Marshmallow Warriors-- Isaac Turns 13

Isaac turned 13 on August 22. It makes it official now—I have 2 teenage boys. Isaac asked if he could have a few—8--friends over—like a party. I like parties, I even love parties, but the thought of have 8 which became 10 because Jacob also invited a friend over only sounds like wild and loud to me. We talked about all the options and settled on pizza, a movie and a marshmallow war. We bought ½” pvc pipe and added a few elbows, tees and end caps. Glue it together, load with a small marshmallow put in in the hands of a 13 or 14 year old and you have a marshmallow fighting machine. Needless to say “the war” had zero casualties. You can’t really get hurt although you’d be surprised at how hard and fast you can shoot a marshmallow. You can only load one marshmallow at a time and so it requires strategy and timing to win. It makes you wonder what the world would be like if all wars were fought with marshmallow guns. I now have a hundreds and hundreds of little marshmallows all over my back yard—a feast for the birds I am hoping. Can you imagine having marshmallow bullets--we'd wipe out all world hunger. The warriors came inside when it got dark and are now watching “Water Boy” on our 11’ screen. I am at the complete opposite side of the house and I can still hear every word. I am wondering if the movie is better if it’s louder? Anyway, watching Isaac today has made me reflect back on Aug 22, 1994. How did I know I could love a little boy so much. I love that he has always been a hugger and a lover—even as a baby. I love that he has a quiet way about him but he can be totally funny and entertaining. I love that he has such a strong sense of right and wrong and is very sensitive about how others feel. I love that he loves the piano and that he can play it so well. I love hearing him play—and could you please play that just one more time for me. I love it that he keeps his room fairly clean without prompting. He also is a bit of a clean freak and so showers daily without ever being reminded. I love that Isaac is a morning person and is always ready for the new day to start. I love it that he loves school and learning and wants to do well—he stays on top of his homework on his own. I love watching him pass the sacrament on Sundays. I love sewing his merit badges on his sash—it reminds me that I will soon have an Eagle Scout. I used to tell Ernie when the boys were still in elementary school that these are the easy years. I looked at Isaac today and thought I may be at the noisy and wild years but I am still loving every day. Happy Birthday Isaac!

Five Weeks and Home Again

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Grand Junction--The Grand Finale

Blessing Day
It was so nice to be able to share this day with Melissa and Chad. Their sweet little Izabelle was blessed today. Many of Chad’s family were able to attend so we made a visible impact on their ward sacrament meeting. This little girl was given a sweet blessing by Chad that will follow her from this, the almost beginning through many years to come. Melissa is a “party planner” so the lunch after church was beautifully presented and yummy as well. We’re at the tail end of our 5 week road trip. Grand Junction has been a great finale— besides the blessing today--Jacob and Isaac spent Saturday with Chad and his brothers—the Barney Brothers—off roading and target shooting. They both had sooo much fun. Both are already talking about the “next” visit. We leave for Eagle tomorrow—almost 7,000 miles. We’ll stop in Salt Lake tomorrow to have lunch with Mechelle. It’s strange to think that tomorrow night I’ll be sleeping in my own bed. That’s the up side—the down side—I’ll have loads of laundry to do and no room service. :)

Falling In Love--In Kansas?

Day 32
Hayes, KS to Denver CO
348 miles
Kansas, home to Dorothy and Toto, and miles and miles of corn fields. We are westward bound on the 70 West—just before we reached Colby we saw huge fields of big yellow sunflowers—makes sense—Kansas is the sunflower state. But, driving by and seeing these glorious fields filled with huge yellow flowers and blue skies with white clouds—I fell in love. I would have liked to stop and, well, pick as many as I could hold—what to do with them next—I am not sure—but there is something awesome about seeing a sea of yellow flowers—it would make a great back drop for a picture. It made me think that maybe in my next life I could choose to be a sunflower farmer—ok and a bunny keeper. We’re staying at a Marriot that has a Lone Star Steak House across the parking lot—the boys have already looked at the menu and have dinner planned. Because it’s early we’ll go see the new Bourne Ultimatum movie at a local theater and then count the miles tomorrow before we get to Melissa and Chad’s house in Grand Junction. :)

