So, So, So sick. I forget how bad morning sickness gets during the last month. 4 more weeks of getting worse... ahhhh!!

Haha... since nobody else's Xanga works you're all stuck reading mine. J/k. Five years ago or so I paid for a "Premium" membership to Xanga, so that is the only reason mine is up before the free accounts. Although, I'm glad Dad sent the e-mail so I could catch up on what's going on.

So, I always know when Emma is about to hit someone or jump on someone because she has a super hero sound she makes... lol. It's the only way I know how to describe it. For instance, Errolyn was fake tackling Cameron yesterday and Cameron was yelling, "Help, help." Emma said, "I will save you!" And then she made a singing type sound and went, "Da, da, da, da" with her voice inflecting up like she was coming to the rescue. Then she ran over and started jumping on Errolyn and hitting her. Lol. She rarely hits, so it's usually jumping on someone, but I can always tell when she's about to do it because she sings, "Da, da, da, da" and then someone starts yelling for her to get off... lol. I know it shouldn't be funny, but it's so funny that she has her own super hero sound... lol.

Update: So, I've been teasing Emma all morning singing her "Da, da, da, da" sound. Lol... everytime I do it she says, "Stop, that's my music." Lol.

Ok, this whole Xanga upgrade thing stinks. I can't read anybody else's sites because they're all still down. I think I'm the only one still up because I am a "Premium" member... rolling eyes.

The kids are doing well in school. Cameron has a TON of work to do everyday. I was overwhelmed just going to the Orientation with the teachers describing all of the work he has to do this year... and I don't even have to do the work.

Emma meets her teacher tomorrow... thank goodness! She's been so bored around here. Janet's family came last weekend and we had a good time visiting with them. Clara spent the night and her and Errolyn had fun. That's all for now... I just can't wait until Xanga finishes it's upgrading process.

So, I had to write an "I Am From" poem for my composition class so people could get to know me. I wrote it quickly, so I'm sure it could be better if I had more time, but I still wanted to share it. (And we weren't supposed to make it rhyme... although I couldn't help myself a few times. And we didn't have to make each line or stanza match in length.)

The instructions for each stanza were:

1. Describe items found around your home-the home you have now, or the one you grew up in.
2. Describe items, or places found in your neighborhood
3. Reflect on names of relatives, especially ones that link you to your past.
4. Recall sayings: “If I’ve told you once..” “It’s easier to catch flies with honey than with vinegar”.
5. Describe foods and dishes that recall family gatherings, or were family favorites.
6. Name places you keep childhood memories and what you might keep as mementos-scrapbooks, diaries, boxes, drawers, etc. memories, etc.

Anyway, here's my poem:

“I Am From”

I am from violins, cellos, pianos, and guitars.
I am from conductor’s batons and music that inspires.
I am from volleyballs that fly, tents that make free, and fishing poles that enliven.
I am from hand me down clothes, often with holes.
I am from pictures of Christ, family, and values.

I am from swimming pools that refresh and hiking trails that invigorate.
I am from two story houses with playgrounds for backyards.

I am from Michael, whose wisdom and love comes often and freely,
Whose example of service has changed me completely.
I am from Karen, who worries and wonders the most,
Who once as my teacher is teaching me still.
I am from grandmas, uncles, aunts, and five siblings who I still love THHIIIIISSSS much.
I am from four silly children ages thirteen to three.
I am from a husband who’s loved me for fifteen great years.

I am from, “You only live once, but if you live right, once is enough.”
I am from “We are daughters of our Heavenly Father,” and “Remember who you are”.

I am from mom’s taco salad and her seven layered dip.
I am from Dad’s scrambled eggs and Aunt Carol’s gulf shrimp.
I am from Thanksgiving dinners at Kathy’s with mashed potatoes from Grandma.
I am from Great- Grandma’s fried chicken that I still miss so dearly.

I am from letters from friends about boys, schools, and teachers.
I am from pictures of ditches, church dances, and kisses.
I am from letterman’s jackets with patches of music.
I am from thoughts in my head of good times, yet hard times.
I am from houses of brick, some nice and some not,
But the lessons learned in them of love, God, and trust
Are still who I am and have not been forgot.

