It is Time for...

Back to School

New Adventures

in schooling -

kindergarten & riding the bus.

Is he really old enough?

New classes - Seminary

I am soooo excited for this young man

to be able to attend Seminary classes everyday.

Joy School

I haven't had the opportunity for seven + years,
but am lucky enough to do this with her.

And a DIY Project

A Busy Week/Weekend

Before the boys were found waiting outside for the school bus
or listening for the ringing of the school bells,
we had ourselves a busy week.

P participated with his soccer team in a 3-day Park City Tournament.

T went on a backpacking scout camp with his dad
and a bunch of other 12/13 year old boys.

About 20 rounds of Rummikub, 12 rounds of SkipBo
and one round of Zarahemla
were played around the dining room table.

Miss M and Bubba couldn't wait to ride but then "freaked out"
before enjoying the ride on the "round and round".


J and P got a little too comfortable riding the "round and round".


We saw an entertaining bird show.

P's soccer team made it all the way to the final championship game
of his tournament but lost in overtime,
resulting in a Second Place finish
and a new medal to show for it.


We celebrated Mr. Dean's birthday with a party
and plenty of brownies and ice cream.

J passed off all his Karate moves and earned himself an orange belt.


Bubba took a spin in a really cool car,
that he now wants to buy with his allowance money.


Miss M got a little (okay a lot) scared of Leo the Lion
(the Real Salt Lake mascot)
when he came over to shake hands.


And then we went to the Zoo with Nana and Ally who were visiting us.
Did you know they now have dinosaurs at the zoo?
Big ferocious ones, mean spitting ones-
that cool you off from walking around in the hot sun,
and even baby dinos.


NOW it is time to get ready for Back to School.

DC Trip - Day Seven

We have been home for a week now but I wanted to share what we did on our last day in DC.

First we located the DC Temple which was interesting to see from the Freeway and then try to drive to. You had to wind through little streets lined with trees to get there. There were so many trees in the area that you didn't know you were there until you pulled into the actual parking lot of the temple. I hear that at night it is beautiful and bright to behold. Wish I could have seen it then.


From there we traveled about an hour north to a place called Gettysburg. Another one of those sacred places that just humbled me.

Inside the visitor's center is this panoramic painting of the historic battle that happened here. An amazing work of art. Wish I could have captured it all on film.


And just across the street from the visitor's center is the actual field or opening in which the battle occurred over three days in July of 1863.

There were monuments every where spread out among the land representing the different states and regiments that were represented and that fought in the this deadly battle. These monuments are meant to honor those who fought at Gettysburg but it gives to me a small glimpse into the tens of thousands of soldiers that were involved.

I read in the information pamphlet that over 51,000 soldiers either died, were wounded or missing after this Battle. Because so many soldiers lay dead in the field, land was purchased here by Pennsylvania's governor to give the soldiers a proper burial. This National Cemetery was dedicated four months after the Battle of Gettysburg took place and it is of course where Abraham Lincoln, then President, delivered his short but famous, inspirational speech, the Gettysburg Address.

CD Trip - Day Five/Six

Dear Children,

Yesterday, the weather was torture here. In DC they broke a few heat records and we were out in the thick of it. It doesn't get much hotter here than in Salt Lake, but the humidity here makes it seem much hotter. After Dad finished his last day at his conference we went to the National Museum of Natural History.


The best part of this museum was all the different kinds of displayed Animals (dead and stuffed) that live throughout the world. And also the beautiful diamonds.


We then walked back to the hotel and we were too hot to go any where else. So we sat in our hotel room and watched a little TV.

Today, was another FULL day of exploring. This time we rented a little car and went outside the DC area. Our first stop was Arlington National Cemetery. Quite a sight to behold. All those graves and all the wars associated with why those graves are there, kind of hard to wrap your mind around sometimes.


We visited the "tomb of the unknown soldier" where we arrived just in time to see the changing of the guard. This special tomb is where the remains of a WW I soldier are buried and it is a symbol to all those who have fought and died in war and were never identified. The inscription on the tomb reads,

"Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God"

So true are these words. And because this is such a sacred and honored tomb it is guarded by military men on duty 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.


We also saw the memorial tombstone for the members of the Challenger Space Shuttle who of course died when the Shuttle blew up just after lift off. It probably doesn't mean much to you but this tragedy happened on my birthday and I saw the whole thing play out on TV as my school class was walking through the Library at my Elementary School. Every since then it has meant something more to me than just another piece of history.


We then saw Arlington House. Arlington plantation was the original purpose of the land. George W.P. Custis, grandson of Martha Washington (George's wife) inherited this land back in 1802. He built the house for his family and also helped to memorialize the nation's first President and the man who raised him as a son, George Washington.


Later on Custis's only surviving child Mary married Robert E. Lee in the Arlington House. And the two lived there in the house for over 30 years until 1861 when due to the Civil War they had to leave the home. Does that name ring a bell? Robert E. Lee. He was the leader of what Army?


That was a new bit of History that I learned today. That two important and influential families were joined together by that marriage. The Washington family and the Lee family.


The second place that we visited today was Mount Vernon.


Which your Dad would say was THE BEST PLACE we have visited on this entire trip. Mt. Vernon was the home of George Washington. Did you know that he was an avid farmer, that he liked to dance but couldn't play a musical instrument, that one of his first jobs was as a land surveyor and that he was only 11 years old when his father died, thus the end of his formal education and every thing else he learned he did so by reading books. I didn't know any of that either. He was a fascinating man, an honorable man, a humble man -that I already knew.


Mount Vernon is peaceful, beautiful and it sits just up from the Potomac River. It is the place Washington asked to be buried, even though others wanted to honor him and bury him the Capitol Building. Your Dad and I could easily see why he would choose a place like Mount Vernon over the Capitol.


Dad is excited to one day bring you all to see Mount Vernon but not in the middle of summer and not during record breaking heat ;).

PS - The answer to the last post was Franklin Delano Roosevelt. And for this post Robert E. Lee was in command of the Confederate Army during the Civil War.

This will be my last post to you as we will be flying home tomorrow night. We will be in late so we won't see you until early Monday morning but I am looking forward to seeing your smiling faces and catching up with you all.

Love,

Mom