Our big trip for this year was back to New York and Eastern Canada. Suzie's parents are serving in the Palmyra Temple mission. Tom served his mission in Toronto Canada so we thought this would be the perfect opportunity to take the kids to see where their dad served.

Lay-over in JFK Airport

First stop, Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls in Canada is so beautiful! Everything was so green and the homes and parks were so beautifully landscaped. They had flowers and plants unlike anything I had ever seen. The kids kept asking if we could move there, and I really think they would have!

We took a jet boat ride down the Niagara River and were able to experience the rapids. It was awesome! Unfortunately, due to the amount of water we were submerged with, we were not able to have phones and cameras on the boat. Jake and Sami sat in the front row and were more that wet when we returned. It was awesome! 

Seeing Fort George was pretty neat too. In the picture below we are standing in Canada and looking at New York. We are actually standing on the fort where cannons were used to fire at the US during the War of 1812. It was neat to have a visual on many of the smaller battles at Fort George and what they may have been like.

Sami and Amee enjoying Canadian ice-cream!!!!

Originally we thought we would take the kids to a Blue Jays game, but opted to take the jet boat ride down the rapids instead. While visiting the CN tower we were able to participate in the opening festivities for the Blue Jays game.

This lady on stilts was walking around tossing a ball to kids. I am pretty sure that between my three boys, they played catch with her more than any other one person. Matthew and Zeke were in heaven!

Zeke and Matthew both did the pitching challenge. Zeke was pitching in the 11-14 age bracket. The record was 57, held by a boy who was probably 13. Zeke's fastest pitch was 55. Although the machine was having a hard time reading his pitch because of the way he was standing, as he is a lefty. Some of his other pitches seemed to be faster than the 55 that registered.

Matthew was pitching in the youngest bracket. His fastest pitch was 37, which was good enough to get his name on the record board!

Below is the view of Toronto from the CN Tower. While up there we were able to watch them open the roof of the Blue Jays stadium. That was pretty cool. I think it took a good 30 minutes and I am pretty sure Zeke stood watching the entire time. This might be the first time he has stood still for that long. He was pretty heart broke that he could not go inside the stadium, but I guess that gives him something to look forward to doing at another time.

Our trip to Toronto would not have been complete without making the drive out to Brampton to see the Temple.

We were able to find a nice beach along Lake Ontario, but were not to excited about all the teeny, tiny bathing suits, so we selected a less desirable place to play, but it was still fun!

Niagara falls was quite a sight! While getting as close as we possible could, Amee, standing up as high as she could safely get, dropped a flip flop. She reached down to get her shoe, which was just laying on the other side of the rail, and someone bumped her, causing her to push her shoe over the ledge. I had seen something fall and then saw Amee jumping and crying. My head started to race trying to figure out who or what had fallen. I was very relieved when I discovered it was just her flip-flop.

We teased Amee about the fact that this was a pretty smart way to try and get a new pair of shoes. Amee however did not like the teasing.

Our time in Canada and Niagara Falls was very fun and we will have many memorable experiences. However, it seemed a pretty unanimous consensus that Palmyra was the funnest and neatest part of our trip. Having family there was definitely a positive factor!!! Without hurting any feelings, I might have to say the Ezra was the highlight of our trip!!!

Peter Whitmore Home

It was here in the Peter Whitmore home that the church was first organized!

The Sacred Grove was so beautiful! No picture can even do it justice. While we were there I went running a couple times, both times I passed by the Sacred Grove and I could not go past without stopping and going in for just a minute. The spirit there was so strong and it has such a holy feeling!

Below is a picture of the Smith home that was being built by Alvin before he died. The Smith family finished the home during the years after Joseph's first vision. Under those bricks are where he hid the plates.

This tree is the Alvin Tree. It was planted the day Alvin died

Thank you Grandma, Grandpa, Ben, Jamee, and Ezra for making our trip so wonderful!!!!!!!

So, I am a bit behind on my blog. I didn't want to put 50 new pictures on in one day, so here is the first of what I hope will be a weekly or even bi-weekly post for a couple of weeks.

We ended the 2014 school year on a great note and we have had a great summer and the kids are all enjoying school so far this year.

This is a video of Jake's mile race at state. Jake took first at state in the one mile, 2nd in the 800 and 5th in the two mile. As a sophomore this was awesome! Sami also had a great year of track, especially considering she hated every minute of it! She has decided running is not for her, even though she would make a great runner! She is on the dance team and volleyball team. I am sure there will be pictures of both later. Zeke did baseball and soccer this summer and is now doing cross country and football. We might just have another runner. Zeke has been athlete of the week for the past two weeks in middle school, and is running faster than all the 7th and 8th graders. Amee is still my little gymnist and Matthew just loves anything with speed!

Spoiled rotten!!!!!!! 

