Lots of Catching Up

July has been a really busy month for us.  The kids didn't have much of a summer, so we had to cram it all in.  We just returned from a trip to Lake Powell, which will get its own post later on, if I ever get to it.  Just after Ethan had his birthday, we had his baptism.  We are lucky to have such great support from all of our family.  

We never run out of food at our family gatherings....

Ethan was lucky to share his baptism day with 2 of his friends.  It was a really sweet baptism that we did as a ward.  His brothers got to help in the program giving talks and prayers.

Kirk and Ethan arriving at the Stake Center (which we were locked out of for a little while).

Ethan got to join David and Jacob at Cub Country this year.  They looked nice when they left, but they came home covered in black dirt.  I think this years cub country was the dirtiest my kids have ever been.  

We finally made it out on the boat for a quick trip before Powell.  The boys love the tube!  David, Jacob, and Ethan have also learned to knee board this year.  They were unsuccessful on this trip, but we were able to go again for family night, and they were all successful.  Next time will be Tyler:)

The kids are all back in school.  Here are a few pics from the first day-

Ethan-we can't wait for that other tooth to grow in!

Jacob-still trying to make smiling look painful;)

David-master of the fake smile

Ethan's cousin slept over the night before and got to come see his school the next day.

The twins lucked out!  All of these boys are in our neighborhood and they are all in the exact same class.  They are going to have a blast!

Despite their complaining and negative attitudes about starting school so soon, the boys ended their first day very happy!  They all love their new classes and teachers.  Ethan's teacher is a BYU fan, which is a perfect fit!  David and Jacob's teacher seems great as well.  She is like a "grandma" and "smells like pears" whatever that means.  I can't believe how quickly they are growing up!  Next up, Tyler starts kindergarten:(

Time Travel

Time flies.  Last week we went to the temple.  We happened to be in the same session as a guy that Kirk worked for after his mission and while he we were married and going to school.  They were older than us and had a couple of kids.  We were newlyweds, childless, and just getting started.  It was a great job for Kirk and it essentially got him to where he is today.  There have been lay-offs, buy-outs, etc, and we had lost touch with this guy and his family.  Last week they were at the temple that same night as us.  They were taking their son through in preparation for his mission.  Their other son was there with his expecting wife.  It blew me away!  It seemed like just yesterday they had young children at home and now they are soon to be grandparents.  I feel like I am now at the stage that they were when we first met.  That could be me in what seems like the passage of a week, scary!  

On Sunday Tyler got a bloody nose.  Kirk had him get a tissue, lay down, pinch his nose, and count to 100.  Tyler has the sweetest baby voice and I dread the day he starts to say his "r's" and talk clear.  I love to listen to him.  This Sunday morning was really cute because his nose was pinched and I could hear him counting in his sweet voice.  I rushed to the bathroom wanting to scoop up my little baby.  When I looked in, there was a big boy laying on the floor, he is huge!  I know he is a big boy, but it still breaks my heart to see my baby getting so big.  He is dying to go to Kindergarten and practices riding his bike there daily.  I think it is going to kill me.  Too bad we can't go back and visit certain stages of our lives for just a day.  I am pretty sure a day would be enough and then I would be plenty glad to get back to where I am.   

Name Them One By One

Today I Am Grateful For-

• The Richfield 2nd Ward.  Last Sunday we attended the ward that I grew up in.  I love that ward.  When ever we go back, we are greeted with smiles, love, and familiar faces.  Growing up in that ward was great, the people always looked at me and treated me like I was special, and it worked, I thought I was special.  When I left home for college, I wondered why people at my student ward didn't know I was special.  It has taken me awhile to realize that it is the people in that ward that are special.  I am so grateful to them for their kind examples, testimonies, and spirits that touched my life, built my testimony, and helped me get to where I am.  
• Hymn #263 "Where Can I Turn For Peace?"  Today at church, we heard this hymn.  I love it, it takes me right back to Laguna Beach, Santa Catarina Brazil.  It was my first area on my mission and my most difficult.  My companion loved to sing this song and we sang it a lot.  It became a constant prayer in my heart as I learned to adjust to a new country, a new language, a new companion, and a new culture.  Hearing it today brought back a flood of memories and a few tears to my eyes.
• Good friends.  Last night Kirk and I really enjoyed getting out and visiting with lots of friends.  The evening weather was beautiful, all the food was great, and the company was the best!   
• My husband.  Today he had a friend join us for church and dinner afterwards.  He is not a member of our faith, but a very faithful Christian.  He is visiting from Europe and wanted to join us for church.  It was great having him with us and learning more about him.  I am glad Kirk has such ease at making friends. 

4th of July 2010

We went to Richfield for our usual 4th of July fun, and it never disappoints!  We ate, visited with friends and family, ate, shopped for new shoes, ate, played games, ate, let off lots of good fireworks, ate, watched the parade, ate navajo tacos, ran in the races, and went fishing.  We all had a good time and I am still trying to recover.   