Missouri--Another Chapter In Church History

Day 31
Independence to Hayes, KS
378 miles
This morning we stopped at the Church Visitor Center in Independence to view some of the church history here in Missouri—it’s located right across the street from the head quarters of the Community Church Of Christ—(the RLDS church). We stayed to watch the latest Joseph Smith movie. Jacob and I had already seen it during a lay over in Salt Lake a few months ago—it was a first for Ernie and Isaac. I enjoyed it even more this morning because we had just visited all the sights that the movie had been filmed at. From Independence we drove the 20 minutes to Liberty and were able to take the tour there of the Liberty Jail—a sad story that shares with us a season of faith for those early saints. Our last stop was another short drive to Farr West. We were able to visit the dedicated temple site and to read the plaques that again shared with us a snapshot—of time and of a people that lived and died and left a legacy that moves me still. By this time it’s late afternoon with a 5 hour drive to our next tack on the map—Hayes, KS. Tomorrow we are westward bound again to Denver. I will go to sleep tonight with the visions of what I saw today. It was a good day.
Just a note--Jacob and Isaac are standing by one of the original temple corner stones(now in a covered display case)in the second picture:)

To The Top And Back--Still Westward Bound

Day 30
Louisville to Independence, MO
500 miles
The last few days have been such a happy blur, it’s hard to keep track of what day of the month it is and exactly where was I last week at this time. It’s hard to believe we’re west ward bound on the map and that by this time next Tuesday I’ll be home—sleeping in my own bed, going through a pile of mail and gearing up for school to start. This has been a wild ride and I will never be quite the same—I have loved it all. We left Lacey’s house this morning a little teary and headed out across Indiana, Illinois and through Missouri. We stopped in St. Louis for lunch and to take the tram to the top of the Arch. It’s amazing to watch the documentary on how the arch was built –prior to our hyped up computer age – not one person died during the construction. I am not one for heights -- just standing at the base and looking up made me queasy. I made the only need to once in a lifetime trip to the top and landed back at the bottom in one piece minus my sun glasses that had fallen off in our tram car—not good. Lucky for me my glasses were found and made the second trip down to the bottom. I left smiling—glad to have my sunglasses back on my face and glad we had made the stop. We passed several firework warehouses today and Jacob finally prevailed in his pleas to get us to stop and replenish his supply. Most of his stash he had used with Ryan and Tanner—we stopped and Jacob is still smiling. We’re in Independence tonight and I hope to see Liberty Jail, Farr West and maybe Hauns Mill tomorrow before we head westward again. We’ll be in Grand Junction for the weekend—Melissa and Chad will be blessing baby Izzy on Sunday. I can’t wait—again:)

Visiting The Williams

Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday
Louisville, Kentucky

We arrived in Louisville, Kentucky on Thursday afternoon. Are we there yet? And now how much longer? were frequent questions. The scenery and Harry was a nice distraction. What can be better than driving across this beautiful country and then being able to spend a few days with those I love and cherish the most—family. Lacey and Ryan had lots planned for our visit but I am happy to just be here. We went to Mammoth Caves on Friday. It was really hot so the caves—which remain a cool 50 degrees was nice. The tour was 2 miles into the cave and 2 hours long. I had heard so much about the Mammoth Caves that I am glad we got to visit them but would only need to do it once. We also made a visit to an awesome ice cream parlor called Graetars—that is something I could do over and over again. We plan to leave Tuesday morning for Independence, MO –we’ll pass through St. Louis and we hope to at least do a drive by to see the famous arch.

Day 24
Williamsburg to Charleston—368 miles
We drove through Virginia and into West Virginia—home of the Hatfields and McCoys—and beautiful green rolls hills—and did I mention all the green? It made me wonder –Where does everybody live? Charleston feels old and charming with a bank of riverboats and rows of old stately looking homes along the river. The travel book didn’t mention much about Charleston except the capitol building—we drove by it and couldn’t miss the very ornate gold dome that decorates the building—nice. We’re off to Louisville tomorrow—me, all three of my boys and Harry—the 4th book—Jacobs favorite. The boys are swimming, Ernie went to find a Staples store and I am enjoying all the temporary quiet.:)

