A Week to Remember

Back in February Aaron and I booked a week long trip back east. I had never been back there. I had high expectations and I was not disappointed. It was an incredible trip. One I never want to forget. I was so anxious though. Anxious in a nervous kinda way. One, I hate to fly. Two, a whole week without the kids at first sounded heavenly I won't lie. As the time got closer though I was all nerves. "Maybe Aaron and I should fly on separate planes just in case", "how will the grandma's react to tantrums, poopy underwear, or kids who may really struggle being without mom and dad for this long?" Those were just a few of the things I stewed over for weeks. Happy to report, everything went wonderful! Da! the grandma's are mothers. They know how to deal with those things I was so worried about. A huge, HUGE thank you to my mom, mother-in-law, and her friend Tammy. My kids were in perfect hands.

On with the week long events. First stop Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Carlee, my younger sister, and her family live in this beautiful place. With only one more year of dental school left, we were so glad to visit them before they head back this way. I loved the green, the old homes, the trees, the bridges, and old historical buildings. I took my first 'ducky' tour, figuring it was the only way to see enough of the city in such a short amount of time. It is such a beautiful city! We had one and a half days here and in the short amount of time, we went for walks, made smores in their backyard, saw Brett's campus at Pittsburgh University (gorgeous by the way), went for a nature walk, saw my first fire flies, loved on new baby Beckham, played with darling little Hayden, and drove through amazing neighborhoods with some of the most charming homes I've ever seen. I'm so glad I got to see where the Richins have been calling home for the last three years.

Our next part of the trip included all of us traveling up to Niagara Falls together. We drove through beautiful country, saw gorgeous Amish country, stopped at some fun trinket little stores, chatted with an Amish man.....even considered converting to the Amish lifestyle. It is so kind, so peaceful, so simple. What a respect I have for them even though it is quite disrespectful to take pictures of them. I just hope they didn't notice. It was taken in my car driving by.

Niagara Falls was beautiful. We did the Maid of Mists boat tour and the funnest wet jet boat ride I've ever been on! They took us in class 5 rapids (the most wild rapids legally allowed to go in). Seriously worth every penny! So much fun!

The Maid of Mists tour took us right up to the falls. It is a spectacular falls, with beautiful rainbows.

Wet Jet Ride

 Palmyra, New York was my favorite place we visited. All of my life I've wanted to see this place. To visit the place where the church all began. I envisioned everything I've ever learned. Everything that I know to be true that took place in this small town many many years ago. We walked around the Hill Cumorah before the show that evening. This is where Joseph Smith received the golden plates that he translated into the Book of Mormon. It was incredible. 

We had some time before the show that evening so we drove to the Joseph Smith farm and Sacred Grove. What a place.

The scripture that started it all. James 1:5

Below is the room where the angel Moroni appeared to Joseph while his brothers slept. The angel Moroni told Joseph where the plates were buried on the Hill Cumorah. I was so touched by the spirit just thinking of this sacred event.

 We walked over to where Joseph's family moved into later. The home that Joseph was raised in was very very small. This new home was much bigger. I didn't realize that this home was Alvin's, Joseph's oldest brother. He died before he finished it.

The Sacred Grove was just that. Sacred. I hardly expected to go on a vacation to be strengthened spiritually, but I was. I so so was. The feelings. The thoughts I had as I walked in this grove.....it's all so true. I thought of the trees, some of which were there when Joseph had his vision. It was peaceful and calm and an incredible experience to share with Aaron.

After we had our fill of this amazing place, we headed back to our seats for the Hill Cumorah Pageant. This pageant is a cast of 800 volunteers. They come from all over, arrive on July 1st not knowing what part they will play. There is no audition. This is and of itself is astonishing, since it was as professional as anything I've seen and paid top dollar for. The show is all free. The costumes were incredible. The program is stories of the Book of Mormon and ends with Joseph Smith. The cast walked around talking with the audience beforehand. Pretty darn neat.

Me and Susan with Nephi and a nephite warrior.

 Carlee and her family

Lehi and his family crossing the seas to the promised land.

 Alma and the believers at the Waters of Mormon.

 The Savior visiting the Nephites

We fully intend to bring our children back to this someday and maybe even participate in it.

I was so excited for this next part of our trip. We drove from Palmyra to New Jersey where we stayed with my friend Jennie. She was my mission companion. There is a bond that is hard to describe when  you have served and taught about Jesus Christ to a foreign people. This is one friend I am certain I knew before this life. We are kindred spirits. She and her family are special people. Jennie was our guide for the rest of our trip. First stop, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I have been doing some study on our founding fathers so I was so excited to see Philly.

