Vacation Part Last

Derek is comforting Dan who got "yelled" at for walking too close to the curb.  He was scaring his mother, as were his older brothers.  They all walked more toward the inside of the sidewalk after that.

Tia, Connor, Kayli, Mom/Grandma, a random man.  We were on the Freedom Walk in Boston in front of a church.  Maybe the South church?  I think they said that Benjamin Franklin was baptized there.  It was a historical famous person anyhow:)

This was going to be a picture of a bunch of people lined up looking straight up at the walls of a tall building (like they did in NYC) but I snapped the picture too late and we get Dad / Grandpa in his hat instead.

Along the walk we stopped at a cemetery.  It was probably everyone's favorite point in the walk.  Shady, quiet, and interesting.  This is Dan with his Grandma.

This is an example of a common picture on a tomb stone.  Skulls with wings were common.  Interesting spellings were common too.

Derek and Jake examining a broken tomb stone.

I kept missing the pictures of Jake cleaning off the tomb stones.

Trisa!

Connor and Kayli

The side of Tia.

What you do not see in these pictures:

Well, it is obvious that you do not see the rest of our walk.  We went to an old church that had boxes for families to sit in like I read about in novels.  They were wooden boxes with doors and benches on three sides inside of the box.  We went to the public gardens and decided we didn't want to go on the swan boats after all and everyone wanted to go back to "Grandma's" house.  We went to a park that evening where everyone had a good time swinging and playing on the playground. 

You also do not see in any pictures the good food that was provided for us by Derek's parents and Diana and Bryon.  We ate well and were thankful.

It was a good trip.  Trisa has more pictures on facebook if you are her "friend". 

Vacation Tour Part 2

Connor (and Bryon on the right) in front of Harry Potter--Times Square 

Trisa at the fountain by Ground Zero

Kayli, Trisa, Bryon (close to ground zero)

William (in red) Jake (in yellow)

Connor, Derek, Jake, Dan, Kayli, Trisa, Diana, Bryon, Tia

Same group, different angle

Dallin, William and Claire

Me belatedly trying to take a picture of ground zero with myself in it:)

The new World Trade Center, 52 of its 104 floors are built.

Connor, Derek and Trisa on the ferry back to Staten Island

NYC from the departing ferry

Someone took my camera and got a picture of me, Tia and the back of Trisa

Things the pictures don't show:

Dan perking up when he found a dirty string on the ground to play with.  He carried it around, and swung it around, and accidentally hit people that I apologized to, and finally put it in my purse.  I thought he had forgotten about it but when we started walking around Boston he pulled it back out and it kept him entertained again.  It was a little gross, but it sure helped him be happier!  He has played with it here at home too.  Maybe I should wash it?

Me getting a tad panicked when I couldn't see Derek and the boys in the crowded Disney store on Times Square when I knew Derek didn't have his phone.  Thankfully they showed up again.  We had stopped there for a bit of a break.

Dan falling asleep on the Subway.

On the way to NJ on Friday Kayli and Trisa hitting one another over and over in the car (violent I know!) while yelling things like "Double A, Split 2, Out of State!"  They were, of course, playing a game.  If they couldn't find something that fit the rules Kayli would make something up and count it -- "BUS!"  I forgot to check for bruises later but their arms still seem to work okay.

Vacation Picture Tour Part One

Friday Morning walk in Granby, MA

Claire and Dan in NJ holding hands as they played in the yard.

Tia and Trisa on the Staten Island Ferry

Kayli on the Staten Island Ferry.
Jake in the background.

Lady Liberty

Diana, William, Dallin, Jake

Jake and Dan on the Subway in NYC

Jake, Dallin, Bryon -- NYC Subway

The Angel Moroni, NYC LDS Temple

Connor and his buddy Uncle Bryon (Our guide) in Central park

Tia, Central Park

Dan, who posed every time I pointed a camera at him.  Central Park.

Kayli showing how much she loves having a camera pointed at her.

Claire hides in Central Park

Dan also enjoyed hiding in Central Park.

