Great Trails Council Day Camp

Thomas and I have been at Day Camp the last two days. We have had a great time together with the other boys from our pack. They have gone swimming, out on fanoes, water wars on rafts, archery, BB guns, obstacle courses, climbing walls, and much more. It is so fun to see their excitement with all they do. I am grateful I have been able to spend the time at day camp with him. Tomorrow is Family Day so all families can come and join in all the activities. Our kids are so excited for tomorrow! Thomas has really had a great time getting to know the other boys from the ward and has become really good friends with Kaiden this week. They have become quite inseperable and want to keep playing when we get home at night! Enjoy the pictures that give a glimpse into our last 2 days of fun.

Our Saturday

Joel and I were able to go to the temple last night together. We left home at 4:30 and got back around 1:00 am. Needless to say we were not ready to get up this morning when the kids were ready for us to but we did anyway. After breakfast we decided to check out some local farms that sell their produce. We have been told that sweet Ohio corn is the best you can get and we were not disappointed! It is delicious. We also found a U-Pick farm and picked lots of green beans. The kids got stuck in the mud in the fields since most of us wore flip-flops. Sammy's whole foot actually got stuck in the mud and then Spring got stuck trying to help him get unstuck! I should have gotten some after pictures of the mess but I didn't. We discovered they have U-Pick for all kinds of berries as well but we missed it for this year. We will have to do that next year.

We came home to wash up and some of the kids had to change clothes. We had a quick lunch and then headed to Amish Country. There is the largest community of Amish and Mennonite people about an hour from where we live. We could tell we were getting closer as we started to see horse drawn carriages in the roads and fields of wheat and hay that are not done with machines. The area is breathtakingly beautiful. There are rolling green hills and quaint barns and homes. Spring was in love with all the horses she saw. We were able to visit their heritage center and go on a tour that explained more of their history and beliefs. It was quite interesting. We visited a one-room school house which is still how they are schooled. We were shown a barn and they explained how the barns are built. We saw carriages and were able to get inside the carriage. We enjoyed driving around the community and seeing all the little shops and experiencing their lifestyle for a short time. We are in awe that they are willing and happy to live such a simple life. There really is so much we can learn from them. They are a very Christ-like people. Spring really wanted to be able to ride in a carriage being pulled by horses or be able to pet a horse but we didn't get to do that today. It was really interesting and quite inspiring to see that the community pretty much shut down once 5:00 came around. All the shops were closed and there were not people working in the fields any longer. It was family time. We will definitely return again to experience and enjoy the serenity of the area.

Joshie

Joshie seems he is really growing up lately. He is talking so much more and has so many funny facial expressions. There are glimpses we get of him that remind us of Thomas; however, more often we see the silliness that reminds us of Sammy. He has started calling me "Mommy" which he does in many different ways. At night when he is in his crib but not sleeping yet he will call for me with his, "Mommeeeeeeeee" variation. When he wants me to hold him he will come over to me and pat my knee and say, "Mommy me" until I pick him up and set him on my lap. He has the cutest little smile that melts me or makes me laugh depending on what he is doing when he gives me the smile. We love his infectious laugh. He is very easy to appease. He often falls down or bumps his head or does something to get hurt. He will come to someone, whether it is me, Thomas, Spring, Mary, Joel, and jabber in a little "I'm hurt" voice pointing at where he is hurt. All it takes is a rub or a kiss and he is off running happy as can be. Sometimes I can even just blow a kiss to him from across the room and that works too. The other night he found Mary's dress up shoes and was trying his hardest to get them on his chubby little feet. He was desperate to get them on and begged me for help. Once he got them on he could barely walk and it didn't take long for him to realize that high heels are not for him! I'm hoping that means he won't take after Sammy and go through the phase of wearing dress up high heel shoes all day long! He is also a brute! He can take down any of his siblings quite easily and is in heaven if they will wrestle with him. He will run full force with his head down until he runs into someone and knocks them over. Sometimes he has misjudged and run himself, head first, into a wall. I love watching him grow and learn new things each day. I wish I could freeze time but I can't so I have to remind myself to relish in the little sweet things he does each day and enjoy the cuddles and loves I get from him throughout the day.

Spring's Birthday

Our Spring is now 7. Amazing how time flies. I am sure every mother feels this way but it is so difficult to think of her being 7 already. She is quite the young lady. She is my right hand most days as she loves to help me with things around the house. I often find her helping one of the younger ones get dressed or cleaning up the kitchen or playing with a tired and restless Joshie as I am getting dinner fixed. She also really enjoys going shopping with me. I enjoy the time she and I have together when we run to the grocery store or to pick up diapers or other little errands. Spring is an amazing reader. Aunt Alanna got her interested in the "Series of Unfortunate Events" books and she is almost done with book 3. We love our Spring and are so blessed to have her sweet spirit in our family.

She has been so excited for her birthday to come. We had her special request for dinner: cheese stuffed shells and breadsticks. She helped make both of them. For dessert she chose Texas sheet cake. We put the candles in the shape of a "7" and then Dad cut out the cake in that shape and let her have that big piece. She loved this even though it has taken her a few days to eat it all. She loved choosing balloons for her and her siblings. She was also so excited for her present...a basketball! She has been outside for many hours practicing her skills and teaching Sammy to play as well. She also thought it was really neat that she got a birthday card with stickers in it from Mrs. Nesbit (her 1st grade teacher) and that it came exactly on her birthday! We love you, Spring. Thanks for all you do to make our family special.