The Liberty Bell

 Congress Hall. There was an incredible reverence in this room.

 John Adams sat at the head of this room. It was so neat to think of him being in this room at one time.

Independence Hall

 The room that the declaration of Independence was signed. I was so overwhelmed in here that I couldn't help the tears from falling. I just knew that the work that went on in this room was divinely inspired.

 The original chair that George Washington sat in as President of the United Sates.

Christ Church where many of the founding fathers worshiped.  This church has not missed a service in more than 300 years.

 George Washington and family's pew.

Other sites included Betsy Ross's home, Benjamin Franklin's grave, narrowest street to show how it was back in the day, and the narrowest row home measuring about 9 feet wide, we think.

 This door reminded Jen and me of one of the places we lived in Belgium.

I will never forget Philly.

New York City was our final stop.

How can one possibly appreciate New York City in a single day? Well, I'm sure you can't, but that's all we had. We saw the 911 memorial, which was touching but they are still working on a complete memorial which I hope will do those who died better justice. It was incredible to see the gaping hole where the twin towers once stood. Still is so unbelievable that that terrible day occurred.

We drove around the first part of the day and saw the financial district, statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Wall Street, the building where George Washington was sworn in as President, the LDS temple, radio city, a glimpse of central park, China Town, Rockefeller plaza, and Time Square. I can't believe I didn't take more pictures here. In all honesty, I didn't love New York City. Maybe it was because we saw everything so fast, or maybe it's because it was our last day and I was really tired. It was loud, dirty, stinky, and kinda depressing.I can imagine that if one lives there and gets to know it, one could really love it, but by the end of the day I was so grateful to live in my sheltered Lehi, Utah. The absolute highlight of the city was seeing Wicked on Broadway. We almost missed it. Susan got the tickets for us and we thought we had a couple hours to rest in our hotel before the show. Twenty minutes before it started she realized she was wrong and that we could very well be late. The show was about a mile from where we were and it was rush hour traffic. We ran. With about 5 minutes to spare, we made it. It was amazing! I have been singing it's songs ever since I saw it. I absolutely loved it.

Just like in the Wizard of Oz and Wicked, there really is "no place like home". We were so ready. It was the perfect ending to a wonderful trip. When we pulled into the drive way Abigail came running to us yelling, "mommy, mommy I missed you too". All the kids gave us death grip hugs. And the sweetest sight of all was to see this:

We really missed our munchkins!

Land That I Love

Snow cones, Cotton Candy, Train rides, Bounce houses, Dunk Tanks, Jousting, Sumo Wrestling, Water Slide, Laser Tag, Pie-eating contest, BBQ, Fireworks, Laughter, Fun, and memories that will last a life time. All this because of one amazing country in which we live. And all this because of brave men and women who fight to protect us and our freedoms. Thank you! Thank you! to all who sacrifice so much for us. For me.

Abby so badly wanted to do the dunk tank. She begged and begged me to put her swimsuit on. Wish granted! That water was just a little cold. fyi: I did try to warn her.

That is one intense face!

Nathan wore his goggles (or googly eyes as he calls them) on the water slide. Funny boy!

We couldn't have asked for a nicer day. High 90's, but overcast with off and on sprinkling.

(Nathan was somewhat not impressed with those oversized Sumo outfits)

We had bounce houses for all ages. Ages 1-3, 3-5, and a Ginormous Obstacle course for all ages!

The train was an absolute favorite. It ran all day starting at 10am until 9pm. Nonstop! It was just as much fun to drive it as it was to ride in it.

There was an endless supply of cotton candy and snow cones. The kids were hardly without one of them.

This year we had so many pies that we had enough for a dad's contest, kids contest, and a mom's contest.
Some of the pies had gift cards or $1 bills in them. Nathan and I were lucky winners of dollar bills.

Aaron tried to kiss me with that face. No way! Poor Nathan got my kiss.

The kids were so excited to participate! They were all such good sports.

This has become such a fun tradition in our neighborhood. It is something we look forward to each year. It has become such a big deal that many of our neighbors are inviting their extended families. Who wouldn't want to join in the fun though? All for $20/family for a day of unlimited fun and truly lasting memories. We feel pretty darn spoiled in our little community of Lehi. Thank you America for allowing us to live in a land that we can create such fun!

