We had a short but wonderful trip down to Washington DC /Virginia. By we, I mean Madison, Hunter and I. We left on a Thursday afternoon. Madison was working on her "traveling" merit badge for American Heritage Girls. So, I handed her the map and away we went. I've been there a few times before, and had a general idea of where we were going, besides, we had a gps in the car - not plugged in, but we did have it in the car. She tried her best to figure the map out and tell me where to go. Somehow we ended up on all the right roads - and headed south. I ALWAYS manage to get lost in Williamsport, no matter what - and guess what?? I did it again. Well, not really lost, but after trying to find our way out of the middle of town, and resorting to the gsp which promptly directed us to . . . . head back home - we stopped for dinner, at McDonalds, where Hunter downed an Angus burger and Madi and I ate. Then we loaded back into the car, set the gps for the correct destination - and were on our way. So, approximately 1 hour after I turned left instead of right at the detour, I turned right - and we were on the correct road. Night fell, the kids nodded off, and I had my trusty gsp to get me into the heart of DC to my brothers house. Never would I attempt this without a gps - totally crazy terrible roads down there.

We slept in, and enjoyed Friday at the Smithsonian with Jacob Mender - who turned out to be a fabulous host. He took us on the metro, led us to the right places, was patient with the kids, offered to help pay for lunch, and oohed and aahed in all the right places. He even posed for a photo. When we landed on the "mall" at the Smithsonian, we saw them setting up scaffolding, and getting ready for something that looked rather "big" to us. Little did we know - it was for the protestors for the Health Care Bill. Glad we missed that rally. From the photos, you can see that we raise some very strong children in Upstate NY. Happy ones too.

Saturday we slept in, enjoyed Uncle Drakes Waffles with real Maple Syrup, wandered over to Great Falls state park, only to find out that everyone else was headed there too. You see, it was in the 70's, sunny, and absolutely!!!!!!!!!! gorgeous outside - one of the reasons I headed down there that weekend. I'm no dummy! We waited patiently and finally found a parking spot. Wandered out on the bridges and through the trails. But, alas, due to a very wet and snowy winter - our favorite hike was closed. We settled for walking the canal trail, but it really wasn't the same. Because of the wet weather, there were some awesome falls lots of water going over them. I tried to take photos, but didn't realize I had the camera set to video. Needless to say, we have some very short clips of the falls. Neat. So much better than a photo. Whenever Drake tried to take a picture of us, someone would offer to take a photo of all of us, and Drake would ablige, but explain that I was his "sister" not his wife. And, there were times I'm sure he was deliberately walking a few steps behind us when some cute girls walked by. After the hike he treated us to lunch at Champs, and the kids got ice cream at Maggie Moos. Both are places we have at our local mall. On hindsight, I should have insisted on something they couldn't find at home, but whatever, they had fun, and I think it was the biggest plate of Nachos Madison had ever seen.

Sunday found us in church, listening to stake conference broadcast from SLC, with Boyd K Packer as the keynote speaker. He was amazing, and we were filled spiritually. After letting the kids get some steam out, we headed on the long drive home. Hunter and Madison were perfect travelers, and I'd love to take them on some more adventures.

Hello everybody!! I know, you are SO surprised to see anything new on this site. It's been so long since I've written that you probably gave up reading it months ago. I'm glad you're back, and I'm glad to be back also, though I don't make any promises to you. All I truly know is that my two daughters-in-law update regularly and keep me up to speed with their lives and their kids - aka - my grandkids. And for that I am TRULY grateful. It makes every day that I can't see them more bearable.

Hmm . . . where to start. I'll begin with the kids at home . . .

Jonathan received his mission call to the Brazil Porto Alegre North Mission and is due at the Sao Paulo MTC on November 18th, as long as his visa goes through on time. Say a prayer for him. We are busy buying suits, pants that are narrow enough but long enough (he's 6' 3 1/2" and still growing), and all the short sleeve white shirts in his size in two JC Penney stores. He is excited to get a few weeks of bow hunting in before he actually leaves. We will miss him, but are so proud of the choices he is making and totally support him as he prepares to serve the Lord.

Remington made the varsity soccer team and is at a game or practice every day. He comes home exhausted and hungry, . . . and lately frozen too. He is up early every day for seminary, and consequently he enjoys what little sleep he gets and dreams for extra hours in the night so he can catch up on what he needs. Soccer will be over in a few weeks, and hopefully he'll use whatever time he gains from that for homework and rest.

Rosemary opted not to do a sport this fall and won the job at the library. We thought she was up against some tough competition. We heard that about 30 kids applied, and at least 6 were slated for interviews. I don't know what happened to all the other kids, but Rosie came out on top and now works 10 hours a week. She was delighted!! And she is already bored. It's not an exciting job shelving books all night. I know she'll appreciate the paycheck and the steady hours and getting out early on weekends - but that hardly makes up for the lack of fun in working at a very small town library. Oh, well, at least it's close to home and only for a couple of years.

Hunter joined the bowling team last year, and has signed up again this year. He bowled througout the summer too. He likes individual sports and having a good time with friends, and this seems to fit the bill. Depending on the day, he can do very well, or not so good at all. This summer I went with him on his birthday, and he bowled a 198 game. Pretty good game for him! His team (he and Zac Smith) beat out the undefeated team!! It was a great night for bowling, every time I asked him to get a strike - he did it. If I wasn't watching and he didn't get all the pins down, I'd tell him he needed to pick up the spare, and he would. We had a blast.

Madison is in 4th grade this year. She is busy with American Heritage Girls and also Achievement Days. She lives crafts and is constantly doing something with her hands. Lately it's making hats on a circular loom. We found the rubbermaid carton with tons of yarn and the other 4 looms, so she is in heaven. She's working on a blue scarf at the moment.

I'm tired of paying high prices for school pictures. So, Rosie and I took the camera and shot some photos of Madison and Rosie. Here are a few. Maybe I'll actually get some of these printed out and up on the wall, and a few at dad's office. The ones there haven't been updated in about 3 years.

Wishes and Dreams come true

One of my favorite people has become what I always wanted to be - a successful person!! Years ago we had a sweet wonderful gal and her husband move into our ward and start a family. They were here only a short time, but we fell in love with their family and have sort-of stayed in touch through the years. Most of the news we have received back and forth has been passed by her mother who still lives in the area. We've both gotten busy with our lives and kids, and more than a few years have passed. I knew she was writing a fun 'parenting' column once in a while for a newspaper and had been a bit successful. I was proud of her, and wondered how she accomplished all that she did with her 4 very busy boys. Little did I know she was well on her was to achieving a dream she had, and one I held at one time too. So, if you'd like to check out my successful friend - and maybe attend a book signing in your area - click on the link below and see how dreams can come true. Way to go Julie, I'm so proud of you.

www.julieberrybooks.com

Am I crazy??

I signed up for a "contest" and this is how it works.

The first five people...to leave a comment on this blog will receive something made by me. However there are some limitations:

1. I make no guarantee that you will like what I make :)
2. What I create will be just for you
3. It will be done within a year (might take a while)
4. You have no clue what it is going to be
5. I reserve the right to do something really fun

Here the catch: if you choose to do this, you must post this on your blog and be ready to make something for five people too. This will be fun! When you receive the fabulous item I make you, you must post a picture of it on your blog.

Joel's Disney

I really don't like my picture taken - so I'm making faces.



Outside the condo - minutes before we left for NY. I look relaxed and refreshed. Nice Vacation!!




Played with my kids.




Still kept in touch with work - or played games. Can't get me away from my i-phone, even at Disney World.

Madi's Disney

My favorite ride in Magic Kingdom was Space Mountain . . . it's an indoor roller coaster - in the dark. I loved the 2 3-D movies we saw. They really squirted water, air and bubbles at us. My favorite ride at Hollywood Studios was the 5 story Tower of Terror. Hunter and I went on it - everyone else was too scared. The picture shows you how tall the building is.

I also like the brand new American Idol show. The girl dressed up as Minnie won in our show. They do about 8 shows every day with 3 different people competing in each show. One person wins each show, and then at night the winners of the 8 different shows compete and there is 1 winner there - and they get a golden ticket to the front of the line of any next real American Idol Audition.

We spent a day with the Martin family in downtown Disney. We ate at Planet Hollywood, played for a couple of hours in Disney Quest - 5 floors of fun. One of the rides, you got to program your own rollercoaster and then ride on it. Hunter's went upside down 10 times. We all went back to our condo, ate up stuff from the fridge and freezer (we were going home the next day), swam in the pool and chased an armadillo. We had a good time. It was like 80 degrees and so fun.