I Know that My Redeemer Lives

Thomas was given the opportunity to play this arrangement during Sacrament Meeting today. He did such a wonderful job and really brought the Spirit into the meeting. The Bishop commented that within the first 3 notes he played he could feel the Spirit so strongly. The chapel became hushed and you couldn't hear a sound other than the notes of this beautiful arrangement for the duration of the hymn. In preparing this piece Thomas would get frustrated with himself if it wasn't perfect. We talked about the entire purpose of him playing this piece was to bear testimony of the Savior through music. We talked of the words and the meaning of these words. This helped him realize what a tremendous service he was giving as he was willing to share his talent with others. I do know that our Savior and Redeemer lives. I know of the comfort this testimony brings to my life as we strive to follow His example. How grateful I am for men and women that compose these arrangements so the Spirit can testify to us, through music, of the divinity of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Our Week

We have had a pretty full week. It has been hard because Joel has been in Minnesota for work since Sunday evening. We are all anxiously awaiting his arrival home tomorrow night. Mary asks me all day long, "When I wake up from my nap will Daddy be home?" "If I sleep really good tonight will Daddy come home?" "After we go to the park will Daddy be home?" She is really missing him as are the rest of us. I realize how much he helps me around the house and what a support he is to me when he is gone. It gets really tiring day after day being the only one doing everything for the kids. I miss the support and the relief I feel each evening when he comes home from work.

We have been keeping busy though. We have been to the library for storytimes and for the weekly Science Challenge program for Thomas and Spring. We also attended the library program last night in which the zoo mobile brought animals for the kids to see and learn about. We have had fun at parks together. Yesterday we had fun at playgroup. There is a really cool park here that has a kiddie wading pool. It is about 30 feet in diameter but only a foot deep. It is surrounded by shade trees so it is pretty comfortable to watch the kids. I love that all the kids can play in the water and have fun and I don't have to get in the water with them. They played for 3 hours yesterday. The best part of it is that it is free. We enjoyed cubs at the house today as we worked on fire building and outdoor cooking. I am tired and so ready for Joel to be home though. One more day! :)

Kirtland

We went to visit Kirtland today. We toured the Kirtland Temple and then spent a couple hours at Historic Kirtland. The kids really enjoyed it. Thomas told me he was so happy to see all these places that he had seen in movies and read about. He told me it was hard to believe he actually was in Kirtland...somewhere that Joseph Smith had been and where Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ had visited. In the evening we attended a musical put on by the Kirtland Stake entitled, "This is Kirtland." It told the story of the early Saints in Kirtland. It was a very enjoyable day. We are glad Alanna and Eric could be with us and that we were able to let our children have this opportunity. Spring has already asked me when we will go back.

Lazy Day at Home

We were all really tired from our day at Lake Erie. Joel had to work so we all just stayed home and enjoyed time together. In the morning I took the Cub Scouts and Webelos on a 3 mile hike at Adell Durbin Park. Alanna came with me and so did all the other kiddos. It was fun seeing the boys' excitement and awe while on the hike. Mary and Sammy loved finding all the wild blackberries and eating them on the hike.

Alanna and I also made cupcakes for Spring's "Unbirthday Birthday." She wanted to be able to celebrate her birthday while Aunt Alanna and Uncle Eric were visiting. She was able to open her present from them (blow dryer, fun bandz, handheld mirror, and fun hair accessories). Spring currently LOVES dolphins and is reading a series entitled, "Dolphin Diaries", thus the whale (ie. dolphin) cupcakes.

We helped Spring and Mary make cute flip flops as well. Spring and Mary also enjoyed getting their nails painted by Aunt Alanna. Sammy was sure interested in the whole process. Thankfully he refused to get his painted this time. We are making progress! Sammy and Mary helped Aunt Alanna make chocolate chip cookies too. It has been so fun to have Eric and Alanna here with us exploring our new area and creating precious memories together.

Lake Erie

I never imagined I would see Lake Erie-let alone swim in it! We did just that today. We spent 6 hours at Lake Erie having a wonderful time. It is only about an hour from our home. It was a beautiful day and the water temperature was perfect. We felt like we were at the ocean because you couldn't see the other side of the lake; however, it was so relaxing to swim and play in the water without all the waves of the ocean. There was a large swimming area that was shallow enough that the kids could touch for the most part. We spent almost the entire day in the water. Mary was a little daredevil in the water and loved being with Uncle Eric wherever he was. Joshie kept wanting Aunt Alanna to thow him up in the air out in the water. At one point he fell asleep on the boogie board out in the lake. Thomas and Spring enjoyed diving under the water looking for different rocks. Sammy liked building sandcastles and also riding the waves (from the boats) on the boogie board. It was so much fun and something we will definitely have to do again very soon.

Morning of Hiking

We went to the National Park that is less than 25 minutes from our home this morning. It is beautiful and we are so blessed to live close enough to enjoy it. We were amazed that there was no entrance fee into the park. We hiked to 2 different waterfalls. At the first waterfall the kids took off their shoes so they could play in the water. The trails were all well shaded but we were dripping wet from the heat and humidity. Mary was a little trooper. She hiked the entire way all by herself. She would climb over big logs and make her way on the rocks that crossed streams. Following the hiking we enjoyed a picnic lunch in the park before heading home for naptimes! I love that there are so many opportunities at our doorstep to enjoy the beauty our Father in Heaven has created for us.

4th of July

We had a fun day yesterday relaxing at home and enjoying time with Aunt Alanna and Uncle Eric. We are so grateful they came to visit us. Mary has been Eric's shadow and loves to sit on his lap and cuddle with him all day long. We enjoyed a campfire complete with smores and then had fun catching fireflies. Aunt Alanna was the pro catching lots of them in her hands. When it finally became dark the kids enjoyed sparklers and poppers. How blessed we are to live in this free land. I am so grateful for all those that have and continue to protect our freedoms.