I'm going to pull a Cameron and list my events this week by days... lol.

Monday- Errolyn and Emma went to the doctor. Errolyn was freaking out that she'd have to get a shot, but she and Emma ended up getting the flu mist. After FHE, we all went swimming and had fun. Although, Errolyn once again was petrified about the bees.

Tuesday- The pest control guy came. He might have to fog the kitchen and walls if this new poison he tried doesn't get rid of the sugar ants we see every summer (even the previous owners said they had this problem every summer). Cameron had a Youth Committee Meeting in the evening and then Scouts. The boys went and played soccer and Cameron scored a couple of goals and some of the older boys (who normally aren't very nice) were actually complimenting him on his playing. Errolyn's Activity Days were cancelled because they re-varnished more doors and the church stank even worse. Mike went and helped with Temple Recommends at the Stake Center.

Wednesday- Errolyn and Logan both had friends over and we went swimming. Logan and his friend were a little wild together... but they had fun. In the evening, Cameron mowed Grandma's lawn and even though he was wearing a mask he was horribly congested for two days. He gets sick for two days everytime he does yardwork... I feel badly that his allergies are so bad. Also in the evening, I taught a 19 year old in our ward a piano lesson. I know, I know, I'm not teaching anymore, but he will give Cameron a tennis lesson every other week if I give him a piano lesson every other week, so it's totally worth it.

Thursday- Cameron and Logan went to the doctor. Afterwards, my visiting teacher came over and then we had the Updike's over. It was originally just going to be the three older kids but I'm glad they all stayed because I enjoy talking to Maryann. Their youngest boy likes to tease Emma and hit her because she reacts to it, so that's always a fun obstacle, but in the end they played well together and the little boy asked if he could stay with me. I told him I would invite him over another time, but only if he stopped hitting Emma... he agreed... but, we'll see. Lol. Kids.

Still Thurday- In the evening, Errolyn and Logan met their teachers. I really like Errolyn's teacher and she seems like a lot of fun. Errolyn was excited because she got the teacher she wanted. Logan wanted a different teacher, but I think he got a better one... but we'll see. Errolyn likes the teacher Logan got and said the teacher is good at giving kids more challenging work if they already understand a concept. Mike and I have been playing super Mario Brothers in the evenings for a little bit after the kids go to bed. I don't play video games very often and Mike only plays once in a while, but in an attempt to do "more" together, it's been fun playing with Mike this last week. We laugh a lot when we play together which I enjoy. Once school starts, we'll have to go to bed earlier and probably won't have time anymore.

Today (Friday)- Errolyn is at her friend Emma's house today and I went shopping at Sams Club so I can make another set of freezer meals soon. I'm only going to make 3 months this time, 4 months was too much last time. Linda had her baby! Exciting! I love new little babies. Cameron is taking the Red Cross babysitting course online right now, and I think I'll have Errolyn take it when he's done since we've already purchased the course for a limited time. Cameron finds out his class schedule tomorrow and is hoping his friend Josh can come over again. Janet said she might also come over tomorrow, but she'll have to get back with me to confirm. Fun stuff!

Cameron had orchestra camp all week in the morning... so no more sleeping in for me. Wednesday, Logan went to a friends house to play for a few hours. Wednesday was also Mike's birthday and he requested Pizza Hut instead of a home cooked meal... I didn't mind. I can't believe my husband is only a few years away from 40... that seems so old to me, but we feel so young.

On Friday, Errolyn had a friend over and they had fun playing and we all went swimming. We started out Saturday sorting through the shoe bins and somehow ended up sorting, cleaning, and organizing the entire pantry, laundry room, and food storage shelves. We moved over the largest shelf and changed the lighting and it looks so much bigger and nicer now. On Saturday, Cameron also had his friend Josh over (who moved 40 minutes away) and they played all day together. In the evening, they went to the Stake Youth Water Activity and then Mike took Josh home.

