Last days in Virginia

I am finally feeling like I have some time to blog again! So I'm going to play catch up for a few posts. I told the kids the night before we left Virginia that there will be no fireflies in Utah so they better go out and catch them one last time (boohoo). This made me really sad, but had a great time watching them running around the yard catching them. I could never get a picture of the thing actually lighting up, but maybe I just need a better camera.








Here are the kids being "box boy and girl". They had to get creative with activities in an empty house. By the way, we had packers this time and after that, I don't think I will ever pack a box again. It was soooo nice! The only bad thing was that we had no control over when our things arrived to our new home. They were late getting there and our car just arrived today. Only 26 days after we left Virginia!! Arrrrggg!



Last picture in front of our home. We'll miss you Virginia....and Tennessee....and North Carolina!!!

Book #3 I Capture the Castle

Ok, so I thought I would read one book a month and so far I am a month behind. I feel like my mind has been so wrapped up in our coming move that reading has been put on the back burner. I will be flying to Utah by myself in a few weeks so I'm almost positive I will get some reading in on the plane.

So this book was read by my former book club and for some reason I didn't read it that month. I remembered most of the ladies liked it and I'll have to agree. There were some great parts in the book and some made me chuckle out loud (you know that's a good sign). There were a lot of things said that I just had to agree with. It was an enjoyable read and I didn't have to think hard like the previous book, but it wasn't mindless. So this is yet another book that I recommend reading. I have to admit, that if I don't like a book and don't recommend it, it means that it was so bad that I didn't even finish it. No use in reading something you don't like, right?
Happy reading my fellow book worms!!

Fortune Cookie

So we went to look for a home at the beginning of the month and came home empty handed. Let's just say that we have been a little stressed about this lately. Well, Aaron and I (and Carter) went to PF Changs last week for lunch and this is what we got in one of our fortune cookies.




Is that not the best thing ever! I know it says within the year, but I'm thinking within the next two months will do just fine. So now I am a true believer in the Fortune Cookie!!!

Washington DC Temple trip

Just recently we went up to DC for a temple trip. We stayed in a Hyatt Regency hotel (that we pricelined and only payed $50 for). It had an indoor heated pool and it was right on top of a metro station. How nice is that! Although it rained the entire time, we had a great time. Aaron and the kids swam while I went to the temple. Then the next morning the kids and I went to breakfast and walked the temple grounds while we waited for Aaron to come out. After, we took the metro and returned to the Natural history museum (the kids favorite) then ate at the Old Post office
I've always loved the DC temple, but this trip confirmed that it is my favorite. It is so beautiful and I'm sure it's even prettier in the spring and when the sun is shining. I'm glad we were able to make this trip because we will be moving out west soon.

Book #2 A Tale of Two Cities

This book took me forever to read! Even my husband was excited for me to finish. I read it back in 9th grade and remember liking it. Well, I did like it, but what I needed was my English teacher so I could really discuss what was going on. To be honest, I haven't read a classic novel in quite a while so I actually had to THINK about what I was reading!! (not quite the same as the Twilight series). I don't know if any of you have read this, but I do reccomend it if you are thinking of reading a good classic. I think the first half of the book was a little hard for me to get through and keep track of who was who. Oh, but once it got going I really enjoyed it.
I think my next book will take a little less brain power. I have to many other things to think about right now :)

Ryan's birthday and Ice skating

Ryan turned 6 last month and we celebrated together as a family. He really wanted to go to Chuckie Cheese's for his birthday, so we braved through a very busy chuckie cheese and had a good time. I made him a Lego cake because that is what he's obsessed with lately. I think it turned out ok, but on one of the pictures you can see that someone (nobody admits to it) took a nice chunk out of the side of the cake. Ryan got a lot of fun things, but especially loved the Razor scooter. I keep watching him ride and hoping that he doesn't come running in with a broken arm!!
The following weekend, we finally went ice skating for Samantha's birthday wish. Samantha did great until she had two big spills at the end and was ready to get off the ice. Ryan kept falling and falling and was all over the place! I found out later that he was trying to be like the speed skaters in the olympics! He didn't want to start at beginner; he wanted to be the best from the time he hit the ice! He came home with two huge blisters on his legs. He didn't complain once because he was so focused on being a speed skater. And we did take Carter out on the ice (briefly). He actually had ice skates on, but that didn't last long. All in all, we had a good time together and maybe next time we'll leave carter home and try roller skating :)

Snowed in.......Again

Here we are, snowed in again! On saturday it snowed 13 inches so church was cancelled and so was school for today. We'll see if it is still cancelled tomorrow (I wouldn't be surprised). We had fun playing in the snow, but we don't have a lot of winter gear so it didn't take long before everyone's legs were freezing and we headed in for hot chocolate. I believe next year we are going to have to spend a fortune on snow clothes considering we'll have to buy for everyone. In fact, when it snows next year, I'm not going to know what to do when church and school is not cancelled!