Kansas City

Last weekend we went to Kansas city and had an amazing time.  We planned the trip because of the Kansas City temple Open House and we were joined by our dear friends the Thomas' and the Owens- which made it much much more fun.

The Hotel:
We stayed at the Fairfield Inn by the airport.  It was on the outskirts of town which may not have made it the best location but it was great for our needs.  The hotel staff was amazingly kind and patient with our 11 rambunctious, super excited kids who were at times a bit out of control.  They were thrilled to be together and in a hotel and they loved the pool and the rooms and the lobby and the breakfast and all of that hotel stuff.

The Temple:

Our whole Crew (not necessarily organized by family).

waiting in line

 

 The Temple experience was Marvelous!  It is a beautiful temple in its very visible location close to the freeway and set in such a way that like many temples it almost looks like its raised above ground level.  When we arrived we waited outside the nearby church building for just a short time, before being ushered into a room to see a short video about the temple.  Then we met our tour guides and began our walk to the temple grounds.  Before entering, some youth put shoe covers on our feet to keep the temple clean.  Inside the temple was beautiful and peaceful and rich with the presence of the Spirit.  To be able to show it to our children and be there together was just such a blessing.  It was very meaningful to us and we both fought the tears back the whole time.

 Afterwards there was cookies and punch in the churches gymnasium.  The were the best snicker-doodles we ever had and definitely Emmit's favorite part :)

Kansas City:

Unfortunately my pictures from the afternoon were taken on my phone because I forgot my camera.  They are not good at all.  Anyways, we drove downtown Kansas City to the Crown Center where we ate at a fun restaurant called Fritz's where trains line the ceilings and deliver your food.  The kids loved it, as you can imagine.  We then went to a fun place called Kaleidoscope where they kids can go crazy with some great art projects.  Then on to the Hallmark museum and then for dinner some yummy Kansas City BBQ!  What a day!

Liberty Jail:
On Sunday morning we had just enough time before leaving to see Liberty Jail.  It was really neat to see and a great experience.  I learned a lot and think the kids did too.

Its hard to see with the bad lighting but the Jail has been recreated and then a dome built around it.  The dimensions are almost exact and even some of the original stone was used.  The prisoners were kept in the basement.  Seeing it made the circumstances much more real feeling.

A replica of the gold plates.

Inside the visitors center and chatting with the Sister Missionaries.

The weekend was a blast.  We had such a great time as a family and with our wonderful friends. 

An Easter visit from Oma and Opa

We were fortunate to have Oma with us for most of our Spring Break week.  The kids had a great time with her and it was fun to spend more time with their cousin Aurora too.  Unfortunately, a few days in, Emmitt got miserably sick, and he was not quite the party animal we all know and love.  He was a fussy wussy kept only content if being held and rocked while watching his "BabyTV."

 

When the big Easter weekend arrived, Opa joined us and the Easter Festivities begun.  We dyed the eggs and went off to the hill our our Annual Easter Egg Roll.

Emmitt never felt great over Easter but he did get into the spirit of the egg roll!

This years winner and her winning egg.

 

 Other Easter Weekend events included, an Easter Egg Hunt with the Roblyers, a Easter Egg Hunt in Bellevue, an Easter Egg hunt at home, cupcake decorating, a delicious ham dinner and lots of precious family time.  It was a great weekend!

"Chick-sitting"

For the first few days of Spring Break, Brayden was asked by a friend of ours to care for their dog, two cats, three hens and 14 baby chicks while they were out of town.  He was ecstatic about such an opportunity as were all the kids who loved to go and play with the animals and hang out at the "farm".  It was a great experience for them all to get a taste of "country livin".

"The Most Wonderful Story of All"

Our stake recently undertook the endeavor to put on a production using the "Scripture Scouts" material from the New Testament. If you aren't familiar with the Scripture Scouts CD's they are a "musical adventure" through the scriptures told by some children and their talking dog. My kids (especially Brielle) love to listen to them in the car.
So when we learned the Stake was putting on the production, they were anxious to be a part of it. Unfortunately Brielle didn't make the age cut off (you had to be five) but Makenna got to be part of the choir with a special ensemble and Brayden got cast as one of the main characters.
It ended up being a huge time commitment for the whole family (I got assigned to the costume committee) and there was some drama along the way... BUT I think it all payed off as they put on a GREAT show and created a memorable experience that hopefully they will look back on fondly. Here's some pictures from opening night:

Here is Brayden as John (the Wilderness Man). Brayden did some fine acting here.

Here is Makenna in position. Shes the orange flower in the middle. Unfortunately when they stood up to sing, the red tulip in front of her covered most of her face but when I could see her face she was singing and doing a TERRIFIC job!

Here is Makenna with her ensemble.

Here is the stage with the dog "Boo" on the left. The kids in the choir were supposed to look like a flower garden. They looked so cute!

Brayden and Makenna in front of the "treehouse" before the show started.

Makenna and Aurora (her cousin).

And for those of you with more interest and time, I uploaded the video we took of the entire production to YouTube (It wouldn't fit on the blog). So feel free to check it out there.

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yWIP6sHJu4&feature=youtu.be
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5AhQssrTz8&feature=youtu.be
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ypm62quvn4M&feature=youtu.be
Part 4: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiuMHRJnG3Y&feature=youtu.be
Part 5: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcbuc_L2pDQ&feature=youtu.be

Well done Brayden and Makenna. Well done!
p.s if you dont have time to view the whole thing, check out the entire first video
for Makennas ensemble and Braydens great acting.

Finding the Silver Lining

Today I went to the grocery store with Brielle and Emmitt. Its a pretty common occurrence in my life but today I had several opportunities to see "the glass as being half full"... if you know what I mean.

Yes, Emmitt cried and whined the whole time I was shopping BUT I got some really great deals on produce- .99 strawberrries!

Yes, Brielle complained about being "cold" the whole time I was shopping and clung to my leg making walking near impossible BUT the car ride to and from the store was both safe and pleasant.

Yes when we got home and I was unloading the groceries and stopped to answer the phone I did discover Emmitt had done this:
BUT at least he had a fun (he was laughing as he lifted his last egg up in the air and then crushed it) and educational experience that I would never have given him otherwise.

And yes as I was cleaning up his egg mess and took off his pants, I discovered he had a dirty diaper that had dirtied my own clothes too (if you know what I mean), BUT at least I got a good laugh about it and had a great story to tell at dinner time.

I was reminded of one of my favorite quotes:

“The only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache.”

-Marjorie Pay Hinckley

Pinewood Derby 2012

Brayden participated in his second Cub Car Rally last night. His car looked great and performed well (somewhere middle of the pac). Luckily this year Kevin was in town to help out so it was a good father son experience- though I have to point out that while many many of the cars were done clearly by the dads alone- Brayden's car was all his own work (other than the cutting part for safety reasons) as it should be.

Champions!

Congratulations are in order to Brayden and his team the "Tar Heels". They were the winners of their tournament. The championship game was extremely tense and close where they trailed the first 3/4 but then came back strong in the end for a big win It was very exciting. Brayden was really able to shine this season and stand out on his team. He was a great team player and a big help to all the other kids. They all made huge improvements over the season and the team had great coaches. It was our first time using a different league and it was a different experience for sure. Although we were sad not to be tutored by the great Coach Matt and Kevin, this season, it was still able to be a really great experience for Brayden. Way to go Tar Heels!