So, apparently the doors and chairs in the church were re-varnished yesterday and the building smelled so overwhelmingly of varnish that all of the wards in the building only had Sacrament meeting and the other two hours were cancelled. Logan and Emma were crushed. For the closing hymn we sang "I Am a Child of God" and I think most of the congregation could hear Logan singing at the top of his lungs.... it was so cute and he got several comments about what a good singer he was and how they were touched while he was singing.

Because we got out of church early I was able to call my good friend Ester in Germany and talk to her for about an hour... I sure miss her! Our home teachers are coming over soon and then I have some rehearsals for musical numbers and Stake Choir... so I'd better stop writing and start preparing.

I've been spending a lot of time getting ready for Stake Conference lately; I hope a lot of people come to choir practice next week. On Friday, the Updike kids left and I went to a routine doctor's appointment. Later, I went visiting teaching and in the evening Mike and I went to the temple and had a great session.

On Saturday, I woke up early and helped Cameron finish a few pre-requisites for his Personal Management Merit Badge and then I drove him to the Scout Workshop. Carol picked him up and took him to Whole Foods and then came over and read books to the kids for a while. Logan and Mike went on a 15 mile bike ride after lunch. Logan was SO excited he finished the trail and Mike was very impressed that he rode that far. What 6 year old willingly rides 15 miles on a bike? I think it's awesome! And I love the bonding time they get with their Dad too.

After dinner, Mike and Errolyn wanted to go on a bike ride together. Cameron hurt his ankle and decided he better not go this time. Errolyn doesn't like going on familiar trails and likes to get lost. So, she and Mike wore blind folds and had me drop them off somewhere 8 miles away. I chose a school that they had not heard of and dropped them off. It took them about 35 minutes before they found a street they recognized and then they found a bike trail and it was smooth sailing after that.

I went around putting up Stake Choir posters up last night. Today I subbed on the piano in Primary... I love doing that and hearing the kids sing. Other than that, we're good. Cameron starts his orchestra camp tomorrow, and I think we're all ready for school, yea.

Well, since I'm NOT pregnant yet, I registered for two classes again next semester. I'm taking a required writing course and then a business communications class. None of the music classes were offered at times I could take them, oh well.

I've been watching our friend's kids while they attend a funeral in D.C. Yes, having 9 kids for two days is a lot of chasing around, but it hasn't been bad at all since they all play so well together. They've been playing on the inflatable water slide, playing laser tag, swimming at the pool, playing Wii, riding bikes, and playing games. The kids are having a blast!

I had four meetings last night... lol. A pre-pre Messiah meeting to select pieces, a pre-Messiah meeting with the music people from the Messiah, the actual Messiah meeting, and then my Stake Music Meeting to discuss Stake Conference music. A lot... but if you have to have all of those meetings anyway, I'd rather get them all done in the same night. And now I need to make posters for Stake Conference and make sure the kids are all ok.

So, last Monday Logan and Errolyn had friends over and had a good time. We all went swimming on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. On Monday, Emma was deathly afraid of the water and wouldn't even let go of me. By Friday, she was swimming around the big pool in her life jacket all by herself and didn't even want my help. On Wednesday, Cameron went to the orthodontist and had his braces tightened for the first time... he hated it! I remember the pain. On Thursday, Emma had a friend over and they had a lot of fun. Cameron went over and mowed Grandma's lawn for her.

On Friday, David & Heidi and their family came over. It was fun to hang out with them! Carter is so adorable and I felt so connected to him... although I think it's because he reminds me of baby David so much... and also because I love little babies! The kids were putting Logan's Davy Crockett hat on Carter's head and calling him Baby Crockett... it was funny. We babysat Halley & Carter Saturday morning while David & Heidi went to the temple. Emma and Halley played well together during the second half of the morning. Later we set up the inflatable water slide in the backyard and the kids had fun playing in the water and sliding down the slide. Logan was sick and was sad he couldn't play with the others. Carol and Grandma came over for a while so they could see David's family. In the evening, we just hung out and talked. On Sunday, we went to church and then David & Heidi left. It was fun to see them and I wish they lived closer! (Hint, hint, wink, wink... lol.)

