Sunday, December 16, 2012

And Since it's Almost Christmas. . .

Happy Halloween? Thought I should try to get these picts up before the New Year. The boys loved being super heros this year, and loved trick-or-treating even more! Xander especially loved it since this is his 1st year of really understanding what trick-or-treating really is about.
Captain America
Thor

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Salem

One Saturday we decided to drive on over to Salem and learn a bit more about the Witch Trials. Being close to Halloween we thought it very appropriate. And we had a lot of fun too!
Big old sailing ship in the harbor
Captain Japheth
Captian Xander
Saw a live statue
Met Frankenstien
Memorial
Also in October...
Grama came back for a very short visit...
...and we got lost in a corn maze
We enjoyed the colors and landscape
We also enjoyed the colors in our back yard
And of course I had to add in one more of these...
And we had a nice rainbow for Dada's special day


Picture Dump

Soooo... here are a bunch of pictures I should have put up a long time ago. They range from mid-July to October (obviously not including Halloween- which I still need to get off my camera and on my computer). This is technecally a 2-parter, this post and the next (or one right above featuring Salem). I figured there was enough picts of just Salem to warrent it's own post, and even if there weren't there are too many of all the picts to really keep it in one post. Enjoy!
Playing at the beach
Ferry across the lake
Showing Grama the lake
Flirting at the ward party
Scenic Drive
Playing at the Joseph Smith Memorial
Getting a welcome flower at our 1st assembly
Apple picking
Fun with friends at the farm
Meeting the animals
Milking a cow
 
1st field trip
Participating in the school dance assembly


Thursday, October 25, 2012

White Coats

I haven't been as good at getting pictures on the blog, and there may be a few posts here and there of random pictures and events with a short captions. However, before I get to older pictures that really should be put up, let's turn to last Saturday. Douglas had his "white coat" ceremony. This is where he get's a short white coat, the white coat of a doctor but short to distinguish that he's a student. They also took the Doctor's Oath during the ceremony. It was exciting to feel recognized for the hard work, and to see Douglas so excited and happy.
Utah Boys

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

First Day of K for J

Japheth started Kindergarten today.  He has been very excited for quite some time.  When he turned 5 he immediately asked "Do I get to go to school on Monday?"  When the answer was no he responded "But I'm 5 now!"  So it's been a long wait for school.  The past few days he's continued to be excited, but has also been feeling a bit nervous.  I admit I've been feeling a little nervous too.  Not for him to go, but how much he'll be able to learn and be pushed in his brainy-ness.  He reads chapter books, can count forward and backward, writes, does simple math (and is somewhat starting to learn about multiplication), he loves puzzles and does 300 pieces by himself, and helps Douglas and I with 500 pieces.  I just keep thinking how is he going to be challenged this year? 

I also wonder how it will be with only one kid for most of the day?  What are Xander and I going to do without him?  (Kindergarten is all day here)  But I know in the end we'll adjust and get it all figured out, though I do think Xander will have a hard time without his play buddy.  It's definately a new experience for us all.
All in all the first day went pretty well.  Japheth had a super fun time and can't wait to go back.  Xander is still very sad that he doesn't get to go, and is a bit jealous that Japheth came home with a sticker and he didn't have one (we made sure to take some picts with Xander in them so he wouldn't feel so left out.)  But he did better today than I thought he would, here's hoping he keeps doing well.  And as for me?  Well, I managed not to cry until lunch time, when it was more obvious we were missing some one.  I've felt rather incomplete today with half our family gone, but I know in time it will feel normal and I'll really get to enjoy the one on one time with Xander.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

The Drive

So in driving across the country to move, we decided to make a few stops along the way for fun (and to keep our sanity). Plus we figured this would be our best opportunity to see some of these places. The boys didn't do too badly with so much driving, and we managed to find our way most of the time. Of course like any trip there were ups and downs to all of it, and by the end I just wanted to keep driving and get "home." I am glad that we did keep to making all of our stops though (almost skipped the last one).

In making this trip I learned a few things: 1st, there are a ton of back road "highways." When I picture the back roads of America I don't tend to think of them as highway or freeways, but we drove a bunch of them. And they still looked like what you would picture a back road to be. While Nebraska was a nice change from Wyoming, it was still pretty boring. Getting into Iowa was very pretty, and we saw a lot of this...
And I started to wonder if we grow anything but corn in this country. I also found that when things aren't so dry there's always a morning  mist that acts like haze and pollution. (annoying for taking pictures).
The second thing I learned was that I have no desire at all to ever be in Illinois again. I am glad that we got to see Nauvoo and Carthage (the first stops of our trip) but there was a strong, uncomfortable feel to Illinois. It actually got stronger the closer to Carthage we got, and began to fade again the farther we got from it. It was at its peak in Carthage, though when we finally found the jail and pulled into the parking lot for it the awful feeling ceased at the gates. (The land and parking lot for the jail is owned and operated by the LDS Church) It seems weird that on the spot that the violence and mob combined was the one spot I felt best in the whole state.
The Dungeon Cell in Carthage Jail
Window that Joseph Smith fell through
I was surprised at how well we were able to adjust to each timezone as we drove. I think between changing zones in the middle of the day and changing the clock while driving combined with being tired from so much driving helped us be tired enough to sleep easily each night. We made an unscheduled stop on our trip at Kirtland (we got a bit ahead on driving and saw that it was already on our way). After Illinois I wasn't sure what kind of feeling to expect. There was also much violence and hatred in this area back then, but there was nothing of what we felt in Illinois. And it was fun to learn more about our Church's history. Our tour through the LDS owned/operated area lasted longer than we thought it would and so we weren't able to tour through the temple (owned and operated by the Community of Christ).
Our last stop was Niagara Falls (same day as Kirtland). It was a lot of fun to see, but very crowded. My advice to others would be to park farther away for cheaper and to take your passport with you. The falls are largely on the American side, which means seeing it from the American side you stand beside or behind them. Not so great for looking at them. But you could see how well you would be able to see them from the Canadian side (being pretty much right across from the falls). It was fun though to realize that the land and buildings across from us and in the background of the pictures was a whole other country. So close yet so far away....
You could see the spray mist from forever away!