field trip to the zoo

Last monday we went to the zoo with Lathams. We had a great time (despite our being late because I was getting a speeding ticket). Owen is at the magical age for going to the zoo. He looks at everything in utter amazement. Some of the animals are REALLY big compared to him! Of course since we have two dogs, he also wanted to pet/touch every animal also. Unfortunately I had to explain it was against the rules! One of the previous times we went to the zoo, Matthew saw the elephant doing a rather large elephant poo-poo, and he was talking about it the whole time we were there. Even though we didn't see any large animals use the bathroom, I think it was still a great time.

Sudays

I LOVE Sundays. Not only do we get to go to church where I feel inspired and reenergized, but we also get to spend the whole day together. Matt has always spent Sunday at home with us, no matter how busy he is (actually, it was the only time we saw him during his first two years of dental school). We take it easy, read stories, play board games, and take naps. Last Sunday, Matt and Owen laid down together for a while. Owen is waking up here and Matt is still asleep. They are so cute. I like this picture also because it shows what a great hands-on dad Matt is. Whenever he is home, he does so much with the kids. That, if nothing else, makes me think that our three boys will turn out OK.

New seat covers

Anyone who has kids knows how easily dinning chairs get dirty. Our cushions are really hard to clean so, with my mother's encouragement I decided to sew some new covers that I could remove and wash. I have to say, they turned out really well, despite my limited sewing experience, and I feel pretty proud of it (very martha stewartish). Thanks for the inspiration mom!

summer school

Art time!

So, I've been doing school with the kids every morning for a couple hours. We have 9 activities that I put into ten minute incriments. We do puzzles, reading, kung-fu/exercise, workbooks, music, encyclopedias, art, scriptures, math. It ends up taking 2 hours. The kids love it and I enjoy it, but I couldn't ever do home school for real. I change up the activities everyday to keep it interesting. The kids like exercise/kung fu time the best- sometimes we even do Dance Dance Revolution. We do school M-F, except on days when we do field trips instead. So far it has made the Summer fly by!

Father's Day Part II

After church we went home and grilled some filet mignon, made some garlic and cheese mashed potatoes, and green beans and had a big lunch. I think the thing Matt liked most about father's day was having Jeffery here. He ended up staying a lot later than we thought he would to hang out. While we were working on lunch he played ping-pong with Matthew for a long time. I could here him coaching him and joking with him. I heard Matthew laughing and laughing. It was a great day!

Father's Day

I think Matt had a nice Father's Day. We have to leave for church at 8:30am so we don't have a lot of time to celebrate before, but we tried to fit it in! He and Jeffery had spicy omletew for breakfast. Then he got to open lots of little presents from the kids. Some clothes, a new ping-pong paddle, etc. Then it was off to church. Oh, Jeff did Owen's hair for church- very cute.

New Golf Clubs

A sports store near us was having a sale recently and Matt decided that the boys should get new golf clubs. (On a pretty tight budget, that shows where our priorities are!) They are so cute with their little bags and clubs. They've gone to the driving range a few times and wanted to go out once with their Daddy and uncle Jeffery when he was in town over the Father's day weekend. (Jeff came down to hang out and do a brother's golf tournament on Sat.) The both love to go out golfing. Matthew can't wait to do the big course. Owen wanted to go so much, but had to stay home with me instead. We will definately have some golfers in the house...

Summer

Finally, some warm weather! It is so great to get out and enjoy our backyard. The kids love playing in our little pool and with the hose. We have to put the dogs in the house though, otherwise Anubis jumps right in and splashes everywhere and bumps the kids over. I love the warm weather so much- I hope we move somewhere warmer next year!

What would we do?

What would we do without grandpa's to read to us, or Grandma's to spoil us with presents? OR uncle's to play games with us, or cousins to adore? I just wanted to say how thankful I am that we have such great family. AND that they are so willing to go out of their way to come and visit us. We would be so lonely without you!

JCC

The Jewish Community Center (JCC) has one of the best play areas around us. They have lots of play areas, sand (complete with toys and dinosaur bones), and a whole villiage of homes that you can go in and play around. We decided to take everyone before Grandpa and Jared had to go back to AZ. Every time we go the kids love it- it was even better with all the extra people to tag and chase!

Last stop- Niagra Falls!

On the way home from Palmyra we took a little detore to stop and see Niagra Falls. We went to the Canadian side (our first time in Canada)- a little on accident, but it was great because the view was so much better. It was raining pretty good, but we still had fun- you're supposed to get wet in Niagra right? It really is beautiful. I'm glad we stopped to see it and get a couple things for the kids. Fun, Fun, Fun! After a full day of sight seeing we were happy to get home.

The Hill Cumorah

The church now owns the hill Cumorah where the angel Moroni showed Joseph Smith where he had buried the golden plates so long before. There is a statue there with the angel Moroni and with the written testimonies of the witnesses that saw the plates. I think it also has something that talks about the story of how Joseph got the plates and translated them into the Book of Mormon. It was another great place to go and really feel the spirit.

The Palmyra Visitor Center

The Visitor's Center in Palmyra has some great stuff. They have a table with copies of the Book of Mormon in many different languages. Even though Joseph Smith received a revelation long ago that the Book of Mormon would spread throughout the world, it is still amazing to see the books there in more than a hundred languages. There were also interactive displays, great statues, and of course the more than friendly/helpful missionaries!

The Sacred Grove

Not far from the Smith's home is the Sacred Grove. It is a really nice walk and they have path's for convenience. We are sitting on what is left of the rock wall the Smith's built at the edge of their property. It is amazing to see where Joseph Smith prayed and had his First Vision. You can really feel the spirit there. It is so calm and peaceful. Of course their isn't something that says 'This is where Joseph Smith saw Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ' but we know it was somewhere in these woods, and you can definately feel the power of this place.

Joseph Smith's home

The Smith's second home (original).

Jared on the Smith's property, with the Palmyra Temple in the background.



The old home (a replica).

In Palmyra we saw a few different things. We started in the town where we saw the four different churches on the corners of the main town intersection that were involved in some of the religious excitement at the time he was a boy. It was that excitement that led him to pray and ask which church to join, resulting in the first vision. We also saw the printing building where the Book of Mormon was first printed. We then went to the Smith's property where we saw the two homes Joseph Smith lived in. The first- the log cabin from his youth is a replica. The second home has been restored, but is the original home with the original layout and bones. It was cool to see where they lived and things like the very stones he dug up in front of the fire place to hide the plates.

Palmyra Bed and Breakfast

The weekend my family was in town we planned to go to Palmyra. My dad went when he was younger, but the rest of us had not gone yet. We left Friday evening as soon as Matt got home from school. My mom made reservations at a really nice bed and breakfast. It was a nice, old house all decorated in the victorian style. We got there late and got everyone in bed. Much to our surprise my phone rang around 1am. Apparently our home alarm had gone off. We spent the next hour or so talking on and off with the security people. The police came and checked our entire house (I forgot to lock the back door in our rush to get out and the wind was strong enough to blow it open). Then the police requested that someone with a key come by. Our poor friends the Lathams happened to be the only people in town with a key. So we had to call them at 2am and Dave very graciously went over to our house to talk to the police. We hope they are still our friends... They definately won't take a key for us ever again! We woke up in the morning a little tired, but excited for the day. We had a great breakfast with muffins, fruit, stuffed french toast, and eggs before heading out to see some of Palmyra.