Picture Perfect Princess

My good friend Bonnie Wheeler gave me a wonderful gift for Kami's baby shower. A photo shoot. This was the first time any of my children have had an actual photo shoot. (We have always done the Wal Mart $5.00 pose, we have been students for a long time) The photo shoot was so much fun. She took Kami's pictures for about an hour and Kami was quite cooperative making it very enjoyable for all of us.
To say I like the pictures would be a massive understatement. I like them so much that I couldn't decide which ones to pick to put on the blog. So I just put them all on. She did each photo in color, black and white, and sepia. I have put on one of each pose. I wanted to put on each pose in each type as they are all that awesome but I thought that might be overkill.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you, Bonnie. I love how well you captured my Picture Perfect Princess.

Finally - Sniffing Fumes at Four

So I finally got the wallpaper off my bathroom walls. This has been a project I have been working on for quite some time. I think the people who put it up used Elmers Glue. It was not fun. Anyhow, I finally got the last of it off and Wednesday night, when Jacob was on call, I tackeled painting the Bathroom. The painting took till about 2:30 am and then the wallpapering until 4. (I don't think it normally takes this long but I was learning as I went) Then it was clean up till about 4:30 It is done in the same colors as our bedroom to make sure everyone knows it is the Master Bath. If only I get my kids to figure that out now.

We are going to put chair rail up where the white stripe is and hand new hardware for towels and such, oh, and I need new rugs and a new shower curtain now as the current ones don't match. Oh, and we really need to re-caulk the tub. So maybe the bathroom isn't quite done, but this was a huge portion of the project. I am really happy with it as well, which is always good.

Not Quite Fishes Yet

Jessica and Spencer started swim lessons on Monday. It was kind of last minute so we didn't have a lot of time to prepare them. I was pretty worried as we attempted to play at a friends pool the previous Thursday and the only one that wanted anything to do with it was Spencer. However, I was pleasantly surprised. Both Spencer and Jessi enjoyed their first lesson quite a lot.

They are continuing to improve each and every day. They have had 4 classes (including one in the pouring rain) and have 4 more to go. They both love their teacher and are gaining more and more confidence as they go. They aren't quite fishes yet but I am happy to see that they are becoming more comfortable in the water.

Whirlwind Vacation

Jacob had the last week in May off so we made the most of it. What did we do. Here are the Highlights. (Oh and I just downloaded 202 photos from the camera so be prepared for lots of pictures :)

Side note - Imagine at the end of every paragraph it says "And Kamryn Slept". She did great on the trip to which we are very grateful.

Friday - We enjoyed a relatively quiet drive to Cleavland to spend some time with Jacob's brother Doug and their family. We then got off the free way at Cleavland and had a relatively insane drive to get to Doug and Meagan's house.

Saturday - We went to the coolest park I have ever been too. I don't recall the name of it but the kids had a blast. There was everything you could ever want in a park and more including little shops that the kids could go into and play in. Jessi, of course, loved the swings but managed to learn how to pump herself making mommy very happy!!















The evening finished at 1:00 am for Jacob and Doug as they returned from the Cleavland airport with Grandma Corry!!

Sunday - I woke up at 6:00 with the kids and tried everything to keep them out of Grandma's room and upstairs a few minutes longer so she could sleep. I gave up at around 7:00. We all got ready for church and took the extra few minutes before we had to leave to try and get a family picture done.





I have to say I am pretty happy with the outcome and my good friend, Becca Henrie has offered to take a look at them and see if she can doctor them up a bit. Maybe we can take down the family picture in the living room that I do not like at all. What a treat that would be.

After church and a nap (needed desperately) we all went to Squires Castle. This is a beautiful park with walking trails and a really neat old castle that the kids get a kick out of playing in.





Kristian kept showing his muscles, including his great ab muscles so we made sure to get a shot for future blackmail purposes.



Monday - Memorial Day - We awoke early on Memorial day to get ready to go to the Kirtland Memorial Day parade. We loaded up the kids and prepared for the excitement. We arrived a little early to insure good parking. We found a great spot right in the front of the parade route.



After a few minutes of eager anticipation the parade began. It started with some scouts handing out flags to every person there to watch the parade. The flags ranged in size to fit accordingly to their new owner. Even the infants got a baby size flag.



We then watched the high school band march to a single drug keeping time. After that came the fire trucks. The End. If you blinked you very well might have missed it. The kids were a bit disappointed but we thought it was hilarious and will probably be the most memorable parade we have ever been to. You can see the whole parade in this one picture.