Stepping Back In Time

Williamsburg
Day 23
If you wanted to know what life was like in the 1700’s—Williamsburg is a great place to visit. It’s rich with history from our young nation. The Declaration of Independence was signed in the Capitol building here. There were 500 town people dressed in period clothes to add to the charm—in addition 88 of the 400 buildings are the original—mostly brick. We visited the Capitol building, a brick yard—the boys took their shoes off to stomp in the clay, the gunsmith, silversmith—way cool—post office, grocery and we watched as history repeated itself in the street with riding horsemen carrying news of a revolution. It was very hot and humid again—Isaac decided to carry a small cooler with drinks—actually he decided he should sell the drinks and make some money and then decided that the drinks were worth more to him—so he carried the cooler and used it as a seat. Leave it to Isaac—he’s counts his vacation spending money daily to determine how long it still has to last. I loved Williamsburg—one day isn’t enough to see everything though—if I came again I would plan on 2 or 3 days and plan around cooler weather. We ate lunch at the Kings Arm Tavern—the food was only fair but it was a charming stop and it was air conditioned –a plus. I bought a plate from the tavern as a keepsake. Jacob wanted to know what I was going to do with just 1 plate—I looked at Ernie who said—I know, she’s going to put it on the wall—he’s right. Tomorrow we end west again—homeward. We stop in Charleston, WV for the night and then Thursday we stop in Louisville, KY to spend a few days with Lacey and Ryan.

Washington DC Temple

Day 22
Leaving DC and venturing to Williamsburg, VA
156 Miles

We left DC and detoured to visit the Washington DC Temple. Not only was it beautiful but the surrounding neighborhood was beautiful too--Character homes on big lots and lots more green! The temple has 6 gold spires that in fog make the temple look like it really is floating on clouds-a nice way to end a great visit to DC. I will definitely want to visit again. Our drive to Williamsburg included Harry Potter--Jacob laughs like he doesn't know what happens in the book--go figure. We only have 1 day to explore here. It's hot and humid here--our hotel has a great pool with an indoor pool that connects to the outside pool. The boys have been swimming twice already today.

DC--Day Three

Day 21
We started the day with a drive through Arlington Cemetery and made several stops on our way back to the Smithsonians. The Jefferson and Lincoln Memorials were awesome—truly bigger than life. We also made a visit to the Vietnam Memorial—Ernie grew up with a boy who lived across the street who died in a fighter plane in that war—Ernie was also enlisted in the air force at that time. Seeing almost 60,000 names of those who fought and died has a strong impact. We spent only about an hour at the Natural History Museum—long enough to see the Hope Diamond and the Bird on a rock—both amazing— though not something I’ll put on a Christmas wish list—lucky for Ernie my vice of choice is still chocolate. Our last stop was the National Archive building—home to the Magna Carta, Constitution, Bill of Rights and Declaration of Independence—they were the real deal but very faded and almost impossible to read. They are housed in a huge vault-high security, no flash cameras. I left thinking I need to get copies of them and really read them. The weather in DC was strange today. It was so hot and humid that at one point I thought I’d pay some little kid in line $100 for his little hand held fan and then after being so hot and sweaty it was almost too cold in the National Archive building. At 6:00 we left the metro to rain—go figure. We leave DC tomorrow—so sad --and drive to Williamsburg for the next two days. Both Jacob and Isaac are anxious to see family—It’ll be fun to spend a few days with Lacey and Ryan and their kids later this week.:)