What the pictures to not show:
**Kayli and I racing out of the big white van to see who could hug Grandma first.  I won because there was a door on my side of the van.
**Derek's parents "mission house" that was built in the 1800s and has lots of fascinating things like a cistern in the basement and a spooky attic (okay, so I never went up there).
**Derek's parents sneaking down the extremely squeaky stairs so they wouldn't wake us up.
**The swarm of mosquitoes that cut our walk a little short in Granby.
**William valiantly trying to keep up in NYC with the help of his amazing Mom, even though he had a mysterious fever the whole time we were there that was kept at bay with ibuprofen. 
**Dan crying when we didn't let him join the other 1000 (roughly) children at the playground.
**Everyone standing by a corner of a tall building staring up and Dan proclaiming that several buildings in NYC and Boston are the tallest in the whole world.

The Beginning of our Grand Vacation and Dan says...

In my opinion our vacation was grand because of the people we got to see.  However, it was also grand because it started out and ended with eight of us flying in airplanes, and "laying over" at various airports.  We even managed to pack for our one week trip in such a way that we could carry on our luggage.  That is a grand accomplishment.  Of course, Derek's Mom is mailing some of the sleeping bags back and she is keeping the pillows she bought for us to use for .... decorating the inside of a closet.

On the way out to Boston I was sitting by Dan on the plane.  Here are some of the amusing things he said:
"Mom, we're going off the earth."
"Mom.  Where are we in the sky?" (I didn't know what to say -- I said "here")
"Mom.  Can I play the Wii when we get home?"  I explained we'd be gone quite a while but he still wanted to know and so I assured him that he could.
"I hope my ears work when we get down!" (They did)
Making up his own song (loudly while on the plane) "We're going up, off the earth..."
When we were almost done with the flight he decided to try to quote Madagascar 2 with Jake.  Dan's version was, "The good news is we're landing safely.  The bad news is we're crash landing" (over and over with big giggles every time).

Dan before our trip in sunglasses from Kylie's b-day party.  He loves them.

Character Dan said a couple more things that I recorded from our trip.  In the big white van he said "I wish I had a tiger, then I could pet it, and it would love me so I could ride it."

Jake replied, "Just because you pet it doesn't mean it will love you." (Jake's smart)

In Boston Tia reported that Dan said, "We don't eat squirrels because they are not made of chicken.  We don't eat them with ketchup".

Dan says some pretty grand things sometimes, which helps make vacations more fun and, well, grand!

Angelic Angela

My sister-in-law Angela has a birthday this week.  The longer I know her the more I am impressed with her.  The very first time I met her I wrote in my journal that I liked her, and that hasn't changed.  I chose the title Angelic Angela because I really do think that in a lot of ways Angela is angelic.  Now, she is not quiet, but I don't think that all angels are.  She is good at taking charge, and I suspect some angels are very good at that too.  She's even opinionated (gasp!) but that provides for more entertaining family conversations.  But what is it exactly that makes me think of Angela as angelic?

I think it comes down to the fact that she is an excellent family member.  What does that mean?  Well, I have noticed that she does a lot of work to give our parents in law thoughtful gifts.  She made them a picnic quilt once and typed up about a zillion favorite family recipes and compiled them in a book another time.  I have paid attention and I have discovered that she, and my brother-in-law Jordan are almost always the last ones at any family gathering making sure that everything is cleaned up properly.  I love my parents-in-law.  They are great.  I love Angela because I have noticed that she goes out of her way to take care of them.  I expect she does the same for her parents when she can.

Angela is great at making sure we keep up with our first Sunday family dinners and our cousin days for those of us who live locally.  If one of us can't take charge on our particular month she is quick to trade or volunteer to help.  She has my boys over to play with her kids and she even brought Connor a shake after he crashed his scooter.  Because I am a member of the family, her value of family makes me feel --- valued.

Angela puts a lot of effort into being a good Mom.  I like to hear about the things she does because it gives me ideas of things I can do better.

