Washington DC Trip: Part 1

In celebration of our 10 year wedding anniversary Dave and I went on a trip to Washington DC. We left Haylie and Zander with my mom and dad on Monday evening, July 19th (I will post some of their adventures when I get pictures from my mom.) We decided to save ourselves a hotel night stay while getting an extra day in the area by sleeping on the plane on the way over. We had to switch planes in Phoenix and Philadelphia before we landed in Baltimore. Needless to say that it was not a very restful night especially with a few children behind us on the Phoenix-Philly flight that took turns screaming for most of the night. I was very glad for my MP3 player to drown out most of it. We took a short flight into Baltimore, but not before I drank a giant swallow of sour milk in the Philly airport...yummy.

Once in Baltimore we rented a car and took off down I95 towards Doswell, VA where King's Dominion Amusement Park is located. We were both impressed by the trees everywhere in that area, especially since we live in the desert here in Price. Once we got to the amusement park we ate a Chic-fil-A (one of my favorites) and then, since we had slept on an airplane and hadn't had a chance to freshen up, we decided that the water park portion of the park might be a good idea. We had lots of fun riding the water slides and finally had to call it quits for the day when a HUGE rainstorm rolled in. It was fun too since I was already wet and still in my swimsuit. We just splashed through the puddles and ran through the rain not worried about getting wet.

The next morning we headed back to King's Dominion to tackle the roller coasters. There were lots of fun ones and since it was a weekday there weren't very many people there. It was very hot there though and I remembered that I am not the biggest fan of humidity. I was sweating like crazy! It was a really fun place but by the end of the day our feet were killing us after running around the day before on hot sidewalks in bare feet and then walking and standing in line all day the next. In fact, sore feet turned out to be the recurring theme of our vacation. There sure is a lot of walking involved in a vacation like this. We spent the next 3 days in the DC area taking in all the sites and museums. That will be part 2. I am too impatient to wait for all the pictures to upload at once.

Ready to ride!

King's Dominion from their "Eiffel Tower"

A fun water slide

This was their new roller coaster for this year, both times we rode it I blacked out for a couple of seconds. We heard several others saying they did too. I will claim that is why I look the way I do in this picture. I have no excuse for all the other pictures though, maybe humidity and TONS of walking??

Dave didn't black out! He was feeling great!

Independence Day

We didn't do anything too exciting for the 4th of July. On Saturday the third we got together with the Bohmans for a little BBQ and fireworks show. The kids had a great time playing together and the grown ups even had a chance to play a couple of games while we were waiting for it to get dark enough to do fireworks. That is rare when you have 2 two years olds and 2 four year olds running around. When it got dark enough Dave and Will put on a nice little fireworks show for the moms and kids. A few of the neighbors even came out to watch. It was a fun evening, and we were glad that we got to do a little bit of celebrating but I guess it wasn't noteworthy enough to take some pictures. Barely worth the post but I when I go to put it in my blog book I will have to go back and try to think of what we did for the 4th of July this year if I don't post something about it!

A Test

Back in May I posted about my the decision I had to make about taking a teaching position that I interviewed for. I was so worried about making the right decision and felt so unsettled after I interviewed. I was absolutely relieved when I found out that I didn't get the job. I was, however, submitted as an alternate in case the other person fell through, and that is exactly what happened. The principal called me yesterday to offer me the job (part time with another teacher). After praying about it the first time around and being so relieved and at peace when I didn't get the job, I knew what the answer should be. I prayed about it some more yesterday, this time having made the decision that I would not take it. I knew without any doubt that Heavenly Father was pleased with that decision. The way I felt in May as I was prepared to accept the job if offered was completely opposite of the way I felt when I knew I had to turn it down yesterday. I was completely at peace even with having to call my would-be team teacher and the principal and turn it down. It was like a little test to see if I have learned anything about listening to the spirit and if I would act upon those feelings. I passed!! I am so grateful for the influence of the spirit. I am grateful that Dave has a job that allows me to stay home with my beautiful children.