Broken Heart

Hannah broke my heart tonight. She said that she wished she could be adopted. (There was a little boy in her pre-school class that was adopted and since then she been really fascinated with the idea). I asked her why and she said that she wanted to stay up as late as one of her friends gets to each night so she wanted to be adopted by her family. When I told her how much I would miss her and how much we needed her in our family, she still wanted to be apart of this other family. NOTHING I said changed her mind. So, I did the only thing I could think to do. I called this girls mother and told her that my Hannah would like to be adopted by them. She laughed, but then we decided to hopefully teach Hannah an important lesson. When I got off the phone I told Hannah that Katie would like her to come over so she could talk with her. Hannah quickly ran upstairs, grabbed her favorite stuffed animal, her blankie, and her nightgown. On her way out the door she said, "Tell Aaron that I'm going to be adopted". She had already called her father Aaron! This is where my heart began to break. I watched her run next door and I hadn't even given her a hug or told her how much I loved her. Would that have changed her mind? Probably not.

She eventually came home and we talked. I did tell her then just how much I love her and that I missed her. My friend did a good job of helping Hannah to understand how much I need her and how important she is in our own family. I have a feeling this won't be the last time that Hannah will want to run away and be adopted by another family who gets to do something more fun than she does. But then again, she did say to me that she would never ask again if she could be adopted if I would let her have the last baked potato with cheese on it. Done!

The "Real World"

It's been brought to my attention that blogs are not the "real world". That they are fake. That they present a "perfect" life.

Little did This is nothing new to me. Blogs do often confront only the good. Only the perfect of people's life. I have been accused of this very thing by non other than a family member. (name left out on purpose). I have, at times,  found myself wallowing in self pitty as I read blog after blog of friends, or even people I do not know and think, "their life is perfect. They have the perfect children, the perfect house, the perfect marriage, the perfect in-laws" and on and on and on. It was pretty depressing really. I do not have the "perfect" anything. But I certainly have a whole lot of "great" things. I do not flaunt my faults (although they are great) on my blog. I don't usually talk about my hardships on my blog. I don't mean to paint a "perfect" world, but I am trying to capture memories. Those who know me personally know that I do struggle.

Oh, what do you do in the summer time....

...when all the world is green? I love this primary song and we sang it today. It's in my head. I digress.
So, in the summer time we go to parades. Lehi's to be exact. It is a fun tradition and this year was a scorcher!

Waiting patiently for over an hour for the parade to start. So why not indulge in some cotton candy since we won't eat enough candy that is thrown to us here very shortly?

There was some pretty cool floats this year and some fantastic stunts.

And did I mention the candy? Oh my goodness.....we were soooo sick! Tummy aches the rest of the day. I should have taken pictures of the mounds and mounds of candy thrown our way throughout the 2 hours. And very characteristically out of order for me, I just let my kids have at it with no limits. Blah! big mistake, but they sure had fun.

I was in a goofy mood all day yesterday. And I didn't realize how crooked my smile is, or is that my bite? Ironically this hat is for braces and maybe I need to consider them again.  Way crooked right?

I'm so happy summer is here. Our days have been filled with nothing but swimming, playing, and yard work (I consider that fun). So, that's what we do in the summer time....how about you? 

 

98 years on this Earth

The stories this lady has. The amazing things she has seen. Her rock solid faith and testimony of Jesus Christ. She is my grandma and her mother is my namesake. Still living all by herself. Still gets herself dressed every day. She has two children, eleven grandchildren, 30+ great-grandchildren, and three great-great grandchildren. Quite a legacy she has. Happy be-lated birthday Grandma Dear!

No Camera

Now that summer is here, I'm not in the habit of having my camera on my person! Blah! To document our day, Hannah said some hilarious things today. First off, in our scripture study this morning I was explaining what the word "afflictions" means, such as something hard to deal with; a trial, etc. To which Hannah responded (in all seriousness mind you), "like Nathan". It did get a chuckle out of me and I told her, "no, not like Nathan".

We had a fun filled day today. Picnic in the park and then off to a most FUN splash park in Alpine. After leaving the picnic, on our way to the splash park, Hannah said, "I'm so thankful that Heavenly Father gave us these fun parks." She went on and on about how thankful she was for all the beauties He's given us and just how thoughtful He is. Goodness sakes my kids sure teach me a lot.

The splash park was beyond fun. I'm so bummed I forgot my camera. I said to my friend I was with, "mom's get to have all the fun. Poor dad's who miss out on all this fun!" Seriously, Aaron would have been the only adult playing in the water, I'm just sure of it. We will be returning many times this summer. I've got to snag some of my neighbor friends to come next time. Blast! Blast! Blast!

We're ending the day with popsicles, ice cream, and stickiness from head to toe! Perfect!

