they knew they had to let it go at the pond, but not before Ali and Savannah could show it off to their Mom. 

The third day was spent at the beach.  It felt like a perfect day for the beach, a bit overcast and not too hot.  

 The water was cool and the day was warm, a perfect mix ...

except for the jelly fish.    

There were hundreds of jelly fish in the ocean.  Each time the waves came in 4 - 5  jelly fish were left on the beach.  When the kids weren't waiting for Steve to catch a jelly fish out of the ocean, they were asking him to scoop them off the beach and throw them back in.  By the end of the day the girls were scooping them up and tossing them in.

When they weren't pre-occupied with the jelly fish they searched for crabs.  The first one was found as soon as we arrived, but there was much digging in search of more.

And then of course, there was the greatest joy of just lounging around.

The fourth day we spent in Williamsburg. 

 It was hot but the kids were able to find some fun games to play.  

     

The fifth day we spent in Monticello, touring the grounds.  By now we were getting tired, and it was soon time to go home.