Bottles are for babies

I am a little embarrassed to admit that Zander still has a bottle before going to bed each night. I have been trying to hint to him that bottles are for babies but he didn't seem to care too much. Last night he wouldn't drink the bottle so I thought that maybe his stomach was bugging him or something. Tonight he got out of the bath and after he got his PJs on he immediately asked for his bottle. I got it ready and then when I went to give it to him he again didn't want it. He said, "No, bottles are for babies. Bottles are for Afton." Afton is his cousin that is about 14 months old who never would drink out of a bottle. So he didn't drink it tonight either. We may be on to something here. I thought it would be a major fight to get him to give it up but it is looking pretty good! Now, if we can just convince him that pacifiers are for babies too...

10 years!

One of our engagement pictures

Today is our tenth wedding anniversary. It is amazing to think that 10 years have passed! We definitely have had struggles and trials along with lots of good times. We have had arguments that have made me wonder what in the world I was doing married to someone so stubborn (of course it is never me being stubborn...). We have suffered the heartache of a miscarriage and the uncertainty of job loss. We have shared the birth of two beautiful children, fun times, and countless laughs. I couldn't comprehend 10 years ago how much a part of me Dave would become. Each of these struggles and triumphs bind us together a little more until I can't imagine who I would be if I didn't share my life with Dave. I am grateful for the life that I live and the great husband I have to live it with. He is a fabulous handyman, mechanic, computer repairman, father, and friend. I anxiously wait every day for the sweet sound of a motorcycle turning in the driveway. My best friend is back from work! I am no longer outnumbered by the kids!! The challenges of the day seem to fade a little. I love you Dave! Thanks for 10 years worth of memories. I look forward to many more...an eternity's worth!

Dave's birthday this year

Moab with the Buhlers

Our awesome friends, the Buhlers, came down from Boise on June 2nd. It was so fun to get to hang out with them again. We seemed to pick up right where we left off. We spent the evening of the second at our apartment and then got up on the morning of the 3rd and headed for Moab. We didn't see much of Dave and Spenser because they were busy mountain biking and jeeping for most of the time we were there. Laura and I spent the first day just trying to stay cool and keep the kids out of dirt and trouble. This spring has been very chilly and the first warm days were the days we spent in Moab so we were definitely not expecting 95 and 100 degree weather. We were camping at the KOA in Moab and were very grateful for their swimming pool. That was how we kept cool the first day. The evening of the first day we decided that we were not going to survive another day of hanging around the campground waiting for the guys so the next day we went to a quirky little place called The Hole N the Rock. It is a house that was built inside the side of a mountain a few miles outside of Moab. They give tours of it which was interesting and then we went to a petting zoo that was across the parking lot from it. The kids loved feeding the animals but there wasn't much shade so we didn't last too long there. In the afternoon when we figured the kids would all be ready for a nap we strapped them in the car and drove through Arches National Park. It was spectacular to see even if we couldn't get out and hike to some of the viewpoints since we had four zonked out kids in the truck with us. At least there was air conditioning! On Friday evening we came back to Price and then headed to Ogden on Saturday to visit the Treehouse Museum and then spent the night at my parents house in Perry before Dave had to fly out to Florida for training and the Buhlers had to head home. We love you Buhler Family!!! Next time we will have to do the traveling to get together! Unfortunately our camera was not working very well so I didn't get many pictures, just a new camera for next time!

Brooklyn, Haylie, Zander, and Isaiah.

Kids getting filthy.
Women doing the work...where are the guys? Taking a picture of the kids getting dirty while their wives make them breakfast!

Haylie's preschool program

Haylie and Miss Tawnya. (I am not sure why Haylie has that look on her face.)

Haylie finished her first year at the Munchkin Manor Preschool this May. She had a fantastic year there learning lots of new things. She is excited to go back for another year before she will be old enough to go to kindergarten. She has already talked about being excited to help other kids learn the rules next year since she will have already been there for a year. The preschool had an end of the year program where the kids sang some of the songs that they had learned during the year and each child was spotlighted by sharing some of their favorite things. She did a great job. We are very proud of her!