Cael Conquering the Stairs

While I was gone to Washington D.C. Rob taught Cael how to go down the stairs. It was so great to put away the gate!

Washington D.C.

I was able to go on a great trip with my mother, Karee, Matt, Ryton, Kevin, Paige and Brennen. We flew out to Washington DC on Valentine's Day and stayed through the following Monday. It was great! The first day we had a tour of the Capitol Building. What a beautiful building and what history. I definitely need to brush up on the history of my country. We then went and walked through the Library of Congress, the Museum of Natural History and quickly ran to the National Monument. The next day we got up early because we had scheduled a tour of the White House. It was amazing to actually walk through some of the rooms of the White House and try to imagine all of the great people who had been in those same rooms. I do have to say that I thought there would be more to the tour. It was more a walk through by yourself and if you have questions you can ask. It would have been great to just have someone walk with you and tell about every detail within each room, but it was still amazing. We then ran to the National Archives to see the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights. WOW! You walk into this large circular room where the lights are dimmed, to help preserve the documents, and glass cases on the outer edges. When I finally got up to the case with the Declaration of Independence I was just in awe of what was before me. It was the actual document! It was sad to see how faded it was. The only thing I could pick out was John Hancock's signature and it was very faint as well. But to think of the power within this document. As I continued on I then found out that we wouldn't be able to view the Constitution. The cases it was to be displayed in were under construction and walled off. Very disappointing. Then the Bill of Rights. Another awesome experience! We then went back to the National Monument to see if we could get tickets to go to the top. But they were all sold out.

We took some fun pictures and then walked towards the Lincoln Memorial.

(Ryton, who is only 3 1/2 months did so well, but there were some times that Karee just had to throw the blanket over herself to feed the little guy.) :)

The closer you get to this memorial, the more it takes your breath away. It was one of my favorite sites to see.

We then went and saw the Vietnam Memorial and again...very moving! I am so proud of my country!

The next day we got up and went to Arlington National Cemetary. As we walked to towards the entrance you could feel the reverence and peace of this place. We went to John F. Kennedy's grave first. Again, what an awesome experience to stand there at his final resting place with his wife and two young children on either side of him and the eternal flame burning. Nearby we walked to Robert F. Kennedy's grave, which is very simple with a white cross to mark it. We then continued onto the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. We made it just a few moments before the changing of the guard. I tried videoing it with my camera I will try and post a small portion of the ceremony. Very impressive!

We then split up and the girls went to the Holocaust Memorial Museum while the boys went to the Air and Space Museum. We then met up later with the boys.

The day we flew out we quickly ran to the Museum of Art. Just not enough time to get everything in. You could seriously spend a complete day in each museum.

We had a wonderful time together! I am so impressed with D.C. The people were so nice to us. We definitely couldn't hide the fact that we were out of towners. We did finally get the Metro system down thanks to a brother and brother in law who knew what they were doing...most of the time. :) I great trip! Thanks Mom and family! Oh, and a big, big THANKS to my wonderful husband who took a day off work and stayed home with the kiddos so that I could go. I am definitely spoiled!

Mykenna's Family party

The Sunday following Mykenna's birthday Grandma Linda, Brooklyn and Uncle Jon came over for cake and ice cream. We had a great time! It is always fun to have family near. Kenna wanted all of the candles on her cake, but when it came time to blow them out it was a little challenging. See for yourself. I don't know why she was blowing this way?

Just Cute!

I was getting Cael ready for bed and went to pull his shirt over his head and it was a little snug. He was grinning from ear to ear with this shirt on his head. It was so cute! We had to get it on video. He also started saying "Hot". We kind of got it on the video. It is in the middle of a hick up. Don't you love how the shirt is squishing is chubby little face? It just brings a smile to my face.

Am I Four Now!

Mykenna had a great 4th birthday! We decorated the kitchen and dining room with pink and purple balloons and streamers. When she woke up and saw all the decorations she was so excited! She kept asking, "Am I four now? Do I get to go to kindergarten now?" I had her gifts in the middle of the table and because Dad had already gone to work she didn't want to open them until we were all home. I was surprised because what child doesn't want to rip into their presents immediately. We got Parker and Cambrie off to school and then got Mykenna ready for preschool. She was so excited to take her cupcakes to school to share with her little friends. When she got back from preschool she was starting to get a little anxious to open her gifts so we decided together to let her pick one she could open and save the rest for when everyone was home. She chose a gift from her Aunt Hilly and Uncle Kyle. She was so excited when she saw the new silver with pink fur dress shoes. They were the cutest thing. They had a bag of jewels and glitter so she could decorate them herself. We had the best time arranging the jewels and sprinkling on the glitter. Didn't she do a great job! What a great gift!






We then looked at princess dresses on the internet to see what she wanted for her birthday. She had money given from other family members and that is what she chose to spend it on. We also ran to Walmart to look at a Petshop. We found the cutest one and went up to the checkout to pay for it and ... ugh...where was my debit card...think...think...think. Oh no...When we were looking on the internet for princess dresses I had taken it out in case we wanted to purchase one. Yes, you guessed it. It was at home on the computer desk. So we had to come home empty handed. She was so good about it. It helped that by that time Dad was home and we could go home and open her gifts and have cake and ice cream.




Grandma Linda called to wish her a happy birthday and when she asked Mykenna if she was excited to be four years old Mykenna informed her that she wasn't four yet. She had decided that she wasn't four until after she had opened her gifts. She was completely spoiled and loved all her gifts. Thanks!

I'm Climbing!

Cael is now climbing. He is so proud of himself. Here he is in our pantry. He also loves to climb up on Mykenna's table in her room and stand in front of the window. If a chair is out from the table he climbs up on the chair and then on top of our dining room table. So doors have to be closed and chairs pushed in or put on top of something. I had forgotten how busy a 1 year old can be. There is something new every day! It is a lot of fun! (Patty I think I need to hit you up again on organizing my pantry. :)

Super Bowl Party

This year we went to the Murphy's for a Super Bowl Party. Nothing better than good food, friends and fun! The kids ended up watching Jumanji downstairs which allowed us to watch a pretty good part of the second half. It ended up being a great game at the end. (Not that I really cared who won, but it is always nice to have a close game.)

The half time performance wasn't very exciting until Rob gave Mike a hard time about waiting for a wardrobe malfunction. Good laughs. :) Here is a picture of the kids just before we left. As you can see they weren't really into the picture taking.

Snow, Snow and more Snow!

As you all know we have had a crazy amount of snow this winter. Well I got some pictures of our backyard and thought I would post.

Thank You President Hinckley For Our Beautiful Trip Together!

I have had many emotions this last week in pondering on my personal experiences and feelings of our dear President Hinckley. Some are sad feelings, especially when I think of not seeing him stand at that beautiful pulpit again and share his powerful testimony with us. Other thoughts that are so sweet. Such as the glorious reunion he has had with our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and of course his beautiful reunion with his dear companion Marjorie! I have watched and listened to many tributes to him and each time fight back the tears. I have such a great love for him and his wonderful teachings and perfect example. There has never been a time, when listening to his words, that I have not felt inspired to better myself and my family. I only hope that I can remember these feelings as I go throughout my journey here.

I love this tribute, on the next post, to our dear President and I echo one of the final statements made in it..."Thank you President Hinckley for our beautiful trip together!"

(Click on the pause button on the music box at the bottom of the blog to turn off music)

LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley