The First Tee Golf Camp

I signed Matthew and Aaron up for The First Tee Golf Camp that was held in Bensalem. It was completely free and the program focuses on life skills and values in addition to golf skills. It was such a great camp! It was 3 days long and ran from 9am-1pm, with a lunch break in between. Matthew and Aaron loved it!!

Matthew's got a great swing for a kid with no experience. I hope he ends up liking golf and that it's something he and Chris and do together.

On the last day of camp they had a little ceremony where each kid got a certificate and then they took a bunch of group pictures. I'm so grateful that things like this exist! The First Tee is such an excellent program!

Paint Nite 3.0

Paint Nite is SO much fun. I had another Living Social deal that I needed to use before it expired, so my friend Amy and I went to a Paint Nite in Center City. There was a little too much drinking going on for my liking, but I guess that is what happens when you go to a Paint Nite in Center City. It's a different crowd. Poor Amy sat next to a very loud and belligerent guy. It was hard!

Here we are with our finished paintings! I love Paint Nite. I like having someone help me create something beautiful! I think I could really get into painting if I actually knew what I was doing and applied myself.

Life lately according to my iPhone

Our garden was out of control this year! We had so much yellow squash that we didn't know what to do with it all. Eventually the plant rotted because we got too much rain. Chris planted 3 different tomato plants, a jalapeño plant, basil, oregano, and we let each of the kids pick a plant. Matthew chose corn and Aaron chose strawberries.

I got really sick over the summer with a sinus infection. Unfortunately it was right before we went on our trip to Hersheypark and the medication made me a little sick. I didn't finish the steroid, since that's what was making me sick, but the rest of it was helpful! The flowers in the background were beautiful pink flowers that Chris brought home for me from school one day. He's so good to me.

Matthew and Aaron loved the library over the summer. I love watching them read!

My 31st Birthday

My 31st birthday was pretty uneventful, but it was really relaxing and enjoyable. We went out to lunch to Red Robin the day before and I got a free burger. The kids were pretty well behaved and it was fun! 

I got some awesome presents! My parents sent their box early and it was torture sitting and staring at the wrapped packages for a few days.

Also, I bought myself a necklace. It's the treble clef and it's one of my favorites. Also, it was only $10 at Kohl's!

I got an awesome mug from Shannon in the mail. It says "Special Friend: You're truly a special friend that always sees me through. I will forever treasure the friend I have in you."

Chris and the boys bought me some charms from Origami Owl that I have been wanting for a while, a keyboard with a heart in the middle and the Phillies "P."

My parents bought my some awesome Vans that I reeeeeally wanted.

It was hard to pick which Disney princess Vans I wanted, but I eventually settled on The Little Mermaid and those are the ones they got. And apparently Kenny had to go to a few different stores to find my size. Thanks, Kenny! Kenny also got my some socks to go with my Vans.

I didn't get a picture of it, but Larry and Jelaire also sent me a gift card that allowed me to buy the backpack I've been wanting from Amazon for a while. It's been sooo nice and useful!

The night before my birthday we had some friends over and had some cake. It was delicious!

I had so many friends and family call, text, email, and send cards. I definitely felt loved. It was a great day!

Family Vacation 2015 pt. 4: The Fingerlakes & the drive home

Once again we awoke to the gorgeous lake behind the Clay's home. I couldn't get over how beautiful it was there. What a peaceful life!

Chris and I went for a quick ride on the paddle boat after we got all packed up and ready to go.

We got to watch Aaron jump off the big inflatable trampoline from up close in the boat. I can't believe he actually did it! My kids aren't very daring, so it was really neat to watch him do something that was so frightening.

Here's a better collage of his jump.

The kids got to go on a couple boat rides that morning. They loved it!

Matthew had a really good time with Dave and Kristine's nephew. I was so glad he was there. He was so polite and Matthew really enjoyed playing with him.

They also loved playing with their dog.

These two did not want to leave! They were genuinely sad when we had to get in the car and go. I can't imagine how hard it would be for Dave and Kristine's kids to not only leave that amazing house and lake, but to also leave Grandma and Grandpa.

