NYC WITH THE FAMILY!

In between the last CRAZY DAYS of school, Mia, Bruce, Micah, Lisa, Ty Ty, Holly, Michael and I all took off for the Big Apple to fulfill a birthday wish for Michael who wanted to go to a New York Yankees game in the final season before the Yankee Stadium is torn down. But we did so much more than that.....



Loving the American Girl store...









Loving the speed of the subway but not the smell!



LOVED sailing to see the Statue of Liberty.
Times Square was an experience, nothing loving about it except the people we were with!


Loving my favorite, Today Show and NBC Studios....





Loving the food....

Anniversary couple loving each other...

Loving the history at Ellis Island. When you type in an ancestor's name who came through this island to our country, the computer brings up the dates, which boat, and other information. The next screen says, "Sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints"!

Loved being with these girls!

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE WICKED! and the bags that Mia gave us all.


Absolutely loved THE best Italian food ever at Carmines and crossing Brooklyn Bridge at night.

Loved the massive open space of

Central

Park

and the amazing...

Metropolitan Museum.

We did so much more and squeezed so much into four days that

I am now out of time and space!

SUNNY AND TOM ARE SEALED!

Michael and I had the special blessing to be present at the sealing of our niece, Sunny, and her husband, Tom, in the Nauvoo Temple on Thursday. Although it took some doing to get there, we were so glad we went. This temple is a special place and even though we had been there before, it was a different experience this time. Sunny is beautiful, grounded, and accomplished. Tom is delightful, articulate, and funny. Sunny and Tom showed us places and artifacts in the temple that we didn't see on our first visit. We also had fun visiting Nauvoo sites with them and we especially loved having church and family history reveal itself as we explored and talked to people in Nauvoo.

We were able to print off many histories and important documents of our ancestors who lived in Nauvoo at the new Land Records Office. They put all the records we selected on a CD for us to take home.

On the banks of the Mississippi near the original home of Joseph and Emma.

Another new addition is the new marker for Emma, Joseph, and Hyrum.

This bronze of Joseph and Hyrum is new and is across from the temple in a beautiful garden area.

The Winslow Farr home in Nauvoo, just up the street from Heber C. Kimball's home. I am descended through Lorin Farr and Michael is a descendant of Aaron Farr.

The church has spared no expense on this site and it just gets better and better each year. All obstacles (old structures, newer tennis courts, etc.) have been removed to set off the temple as a beautiful, illuminated jewel. It is filled with the most amazing ORIGINAL artwork throughout, every coridor and hallway and room has paintings hanging on the walls. Many walls are covered with scenes painted directly on the surfaces to fill entire rooms. The temple is truly a magnificent museum with the finest wood floors, restored pieces, and new furniture of the period. The colors are stunning and although the restoration is clearly in the period, the elements of color and art bring it into modern day. Though mobs burned, looted, and blasphemed the original temple, the new temple has risen up in beauty and permanence. It seemed to make a statement that it was there to stay in even greater prominence.

THEY'RE BAAAAAAACK!!!!!

Yea! Oliver and Carly have returned from being in Ecuador since January. Oliver said it went fast for him but it didn't for me. The first two things they wanted to do was to see Miles and eat Market Street clam chowder and bread! So Maeve brought Miles and met us at Market Street Grill. Ozzy and Carly looked tan and fit and it felt so good to have them close to me. Oliver has lost 20 pounds so I also made him eat halibut, fries, and crab cakes. Later that night everyone came over and we had their favorite foods that they had requested weeks ago. For Oliver, it was meatloaf, baked potatoes, and Brea's favorite clam dip. For Carly, it was homemade lasagne, homemade french bread, Italian salad by Lisa, broccoli, and warm, cookies. The house was loud and fun. Bathing Miles was a big hit for everyone to watch, in fact he was the center of attention for much of the night. He loved to have Oliver hold him.

I mean, really, how many people does it take to change Miles?

The next morning, Oliver and Carly came to my school and put on an assembly for all of the kids. Oliver was so cute and interesting with his presentation and really grabbed the kid's attention when he talked about how East Layton students were like the kids in Ecuador and how they were different. He also modeled his Ecuadorian hat and scarf. Carly had prepared a slide show of her amazing photographs and put it with music from Ecuador. It was very moving and touching. The pictures depicted life in Ecuador in all dimensions. One picture was of the children holding up signs saying," Gracias, East Layton Elementary!" When the lights came up, I saw tears in the eyes of teachers and students. Our school had raised some money which was sent there to help with water systems and cattle improvement programs. The kids asked them probing questions at the end and they had great and honest answers. I was very proud of both Carly and Oliver and

their service to the people of Ecuador.

MILES COMES TO VISIT MOMO & PAPA

Ever since Miles came into the world, I get to see and hear more from Maeve. We talk almost daily and I can only go so long without my fix of Miles, so we make sure that we get together. Now, Maeve will even make the extremely long and difficult journey to Davis County! This is something she has always been reluctant to do before because of the great distance and the many, many miles she had to travel from SLC to Farmington.

I LOVE IT!

Getting Miles to talk and coo...

Getting Miles to nap and take his binkie...Getting Miles to be calm and handsome....The object of my affection....Miles loves his bath!

Miles likes Farmington and wishes he could live closer.

Things I Am Looking Forward To

1. Picking up Carly and Oliver at the airport on the 12th!
2. Watching Carly's face when she sees Miles for the first time.
3. Feeding Carly and Oliver their favorite home cooked foods.
4. Seeing Witney married in the SLC Temple and Sunny married in the Nauvoo Temple.
5. Having Carly and Oliver share their Ecuador experiences during an assembly at my school.
6. Walking from Farmington to my school in East Layton for "Walk to School Day."
7. Going to NYC with Michael, Mia, Bruce, Micah, Lisa, Ty, and Holly.
8. Summer Freedom!
9. Having Mia's family come in June and having all my family together.
10. Attending our own FAMILY REUNION in Park City in July with all the family and then all going to the Bingham Reunion together the next day.