That would be my children!

Here is the newest toy for our children!

Trampoline day 1 - where do we want this thing? And what grass do we want to sacrifice?

Day 2 - the excavation 

Day 3 - building the frame

Day 3 1/2 - And there it is! 

 

Day 4 - back fill

Day 5,6,7 and I lost count. Back filling by hand is hard work! Then we had to haul off the excess dirt, which still remains out back. One day I hope to create a new flower bed or two!

Some other things we have done since spring include an Easter egg hunt with both sides of the family, camping in the backyard, installing a basketball hoop and taking little kids to slide rock

(So, I am quickly learning that the quality of my phone camera is not that great. So, sorry about the picture quality.)

I only took one picture, how sad! All of Tom siblings were there and I think all of mine that live in Utah, except Jared and Adrianna. There kids were there, but they were in Porto Rico seeing Adrianna's father.  The kids really did have a good time, and I think the parents did to! Tom and I are blessed with wonderful brothers and sisters. It was funny because neither one of our parents were there. My parents are in Palmyra on a mission and Dick and Linda were off playing in another country. 

This is the best way to camp!

This is the hole we had to dig for the basketball hoop. As you can see the hole is almost as deep as Matthew is tall, and we dug the hole by hand. And when I say we, I mean the little kids and me. Tom was helping the neighbors with drywall, and I think Jake was at an away basketball game. It was hard work but the kids did great and never complained!

Selfies?? What's up with that? I for one do not like taking selfies

Amee and Sami selfie

Even Tom is taking selfies these days (but I think it was to prove that Sami still loves her daddy)!

And why the funny faces?? I don't get it! I guess that's why I am the mom

Happy Birthday Zeke

For his birthday Zeke wanted a pair of running stilts, but his dad surprised him with his first 22. Jake was 12 before he got his first gun, but was supportive of Zeke getting one at 11! We are blessed with such great children! And next year, we will have another priesthood holder in the family, wow!!! How time is zipping by!!

Thanks to Tom.... Sami is wearing Zeke's cake! Everyone except Matthew was laughing and though it was funny. Matthew was so upset that his dad had destroyed Zeke's birthday cake! Matthew is always the first one to defend any of his brothers or sisters!

Happy Birthday Sami!!

All Sami wanted for her birthday was a guitar. Mom had told her no, it was not in the "birthday budget" and that her dad had already bought her a present. One that I had no control over. . . . the children had convinced her he had bought her a 22 like he did Zeke.
Over Sami's birthday we were in Casper for state basketball games. So her dad took her and Jake to the mall so she could find a jacket for her birthday. Well, she couldn't find the jacket she wanted so she ended up with only a skirt for her birthday. However, Jake found a jacket he wanted, so for Sami's birthday Jake got a new jacket and sami got Jake's old jacket. In the video below she is wearing her new old jacket and her new skirt. Sami was a great sport, even though she was not getting much for her birthday. When we got home Sunday the kids gave Sami her present from her dad, and much to her surprise it was not a 22.

Jake's first Prom!

In Lovell you can only go to prom if you are in 11th or 12th grade, or if you are asked to go by someone who is. Jake was asked by Kim Robertson. Although he is in 10th grade and she is in 12th grade, there is only 14 months between them. They spent the day four wheeling, hiking, and exploring with another couple. They had packed a picnic, so instead of going for dinner that night they went and had frozen yogurt. Kim was crowned Prom Queen. After the dance the bowling alley had free bowling and pizza for the students. Jake and Kim both had a track meet the following day, so they ended their night earlier than most (which was just fine with mom and dad).

 I am pretty sure Jake and Kim are exact opposites! Jake loves to be silly and draw attention where Kim does not every want to draw attention, and I am pretty sure Jake does all the talking!!!!

We do love the snow!!!!

I can honestly say that we have missed the ease of playing in the snow that surrounded us in Star Valley. Tom and I did however finally take the kids skiing. There is a small resort just past Cody. Zeke spent the day snowboarding with some friends and Sami, Amee, and I spent a good part of the day  skiing together, waiting for Tom and Matthew to find us.

Below is a picture of Matthew being lowered down off the ski lift. Just after Sami, Amee and I got off the chair life, it stopped and they could not get it started again. So, they had to manually lower them down with a type of a chair pulley system. They were about 30 feet in the air. Tom thought it was awesome, as he always wondered how they handled such a situation!

It was a great day!!!! I am just not sure why we don't go more often. . . probably because we are usually at a sporting event for one of the other kids on Saturday :)

Below are some video clips of Matthew and his first wrestling meet. He did great!!! There was one kid, who was a year older, that gave him a beating. . . but it was early in the day and he was a little unsure of himself. It would have been fun if they could have wrestled a second time. . . but he did great anyway!!!!

