A visit

Back in September Matthew and Aunt Melinda came for a visit- just in time for the primary program!

First off- Bellagio!

Mario and Luigi- Andrew wouldn't get close

Matthew enjoying being close to his Mommy- he cried anytime she walked away from him.

They were just finishing up the newest flower exhibit

Eiffel tower!

Saturday I have no idea what we did. Went to Luke's soccer game. And, I'm not really sure what else. No pictures = no memories...

Sunday after church we headed over to my Aunt and Uncle's house. They just moved to Vegas a month ago!! 5 of their 8 kids are here right now so it was fun to get together. This is my aunt and uncle who have lived allll over the world (Oman, China twice, Japan, England, East Coast US). So, it's fun to have some time living closer so I can get to know some of my cousins better.

We did a nice footsoak that night :)

Monday after Luke was off at school we decided to do a homemade mask. Andrew was so impressed and just wanted to stare at us...or not.

That afternoon before we had to take them to the airport we headed to the natural history museum.

Matthew checking out the fish

Luke making powder

Hanging it with the egyptians

Mummy Luke!

Mummy Andrew!

mmmmmm...my toes are yummy

Sisters!!!

tired blue-eyed boy

gorilla tamer

It was a lot of fun having them visit! We missed the girls and Uriah but they had fun Daddy daughter time back home. Thanks for coming!!

Labor Day Trip- day 1 and 2

Over Labor Day we headed down to San Diego to visit Curtis, Alaina, Georgia, and Levi. We love going there! Unfortunately it took us a long time to get there because I15 was closed due to a fire over Cajon Pass. We got there just before it opened but the back up was pretty far. The boys did pretty well sitting in the car moving very slowly but we were all happy to get there!

Our first day in CA we went to the San Diego Natural History Museum and the Mormon Battalion visitor center. I highly recommend the battalion visitor center if you haven't been recently- it is fantastic!

The 3 boys in the back of Curtis' new truck!

Andrew and the Manatee

Balboa Park

Panning for Gold at the Battalion

Working the water pump

Doing the wash

A well- the battalion members were able to teach the people in San Diego how to make bricks- an invaluable skill!

Hitting the road

Alaina, Levi, Georgia and Curtis with the Levi Hancock statue- member of the Battalion, relative, and Levi's namesake

Sunday we headed off to church and then spent the afternoon playing with the backyard toys

Luke LOVED riding the go-kart. He went on many trips around the yard. click on the picture to get a good look at Luke's face!

Andrew went exactly once and then was happy to watch...

A sealing and two blessings

In June I was lucky enough to take my two sweet kids and go see my niece sealed to my sister and brother-in-law. What a neat experience for their whole family to be in the temple!

The whole family outside the Mesa Temple

Everyone!! Lots of people from their ward, plus me and the grandparents

The next day Uriah was able to bless both babies. Such a neat thing to be a part of!

Megan in her sealing/blessing outfit

Matthew in his blessing outfit

The whole family on blessing day!

We love you Megan and Matthew and are so glad you came to our family in your own special ways!!

Lindsey's Wedding

A little over a month ago I drove up to Manti for my cousin's wedding. I went alone. It was weird. The car was so quiet and packing took no time at all. So happy for my cousin and her fabulous husband!!

Coming out of the temple- face beaming!

Don't they look so happy?

Cuz buds :)

getting ready to leave in their well-made up car

Me outside my motel room- love these kind of photos. Am I weird?

Funny story- I pulled up to my motel after going to Walmart in the metropolis of Ephraim and standing outside room #7 was my Aunt. Both of us had come alone and had no idea we were both staying at our huge motel. It was nice to know she was right next door. Plus, I got to hear that her 7th grandson had just been born. Hooray!

My new favorite song

Be patient, be patient. Don't be in such a hurry.

If you are impatient you'll only start to worry.

Remember, remember that God is patient too.

And remember all the times that someone had to wait for you.

Luke picked this up from Uncle Uriah while we were in Phoenix. I think it is a fabulous song. Whenever we're in a crowd or often when we're driving in the car I ask Luke to sing it. Now I've learned it so I sing it too. It really helps and is soooooooo true.

Just Grandpa and the Boys

The boys went fishing with Grandpa:

Practicing casting

prepping

Ready to go! They didn't catch any fish but some people who came in on a boat from the lake gave them their fish they used as bait. My Dad brought them home. The boys liked watching the fish for a few minutes. They were all floating 3 hours later so my Mom and I went and dumped them in the ponds. Not exactly the fish we had hoped they'd come home with...

Helped Grandpa Mow

Luke joins in!

Wrestled with Grandpa

Denver Museum of Nature and Science

We went to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science with my cousin Kelly and her 3 kids! Luke is just under 4 months older than Kate and Andrew is exactly 4 months older than Tommy. Poor little Lexi doesn't have playmate close in age in our family but she's too young to care right now!

Luke and Tommy playing with wind

Lexi, Tommy, and Andrew into the puppets

PS Andrew might have been lost for a couple of minutes. We think he looked up- didn't see me, and for some reason went running out of this kids section. He was definitely looking for me- he's not one to wander. He was relieved when Grandma found him (a place Mom and just looked). I got lost as a child at this same museum (although mine involved two elevators opening and me getting on one and everyone else getting on the other). We must be related

Luke and Kate created some great castles!

A favorite exhibit- Dinosaurs!

Llama rides for all the kids-Andrew, Luke, Tommy, Lexi, and Kate

In front of the crystal cave

Family bathroom time :)

Luke the Astronaut

posing with pirates- arrr

In case you haven't noticed Luke is wearing his cape in pretty much every photo from our trip. That's because he wore it the whole time we were there. He loves his capes and this is the only one we brought. It came in handy during the lung dissection we watched. The Museum worker talked about how when she covers her mouth with her arm when she sneezes it makes her think of pulling a Dracula cape in front of her face. Several people then pointed out Luke was wearing just such a cape and he got to demonstrate. If you ever see Luke wearing any kind of costume- he is happy to receive comments about them!