Washington DC

Last weekend the kids had a 5 day weekend so Kyle took the time off work and we made the 9 hour drive to Washington DC. Why? Because Kyle and I have talked about going for a while now and we decided it would be fun, the kids have the time off, so why not?

It rained the first day we were in DC, but not bad enough to not get out and walk around. We went to some museums and got to tour the Capitol Building. Eddie is studying the government right now at school, so he asked if we could go see the buildings of all three branches of the government. We were actually able to take pictures for him to take to school of all three buildings and he loved it. We took tons of pictures of the National Monument and memorials. Of course, everyone does that, but it was so fun for our family to make the trek and have another adventure. We also visited Arlington National Cemetery. It was truly amazing to be there. I highly recommend going. It is sacred ground and just breathtaking to see all of the headstones. We were able to take some time to go to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and watch the guard. The guard walks 21 steps, faces the tomb for 21 seconds, turns for 21 seconds and then starts the process all over again. We were lucky enough to be there during the changing of the guards. It was truly inspiring.

The Capitol Building is under renovation right now to fix cracks.

Arlington National Cemetary - Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

National Monument

Korean War Memorial - Feeling all of the pictures etched into the wall.

Korean War Memorial

The beginning of the Vietnam Memorial Wall.

We also got to see the Washington DC temple on the way out of town. WOW! It is beautiful! In the visitor's center they have a 3D model of the temple with a wall missing and you can see the entire inside of the temple accurately. President Monson said it was time for people to see what was inside the temple, even in places that tours aren't given. It was really cool to look at, sorry, no pictures though. :(

It was such a good experience for our family. The older three kids really enjoyed the museums and monuments and we've already decided that we need to go back in a few years when Thomas is a little older and can appreciate it more. I can't wait for the time when we can go and enjoy more of the museums without a toddler running around and getting into things, but for now, I'm just grateful we got to have the experience that we did have this year.

Celeste's New Adventure

Today starts a new adventure for my Celeste. Tom and I took her to the orthodontist this morning where she got braces!

Before the event

I was told to take all the pictures I wanted to, so I did!

Dr. Zeh and Celeste before the mouth guard was removed.

My beautiful girl after getting her braces and bands on. Thomas told her to get pink, yellow and blue bands, so that's what she got. So fun for her!

Kyle is Batman

Now that we have a daughter who is old enough to watch her brothers, Kyle can go to the grocery store with me on occasion. Today would be one of those occasions. Lunch at Arby's and then on to the grocery store where he instantly found a Batman mask that he just HAD to not only have, but wear through the store.

I'm so grateful I have someone to laugh with everyday.

Last week the kids had dentist appointments. This is Thomas's second time at the dentist, but I didn't get a picture of him on the first time, so I took a picture of my little man the second time around getting his teeth cleaned. No cavities for this little guy either! Yay!

I've also been working on our family Halloween costumes. We decided this year that we are going to go as Despicable Me 2 characters. The boys are all minions, Celeste is going to be a purple minion, Kyle is Gru and I will be Lucy. (We'll see how the adult costumes turn out) I'm really happy with the minion heads though! They are so fun. Now, if the rest of the outfit turns out as well as the hats, we'll be ready for Halloween pretty soon!

A New Start

I never thought I would take so long to start blogging again. I decided that we've stopped doing a lot of adventures that would mean anything to most people, but then I realized that our family in Oregon doesn't get to see what we're doing on a daily basis, so I should really try to keep this up.

Friday was Celeste's Birthday! We had a family party while Uncle Mike was in town after his business trip. We went up to the walking bridge here in Louisville that crosses over into Indiana and let the kids play. After the baseball game that was a few blocks away, they had fireworks that we tried to talk Celeste into thinking were for her, but she's too smart for that now, darn it!

 

She also got to celebrate her birthday with her friends on Saturday afternoon. A friend of mine had given me her idea for her girls when they turn 12. She was going to have a party with a Mary Kay consultant or take the girls somewhere where they could learn how to put on makeup correctly. She didn't want them putting on makeup that was right for them and they look silly, so she wanted them to learn how to do it correctly. I LOVED the idea and when I presented it to Celeste, she was totally on board. Our friend from church just happens to be a Mary Kay consultant and was more than happy to come help. It was a great way for the girls learn about makeup. They learned what colors are best for their eye color, what kind of makeup they should wear, where makeup should be applied, how it should be applied. It was such a great experience. Of course, Celeste now wants to wear it all the time and I'm fine with it if it's the correct amount for the activity.