Our drive home was gorgeous. I saw so many silos that were reminiscent of the type of drawing I was able to do in elementary school with Mr. Al Snyder. I'm so glad I was able to see that part of the Northeast!

We stopped in a little town that had an A&W restaurant. It was delicious!

Matthew still had his rash. We were a bit concerned, but couldn't really do anything about it but give him Benadryl.

We made an effort to stop in Scranton to find the "Welcome to Scranton" sign, but found out that it's inside a mall. We didn't want to walk all the way in, so we drove around a bit and eventually stopped at a Krispy Kreme. Which, I might add, was the most delicious Krispy Kreme I have ever had!

We were happy to get home We had such a great trip! It was exhausting, but it was great. 

Here is one last picture of Matthew from his camera. He was having a battle with some ears of corn!

Family Vacation 2015 pt. 3: Palmyra, NY

The next morning we headed into Palmyra, NY and we dropped Chris off at the Palmyra temple. The boys and I went over to the visitor's center and tried to keep busy while we waited for Chris. Luckily there was a lot to do in the visitor's center that the boys and I enjoyed.

It was really cool to see all the Books of Mormon in different languages. 

Matthew was looking specifically for the Spanish Book of Mormon.

There were videos to watch and all sorts of things to read.

Matthew's hives were pretty bad by this point and I had given him an adult dose of Benadryl. He was so exhausted. We eventually went to grab lunch and then we met Chris back at the temple. I went in to do some initiatories and then met the boys back outside. A lady told me about the tree in the window, so I took a picture of it. It's supposed to represent the tree of life. There are 12 apples to represent the 12 tribes of Israel. Also, this temple is the only temple that has an open window in it. The window overlooks the Sacred Grove.

We went back in to the Visitor's Center for a bit so Chris could see some of the stuff that we saw earlier.

And then we headed to the Sacred Grove. There were lots of mosquitoes and it was a bit rainy, but we enjoyed ourselves. I wouldn't say that we had some incredible experience there, but I wasn't expecting that. I just wanted my boys to see it and I wanted to see it myself. It was beautiful and felt very peaceful. 

Here are a few pictures of Matthew's hives. He was so tired the entire time. Poor kid! They were a lot more red in real life than it shows in the pictures.

After we walked a path through the grove, we came out and walked around the farm.

We saw a couple of frogs! Chris pointed them out to the boys so they could see them.

The homestead/farm is pretty cool. There is a working garden with lots of vegetables and plants growing inside. 

Aaron was trying to collect rocks.

And of course, the boys needed a picture with their own cameras.

The next few things are places that the Smith family actually used. Some of them have been rebuilt, but I think some of the floors or foundations were original. I can't quite remember.

This isn't an original copy of the Holy Bible that Joseph Smith read, but it is a period copy. So it's from the same era. Matthew read, out loud, James 1:5 which reads.. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." This scripture is what led him to go out into the grove of trees behind his house and pray.

After the Smith farm/Sacred Grove, we went over the E.B. Grandin building, which is the location of the first printing of the Book of Mormon. We took about 1/2 of a tour before the kids got very antsy and we sort of did a guided walking tour on our own.

This is an original copy of the Book of Mormon!

This sign made me laugh. "Do NOT use this door! Thank you :)  **A lion will eat you.

This is a facsimile of the manuscript of the Book of Mormon.

And here Matthew and Aaron got to fold a page of the Book of Mormon.

Here's another first edition Book of Mormon. These are so extremely rare.

This is a really unique corner/intersection in Palmyra. There are 4 very large churches, each a different denomination, on each corner of this intersection. It was very symbolic to see. And also really architecturally cool!

We went over to where the pageant is to save seats for our friends and then went up to the monument that's on the top of the hill. 

Here's a view of the pageant. It was really awesome!

Aaron had a lot of fun with his little friend, Lydia. They colored and played before the pageant started.

We had a pretty tasty dinner and then go to watch the Hill Cumorah Pageant. This was, by far, the best pageant I've ever seen. I've seen the Mesa Easter Pageant and the Manti Mormon Miracle Pageant, and the Hill Cumorah Pageant is my favorite by far!