On Sunday and Monday I got caught up on my calling. They want four different choirs for the various Stake Conference meetings and a women's quartet... so, it was a lot of piece and name submitting. I ordered everything today and am crossing my fingers it gets here in time. Today, Errolyn and I got our hair cut... again with Bre Jackson who is the best hairdresser ever! Then I mailed out a few of Halley's things, went grocery shopping, and made dinner. Cameron brought our laser tag set to mutual tonight... I bet the boys are having a blast playing it. Errolyn's at activity days, Emma's in bed, and Logan should be in bed, but is instead watching me write this and asking why I always write such long posts... lol. I guess that's my cue to sign off.

We had such a great family vacation!! It was jam packed busy, not much time to relax, but we saw a lot of really cool things and had some great experiences together as a family!

The first day was uneventful. We woke up at 3am, packed the last minute things and began the 15 hour drive that really took 17 ½ hours, to Lexington. We stayed with my cousin Shannon, but since we got in late we didn't get to talk very much.

The next morning we woke up at 7am and were on the road again. We stopped at the John Johnson House and took a tour of the house. It is where Joseph Smith was tarred and feathered and where he received the revelation in D&C 76. It was neat to visit. Then we drove to Kirtland and took part of the tour to the historic homes in Kirtland. I especially enjoyed seeing the School of the Prophets and hearing about the revelations received in some of those buildings. Then we went to the Kirtland Temple. Since it's owned by another church we had to pay to take the tour. The video had some inaccuracies in it which made it difficult to feel the Spirit at times. Errolyn and Cameron especially noted that they didn't “feel” the same when they were in this building or during the video as they had in Kirtland and they both wanted to leave. I didn't make them watch the whole video but wanted them to see inside of the Kirtland Temple. It was neat to go inside of the temple, and even though it's owned by a different church now and isn't used as a temple anymore, Mike and I both felt the Spirit in the room where Jesus had appeared inside the Kirtland Temple. Although in general, I have to agree with the kids, it did feel uncomfortable and different in the other areas or the building we initially began the tour in. We decided to go back to the LDS Visitor's Center and watch the video we had initially skipped. The Spirit was strong during the video and the kids remarked about the difference in how they felt during that video versus the previous one.

Then we drove to Niagara Falls. I had never been to Canada before so that was neat for me. On the drive I began getting sick, really sick. At first I thought I was car sick, but later realized I had a bad stomach bug. It lasted about 24 hours, for which I was grateful. I hobbled to the Falls with the family to see the Falls at night. They were beautiful, but I wasn't able to enjoy them much because I was feeling so sick. Niagara Falls was the one thing I had really, really wanted to see on this vacation so I was upset I wasn't able to enjoy them. Thankfully, I received a tender mercy the next morning and felt good enough to enjoy the Falls. I took a lot of medicine to additionally help me and by the end of the day I was great. We took the Maid of the Mist boat ride to Niagara and it was beautiful! It was just as magnificent and wonderful as I’d imagined!! I secretly wished we could have spent a couple more days there just hiking in and out of the Falls, but I was still satisfied with our boat ride and the walking we'd had.

Then we drove about an hour to Rochester and went to the Museum of Play. It was ultimately a giant toy museum with a lot of really cool things for the kids to do and play with. Mike and I both thought it was ok, but the way the kids raved about it we will probably have to go back next time we're in the area if we still have young children. Then, we drove 30 minutes to Palmyra and ate at the Chill n' Grill. The ice cream was good, but the food was overpriced and not that great. We checked in at our Bed and Breakfast and I was dying. During the rest of the vacation we'd had nice Hampton’s or Hilton Garden hotels, but this was the one city that was completely booked up. I would have been fine at this place except the entire house stunk horribly of moth balls. I didn't know what to do because there was nowhere else to stay in the entire city and we'd already paid half the money up front. So, I sucked it up and slept with a shirt over my face to block the smell. Additionally, the kids couldn't play outside because there was a high voltage fence to keep the coyotes away from the sheep and there were cats at the house which Logan and Cameron are both allergic to so we had to medicate them both.

