The Dairy Farm Tour

Our most recent group activity was a tour of the university dairy farm. We did this last year and the girl was great. This year we had a very nice guy, just a little quiet to keep our rowdy group under control. The favorite part is of course petting the young calves. They really are so cute and soft. The kids a little too good of a time and got a little out of control. In the end we were all glad to load up the vans and head home. It was good for the kids to think about where milk comes from and the process it involves. Somehow it is easy to think grocery stores are magic and everything is just sent down from heaven like Manna or something.

Fishing with the Dads

Moss and a couple of other dads took all the olderkids (older than 2) fishing for catfish. Poor Brooke ran out to the truck and buckled herself in. She knew she was missing out on something good, but with a little help from dad and a bowl of ice cream she elected to come back in with me. The kids were so excited about the prospect of catching and cleaning the fish, but there were none to be found. There was not even a small one to throw back. The kids were a bit disappointed, but still had a good time. And they left with the promise of some fish from Phillip and Lisa's freezer. Lisa, we can't wait to try some of your famous blackened catfish!

My Three Little Bugs

This year at our library's reading program theme is all about bugs, so they are having all sorts of activities centered around that. We try to go to the library each week, and the kids are really improving in their reading skills. Fortunately we go with other families so we can manage the little ones. In fact I really don't go anywhere alone. It is too risky. Who wants to drag 4 kids to the bathroom?

Train Safety

Today we took the kids down to a little presentation on train safety. The message was loud and clear, "TRACKS ARE FOR TRAINS NOT KIDS". The kids were thrilled to get a free pencil with a big train engine eraser and a coloring booklet. The movies were entertaining and humorous. I had to laugh because as kids when we visited our grandma we couldn't wait to put objects on the track to see what they would look like flattened. It was our favorite part of the visit. She lived right across the street from the tracks. Obviously my parents have never seen these videos! The best part was that there was an engine available for the kids to climb into and see. He even let them blow the horn a few times. The kids of course loved it, especially being with their friends.

Jacob's disaster

Today after being rained out of our park date, I decided to take the kids on a longer bike ride. This was my first time doing it alone and I was feeling quite accomplished. I thought it would be fun to bike to a near by park and then take the trail home. All was going well until we hit the first major down hill. Jacob is really good at riding his bike, but is still learning a few things about breaks. I could hear him calling out "This is so fun!" as we cruised downhill. I of course call back to not go too fast. Just as I look back I see his tire jack-knife and his face hit the concrete. It was the saddest thing to see. The way he hit I knew his helmet had not been helpful. I was glad that none of his teeth were missing, just a chip. But he has scratches on his knee, his elbow, his knuckles, his face and forehead. The worst part is that he had to recover and keep riding home. He was such a champ. With a little encouragment of ice cream he rode all the way home.

The Big Biking Trip

Moss and two of his good friends have been planning this trip for several weeks now and were like a bunch of boy scouts as they loaded up all their gear. They were very excited to get out on the trail and put their strength to the test.

Here is an attempt at Jiffy pop on an open fire. They ended up not eating their tinfoil dinner until about one in the morning. But thanks to Lisa it was delicious.

I had to laugh at the thought of all 3 of them crowding into one small tent. So they were kind enough to include a picture. Poor Dave had no mat and was stuck against the side of the wet tent. Moss is always glad for the opportunity to build up his supply of camping gear and got himself a nice little self inflating bedmat. Of course after a good nights sleep he was convinced it was worth every penny.

This is the Katy Trail. It used to be a train route, but they cleared out all the tracks and made a nice trail across Missouri. It is such a nice trail to have through our city. There are a lot of different spots where you can get on and just go for an outing. Over all they had a great time with a lot of laughs and a very sharp learning curve. I guess there won't be any bike trailers on the next trip.

Happy Father's Day to Moss

Well, besides having already given him 4 perfect children, Moss got his first ipod. He definitely got spoiled this year. Fortunately he deserves it because he is such a great dad. The kids adore and admire him, as well as take him for granted. He is great at taking them out and spending quality time with them. We are so greatful he is the dad of our family.

One Year to Go.

We just attended the residency graduation celebration last week and in two weeks Moss will officially be in his senior year of residency. We are amazed at how fast residency has gone in comparison to medical school. We have loved our time here and are very sad at the thought of it ending. But of course the end is not quite in sight as Moss is planning to do a fellowship. So what is a few more years of training after you have already spent eight learning your profession???? We truly are so thankful for the wonderful people here and how supportive they have been. It has really been like having family around.

Short term pets

Since we have put a hold on getting any "real" pets like a dog, the kids (and Moss) have found other ways to fill our life with a variety of pets. The turtle stayed with us longer than planned, of course, and the kids were sad to let him go. When Moss told the kids we could keep it for two or three days, Jacob promptly said, "I pick three days." I was afraid he was going to starve to death, so yesterday (8 days later) we took him down to a creek and let him wander off into the woods. Fortunately we also were going minnow and crawdad fishing in the creek with little nets so the kids were quickly distracted. Actually they seemed to have forgotten completely about the poor turtle. Frogs are also an exciting find around here. This little guy seemed to sing everytime the kids picked him up. It was quite entertaining.

The Nauvoo Temple

After a very long day outside, we finally took some pictures by the temple. Anna took this artistic photo of Moss and I.

The kids were so beat, and we only got this picture with bribes of frozen custard. It was so bright as the sun was directly in our eyes. The temple is so beautiful. It truly is amazing to think of what it took for the pioneers to build it with out any modern machinery. I am so grateful for the blessings of the temple and the reminder they are of the purpose of this life.

The main reason we decided to take this trip was in preparation of Mary turning 8 next month and preparing for her baptism. We hope she will understand the sacrifices that her anscesters made for the gospel and the great heritage she has been given. She is such a determined girl that I don't think she will have much difficulty following their examples. We are very proud of who she is and the choices she is making.

The BYU Folk Dance Team

We were fortunate to be in Nauvoo for the last weekend of the BYU Folk Dance teams performances at Nauvoo. They were amazing and the kids loved it. They said this was their favorite part of the trip. After the dancing the performers came out into the audience and talked with the kids. There weren't very many people this weekend, so the kids got a lot of attention.

Poor Brooke, as soon as we got out of the car she threw up. Luckily we had several towels from the hotel with us in case we had to sit on the ground. The only upside was that she sat still throughout the performance, which of course is very unusual for her.

Pioneer Games in Nauvoo

We took a family trip this weekend to Nauvoo. One of the activities that they have available for kids is to get dressed up and play pioneer games. This is definitely one of the favorites for the kids. The nicest part is that it is under a shade.

Jacob and Mary were not messing around as they raced their little wooden bears up the ropes. When Jacob finally beat Mary to the top she of course found a way to manipulate the rules so that she could still claim victory

Tour by Carriage

Our kids love horses and love any chance to get near them. We took a tour and they told us a lot of neat stories from the journals of the pioneers. And as you can see below Jacob can truly sleep anywhere.

Swimming Lessons

After a very bad experience with swimming lessons about 3 years ago, I finally signed the kids back up. They are having a great time and learning a lot. Fortunately they all have great teachers, and small classes. Jacob is very glad to have his best little buddy Hunter in his class. They can play for hours and never have a problem.