Angela has helped me out by talking to me about allergies, kids, the gospel, and just life in general, and by watching my kids sometimes when I need some help.  I find it fun to be with Angela.  She occasionally shares a book with me too.  Bonus!  I am thankful that, in our family, we get to have an angelic Angela.  We are truly blessed.

Dan says:

"Mom, just because you eat more than me doesn't mean you are faster than me.  It's because you eat more than me that I can go faster than you."

I don't think that was a complement.  I also don't think he can go faster than me.....yet.

Poetry

I often say I don't like to read poetry, I just like to write it.  I realized yesterday that this is not true!  I like to read my own poetry.  I like reading my brother Brian's poetry (on the rare ocassion when I can get a hold of some).  I like reading hymns, songs, and nursery rhymes, which are poetry.  I always liked to read a book my Dad and Mom owned by Edgar A. Guest that was poetry.  There are some poems that I like to read very much.  This is a good discovery and I am out to discover more poetry that I like.  Do any of you have suggestions? 

I have a plan to read a poem every day for a month (yes only one, I don't want to commit too much time!) and then to write a poem a day for a month.  I was inspired with this idea when I read a book my sister Tina sent me called The Happiness Project.  I am not ready to do a full fledged happiness project, but this sounds like a good way to expand my horizons and hopefully improve a talent.

So if you have a poem
That you would like to share,
Or know a poet that you feel
Is just beyond compare,
I'd love to hear about it,
So send a note my way,
And you can be certain,
Your note will make my day.

Father and Sons, Mother and Daughters

Friday was the annual Fathers and Sons camp out.  Derek took our three boys, a tent, some food, and blankets and off they went.  I have no pictures of their activities or of the activities I did with my girls so I'll do my best with word pictures.

Derek enjoyed talking to some friends.  They compared wife stories.  The friend's wife doesn't like it when nobody sits beside her in Relief Society.  I wouldn't llike that either.  Derek just compared our dreams.  He has violent nightmares where he needs to protect the family and has a hard time moving.  I have nightmares where people don't like me.

Connor enjoyed playing capture the flag and other games with his friends.

Jake loved the chance to play his favorite game with his friends.  He got up an hour earlier than Derek and his brothers and went out to play tag.

Dan made Derek smile.  They were walking from their tent to the fire.  Along the way they passed several people, adults and youth.  Dan waved at one man and said, "Hi! We're going to the fire."  He passed some youth and said "Hi guys!"  And, sometimes people would say "Hi Dan!" first.  Dan's very friendly and is well liked.  Dan also told the Dad of an African little boy (one of Dan's friends) "He's brown."  The Dad agreed.

In the meantime the girls and I dressed up, yes -- in dresses, and went out to eat.  Kayli ordered a pizza pocket and felt silly about it. The other two girls had some fancy chicken, and chicken fried steak, and I had soup and salad.  Tia was very sun burnt and was having a hard time being warm even though her skin was burning up.  After dinner we went to a wedding reception for Shannon's daughter Chelsea.  I enjoyed it very much.  Trisa enjoyed it very much, Tia enjoyed it except for the hugs because they hurt, and Kayli wished we hadn't stayed so long since she didn't know as many people.

We watched a movie when we got home and then headed to bed.  The next day Tia was up early for school and I was up with her.  She went to school.  I managed to read, go on a walk, and weed the garden before the other girls got up.  I enjoyed the quiet time, they enjoyed the sleep.

It was a good weekend for Father and Sons and Mother and Daughters.