After checking into our B&B, we went to the Palmyra Visitor’s Center. They showed a video about the Restoration and I noticed that Logan was quiet and watching instead of being wiggly. At one point near the end of the video I felt the Spirit especially strong and Logan must have too because he lost it and started bawling. He said he was feeling the Spirit a lot and it made him feel good. He didn't know how to express himself and so he just cried while I held him. He’s a good boy. Afterwards, we went and got our seats for the Hill Cummorah Pageant. I was saving our seats while Mike was playing frisbee with the kids in the field way behind us. Apparently, one of Mike’s old best friends that moved to Connecticut coincidentally was also at the Pageant the same night we were. Mike got to talking to his friend and Emma ran off. Mike came back to me thinking she had come back to me, and she had not. Thankfully we found her but I was majorly freaking out and didn't let her out of my sight after that. The Pageant was great and the special effects were really cool. The kids all enjoyed it too.

In the morning, we woke up early to go to the Sacred Grove and to get out of the stinky house. The Sacred Grove was really neat and the Spirit was really strong there. This was the second place I was really looking forward to seeing. We all separated a little so we could have our own little prayers and reflect and feel the Spirit in the grove. Then we toured the Joseph Smith Farm which was nice. Then we went to the Book of Mormon Publishing site. We were going to go on a tour but Emma and Logan were melting down so we did an abbreviated visit there. Afterwards, we went to the Palmyra Temple for Errolyn since it's her favorite temple and then the kids climbed Hill Cummorah with Mike while I stayed behind with Emma. Then we drove to our hotel in New Jersey which was the nicest Hampton I've ever stayed at. We decided to not go into New York City that night but to catch up a little, relax, do laundry, and get to bed early. Well, at least the kids went to bed early but I was still doing laundry until midnight.

The next morning we woke up early and took the ferry from New Jersey to the Statue of Liberty. The crown tickets were sold out 3 months ahead of time and since we only decided to go on this trip 2 months ago, we were only able to go to the Monument, but it was still way cool. This was the third place I was really looking forward to seeing and it didn't disappoint. It was so cool! We saw some Sister Missionaries helping at the Statue which I thought was interesting. We didn't get to talk to them since the line for free Statue Certificates that they were helping with was too long. Then we took the ferry to Battery Park in New York. Apparently there was a bad heat wave the week we chose to go to New York and D.C. Instead of nice 80 degree weather, it was extremely humid and hot… even worse than where we live now. So, when we got to Battery Park and the kids saw the fountains that were coming out of the ground… they had to go in. They played for a while and loved it, although later realized that wet clothes and a lot of walking can lead to unpleasant chaffing.

Then we saw the Freedom Tower which Logan was really looking forward to seeing (I read him a library book about what happened before we left) and the 9/11 Memorial. The 9/11 Memorial had giant in-ground fountains that took up the entire space where the twin towers had once stood. I thought they were pretty neat. We took the subway twice and Cameron and Logan both that it was so cool and wanted to ride it everywhere. Then we paid a fortune to go up the Empire State Building. Mike and I both decided we'd never go up again because of the price, but Cameron, Errolyn, and Logan all said it was in their top 5 things they did on the trip, so maybe we’ll have to go again someday. Cameron was terrified at the top but in the end it was his favorite thing of the trip. Errolyn, of course, loved it. Then we walked around Times Square which was ok. When we were in Niagara we walked down Clifton Hill which was this super cool street with tons of nightlife and cool shops… I thought that street was even cooler than Times Square, but it was still fun to see. I also saw the Bull on Wallstreet, which normally wouldn't be cool, but now that I’m into stock trading it was cool to see. We took a private fairy back to New Jersey and it was wonderful. It was a smaller ferry that went faster and had an open top and the breeze was wonderful and the view was amazing. In general, I wasn't fond of New York City… too busy and dirty for my taste, but it was still fun to see the sights.

