Hike to Glory Falls

Yesterday we went on a family hike to Glory Falls. The trail was supposed to be 2 miles round trip, but to my best guess it was close to 2 miles in each direction. The hike took about 45 minutes each way and that was carrying Rebecah for a good portion of that time. You can just see my blue shirt in the distance. This was on the way back and I was hot and tired from carrying Rebecah so I was glad I didn't have to worry about smiling!

Rebecah and me at the beginning of the hike.

We have had a dry Spring so the Falls weren't as exciting as they could be but it was still neat to see. Here is a view from the top of the falls. Usually it isn't safe to stand so close to the top of the falls to get pictures because the rocks are usually wet and people have been seriously hurt when they have accidentally fallen through the hole. The rocks were dry where we were so Joseph took a picture while I held on to the children!

The underside of the hole.

As you can see, the falls weren't much to speak of, but it was still a nice family outing. The kids and Joseph enjoyed touching the waterfall with their hands and getting splashed.

Not My Children!

Today we went to Party in the Park that our town puts on every April. The kids had a great time seeing fire trucks, ambulances and police cars. There were musical instruments to try out. Joseph enjoyed some cello envy and played on the cello for a bit before doing a few notes on the violin. The kids enjoyed the percussion instruments. There were other games and jumping toys that we didn't have time to try out because the event was closing.

Now, here is the part where we had the "those aren't my children" moment. In addition to some ponies to ride there were snakes and tarantulas for holding. The kids held the snakes with some assistance and Kimball liked those better than the spiders. They also held the tarantulas. Now, most of you should know I have a strong dislike for spiders...I have posted about it before. Anyway, Kimball was a little hesitant to hold the spider but he did and he handled it rather well until the spider crawled up his arm to his sleeve and then he got nervous that the spider would bite him. Rebecah on the other hand OWNED that spider. When it was her turn she ran to the man startling him and the spider! She grabbed the spider and it quickly tried to get away. And where was I during all of this? I was about 5 feet away from the action and Joseph was snapping a few pictures. This picture doesn't show Rebecah holding it, but she did. That spider just moved too fast.

Finished Project

About 7 months ago we bought new sheets for our bed. It didn't take Joseph too long to talk me into making a new quilt for our bed to match our new sheets. The quilt took me about 6 months to complete but it is always nice to have a project to work on. Now that it's finished I feel a little lost and I'm not quite sure what to do with my time even though I still have a few smaller quilt projects to work on and other crafts waiting me in my craft box.

The quilt pattern is called "mine shaft". I think it is fairly self explanatory when you see the pictures. I think the quilt turned out nicely. Kimball was very sweet and he told me it was "the most beautiful quilt ever". He also wanted to sleep with it, but I told him it was mine and it was too big for his bed anyway. I'll make him a big quilt if he wants when he gets married.




Now we need to paint our bedroom so the carpet, quilt and walls all match.

A Trip to Kansas City

We just returned from a trip to Kansas City. We attended the Kansas City temple open house and visited various church history spots. Here are some highlights:

Car Ride

Rebecah was all smiles because she felt so big holding the DVD player while Kimball was sleeping. She had Dora the Explorer all to herself!


Kimball catching some Zzzzzzs.


Adam-ondi-Ahman

Kimball was all about pictures with Joseph...


And with Rebecah...


And by himself...


Rebecah didn't want to be left out.



Candid shot of Kimball.



Candid shot of Joseph and Kimball talking .


Haun's Mill





Far West. It looks the same as when I visited years ago...maybe 20 years ago...the only difference is a bathroom now. It was a nice addition to the area because Kimball needed to use it!





Liberty Jail




Kansas City Temple Open House.

It's a beautiful temple, like all temples are. The kids were a little grumpy because they were tired of waiting, but on the way home Rebecah kept asking if we could go back to the temple and Kimball said he liked it inside.

Not our best family picture, but it was bright outside.


Group Shot.



We were glad family members could join us for the trip. It was fun to see family again and to meet some family for the first time.

Easter Sunday

Easter has always been one of my favorite holidays, but as I get older and understand and appreciate the Atonement and Resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ I like Easter better each year.

This year we started a new tradition. I had 12 plastic eggs and in each egg was a scripture and token representing different aspects of Christ's last few days on the Earth and then his Resurrection. In conjunction with the eggs each night we would watch one of the new Bible videos that our Church has been making. Kimball loved watching the special movies each night.

Sunday morning we had these for breakfast:

We listened to Easter music throughout the day and enjoyed talking with the children about Easter and how special it is.

We had the missionaries over for dinner and after they left we watched The Testaments of One Fold and One Shepherd. Kimball closely followed the movie this year and really enjoyed the movie. He asked if he could watch it again. I love it when my kids feel the Spirit and like watching church movies!

I am so grateful for Easter and the joy and comfort that it can bring to each of us as we ponder those who have preceded us in death, our own mortality and physical limitations that we are given. We will all be whole and alive!

Easter Saturday

I know Easter is really on Sunday, but we celebrate the "fun" part of Easter on Saturday so we can enjoy the Spiritual aspect on Sunday and give it the attention it deserves.

Saturday morning we got together with friends for an Easter egg hunt. Joseph hid about 70 eggs and after the kids got tired of hunting it took the adults another 10 minutes of staring at the ground to find the last few eggs. The kids had fun though and were so excited every time they found an egg.

Hunting Pictures:






After our egg hunt we enjoyed playing ping pong in the morning. During nap time Joseph went on a 3 hour bike ride and the kids slept. After everyone was refreshed we gave the kids some Easter presents. Kimball has expressed interest in baseball so he got a t-ball set. Rebecah likes anything outside so we gave her a little golf set. She will soon be ready to take on Uncles Spencer and Jonathan...

Joseph and Kimball golfing. Rebecah was too busy playing t-ball to golf.




Trying out the new baseball equipment.





Rebecah with two of her favorite playmates:

Recognize Anyone?

A few weeks ago at story time a photographer from the newspaper showed up. We don't get the paper, but I hoped if Rebecah or Kimball were in the paper someone would tell us. Rebecah's picture was on the front page of our local paper. They couldn't have picked a cuter girl to be in the picture.