Fun Run

The final post from last year.

A few weeks ago I challenged the kids to run 2 miles -- from our house to Kim's. We started a series of training runs trying to build their stamina. Although we had not even gone halfway on those training runs, the kids told me that they were ready to run the whole 2 miles. And they were. They all made it without stopping. Everyone but Jake had to battle through some ache or pain, but they did it. I was impressed.


I promised the kids an extra large shave ice from Ice Age if they could do it. (I know it is somewhat confused to promise a reward that has more calories than we burned in all of the runs combined, but they could actually use the calories.) It was great motivation.


The kids all look like they got chemical peels, but they really just ran 2 miles. The red faces come from Amanda.

Katie's Crash

Another post from last year...

Last week we went to Midway and hung out with the Brian and Angie. We have a history of very happy and unpleasant events in Midway. One year Matt and Claire rode a saucer down the hill and into an icy, moss and algae filled swamp. The next year Matt broke his collarbone while trying to show the kids how to take a jump on a tube. So, this year we tried to avoid any accidents. We were pretty successful until our last day there. On that day we took the kids to hit balls. While the rest of kids were hitting balls, Katie ran down the hill to get a drink. As she ran, Amanda immediately sensed that Katie could not see a rope hanging down about ankle height between two stakes. Amanda warned her to watch out for the rope, but the warning came to late. Katie tripped over the rope running full-speed and landed face first on the asphalt. She bruised her forehead, bloodied her nose, cut her gums, and received a fat lip. It was tragic.

On our way home, the following conversation took place:

Matt: Boy, I hate to see you guys get hurt. It makes me sick to my stomach. I would much rather get hurt myself than see you guys get hurt.

Claire: That's funny. I would rather have you get hurt than me.

At least she gave it to me straight.

P.S. Katie healed amazingly quickly. Within a week all traces of her crash were gone.

Trippin'

Post #3 from last year. Are we losers or what?

For some time we considered doing a long, cross-country trip with the kids in between my jobs. We thought it would be a once in a lifetime opportunity. We planned the route so that we would hit several areas of North America where we had never been and might never go again. The trip started in New York City -- where Amanda & I lived as a newly-married couple.

Getting our Metro cards for the subway. The kids' first time -- very exciting!

Our first stop was Yankee Stadium. We were able to avoid all of the traffic on the way out since we were the only ones who left after four innings. Once we stopped buying food, the kids made it clear that it was time to go!

In Central Park after the game.

The kids in front of Alma Mater at Columbia University. If you rub her toe you'll have good luck. Matt says it is true.

Times Square by car. Fewer freaks that way.

Katie and Claire at the American Girl Place. Is there a better place on Earth for y0ung girls?

The Staten Island Ferry is the best deal in New York City -- FREE.99

Jake at the top of the Empire State Building.

Going into the Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Cooperstown, NY is somewhere every baseball fan needs to visit.

Jake -- a HUGE Yankee fan.

Go Team!

Claire and Kate at the Corning Museum of Glass. (In Corning, NY)

A glass blowing demonstration. Truly amazing. It takes these guys years and years of training to learn how to do this.

A Dale Chihuly sculpture. This was actually about twenty feet tall. One of my favorite things in the museum.

Next stop...Palmyra, NY. We visited Hill Cumorah (pictured here)

...and the Sacred Grove. All of the good members of the church were actually in church on this fine Sunday morning, so we pretty much had the place to ourselves.

Katie getting some quiet time.

The kids in front of the Smith family home.

The print shop wasn't open so we stopped here just long enough to snap this picture.

A railway station in rural upstate New York

On to Buffalo, NY. Our only stop there was at the Anchor Bar. We felt a little bit nervous about taking the kids to a bar, but then we remembered that we were in Buffalo. Anyway, we could not pass up the chance to let the kids experience a once-in-a-lifetime chance to experience the place where Buffalo Wings were invented. The wings (and the chocolate milk) were the BEST. They ship overnight too.

Niagara Falls -- the Canadian side. Awesome.

Katie thought the falls would be bigger. She gave it a thumbs to the side.
That was when we started thinking about cutting the trip short.

The Falls. Where's my barrel?

Mackinac Island, Michigan. There are no cars or motorized vehicles allowed on this island. It was amazing! This is the main street right by the ferry station.

Mackinac Island again.

A Mackinac Island Home

The smallest LDS chapel we've ever seen. This is on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Just down the road we tried our first "Pasty" (pronounced "pass tee") -- meat, vegetables, and gravy inside a tasty pastry shell. When I pronounced it "pastee," (like I had just come from the local gentlemen's club), I was quickly corrected by the proprietor.

Lake Superior in the UP. It was amazingly beautiful. But it still looked cold.

Matt took this picture from the car while we were driving through North Dakota. The countryside really was beautiful.

A welcome sight.

All crammed in the car. They did great on our thirteen day journey.

Finally home.

Life's A Beach

*** Another post from last year...

Before we started our trip across country Amanda and the kids spent a few days at Bethany Beach, Delaware. We had a great time with Allen and Lauren and their family. They were so generous to let us stay at their beach house and our kids could not have had a better time! The Seafood boil that we had for dinner one night was fabulous. Here are some pictures from our time at the beach.

Katie

Matt decided to shave his head. Since he did not want to be the only one who looked like he had just been relesed from a refugee camp, he cut Jake's hair too.

Fitting wall decoration for the beach house.

We wish Jake was always this happy.


Claire walking on the beach.

Matthew, Claire, and Katie

Missing Virginia

***This post was written over a year ago with the intention to get our blog going then but life happened and it wasn't. Here is the post now just so it is out there and not living in draft land.

Living in Virginia/Washington, D.C. was awesome. You are at the center of almost everything that is happening in our great country. The local news is the national news. We also loved it becuase Vienna was such a great community. We made a ton of great friends at church, Matt's job, and at the kids' school.

We also had a lot of great opportunities to refresh the kids' memories of the city and we the sights, monuments, and our friends are now indelibly imprinted in their little brains. (We'll return to D.C. on a regular basis just to make sure they don't forget.)

Here are a few pictures that reflect our time there.

Here's the stone floor of our rental home. Amanda wasn't so sad to leave this behind -- it was a little smelly, had lots of ants and other bugs, and was cold in the winter and hot in the summer. It wasn't all bad though -- they yard was great! It was over an acre and we saw rabbits, deer, foxes, hedgehogs, black raspberries, and a two huge tree swings!

Lots of Great friends!

Katie and Aunt Anne. We loved having Annie nearby. It was so fun!

Matt and the boys with the truck all packed and ready to go. We packed this entire truck by ourselves. It was a good test of marriage. But what doesn't kill it only makes it stronger. We are pros at moving across the country. This move is the 6th one. Yay us!

We miss you Virginia!