Memorial Weekend!

We packed a lot of sightseeing into our Memorial Day Weekend! First we drove up to Canada to see Niagara Falls. We had heard it was a better view from the Canada side of the falls, and we agree! We crossed at Peace Bridge to get into Canada, and came up on Niagara Falls from south, the top of the falls. We could see the mist coming up from the water, but didn't realize what it was. Once we parked and walked up to the falls, we enjoyed a feast for all the senses! The falls were very majestic. I imagined them taller, but was very surprised by how much water is continually falling down, and how fast it moved. The water was very clear, and at the side of Horseshoe falls, you could see through the enormous amounts of water to the rocks at the edge where the water was gushing over. I kept thinking, "How does Lake Erie stay full?" We kept getting sprayed by the mist, as the weather was a little breezy, and the wind would spray the water all over us. Rachel kept her hood on. There was a beautiful rainbow the entire time we were at the falls, thanks to the mist! When we looked down toward the bottom of the falls, you could see more than 180 degrees of rainbow. The kids pointed out the end of the rainbow...right at a large rock. I, the mean mom, wouldn't let the kids climb down to investigate. The falls were very loud as well. It was really kind of fun to see all of the people on the US side of the falls. I felt like I was at girls' camp with the scout camp on the other side of the lake. We didn't sent any morse code messages, though. We crossed back over Rainbow Bridge into New York. I was nervous they wouldn't let us in. That is the type of weird worries that I have. Anyways, we really enjoyed seeing Niagara Falls, and being able to say we've(the kids and I) been to Canada!

We then drove to Syracuse, NY, where Andy's cousin and aunt live. The kids were fast friends with their second cousins! We really enjoyed our time with them, and are grateful for their hospitality! They took us to Palmyra and showed us around. We visited the Smith Family Farm. We saw inside the replica farm house, built on the original site, and climbed up into the upper story bedrooms. Joseph would have slept up there. We walked around the grounds, then headed into the Sacred Grove, where the boy Joseph went to pray, and saw God the Father and Jesus Christ...the beginning of the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ in these latter-days! As the song goes, "bees were humming, sweet birds singing, music ringing through the grove." It was really quiet and peaceful, and I didn't wonder why Joseph Smith would choose this reverent place to pray. Sarah and a couple of cousins blazed their own trail through the grove, without the rest of us. I guess they didn't want to leave, but we did eventually find them! We visited the site where the Book of Mormon was first published, and we visited the Hill Cumorah, where the sacred plates were hidden, until Joseph received them. I know I've said this before, but visiting church historical sites really brings the history to life.

On our way home, we stopped for lunch in Scranton, PA,(of The Office fame) and again in Hershey, PA, to visit chocolate world! It was a short visit, but we got to go on a ride that showed how Hershey chocolate is made. It was pretty fun! The free chocolate samples was the best part! The chocolate smell throughout the building was the second best part! It was a nice break from the driving! We also stopped in Gettysburg, but arrived at the national park only minutes before it closed. We plan to visit it again, so I didn't include any pictures this time. I had a great time on this trip! I think the kids and Andy did too, despite all of the driving time. Thank goodness for DVD players, books, and video games!

LEGOville

A couple of weeks ago, I told the kids that if they ever did anything really neat and that they were really proud of, we could put it on the blog. So tonight, after we had played Legos for awhile, we had created a city. The kids spent a lot of time on it and wanted it on the blog. So, here they are my little Lego-lovin' kids! You all did a great job on it.

The National Zoo

We had a great time at the National Zoo today! I was totally impressed with how beautiful the grounds were. Everything was very well kept, and the habitats for the animals were wonderful! It was the best zoo I've ever visited, and the weather was perfect. The slide show has lots of animal pictures for my kids to look at...you should be able to click through the pictures at a speed you like.

Jake's Sea Creature Project

Jake turned in his science report and model on Friday. He made up a species of crab, nicknamed the "stone crab." He wrote an awesome 3 page report about the creature, and made a model of the crab. It was hard for me, but I let him make the crab by himself. I only helped with glueing it together and to the board. He did such a great job! The crab even had moving claws. Jake named him Carl, and we hope he can come home soon so Jake can display him in his room. Nice work, Jake!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to mom and Vicki! I've got the best mom and the best mother-in law ever! I love them both, and I've learned so much from their examples. Aside from being wonderful moms and wives, they both are great examples to me of selfless service and hard work...from taking care of their families, to serving in church, to helping co-workers, to supporting long-time friends in their troubles. I think we are all here on this earth to watch over, take care of, and love each other, and that's what I think of when I think of my moms. They're awesome!

Thank You!

I'd like to thank all of you guys... our family and friends for letting us visit, and spend the night, and invite ourselves to dinner, and plan get-togethers in your homes, etc! We love to see you all and stay in contact. I was just thinking about the last few months of our lives... So many of you have agreed to us inviting ourselves into your homes, and you've acted like it hasn't been an imposition in any way(though I'm sure it's not always convenient)! Just wanted to say thanks again. We love you! Please let us return the favor when you find yourselves in our neck of the woods...wherever that might be!

Sarah the Super Reader

Last week, Sarah and I were sitting on the couch and I told her I bet she could read the Suess book Hop on Pop all by herself. She got a big smile on her face and said, "I'll try!" She read practically the whole book by herself. She only needed help with "house" and "mouse" and the really long words at the end. I was so happy! I'm going to start calling her "Sarah-smarty-pants!" I love you Sarah!