After the parade we traveled over to the beach on Lake Erie. It was a bit cold as the wind kept kicking up. That didn't stop our children from running down and playing in the water though. They were shivering in the end but as always, they loved playing in the sand. Everyone got a turn being buried including daddy.









I learned a valuable lesson. Make sure that if you are going to lay on your stomach for two hours with sleeping babies (which was most enjoyable) to put sunscreen on the back of your knees. Applying sunscreen to the back of your legs while your knees are bent just doesn't cut it. Ow.

Tuesday - We had a wonderful breakfast with Doug and Meagan and then hit the road to head to Niagara Falls. We arrived right at lunch and had a picnic in the van as it was bit windy and there wasn't anywhere near by to eat. After lunch we head to the Niagara Falls Visitor's Center to check things out. (Oh, and we are on the American Side, of course :) We decide to forgo all of the big attractions as most can not be done with small children and opt for a walk over to Goad Island. Amazing!! There were several places to see the falls on the little hike and walked to a part of the island where you are right in between the American and Canadian side. It began to rain so we all headed back to the van. Jacob and I both agreed that it was well worth the time and a really cool place to see.












We got back on the road again and it only took about 4 minutes for everyone to fall asleep. The ensuing drive to Kirtland was rather enjoyable. We arrived at Kirtland and checked into our motel. Once again, we find that finding the best deal doesn't always result in the best place. We had some good laughs over it though and there were no dirty towels behind doors so that was a definite plus.

Wednesday - We geared up for a big Church History day. We started the day at the Hill Cumorah. Which was fun but mostly is like a big hill. I assume it would be much neater during pageant time.





After the Hill Cumorah we headed into downtown Palmayra to get some bug spray (the kids had a major meltdown about he mosquito's at the Hill Cumorah) where we ran into one of the strangest things we have ever come across. A vending machine for live bait. Oh yes, we even got a picture.





After fully applying bug spray on 28 limbs we were ready for our next stop. The Granden Press where the Book of Mormon was printed. This was one of my favorite places. It was so interesting to learn about all that went into the printing of the Book of Mormon. I learned a lot and the kids liked to see the press.

After that tour we headed to the Joseph Smith Farm. Hear we toured the home that Joseph Smith grew up in, the frame home that his family moved into, and the sacred grove. The sacred grove was a very special experience for me as well as for my family. The spirit was felt in abundance and I am most grateful for it.








After exiting the sacred grove we picked up a wanderer and gave him a lift back to Palmayra. Yes that is right, we had just come off such a spiritual high that we figured we would help our fellow man and give him a lift. He was on a type of pilgrimage and said he had found what he was looking for. I truly hope he did. Sorry, no picture, I thought it would be rude to ask him if I could take one. (It was hard enough to keep Spencer from asking him why he didn't have his own car and if he had a home)

We dropped off our new friend, and then we drove to the Martin Harris home and then the Erie Canal. The kids were pretty fried by this point so I stayed with them in the van at these last two stops while Jacob and Mom got a quick peak. We the remember that we wanted to see the Palmayra temple so headed back that was for a quick stop. We took turns walking the grounds as the kids were all sleeping at this point. I found it very neat that they have cleared some trees so that you can see the Sacred Grove from the Palmayra Temple. It is the only temple with a clear window in the lobby so the Sacred Grove can be seen.




After all the adults got a turn touring the grounds we decided that the kids were about done for the day but we didn't know what to do with them in a small hotel room for 4 hours so we decided to hit a near by outlet mall. I scored a new pair of shoes and Jacob got a belt sander for the deck. Jessi also got a new dress but it was out of necessity of the moment.

Thursday - We once again loaded up and headed to the Peter Whitmore farm to see where the church was organized and where Joseph translated much of the Book of Mormon. It was a wonderful tour and once again I learned quite a lot. The spirit was strong as it was the previous day.





After the tour we loaded back up in the car to head back to Cleavland. It was a great two days full of many spiritual highs. I am so glad that we decided to go and the children got quite a lot of it. Spencer especially. He learned all about what a testimony is and how it feels and had such a great experience feeling the spirit that he decided he was ready to bear his testimony in sacrament meeting the following fast and testimony meeting. That was one of those amazing parent moments.

Friday - We mostly used Friday as a day of rest. It was pretty needed, as you can imagine.

Saturday - We began the morning off by going to a cemetery. Sounds fun right. This particular cemetery was rather interesting as there are quite a few rather famous people buried there. The first person we visited was President James Garfield. He had a whole building. I found it very interesting to learn that he did not die from the gun shot but the infection he received after the wound wasn't taken care of properly. We were told that if it would have happened today he would have been sent home from the hospital the next day.





