Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Spring is Sprung

I LOVE spring! Especially this year after such a long, cold, snowy winter! The only down side is that most of the plants all burst into bloom on the same day and they just as quickly lost their blooms in a wind storm. So we are having to be quick in our enjoyment of the season. 
Our Spring Break was last week and most of our activities were planned by my friend Holli (who is a good ole Southeast Idaho girl like me) and enjoyed with my friend Annie (not from Idaho, but Wyoming is close enough). We had a few adventures together and entertained our kids at the same time.

Spring Break Adventure #1
Marine Museum at Quantico
We heard this was really cool and have been wanting to visit it for a while. It is about an hour south and it is a great Saturday activity for anyone from the DC area (especially if you have boys in your family, big or small) A lot of the exhibits reminded me of the exhibits at the Imperial War Museum in London, very interactive. Of course there are a lot of guns and stuff, but also a lot of personal stuff. We really liked it. 




Spring Break Adventure #2
A Day in Baltimore
So we decided to head up to Baltimore to see Fort McHenry (Star Spangled Banner) and then hang out at the inner harbor for a while. Both of them were great! We haven't been to either in years, I think we went when we first moved here, but Trum was like 3 then so he doesn't exactly remember any of it. We went with Holli & Annie & various kids. The Fort was great! They have a fantastic presentation and at one point I got a little teary eyed. And of course we did the junior ranger program while we were there. We also ran into our friends the Bearmans which was a fun surprise!





Then we headed over to the harbor for some lunch and to walk around and see the sights. We ended up riding the carousel and going to a lighthouse where Annie & Holli re-enacted a scene from Pete's Dragon (Razzle Dazzle Day). It was a grand day!




Also during the week Trum took to wearing his Civil War Rebel hat around the house and one night I found him like this when I went to check on him. What a goof!

Spring Break Adventure #3 & #4
Luray Caverns and a hike in the Shenandoah
Holli's friend got a group together so that we could get group rate entrance fees to tour the caverns. It was great to be able to walk in past all of the people waiting in line. I felt SUPER special and cool. Plus some our friends the Clawsons ended up being a part of the group so we got to see them as well. The caverns are so awesome and we learned a lot!


This was my favorite part. It looks like a big cavern but it is really the ceiling reflected in a shallow pool of water.
 


After the tour of the caverns we let the kids do the ropes course. I was proud of Trum, he is scared of heights but he went for it and he did great!



We stayed at hotel that night and the kids swam like madmen in the pool and we had perhaps the slowest meal ever for dinner and enjoyed several episodes of Curb Appeal, then we packed up and headed out for our hike in the Shenandoah. The area was beautiful and we had great weather. We hiked until the youngest sat down in the trail and would go no further. It was a great time.




On our drive home we had one more mini adventure... we crossed the Potomac on the ferry. I thought it was cool anyway.

Monday, December 23, 2013

Fall Forward

Hello out there! I assume my parents/Jessica are still reading this blog once in a while, right??? So I will continue updating it. And come this summer I have promised to update it more often.
So Fall, fall, fall. What happened this fall?
Well Truman started 4th Grade.


 He has loved going to school at Stonegate and getting to hang out with friends from the neighborhood.
 
In November the Elder's Quorum was in charge of the Ward Chili Cook Off and the presidency decided to do a musical number. They had a good time "jamming' " in our basement while they rehearsed.




I got to travel to Idaho and spend some time with my sister and help her get ready to move. She is such a sweet person and my bestest of friends.
Plus I got to hang out with friends and old men who own old machines!
 
 Oh and we saw some wild life. That dark spot is a moose I swear!
 
 
Truman played soccer this year and it was fun. We were on a team with some friends, it was cheap and the league is pretty laid back. Just the way we like it.
Here he is getting his trophy at the end of season party. Nice Face.
Here he is in action but I feel that the next 2 pictures are more representative of his true sense of competition.

 
My parents came for a fun visit and then Jack's mom came out for Halloween. I took pictures but then promptly lost Jack's little camera that I had been using. Believe me when I say that he has been totally understanding and patient with me as I try to find it with no luck (insert sarcasm here).
 
But the big news here is that in October Jack applied for a job and assured me that there was NO way he would get it. Then he was given an interview and he again assured me that he was not even qualified for it so he wouldn't get it and was just doing the interview because it was good practice. Well guess what. He got it and we are moving to Ankara, Turkey sometime this summer. Wowzer! More on that later. In the meantime here is a picture of Ankara.

 


Thursday, November 14, 2013

Some More Summer

We went to Boston this summer and it was so great! What a beautiful city! I wish we had gone there sooner. The only downside was that we were there in the middle of the summer's heat wave. Jack kept telling us to drink the Elf Liquor (Gatorade) because it would revive us. We managed to tour around and stay hydrated at the same time.

Plymouth Rock!


Boston

Boston Common

Jack loves the Masons


Swan Boats!

Can you see the resemblance?

Freedom Trail

Did I mention there was a heat wave?

Awesome street musician. I love the dog's jaunty kerchief!



Mmmmmmm, so good.





Salem

Really? Bewitched?
Spooky
Lexington & Concord


Louisa May's house
Our Own Little Patriot!
Ready for History Camp.