Ethan Turns 8

There is a lot of catching up to do! I will start with Ethan's birthday. This year he decided he wanted a tv, which is pretty much out of our price range, so I went shopping for something else. Lucky for Ethan, the people at Target had just decided to sell a little display tv for a very cheap and he got just what he wanted. Kirk was gone to scout camp that whole week. We missed him like crazy, especially on Ethan's birthday.  We didn't have friend parties this year, so later we got out the water slide and played in the backyard, that is Ethan's favorite thing to do anyways.

Happy Birthday Ethan!

More Sight Seeing

I have so many pictures from Versailles, but even a million pictures cannot do it justice.  The elaborate palace was more than I could take in.  We spent most of our time outside on the grounds.  You have to pay to get into the palace and during the summer months, they have all the fountains going outside, so they charge you to tour the grounds as well, but it was worth it.  You could spend hours and hours walking around these grounds.  There are flowers, shrubs, water fountains, sculptures, and something to see at every turn.  Once you turn off the main path, it is a maze of shrubs and fountains.  It really is quite amazing.  And it goes on forever!

This is the famous hall of mirrors inside the palace.  One whole wall is mirrors and the other side is windows that look out into the gardens.

Just before entering Versailles, we ate at a McDonalds.  I couldn't stop laughing about "Le Double Cheese"  The McDonalds there are pretty fancy.  As you walk in, they have a pastry/cafe area where you can buy a variety of pastries and drinks.  At this particular one, they had ATM looking machines where you would order, pay, and then pick up your food at the counter.  

This picture was taken in front of the Orsay Museum, it was one of my favorite things.  My husband and I both enjoyed soaking up all of the beautiful art we saw, particularly Van Gough.

What I Should Have Bought in Paris

I couldn't resist taking a picture, if only it were that easy!

They sell these at the Sephora in Paris, I haven't been to the newly opened Sephora here, maybe they will have it.

Another Day In Paris, Cont...

We spent our time hitting all the touristy sites and big ticket items.  Kirk had a meeting Friday morning, so I took off on my own to see the Arc de Triomphe and the famous boulevard Champs-Elysees.  The arc was amazing and one of my more favorite things.  We stopped by again the next day because I thought it was something Kirk should see, and then we had lunch at a cafe on the boulevard.  It was great people watching and fun window shopping.

I am not really sure why the flag was hanging in the middle, I thought it might be because of the world cup, but when we went back the next day, the flag was gone, and there was some kind of ceremony going on with soldiers.  

Later I took the metro back towards the river and wandered around taking in the sights and looking through some of the things the street vendors were selling.  

This picture is for my brothers, a Malibu boat in the Seine River, pretty cool, huh?
This is the chain link fence from a pedestrian bridge that crosses the Seine River.  I guess it was known as a place where lovers would meet.  Here they would confess their love for each other, attach a padlock to the fence, and throw the key into the river.  Padlocks line the fence on both sides all the way across.

While I was waiting for Kirk, I treated myself to my first crepe in France.  It was not that good.  I bought it from this street vendor and my second one was from a cafe.  I've had better crepes at home and in the Paris hotel at Las Vegas.  But that is just me.  Notice all the Nutella, this is what I fell in love with while in France.  Of course I have heard of it and seen it, good grief, I read cjane's blog everyday and she has a picture of herself with Nutella, my cousin is always blogging about it as well, but I am not really sure I ever tried it.  I don't know why because that stuff is the bomb!  The rest of my life will be better just having Nutella in it.  I ate it everyday in Paris.  It is the perfect companion to just about anything!  

Kirk and I met at the Notre Dame which was probably my least favorite thing I saw.  The creepy gargoyles keeping watch on top didn't help and why someone would want to buy one as a souvenir, I will never know.
 From there we headed over to the Louvre. 

The Louvre was very impressive.  It used to be the royal palace before Versailles, I didn't know that, which explains how sprawling and beautiful the actual museum is.  We didn't spend much time inside, we went to see the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo (Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite), and whatever was in between, but that was it.

Next we went to the Eiffel Tower, which is HUGE!  I never imagined it would be so big!
 We waited in lots of lines to get to the second level of the tower.  The top was closed, but honestly the second level was enough for me.  From there you could see just how big Paris is and just how little we had actually experienced. 

That was the end of Friday.  Our feet were so tired!  After the Eiffel Tower, we grabbed a snack.  Kirk got a chocolate ice cream cone and I got a waffle slathered in Nutella!  Waffles were a common snack you could buy at the street vendors.  They weren't Belgium waffles, like the one I had in London, but boy were they tasty with warm Nutella.  You wouldn't believe it was almost 10:00.  It does not get dark forever!