(Thanks Suzanna for these pictures)

Father's Day

I think this may be the first year ever that I really have recognized just how important fathers are. Sad to say that I think I've always just taken advantage of being raised by a great man and that my children are being raised by a great man as well. Recently though, I can really see just how fundamental dad's are. I can sure say that my kids adore their father and long for him to be with us. Aaron carries so many qualities of my own father. He takes his responsibility of provider so serious. Our children learn and are grateful for his hard work to support us. They say just how thankful they are every night in their prayers. He is the perfect combination of silly/goofy/serious/sponataneous/fun that we could ask for. Father's day morning, the kids and I took breakfast into his bed. Hannah colored him two pictures, and we quietly left him to eat it all alone.

That evening we enjoyed dinner with my parents and siblings. My dad is so good. There are so many memories. So many lessons learned by this great man. After dinner he asked each of us to go around and say one thing we have learned by our dad. It was so fun to hear what my in-laws and nieces and nephews had to say about their fathers. I loved to hear Aaron talk about his father as well. There is an ache in my heart that I never knew him. Aaron always talks so highly of him and with so much love for him. I'm so grateful that he was raised by such a good man who has taught my Aaron so many great things. (could I say the word "so" just one more time please!)

After all was said and done, I didn't get one.single.picture of Aaron with his kiddos. Blah! just a lousy picture of the breakfast and one of the pictures Hannah made for him.

Prayer

One of my favorite mile stones my children make is when they learn how to pray by themselves. Can there be a sweeter thing ever??? I say no. Abigail has learned to pray and it is darling to say the least. For lunch she thanked Heavenly Father for everything. EVERYTHING! her plate, the cheese on her sandwich, the banana, her house, her sister, daddy's work,  the pears, and on and on and on. I may open my eyes when she prays just to see her look around at what she is thankful for. Sheesh, my prayers need to be more simple and grateful like my children's.

p.s. Our strawberries are divine this year!

Quite a Day

Day Starts:

7:30 wake up
8:00 piano man comes to tune the piano
8:35 piano man finds an old mouse nest inside our piano. lovely.
9:15 kids wake up (it is beyond me that they didn't wake up to him banging on the piano, but they didn't) feed kids, dress kids, dress myself, wait for piano guy to finish
11:30 piano guy leaves, we head to the park for our picnic
12:30 hang out with Nikki and girls
1:15 leave Hannah and Nathan at Nikki's, run to Home Depot and IFA
2:30 high tale it home to build (myself mind you) some kind of cage for our chickens. they are driving
me batty. well.....their poop everywhere is driving me batty.
4:15 finish my ridiculous, makeshift cage for them. try to catch those blasted chickens to put in their new temporary home. guys show up to work on a leaky window in our backyard. notice they are laughing at me trying to catch the last chicken. (it was beyond a joke)
5:15 start dinner
5:45 eat dinner
6:15 head back out to work on the garden. plant some new seeds, mulch, water, etc.
9:15 gather my wild, FILTHY children inside for a much much needed bath.
10:00 prayers said, hugs and kisses, lights out!
10:17 clean the house. Ugh!

10:11

Hannah came out of her room tonight (9:45ish) and was sobbing. I quickly went to see what was wrong. Ok, I need to back track. Last week was her piano recital and her teacher encouraged all of us families to participate in a donation for a women and children's shelter. Of course, I didn't prepare to take anything until the night before. I was scrambling to find things we might donate. Fortunately I had some crayons, folders, binders (all needed) that I bought last year before school started. I quickly grabbed those. The foundation also needed slightly used children's books and stuffed animals. Well.....I looked through the children's books and took 5 that I didn't think would be missed, and one little stuffed bear that hadn't been played with in months. The problem is, I didn't ask Hannah and I really should have. (lesson learned) She was sobbing about one of those books she saw me give away, saying it was her most special book ever and helped her to not have bad dreams. We hadn't read that book in a year I swear! Then she proclaimed that the bear I gave was really special to her too. Bah! think quick Melissa, think quick. "But sweetheart, those things went to children who have nothing. Doesn't that make you so happy to give someone something who has nothing when you have so much?" It didn't work. She cried even harder and asked me if I would give her away too? What??? No! No! Ok, so I need to make sure never to do this again. Always include my children in deciding what they will donate. I cradled Hannah for sometime. Told her many things I absolutely love about her. Told her what a special girl she is and most importantly, promised I would NEVER take any of her books, toys, stuffed animals without talking with her first. She is now sound asleep. Phew!