"Little Women" Family: Utah Trip- Day 10 & 11

Tuesday, May 04, 2010

Utah Trip- Day 10 & 11

We awoke on Thursday, April 8, and the kids were very excited to see their cousins! Ethan, Rachel, and Kate were very excited, as well. They had been asking Liz every day, since we first stayed, when we would arrive. (They are all born within 5 months of our 3 youngest. Also, Grant grew up and is best friend's with Liz's husband, Mark-- we introduced Liz and Mark to each other.) Anyway, we had a yummy breakfast of homemade, whole wheat waffles, with (really huge) strawberries (pictured above), bananas, blueberries, and whipped cream on them, and OJ- so yummy!! (We were sure spoiled by all our friends and family, on this trip! Thank you everyone, so much!) Then a huge hail (pictured above)/snow/wind storm came through, for about an hour.

Afterwards, Grant had the exciting idea of flying kites with the kids, in the field across from their house. Even though it was cold, the kids and the Daddy's had a blast! Liz and I stayed inside, with the babies (who enjoyed watching out the window), where it was warm!

Then Mark, Grant, and Glen (Mark's brother and another of Grant's best buddies) went to the store together. Later that night, Mark, Grant, Glen, and Scot (another of their brothers/friends) had a guy's night out at Scot's house.

Liz and I, and the kids, spent the day playing, visiting, watching movies, relaxing, checking emails, and then cleaning up our messes. (Liz was quite sick, being in her first trimester, and had a sinus infection on top of it. She just found out that she is having another boy!! Congrats guys!) Grant and Mark brought home Chinese Take-out for dinner and ice cream for dessert.

Friday, April 9, the last day of our trip, was a special day for Tierra- her birthday!! She chose mini donuts and blueberries for breakfast and grilled cheese and grapes for lunch. She enjoyed spending her birthday at her cousins' house.

The girls had a really great time at their cousins' house and Aurora even found herself a pretty super boyfriend. ;)

Liz was thoughtful enough to have some things ready for the kids to decorate cupcakes, to celebrate Tia and Rachel's birthdays (Rachel's was the next week.) We added some leftover Easter candy, and the kids had a wonderful time!

Later, Tia and Rachel opened some presents. Rachel squealed with delight (like it was the best present ever!!!), every time she opened something! It was so stinkin' cute!! Among others wonderful gifts, Tierra was very excited to get a scooter, so she can keep up with her big sisters. They both received great presents!

Afterwards, we packed the car, said goodbye, and drove home, stopping at Carl's Jr. for dinner.

We had an incredible trip, visited with lots of wonderful friends and family (and wished we could've visited with even more-- I've decided that too many people we love live in Utah, Idaho, and Oregon!!) We had many spiritual experiences and bonding experiences!! Thank you to all our friends and family for the sacrifices you made in our behalf, to help us have a wonderful trip!! We love you all!

THE END

3 comments:

Heather said...: Whew! I get tired just reading about your trip. It was go, go, go! What a fun time.; 5/4/10, 8:30 PM
Elizabeth C said...: That was fun to read about. I enjoyed the pictures, and we really enjoyed having you here. That is great that you made such an effort to visit so many people. It takes quite a bit (of effort) to do that, and I'm sure everyone (including us of course!)appreciated you going out of your way to visit them and spend time with them, even if it was for lesser time than you (and them) would have liked! Kudos to you guys for your efforts! It was very special for us to have Tia and Rachel have a birthday party together too! We had so much fun with you guys. We love you all and loved having you here! xoxoxo; 5/6/10, 10:05 PM
Celeste said...: fun trip! Superboyfriend pics are hilarious!!!; 5/19/10, 10:10 PM

My Favorite Part of The Book of Mormon

3 Nephi 17:21-24

"21 And when (Jesus) had said these words, he wept, and the multitude bare record of it, and he took their little children, one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them.

22 And when he had done this he wept again;

23 And he spake unto the multitude, and said unto them: Behold your little ones.

24 And as they looked to behold they cast their eyes towards heaven, and they saw the heavens open, and they saw angels descending out of heaven as it were in the midst of fire; and they came down and encircled those little ones about, and they were encircled about with fire; and the angels did minister unto them."

http://scriptures.lds.org/en/3_ne/17

To learn more about The Book of Mormon or to get a free copy: http://www.mormon.org/book-of-mormon/

Our homeschool program!!

My style of homeschooling is "public school at home." We began homeschooling on our own, the 1st year. Then we were enrolled in the Washington Virtual Academy (WAVA) for 3 years. Now we are enrolled in ORLA. Our girls are taking several classes at an Elementary School that is no longer used for a typical Elementary School. Instead 450 homeschooling students (K-12) take classes there with certified teachers (you choose which ones and how many) but you do have to be at the school with them until they are 12 (in another room with toys for the younger kids) or sign them out to a friend. Then you fill in the rest at home. For example, my girls take Music, Art, P.E., and Science at the school 2 days a week and then I teach them Math, Language, and History at home, on the other 3 days. The school also pays for an additional $300 a year of curriculum (like the Math, Lang, Hist.) We do have to keep up with a certain number of hours per week. We also have a "home room teacher" that helps us with everything, like deciding what extra things to do at home and making sure we don't miss anything. We are really enjoying this program-- it truly is the best of both worlds! If you have any questions, email me. :)