Fun with Ray and Ru Too

I know that all this happened a couple of weekends ago, but I am trying to catch up. On the Monday after Spence was baptized Matt had the day off, so we took our parents to the Marine Museum. That really is a well-done museum. I still haven't seen all of the exhibits because there is so much to read and watch and listen to. My new favorite part is the playground in the woods. It was a perfect place to have a picnic and enjoy the nice weather. And to let Cam run around too.

At least someone in the family watches the news. Ray had to tell me that the Pentagon memorial had opened. You would think I would know about that-how embarrassing. We decided to go and see it. I circled the parking lot a few time before I figured out where to park, but then I thought it was a nice memorial. Every person who died in the crash has a bench. If their bench faces the pentagon then they were passengers on the plane. If their bench faces away from the pentagon then they were working in the pentagon. The benches were aligned by birth year which made it a graphic representation. I guess they still have some kinks to work out, because there was a crew there working and apparently they have to clean it non-stop.

I felt glad to be reminded of 9/11 and what happened. It is so easy to get comfortable and forget how many people have sacrificed for our freedoms and how many are still sacrificing. I don't fully understand it, but I am so thankful for all those who serve.

Fun with Mom

When Mom came to visit we were able to go out and do a few fun things thanks to Matt. He was sick one day so my mom and I went to Occoquan and went shopping and out to lunch. On Saturday we were able to sneak away and go to the Eastern Market. We didn't have a lot of time there, but we each came away with something. I got a cute necklace made from an old international stamp and she picked out one of an old Shakespeare stamp. We also found some cute things in Occoquan and the outlet mall:)
I think one of her favorite things was exploring the woods with the boys. They came down the hill with this amazing collection of MUSHROOMS. I'm sure some of them must be poisonous, but they sure are beautiful. We're glad you came!

Eight is Great

Spencer was baptized last week and it was a great day! My mom and Matt's mom and dad were able to fly out for the weekend and to participate in the baptism. We held it at our church on Sunday night and it was great to have so many friends and ward members come to support him. I thought there was such a nice spirit at the meeting.

Nate, Spence, and Sam sang "When I Am Baptized" (the rainbow one) and it was so sweet, I was tearing up at the piano. I am really proud of Spencer. He is a thoughtful, loving boy and he has really taken this decision seriously. He reads his scriptures and is a good example to all of us. At the dinner after, I felt so blessed to have the family and friends that I have. I love my boys so much and Matt is a valiant father for them. I felt a little like John, that there is no greater joy than to see my children walk in truth.

Hurricane Rain

Last weekend we had a ton of rain. When it rains hard enough a river starts flowing through our backyard. The boys went out to play (including Matt with all his rain gear on) and they had a blast! They raced boats (pieces of wood) and plastic bottles. They even tried Sam's pirate ship in the cement drain. It didn't stay upright very well, but they had fun with a mailbox that floated down and other stuff. They even found a cute turtle and some squished frogs. Cam didn't last long-it was pretty cold. I was happy to watch them all having such a fun time.

Back to School

The boys started back to school, and boy was that a hard week.  I love going to the beach at the very end of the summer, but this year I had an especially hard time jumping back into real life.  They were all excited about their teachers and riding the bus and seeing old friends.  There is always the stereotype that school lunch is disgusting, but my boys love it!  Matt stayed to say good-bye to them and Cameron had to get his backpack out just like he was going too.  He was pretty sad when he had to stay home by himself.  It only took about 30 minutes for him to say "Where Nate?"  And then after that, "Where Daddy?"  

Sam if off to Kindergarten so he is gone all day just like the older boys.  He is doing great and he loves to tell me about his work.  I really miss him.   While I'm thinking about him, here are a couple "SAMS."  

I remembered today why I shouldn't have him empty the garbage for his chore.  I see this odd collection of things I though I threw away sitting on the bench.  Sam comes in and says, "I just emptied the garbage and look at all this great stuff I found!"  Sooo cute, but now I have to figure out how to throw it away again.

On our way to soccer the other night, he says, "Mom, see those signs with the big P and the line through it?  That sign means that you can't pee anywhere around there."  I tried to explain that it meant that you couldn't park there, but he was so sure about it that I thought, yea, you shouldn't pee there either.  What a unique way of thinking he has-he sometimes reminds me of my sister Emily.  Love that boy...and all my boys!

The Beach-Part 1

We had another fabulous vacation in North Carolina! Here are a couple of just our family.

Our ONE picture together on the beach.

Cam enjoying the wildlife.

Sam boogie-boarding.

Spencer digging-they dug for crabs for hours.

Nate coming in from the waves.

Cute Matt hangin' out.

Our beach house from the backyard.

Peach Picking

I am trying to catch up with a few posts that have been lying around for awhile. I still have Utah pictures, birthday pictures, first day of school, and now we are back from our vacation so I have hundreds of beach pictures.

Anyway, here is a fun outing we went on with our neighbors in August. This lovely farm had tons of fresh peaches and blackberries. We even picked some fresh corn for dinner and ate a few raspberries too.

Tomato Heaven

When Hillary visited us last spring she helped me build a garden box on our hill. We are reaping the rewards of that now and I am loving it! I'll have to post a picture of the box sometime. We have had more tomatoes than we can eat. I made Tomato Basil Soup and I even froze some batches of crushed tomatoes.  The golden tomatoes are especially good sliced with a little balsamic vinegar.  Yum!  

I have been eating these almost daily!