Washington DC

Riding the Metro.

Broden, Avery, Drew and Remi.

Pajama party in our room!

Relaxing in the grass.

In April we decided we wanted to take a trip to the temple. Then Blake found out he couldn't be in the clinic on Thursday and Friday because the seniors had boards, so we decided to take a trip to the DC Temple. We left Wednesday afternoon and after 4 potty stops for Remi and constant screaming by at least 1 child we made it to the Temple just in time for me to go to the 8:30 session. The Temple was so peaceful and it is a beautiful temple.

That night we stayed in a hotel then got up and Blake went to the temple while we got everything packed and ready to go. We then drove to the next hotel and checked in so we could park our car there and we rode the metro to DC. We went to the zoo for a little while, it was packed though, so we went all the way into town and met up with some friends to see some sights. That night we watched all the kiddos while the other 2 couples we went with went to the temple. They each have 2 and 1 on the way. 2 of the kids slept in their room, so we just had 2 extra in our room. All the kids had so much fun eating candy, playing on the beds and watching movies.

Friday we rode the metro into town again and walked all over to see the Declaration of Independence, the Air and Space Museum, and the Capitol Building. When we were in the room to see the Declaration of Independence it was really quiet. The atmosphere was reverent and everyone was serious. There was a really long line to see it and as soon as we got in the room our kids went bezerk. They started screaming and running around. They weren't mad really, just highper. So I peeked over someone's shoulder at it and we hurried out of there as fast as we could so we didn't get arrested for disturbing the peace. Then we rode the Metro to the pentagon, just for fun. It right at 5:00 so everyone was leaving. When we were looking at a map a man stopped us to offer help. We talked to him for a while. He was from Utah and a member of the church. He had 6 kids and is in the Air Force. He is going back to Finland I think this summer where he will be stationed for the Air Force. He was really nice. I'm sure we stuck out there with our 3 kids, all of us dressed modestly on a hot day, looking at a map. He probably had a good idea we were members.

That night we drove into town to see everything at night. It was neat, but not what I was expecting. I though everything would be lit up like we light up our temples. They weren't. It was still fun though.

Washington DC is an amazing city. The Metro is so easy to use and easily accesible for strollers. There is so much to do there that is free and so much to learn. The hotel we stayed in was amazing. All the bathroom soaps and everything were Bath and Body Works and the furniture was really nice. It was one of the nicest hotels I have ever stayed in.

Saturday we packed up and drove home. The kids didn't do too much better on the drive home than they did on the drive there. When we got home I wasn't sure if I even wanted to go on another road trip. EVER.

That night we went bowling with a bunch of friends from church. It was sooooo much fun. We had different competitions with the couples then went out for ice cream. It was a sweet date!

4 Years Old!!

Remi's 4th Birthday!



Remi's 3rd Birthday!

Fall 2007. 2 and a half.

Remi, 2nd Birthday!

Almost 2!

Driving across the country! 15 months.

1st Birthday!

9 Months

8 Months

3 months

2 months

One day

I can't believe Remi is 4. That is crazy. She is getting so grown up. She loves to help with Alissa, changing diapers, getting her dressed, buckling her in her rocking seat to watch movies with her and Broden and other "mommy" things. Remi also loves to take care of Broden, telling him everything to do or not to do.
A couple weeks ago someone came in Young Women's and was giving a lesson on Women and moms. She told about how when her boys were young they would get a rope and tie up anything and everything they could in knots. Then her little girl would take the same rope and drape it across herself like a boa. Remi is definately not a girly girl. She ties everything in knots and loves to wrestle and hike and do anything dad does. She wouldn't even watch any of the princess movies until last week when we all sat down and watched beauty and the beast. Now she will watch that and the little mermaid, but that is it.
She is getting so independent. This morning she woke up at 7:45 and came in to get me up. I asked her if she could go watch a movie for a little while. So she came down and watched a movie. When I came down half and hour later with Broden and Alissa she had on her movie and she had also poured herself a bowl of cereal with milk and eaten all of it. She was so excited that she didn't even spill.
One of the funny stories I remember about her was right after Broden was born she loved to run around without any clothes on. One day I was sitting on the couch feeding Broden and she escaped out the front door without any clothes. By the time I could put Broden down and get covered up she was half way to the library. That was a normal occurance after she learned how to open the door. So we installed the hotel locks with chains at the top of our doors. She has only escaped 2 other times since then. Once she put her bike next to the gate and climbed over it and the other time she opened our living room window and screen and climbed right out onto our front porch. She is good at getting what she wants:)
Her favorite toys right now are her animals. She plays with them all the time. Whether its the horses, elephants, giraffes, lions, tigers, polar bears or dolphins and whales she is constantly playing with them. She'll put them on the bookshelp, entertainment center, the speakers, the front entry floor(which is the water she says) and anywhere else she can think of. Her and Broden have so much fun with them.
I love having Remi as our oldest. She is so willing to help and is happy so much of the time and she has FINALLY within the last 3 months started sleeping through the night consistently. It is wonderful. I'm so excited to continue watching her learn and grow. Right now she is learning her alphabet and also how to identify birds. She can right her name and most of the other letters. She loves to do school and learn about her letters.
We love you Remi and are so lucky to be your Mom and Dad. Happy 4th Birthday.

Easter

We had fun decorating Easter Eggs Friday, then doing egg hunts all day Saturday. Remi and Broden loved hiding the eggs for other people to find, then having us hide them for them to find.

Alissa getting ready to decorate pictures.

Decorating eggs

Remi looking at her gifts from the Easter Bunny!

