06.01.13 GOAL!!! Kirsten got her first goal ever. We had been encouraging the kids to get a goal by saying they could have a Slurpee if they got one. Kirsten's team had a tough year but in the game today Kirsten and one other boy scored a goal each. I think the team has had maybe 1 or 2 other goals the whole season. WAY TO GO GIRL!! Kirsten opted to get an ice cream cone instead. I am so proud of my little girl.
It rained and it rained and it rained this afternoon. I happened to look out and notice the lake beginning to form. The Village of Woodridge had been working on our storm drains last month and then left them half finished. Because of the trees and their helicopter seedlings the drains were clogged up and not letting water in. Kirsten and I got in the water and dug out the drain. And soon we had no lake in front of our house.
06.03.13 Our Library has the best summer reading program. This year the theme is Dig into Reading. We stopped at the library today to sign up and get some books to begin to read. By some books, I mean an entire bag overflowing with books. 3 kids + unlimited supply of books = overflowing book bag. I am sure the kids will love this program, I know that I do - we get lots of free stuff.
06.05.13 For Book of Mormon Bookclub today we met at a park. The girls were holding Seth. It was so sweet to see how they loved him. Mother's in training.
06.07.13 Esther has been wheezing and coughing too long. I decided to take her to the doctor's office to make sure she was okay. After the appointment, the doctor wanted an x-ray. I had the other two kids with me. I knew Dave might be in the area and so I called him and he came to pick the other two up. He took them to lunch and so I decided to take Esther out too. We tried a place near Target since I needed to get a prescription to.
06.14.13 We took part of the day today and went to the Willowbrook Wildlife Preserve in Glen Ellen. It was fun to look at the animals and spend sometime together. It was flag day and so we were a decked out in our flag clothes.
06.15.13 The Award's banquet for Woodridge Soccer Association was this morning. Peter and Kirsten were pretty excited to get their trophies and to get their donuts. It was fun to watch them grow through out the season and see how hard they would try to get their goals.
Today was also the Jubilee. Kirsten and Peter got to use the unlimited passes and went on more rides. They would just get off one ride and on to another ride. I stayed home with Esther who napped the whole time they were gone.
06.16.13 Happy Father's day. I am not sure who enjoyed dad's gift more. Peter had this smile pasted on his face when dad let him climb the ladder. Pure JOY!
06.20.13 Kirsten asked to borrow the camera to take pictures of her Littlest Pet Shop toys. I guess Esther got in on the action. Now we can see how many she really has.
We went outside and had watermelon popsicles that we made. They were good but a bit messy. The kids were having fun riding the tricycle and playing with the beach ball.
06.24.13 We drove 6 hours today from Chicago to Kirtland Ohio. We stopped for lunch in Indiana, just before we crossed over into Ohio. The trip was uneventful and the kids were really good.
We arrived at the Kirtland Visitor Center first before we got to our hotel. We wanted to get an idea of what to do our next day.
Once we arrived at the hotel we received an anxious call from our neighbor that our 50 foot pine tree had been blown down by a microburst wind storm. It had taken out part of our fence. The dogs were safe and once the James' came and checked it out we got pictures to show us the damage. We are truly grateful for good friends and neighbors that were able to take care of our house while we were gone.
While Dave dealt the house, I took the three fishes down to the pool. Mainly to get some energy out and to just have fun. The kids were super excited about swimming. We returned to the hotel room for Pizza and to watch the Chicago Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup. GO HAWKS!
06.25.13 We got up today and continued our tour of Kirtland. We toured the homes and the store around the visitor center. I was touched as I thought of the great sacrifices the early saints went through and their faith in following the prophet. My testimony was strengthened as we spent a short time in the school of the prophets room in the Whitney store. The power of the spirit was strong and I felt that the things that were said were true.
We stopped for lunch at the Kirtland Diner. Then because the kids were "toured" out, we opted to stop and take pictures of the Kirtland temple rather then go on the 45 minute tour.