Thomas is potty trained!!!! He's been working on it for a LONG time now, but he finally has it down. He's still wearing pull-ups at night, but during the day he goes potty in the toilet. He has accidents occasionally, but not like he used to. He was having to go commando for a while because underwear were too secure and felt like pull-ups? I think that's what the issue was, but commando was fine. So, after doing that for a while, he has decided he wants to wear underwear and is doing a better job of keeping them dry. I've decided that it's probably because he has nothing better to do with his brothers and sister gone all day, but I don't care, I'm just glad he's figured it out!

Gordon Turns 5!

Gordon turned 5 in January! I can't believe it was five years ago that he was born in the middle of a cold slowly melting snowy night. The doctor was so scared that he was going to be born in the middle of a big snow storm, but he wasn't and we made it safely to the hospital with no problems. This year, we had some snow during the week and I was afraid we would have to cancel his party as well, but we lucked out and it was just cold, but snow free! So, we went to CHUCK E CHEESE and both Eddie and Gordon got to go in the ticket blaster (which is all Eddie really cared about anyway!)

 Look at all these kids! It was a BIG group, but they sure had fun.

 The ticket blaster was the favorite part for both boys. Eddie had so many tickets, but didn't trap them well, so he didn't get as many tickets as he originally caught, but he loved it and still got hundreds of tickets to get cool prizes.

Gordon didn't get many tickets, but that didn't matter to him. He's ready to do it again next year!

Over all, it was a great day. We were all exhausted by the end, but boy did all of the kids have a good time. The cost was completely worth it too. They provided pizza, soda, tokens, souvenir cups, balloons not to mention the paper goods and table clothes and all the set up and clean up that I didn't have to do. Yep, the cost was worth it and I didn't have to provide entertainment either, that was obviously covered!

Gordon will be starting school in the fall. We're planning that he'll get into the same school Eddie is already at. Gordon isn't completely excited for school because he doesn't want to do homework, but I think the idea of being able to read and not be stuck at home with mom all day will win out. He gets so bored at home with me, so school will be a fun change for him. My little boy is growing up!

Thomas and Eddie's Birthday

I wanted to get pictures up from Eddie's Birthday and realized that I haven't posted pictures from Thomas's birthday either. Man have I been out of it. The computer wasn't working well and it just turned me off to even trying to update the blog. Ugh!

Thomas's birthday a fun event with some family friends and Uncle Casey! He got a few new toys and enjoyed his cupcakes thoroughly. He enjoyed them so much he had THREE. Mom and Dad gave him two and he got a hold of a third that his brother left behind. Definitely a cute kid though. We are so thankful for him and his great personality. He's sleeping through the night and taking great naps in his "bedroom" (closet) in Mom and Dad's room. Yes, he will have to eventually got to the boy's room, but for now, he's sleeping and is such a happy kid when he's awake and Mom's not ready to give that up yet. :)

Eddie's birthday was definitely eventful. We were all scheduled to go to Chuck E Cheese for his birthday. He wanted to go in the ticket blaster and then it started snowing and snowing and snowing. School was cancelled and it just wasn't going to happen. I felt so bad for him. We decided to walk to a local pizzeria that is right behind our neighborhood. It was a crazy last minute party, but the best that we could do. Eddie was happy to be with his friends and the kids had a snow day. What's better than that for your birthday, right?

We have great friends here in Kentucky and we're so blessed to have their support when we need it. They are willing to help anyway they can and be apart of our lives. Eddie had a great 7th birthday and is already looking forward to being baptized next year. Boy does the time fly!

Back on Track

I feel horrible that I have gotten off track and haven't written in so long. But, I'm starting fresh and even though I definitely need to post pictures from Eddie and Gordon's birthdays, I just want to start by announcing that we have some good news!

Celeste got straight A's! We're so excited for her. She has been working so hard and her teacher, as well as her mom and dad are so proud of how well she is doing. She's always gotten A's and B's, so it's not like we've ever worried about her, but all A's is big for her, especially in math. She's applied to middle schools, but we have a few months before we will know where she is going next year, so she's just going to keep studying and working hard at keeping her grades up.

Eddie is doing well too. He has all S's and O's, which is great. One of these days I'll have to post a video of him reading because he's really doing well. He's even able to read the scriptures well, which is great for a first grader!

Life is going well and I just wanted to share our good news!

(Celeste with pink hair because that's what girls do!)