Things I Love to Do

1.  I love to read a light hearted (clean) romantic comedy.
2.  I love to read a books where I learn something.
3.  I love holding hands with Derek (until our hands get all sweaty)
4.  I love to dance.
5.  I love to sit outside and watch the kids play.
6.  I love to watch the birds at the bird feeder.
7.  I like creating beautiful things.  I don't do it often but it gives me a sense of accomplishment!
8.  I love talking on the phone with my family and friends.
9.  I love a peaceful ride / drive through the country (by this I mean no busy roads, lots of greenery or good landscaping).
10.  I love listening to Derek and his brothers banter back and forth trying to outdo each other at being the most funny and clever.  His sisters sometimes join in and I enjoy this too.
11.  I love hanging out with my family (my parents, Derek's parents, brothers, sisters (including the in-law variety, and their kids).  They all have good humor, and wisdom.
12.  I love helping.
13.  I love visiting with (either in person or through technology) extended family that I don't get to see very much.  It is always fun to reconnect, and to discover again what great relatives I have.
14.  I love when I can teach my kids something in a happy way.
15.  I love playing music on the piano or flute, especially with friends.
16.  I love going to the temple.  I can always feel Heavenly Father's love for me there.
17.  I love listening to good music.
18.  I love the times when all of us here at home are busy working together and are happy.
19.  I love swinging.
20.  I love to write poems
21.  I love to vacuum carpet.  It's a rewarding job.
22.  I love it when Derek thinks he's funny.  He usually is right, but it's more fun because he enjoys it so much. (Okay so this isn't something to do, but I still love it)
23.  I love hugs -- therefore I must love hugging.
24.  I love sitting on a warm beach, listening to the ocean and watching the waves or reading a book.
25.  I love walking in the woods in the snow, it's like being in a different world.
26.  I love singing.
27.  I love sitting by the fire.
28.  I love seeing my kids do good and kind things.
29.  I love giving presents that I know someone will like.
30.  I love writing notes to people.
31.  I love wrapping up in a blanket when I'm cold.
32.  I love walking through garden shops and choosing flowers to buy.
33.  I love to look at (and own) musical instruments.
34.  I love walking with Derek.
35.  I love talking to Derek.
36.  I love talking to people about the things they value, especially when I value them too.
37.  I love to smile at people to try to get them to smile too.
38.  I love going to libraries or bookstores -- there's always the possibility of finding treasures.
39.  I love walking in the morning sunshine.
40.  I love reminiscing about happy times.

I made this list because I felt that if I identified the things I love to do, I could be sure to do them more often.  It's good to love what you do!

*I love to point out obvious things like:  This list is not made in any particular order and just because romance novels were listed first doesn't mean I love them better than I love other things -- like visiting with you!  This also isn't an all inclusive list, I'm bound to have forgotten temporarily, or to have not discovered yet some of the things I love to do.

Another Teenager in the House

My first baby boy has long since stopped being a baby.  He is 13 now and is enjoying a happy day.  Today he has spent the morning goofing off with Trisa and Kayli.  They are good friends and have been laughing all morning and being generally silly.  Tia came home for lunch from school so that she could wish Connor a happy birthday, which was thoughtful.  At snack time we had some cousins over for cake and ice cream, and for dinner Connor got Chinese food, including some Honey Shrimp because Connor loves shrimp.

He opened his presents this morning without Tia (she was gone to school but had told us we could go ahead without her).  I suspect his favorite presents were the books.  He LOVES books and gets annoyed if you borrow one and he discovers you are not using a bookmark, or are using a handy sock or some other odd object as a bookmark.

Connor got a backpack so that he will be prepared for all of the camping he will do as a Boy Scout.

His Dad found him a red Darth Vader sucker, and a match box Corvette (Connor drools over Corvettes)

Here are pictures of Connor blowing out the candles on his cake.

 He didn't manage it the first time.

 He didn't manage it the second time.

By then Bennett, and everyone else including Connor were laughing so hard that he didn't really manage it the third time either, but he provided us all with lots of amusement.

This is really his second celebration since on Sunday his Grandma F. surprised him with cake, ice cream and a present.  Lucky Connor!  Aunt Michelle surprised him with a treat today too.  It has been a good day for a very good boy.  I think we will enjoy having another teenager in the house.

Dan Says...

"Bees don't have hearts, they just have stinging powers.  Their wings have stinging powers too, but I've never been stung by one."

Derek tried to convince Dan that bees actually do have hearts, but Dan doesn't really believe it.