DC-- Day 2

Day 20
Tomorrow marks 3 weeks of our cross country trek. The time has flown by—we’ve stayed busy and yet most days are still flexible enough to make you think you’re still on a vacation. I suppose the timing is right with the boys too-- we have no babies and the boys are still close enough to pre-teen to be cooperative—most of the time. They carry the luggage and load and unload the car at each hotel. They can be found swimming almost every night and don’t need pool supervision—nice. They like each other about 90% of the time-- like the same books, games and TV programs—so there’s little negotiating –most of the time. Today we took the tour and ride up the Washington Memorial. It was very hot and humid today and so the fact that the memorial was air conditioned was really nice. The Memorial is the tallest building in the Capital so you had a great view—only ever need to do it once though. The subway system in DC is wonderful—clean, fast, affordable and air conditioned:)--You can get all over the city easily and most everything is close together in proximity. From the Washington Memorial we jumped on a tour bus—one of those you can hop on and hop off for the short ride to the Smithsonian museums. We started with the castle a big wow and then spent the rest of the afternoon at the air and space museum. Jacob would still be there is it didn’t close at 5—They have the Wright brothers first airplane, several of the Apollo space capsules , a moon rock you can touch, several WWI and WWII planes and several other exhibits that are very male oriented—it was crowded but clean and air conditioned. Back on the tour bus and we hopped off at Union Station for a late lunch. Union Station was the largest train station in the world—built with no limits on cost in the early 1900’s—it was refurbished in the 1980’s and is a show piece with a history of it’s own. The building is beautiful—the food was only fair. Tomorrow we’ll see the Vietnam Memorial , Arlington Cemetery, the Lincoln Memorial, the National Archives and the Hope diamond.

Washington DC --Day 1

Day 19

I love it here! I love seeing the places that match the stories that we hear about-- starting from elementary school. I love hearing about the men and women that showed such courage and laid the foundation for much of what we have now. Today we met with an aid from Senator Craig’s office for a tour of the Capitol building. We walked through rooms where much of our government—past and present has led our country through war and peace, triumph and failures. We walked through the first supreme court –very small in comparison to the supreme court we know to day but—it was impressive! The paintings, wall murals, statues, wood work and some of the tile floors—Wow! Unfortunately, I was in such a hurry to not be late that I left my camera in our room—so sad. Our next stop was the Holocaust Museum—a very sobering way to spent the rest of the afternoon. The museum is 4 stories of a very large building dedicated to the memories of a very tragic time. Isaac spent several weeks last year learning about the Holocaust in school and yet was overwhelmed with the images and items on display that were sad reminders of what had happened in a not so distant past. We entered the museum and were given identity cards that told the story of a real person who had experienced the Holocaust. It has to be a sad state to know that that level of evil is possible. I left again feeling glad that the burden of that horrible time is not something I had to carry and wondering how anyone could. After a late lunch we walked the few blocks to the Ford Theater—the place President Lincoln was assassinated—again much more of an impact to see in person. Tomorrow we have tickets to visit the Washington Memorial and then a stop to the Smithsonian—I will not forget my camera again!

More Pics from NY

Day 18
220 miles

Today we left NY moving to our next tack on the map--Washington DC. I visited DC several years ago and fell in love with all the history. It's has to be one of the best vacations you can take. There's is so much history you don't see living on the West Coast. I am excited to be here and hope it has a lasting effect on all three of my boys. We drove through 200 miles of green landscape and blue skies listening to most of the 3rd Harry Potter book. We're staying at the Marriot in Arlington, just a block from the metro which gets us everywhere we want to go. Tomorrow we meet at Senator Craig's office for a tour and then we have tickets to the Holocaust Museum--I can't wait.

Zoo York

Day 17

So this morning we headed out for the Bronx Zoo. Mapquest directions give us a 22 minute travel time—piece of cake right? The problem was that most streets are unmarked and so we made lots of U turns. It was more like an hour by the time we walked through the zoo gates. It was hot today and so although there was plenty of shade –it was still hot. The Bronx Zoo is nice but only a distant second compared to the San Diego Zoo. We lasted about 3 hours and headed for the parking lot to an air --conditioned car—nice. After lunch we attempted the drive back to our hotel --by this time it was rush hour and again our GPS seemed to be lacking in the giving directions category or maybe it user error—we crossed a bridge, 2 underground tunnels and drove down 34th street --twice. We reached the Hotel with a combined sigh of home at last. Ernie thought the adventurous drive was the best event of the day—go figure. The part of New Yorkers being friendly and polite completely morphs into another animal when their behind the wheel. The boys all vegged out in the room and I took a trip to the laundry. New York City has been a great stop on our travel trek. The harried pace here would wear on me—much different even from the Bay Area—it’s why I call Eagle, Idaho home. :)
PS--Yes, Isaac is wearing a safari hat--ok for the zoo--anywhere else it seems a little random.