We arrived in Palmyra around 6 pm. The Nielsons arrived about 5 to 10 minutes after us. The kids were excited to get out of the car and didn't have any trouble reuniting with their cousins.
06.26.13 We started our morning out at the Joseph Smith homes in Palmyra and the Sacred Grove. We had an adorable sister missionary take us through the Smith Log house and then through the Smith frame home. Much of the frame home is original but the log home had to be rebuilt. We were then left to go on our own to wander around the sacred grove. One interesting fact is that the people who owned the farm after the Smiths left felt that they shouldn't touch the grove. It was protected by the Lord and the area is truly sacred. Although I had gone seeking a confirmation of the truthfulness of the church, I realized as we approached the Sacred Grove that I didn't need a confirmation. I already knew it was true and that I should turn my focus to the question the sister missionary posed before we went in. "What does the Lord need me to do?"
After lunch the kids and the dads went to Seneca Lake State Park. I know they had a great time splashing and playing while Ariane and I stayed home with the little ones that pretty much napped the whole time until dinner.
We met for dinner at a restaurant called Uncle Joe's Pizzeria in Geneva. Although we were looking for NY Style pizza this one was delicious and got 2 thumbs up from all of us.
06.27.13 Today we spent the day over in Niagara Falls. When we first got there we went to American Falls just to see why we were there. Then we found an area to have a picnic. It was closer to the Cave of the Winds and so we decided to go there. I think it was my favorite part. We took and elevator down to the deck and go to both see and feel the power of the falls. One are is called Hurricane Deck where you pretty much stand under the waterfall and feel its power. The power of the water shoved you forward as it drenched you. Everyone liked it.
When we got back to the top we wandered over and saw the falls from the top again.
We decided to stop for an ice cream cone. Many of us tried the Niagara special - caramel and chocolate covered pretzels in vanilla ice cream - YUMMY!
Then the heavens opened and soaked us. After a short trip to the gift shop, the rain slowed down to a drizzle and we decide to explore Terapin Point which is near the Horseshoe Falls. Esther, Otto, Peter and Kate did some puddle jumping and got all wet again.
Then we hopped in in the van and went over and got tickets to the Maid of the Mist. We walked on to the elevator and then walked on to the boat. The kids were pretty excited about the boat ride. We got to see all of the falls up close and we got very wet again.
By the time we were done all of the kids and moms and dads were super tired and super hungery. We had dinner and then drove the 2 hours back to the house we were staying at in Palmyra.
More pictures primarily of the falls. Beautiful and breathtaking.
06.28.13 Our last full day here and the weather was not cooperating. So we spent the morning indoors. The adults took turns taking a short trip to the Grandin Press Building to see where the Book of Mormon was first published. Kirsten got her own copy of the proof to fold together.
By late afternoon there was a break in the rain and we were able to head over to the Hill Cumorah. We walked through the Visitor Center and then up to the Monument on the Top of the Hill. The kids found slugs and snails as we explored around the monument. We walked back down and met the dads at the visitor center.
We drove over to see the Palmyra Temple and take pictures of our families. The weather held off until we were started taking pictures at the temple. We got a couple good ones and then left to go home and cook dinner.
06.29.13 Our trip home. We woke up and packed the van and then left Palmyra around 8 am. We stopped at McDonalds for breakfast and I had to snicker when Kirsten said "This is the first time we have eaten breakfast at McDonalds." I am not sure if that is true but it was so funny to hear her say that. Our estimated time to be home was 10 to 12 hours.
About 4 pm I took the pictures above, our estimated time was to be home around 6 pm. We were pretty close to that. We had decided to do as much eating in the car as we could. So we only had to stop for bathroom breaks. Note to self. Monitor how much water Peter has had. It seemed we were stopping every hour or so to go potty. Ugh, at least it didn't take much time and we were able to quickly get on our way. (I might be exaggerating just a bit, but not by much.)