We climbed to the roof of his memorial building which offers an amazing view of downtown Cleavland.




We then visited Rockefeller's burial site and the kids decided there could be nothing cooler than run around the first billionaires obelisk. What ya gonna do?




We saw some other cool burial sites, including the only baseball player that has died from being hit by a pitch (sorry Doug, I don't remember his name) but I forgot more pictures. Oh well.

After the cemetery we drove down south t0 go on a chocolate factory tour. Sadly, the chocolate factory no longer did tours (wish they would have put that on their website) so instead we just got some chocolate (thanks again, Mom)

We ended the day by attending the Indians vs Yankees game. This was a fun new experience for the kids. Highlights included the following. 1 - Kamryn falling asleep in her mom's arms as carseats were not allowed. 2 - Kristian playing tag with his Grandma. She was it all the time as Kristian kept running and Grandma kept chasing. 3 - Jessi dancing with her daddy in the stands and getting on the jumbotron in the one instant they weren't dancing. What ya gonna do. 4 - Spencer being taken the the bathroom at least 7 times including the only Indians home run. Sorry Jacob. It was a fun game and some more quality family time.






Sunday - We attended chruch with Doug and Meagan and then headed back to their home for a quick change. It was then time to say goodbye's again. It didn't seem as hard this time as we know we will see them in July. It was then back to good old South Bend. Thanks again Doug and Meagan for your hospitality. And thanks Mom for joining us on our world wind trip. It was so great to have you come along.

Twilight: The Redeeming Quality

As I have been outed by Clint to his wife for listening to Twilight on my way to and from the hospital (what else am I going to do with those 30 minutes each day?) and from his wife to the rest of the women Melissa hangs with (lets face it you make up 50% of the readership of this particular blog) it is time to post my first of possibly many thoughts on Twilight. That last sentence may not be grammatically correct, but lets face, it I'm a doctor who majored in Exercise and Sport Science. You'll have to excuse me if English is not a very good part of my repertoire.

Since we were married 8.5 years ago Melissa has imersed herself in sports. She has taken it upon herself to be knowledgeable when watching a game so as not to pester me with questions (asking what Peyton Manning's towel is for, just as he snaps the ball in the last minute of the game on 4th and 3 is an example of a pestering question). She has been known to even enjoy a game or two, but in the end we both know that if I were to die tomorrow she would be perfectly content to never watch another sporting event on television, except for swimming, water polo, and some of the not-to-be-named lesser sports in the winter olympics. She watches sports for me. She knows it and I know it. With that in mind I decided to read Twilight.

I am just over halfway through Twilight. I am about as impressed as I was by the movie which is to say I am not overly enjoying the book. I have almost stopped listening numerous times, but as Melissa still watches sports with me I can't quit yet. It's not that I think it is a horrible book or that I'm offended in any way. I don't harbor bad feelings toward Edward as he makes me look like a pathetic excuse for a man playing the hero in every aspect for his beloved Bella. Heck, the best I can do is trying to convince Melissa that my reading of this book is a gift to her. How pathetic is that? The story is just not interesting to me. I think it's the same way that many women (not all mind you, I don't want a bunch of hate male) do not enjoy watching sports on TV. Stephanie Meyer does not bring anything earth shattering to the vampire story and the love story just doesn't do it for me. That is what I thought until this morning when I heard the following:

"So where did it all start? I mean, Carlisle changed you and then someone must have changed him, and so on..."

"Well, where did you come from? Evolution? Creation? Couldn't we have evolved in the same way as other species, predator and prey? Or, if you don't believe that all this world could have just happened on its own, which is hard for me to accept myself, is it so hard to believe that the same force that created the delicate angelfish with the shark, the baby seal and the killer whale, could create both our kinds together?"

Awesome! Finally something I can wrap my mind around. None of this mushy love human-vampire stuff but an actual theory as to where vampires came from, and to top it off one that involves a creator. The whole story takes on a new meaning for me. Edward and his family are struggling just like the rest of us. Sure the temptations are different, but the morality is the same.

Now certainly I don't believe in vampires, but I once read this book about a bunch of guys that lived for almost a thousand years.

I also don't know the origins of the vampire stories, but I'm betting it was related to religion in the beginnning. We're talking about a species who can only survive by drinking blood. That sounds vaguely familiar to something those old guys in the previous paragraph talked about. The best part for me is that with Edward being moral and all, the idea enlightens me rather than making me feel blasphemous.