Sunday Morning before church

General Conference

I loved conference weekend! We started out by dinner with some other dental students at their house. There were 9 adults and 11 kids. The kids had a blast together and it was fun to be with the adults while the kids played. I think it was the first time we left somewhere when we were ready to leave instead of the kids being "ready" to leave. Usually we rush out of someone's house when our kids are way beyond tired and impossible to control. They did great on Friday. Thanks Lauren and Andy for the invite!

Saturday we slept in until 9 then Blake had some work he needed to do at the school, but we only have one computer to watch conference on, so we packed up all the kids and drove down to the school. The kids and I watched Blake do lab work for a while then walked around. When it was time for conference we went to a little classroom and hooked the computer up to a projector to watch conference. It was awesome. We ate lunch while we watched, then the kids played with their animals and wrote on the chalk board. They were so good, so we got to listen in peace, for the most part!

After the first session, Blake finished up his lab work and we drove home. We showered and got ready while listening to the second session, then took the kids to a babysitter while we went to a wedding reception. Blake went to the priesthood session and I went with my friend PJ shopping for bathroom decor then to get the kids from the babysitters. We then went back to Mario and PJ's so the boys could watch basketball. The kids just played while PJ and I talked. Then at midnight the kids finally fell asleep and we left at 12:30. Sunday we enjoyed the first session of conference then went for a hike at one of the Metroparks by our house. We saw lots of fun animals. Deer, Yellow finches, wood ducks, cardinals, a muscrat, robins, lot of other birds, a tree a beaver was cutting down and a huge fish jumping out of the water. We all had a blast and wore out all the kids, who slept while we watched the final session of conference.

I love watching conference and feeling the peace that comes with it. I love how much the speakers talked about Christ. One thing that hit me that I hadn't thought about before was when Jesus was on the cross and said why has thou forsaken me our Father in Heaven withdrew his spirit so that Christ could know perfectly everything we as humans go through. He was perfect so he never felt spiritual death until that point. It made the atonement complete. He knew absolutely anything eny of us would ever feel, even spiritual death. I hadn't ever thought about that before. It helps my understand the atonement just a little more. I still have so much to learn though. I am so grateful for the knowledge I have and look forward to learning all I can in this life and adding to it in the next.

After conference we gave the kids a bath, watched, "Beauty and the Beast" and went to bed. We had such a fun weekend as a family and I am excited to get the May Ensign and read the talks to refresh my memory. I'm so glad they print them, because my memory is too short to remember everything I need to.

The Temple Garment

The Temple Garment:
“An Outward Expression of an Inward Commitment”

By Elder Carlos E. Asay (1926–1999)
Emeritus Member of the First Quorum of the Seventy and Former President of the Salt Lake Temple

Last week for our Young Women's Activity we practiced answering questions that people might ask us about our religion. One of the questions was why we wear "special underwear." I have been thinking about this question a lot this week. We are going to Mexico this summer and last year we spent a week in Florida and this talk confirmed many of my thoughts about how to dress in different situations and about why we do wear the Garment. It is an amazing talk for both those who have been through the temple and those who are still preparing to go. Enjoy!

The Temple Garment:

Spring Break!

Last week was Blake's Spring Break and we had a blast! We finished the bathroom, fixed the whole in the ceiling and wall in the kitchen, hung the ceiling fan in the kitchen, finished the back of the bar/island and did the rest of the finishing touches in the kitchen. It is nice to not have any more huge projects. Well, we are going to refinish the dining room floor, but that doesn't seem big anymore compared to the other projects we've done.

Tuesday we went to a place called Lake Farmparks, which was a blast for all of us. We all got to milk a cow:) Broden didn't want to, but the rest of us did. We also got to see baby pigs, sheep and also horses, rabbits roosters, cows, alpacas and llamas. We also go to learn about making maple syrup. It was quite a process. It takes 40 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup.


On Thursday Blake's mom came in to town. We all picked her up at the airport, then came to our house for an hour or so, then left for Pittsburgh. In Pittsburgh we went to Phipps, botanical gardens. Swam in the hotel pool, then Friday we went to the zoowith a side trip to the sports fields on the way, dinner and swam some more. Saturday we went and rode on a little thing like a train car up the mountain. It was an awesome view of the city! Then we came home to spend some time at home playing games and seeing some church sites and other things around Cleveland.

Broden excited to see grandma in the airport!



Remi excited to see grandma!





Grandma excited to see us!

This is the view that all of a sudden comes in to view when you are driving into Pittsburgh. It was amazing!

View from the top of the incline!

Awesome Movie!!!

We watched Fireproof last night and it was AWESOME!!! It has such a good story and point and really makes you think about the way you are living your life and treating the people you love most. I think everyone should watch it.

I have also realized how many blessings my Father in Heaven has given me. Not that we all of a sudden are rich, or we didn't get any miraculous cures of any kind of sickness, but the money is there when we need it, we are healthy for the most part, we have a nice home, nice cars, but most of all we have each other. Blake and I were both blessed to come from amazing families who would do anything for us and we would do anything for them. We have made great friends here in Ohio and live in an amazing ward, which has become our "family" here in Ohio. Remi, Broden and Alissa are such huge blessings to us. They have taught me so much and I love being able to stay at home with them. This is another blessing that we enjoy. I get to stay home and see everything they are learning. They are so smart and learn and grow so fast. I am constantly amazed and grateful for what a good baby Alissa has been. She hardly ever cries, and loves to smile and watch her older brother and sister. She has even started falling asleep in her bed by herself. I rock her lay her down and turn on her mobile that plays music. She sings along with her high pitched giggle she does, then falls asleep. It's great. I'm grateful my Father in Heaven blessed me with an easy third child. It has made the whole transition so much easier.

Anyway, thank you everyone for being there for us and supporting us in all of our adventures. I count you all as my many blessings.