Monticello, Thomas Jefferson's Home

Last Saturday, we visited Monticello near Charlottesville, VA. The drive took a couple of hours, but it was lovely. Monticello sits at the top of a hill and has beautiful views in every direction. The house itself wasn't as large as I had pictured in my head, but very unique in it's styling(when compared to the traditional look of houses of Jefferson's era). We weren't allowed to take pictures inside the home. In Jefferson's entryway, he placed lots of items to create a museum type feel for guests waiting to see him. There were antlers on the wall that are the actual ones Lewis and Clark brought back to him from their journeys. Just inside the front door at the top of the wall was a clock that Jefferson made. In addition to telling the time, it tells the day of the week (determined by where weights on cable are hanging), measured along a side wall. There wasn't room for Saturday at the bottom of the wall, so he cut a hole in the ground for the weights to hang down through, and you can see "Saturday" written in the basement just beneath that entry room. Funny. We saw his library, bedroom, dining room, a couple of living rooms, and a guest room in the house. His bedroom had a lot of his little inventions. One example is the machine that made a copy of whatever he was writing. His pen was connected to another which copied his movements as he wrote. He always sent the copy, and kept the original, and I think our tour guide said he wrote over 10,000 letters in his lifetime. His home was full of portraits and busts, and interesting things to look at. The guide said he liked the conversations that stemmed from these pieces. None of the kitchen or the stable, ice house, slaves' quarters, smokehouse, etc. are visible from the house, which I thought was cool. They are built into the side of the hill as it slopes away from the house. Jefferson also built raised walkways to the side of his home, and underneath is a well-lit tunnel, with lots of little windows, that can be used year round to access those areas. The flower garden was beautiful, but I loved the vegetable garden. It was a long narrow strip of land cut into the side of the hill, again, with rows of the vegetables planted across the narrow width of the plot. It was so pretty and organized. We visited his gravesite, then walked down the hill back to the car. The walk through the trees was very beautiful. I just love being out-and-about with my family!

Shawna and Tyler Borg were gracious enough to let us invite ourselves over to their house, as they live in Charlottesville, and Andy and Shawna hadn't seen each other for many years (they were friends in high school). We enjoyed a tasty dinner, and brownies and ice cream at their park. My kids had a great time with their boys. Everyone got along splendidly. They have a lovely home and are such a fun family!

Arlington National Cemetary and the National Aquarium with Grandma and Grandpa Ricketts

Andy's parents came out for his swearing in ceremony for the state department. It was great to see them! We visited the war memorials, the Air and Space Museum, Arlington National Cemetary and the National Aquarium with them.

Arlington National Cemetary was just beautiful. Rain drizzled down on us as we walked around. It was fitting, like in the movies...it's always raining at funeral services. Luckily, Larry and Vicki bought 2 large umbrellas which saved us from being soaked to the bone (well, most of us...Jake got pretty wet!) I was surprised by the size of the cemetary. It was huge. Much bigger than I expected, and more hills. The setting was lovely, with the rolling hills and green grass and trees. The kids were very respectful, and did a great job as we watched the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns. That was really neat. I love to see people showing respect and being reverent. People had told me about the heel-clicking and the rifle-handling of the soldiers, but I was still impressed with their precision. Especially when the two soldiers synchronized their every move. We also got to see wreaths of flowers being placed at the tomb. That is a whole separate routine from the changing of the guard, and really nice because a soldier plays TAPS on the horn. It was actually very moving. The music was loud and clear, everyone held their hands on their hearts and nobody spoke. Cool. Larry said we'll never hear anyone play it better than that soldier. As we were walking back to the visitor's center, one of the kids pointed out a horse-drawn carriage carrying a casket up the road. I liked hearing the sounds of the horse hooves clomping on the pavement, and reminded me that soldiers are still giving their lives in the service of our country. I'm grateful for the military members and their families.

After the cemetary, we headed downtown to the National Aquarium. Because I am not a strong parallel parker and because I feel I am cursed to never find a parking meter anyway, we parked in the garage beneath the Reagan Building for a large fee. It was worth the price, though, as there is a food court in the basement of the building, and the Reagan Building is located across the street from the National Aquarium, which is in the basement of the Commerce Building. The aquarium was small, and not very impressive, but the cool thing about it is that many of the tanks hold a sampling of the water-life from locations all over the US. They each represent a certain river, lake, bay, or ocean. Personally, I loved the little poison dart frogs. Sarah and Rachel spent lots of time looking for Dory...she kept hidden behind some coral.

We headed back to the food court for treats at "Larry's Ice Cream and Cookies" (of course we had to try it)! The kids think Grandma and Grandpa's homemade ice cream is much better! Then after the treats, we took Grandma and Grandpa to the airport. Surprisingly, I think I drove straight there. No u-turns or backtracking. Yay! Thanks for coming out to visit, Grandma and Grandpa!

Andy's Swearing In at the State Department

Here are a few pictures of the swearing in ceremony for Andy's A-100 class. I don't know what "A-100" stands for, but it is the beginning training course for all new foreign service officers. The ceremony was held at the main State Department building in DC. Secretary Rice did not attend, but Deputy Secretary Negroponte did address us. He reminded the class to do all they can to serve their country from their overseas posts, to represent the US in a positive manner, and not focus on how to better their careers. It was short and sweet, and we were back in time for the girls to come home from school. Wow, I think Andy is pretty darn cool.