Christmas is my favorite time of the year! I love the lights, the music, the decorations, and most of all the increase in love and kindness felt throughout the world. The past few years we have done the 12 days of Christmas, which has been a lot of fun and has really helped in feeling the Christmas spirit. This year we talked about it early in the month and selected a family. . . and then mom dropped the ball. I let the first day come and go and it would have been the 3rd day of Christmas by the time I remembered. Oh well we thought, next year. However, can I just say that it made a difference. It just never really felt like Christmas :( Well, next year mom will not drop the ball!!

Still, Santa did make his way to our house, and Matthew was so excited to finally get an electric toothbrush!

Santa brought Matthew a remote control car, what a lucky boy! He also got a "pro scooter", as he calls it, although I am not entirely sure of the difference. This he tells everyone was from his Aunt Carrel (go Carrel . . . you sure are earning lots of brownie points this year!) See, Walmart had the best price for this scooter and was one of just a couple stores even selling it. However, all the Walmarts anywhere near here had been sold out since Thanksgiving. So, Carrel saved the day by finding one and shipping it to me. The kids all recognized the box and new it was from Carrel so on Christmas day when I told Matthew it was for him he figured it was from Carrel. He doesn't quite understand that I paid for it, just that she sent it to him. Oh well. For now, Carrel is the favorite Aunt.

Amee wanted anything to do with gymnastics. She told Santa she wanted uneven bars. Instead he brought her a new leotard and an outfit and beam for her American Girl doll. Tom and I gave her a balance beam. She will have to wait until she has her own house for the uneven bars :)

Zeke is getting so big and is more concerned about style these days that he is about toys. Santa brought him a new pear of football gloves, very nice ones I might add. And from mom and dad he got new basketball shoes and clothes. He also got the new Madden 25 xbox game. He did not think he was getting the shoes and he was very excited!

Now for Sami, she only wanted two things. . . Beats by Dr Drey and Ugg boots. . . well, she got one of the two, Beats. The Uggs will have to wait until they are the only things she wants (I however did get a pair of Uggs and I am sure they will find their way to her room). Santa brought her jewelry, which she was happy about, and surprised as well.

Sami loves musics, and that might be an understatement. If she is not listening to music she is playing the piano. Sometimes I get the feeling that she can't function without music. Needless to say, she was very excited about her headphones. I have told her that I am going to do random bedroom and bathroom checks, and if they are not clean then I take her headphones until they are clean. This is going to be fun!

Jake is such an easy boy to please and he never really wants much, haha. Actually, he has learned that we won't buy the kinds of things he really wants (iphone, laptop, ipad, etc.) So he just tells us to buy what ever we want. He did tell us he wanted the new NBA2k14 and Call of Duty, Ghost. . . so that is what he got, along with some new basketball clothes and socks.

Matthew riding his scooter around the house like it's a race track! Our house has lots of doors, making it a perfect race track around the kitchen and piano room. . . connected by the laundry room. Matthew will literally do circles around the house on his scooter. Which is fine with me as long as it has not been outside. Once he takes it outside he will no longer be allowed to ride it through the house. Hopefully this day will come sooner than later. 

Merry Christmas everyone!!!! We love and miss you all!!!

We have recently celebrated Matthew's 6th birthday and Amee's 9th birthday. I am not much for letting my kids have birthday parties, but since Matthews birthday was on a Friday I let him invite a couple of friends over to play. Amee was such a fun sister and played all sorts of games with the kids. 

As you can see Matthew asked for a Minion cake. It was actually very easy and fun to make. All of his friends were impressed, which was fun for me :)

Matthew is getting so big and he is so full of life. He loves doing anything on wheels, with a ball, or with his brothers. And he can always seem to amaze me with his natural instincts and abilities. He is also so sweet and loves to make others happy. 

Thanks to Amee Matthew got breakfast in bed. This is something I used to do, but it has become more difficult on school days over the years, but Matthew was so excited that his sister thought to do this for him.

This is a video of Matthew LAST year, 2012. It is not the best recording, but still fun to watch. At the end you see him stand up on his motorcycle. In this video he is 4.

Happy birthday Matthew!!

And Amee, what to say about Amee. She is such a happy girl and is so kind to everyone. She is so forgiving of others and just wants to make others happy. She is also very brave and trusting. She will do anything you ask her to do, even if she is unsure or scared. She will try just about anything when we are at the lake, and just takes crashing in stride. 

For her birthday Amee wanted cheesecake, which Sami made. She is becoming quite the cook. I am sure you will all be so impressed with our singing!!!

Happy birthday Amee!!!

And what would Christmas be without ginger bread houses?????

Even Zeke and Sami had to do one. . . . and I of course helped. This is one of my favorite holiday activities. 

I need a better camera on my phone :(