The next morning we drove to Philadelphia. Every time I had looked for tour tickets online for Independence Hall there were always tickets available for the following day, so I was waiting to book my tickets to make sure we were able to do everything in New York and didn't need to go to Philly later rather than earlier the next day. So, it turns out all of the next day tickets were sold out when I went to buy them the night before, such is life. We showed up early and were able to get some walk-in tickets for 12:30pm… but it was 10am and we didn't want to wait around for 2 hours. So, we saw the Liberty Bell and decided to go on to Valley Forge… we'll see the tour next time. We were just going to do a quick drive around Valley Forge when I noticed the bike rental place there. My kids all love to ride bikes, so we quickly decided to rent bikes. I have not been on a bike in a while because of my knee injury (which hurt a little afterwards, but not horribly), but I absolutely loved riding around at Valley Forge. The scenery was so beautiful, the breeze was heavenly, and it was so fun to ride around as a family and stop and see the sites without having to look for parking. This is the best way to see Valley Forge! Made my top 5 list for the trip. After we turned in our bikes, we drove back to the Washington Chapel and it was beautiful… very different from anything I’d seen before.

Then we went to the Hershey Factory. We took the tour, which was like a Disney ride and was cool. Then we went to the Hershey Creation Studio and the kids created their own ice cream sundaes with any topping that Hershey had… yes, way too much sugar, but they loved it. Logan has decided that he should never eat that much sugar again because it makes his stomach hurt… lol, I wonder why? Then we drove to Gettysburg. We had borrowed some CDs from a friend to take a driving tour of Gettysburg. We did about half the tour before it got dark. The kids really enjoyed catching fireflies since they had never seen them before.

The next morning was Sunday. We all got up and were going to go to church in Hannover and then finish the driving CD tour in Gettysburg. However, and I know I've done this once before, I stupidly and accidentally took an Ambien when I woke up instead of my Synthroid. I was getting the kids dressed for church when I started having major vertigo and told Mike that the room was spinning. It was he who discovered I'd taken the wrong medicine, so I ended up sleeping the entire morning and Mike took the kids to church. I felt badly for not being able to go, but once I take Ambien I am out in 20 minutes whether I want to be or not. We finished the driving tour of Gettysburg and Mike had a great time seeing all of the battle sites. This was his favorite part of the trip. The kids didn't enjoy the CD part as much, but enjoyed getting out and climbing the towers and rocks at some of the battle sites.

We drove to our hotel in Dulles and then decided to go see the Memorials since they are free. The Lincoln Memorial is my favorite. The Memorial is so grand and wonderful and I just feel such a kinship and pride for Abraham Lincoln. We also saw the WWII Memorial, but the fountains were off, and then we saw the Vietnam Memorial. We found a soldier with my maiden name and the kids were all excited to see a name they knew so we took a picture in front of the name. The kids also enjoyed seeing the Washington Monument, even though it was still under construction from the earthquake.

The next morning we woke up early to get into the city. We stopped by the Museum of American History. We had several friends (and my husband went there last month) tell us the only thing worth seeing for kids was the Star Spangled banner exhibit, so we saw that and a cool dollhouse and left. Then we went to the National Archives. I saw another family with a lot of kids, all dressed modestly, and I could make out the faint impression of an outline under the mom’s shirts so I asked if they were LDS. They were, and were from Minnesota. We talked in line for a while and then saw the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Bill of Rights. It's always neat seeing those documents. Then we went to the Air & Space museum. The kids enjoyed it, but aren't the types to read everything so even though we walked through all of the exhibits we didn't take more than a couple of hours there.

After lunch, we took pictures in front of the Capitol and then met an intern for our Congressman at the Cannon House building. Because we e-mailed him ahead of time we had a private tour set up. I didn't know that there were underground tunnels in D.C. that connected everything. We took the underground tunnel to the Capitol and it was way cool. We skipped all of the lines because the intern would flash her badge and we would walk right into everything. She showed us things that aren't on the regular tour and it was really neat. By the time we were done with the tour, the Library of Congress was closed so we took pictures in front of it and the Supreme Court building, which was under construction. Then we went to the Museum of Natural History and that was really cool. I wished we’d had another hour there, but we still got to see everything. The kids really enjoyed the exhibits, but Logan especially loved everything. He loved the mummies, he loved the dinosaurs, and he loved the giant insects. They had a room full of jewels, some from Marie Antoinette and also the Hope Diamond. Emma LOVED this room. At every piece of jewelry she saw she would gasp in awe and exclaim, “My crown!” or “My necklace!” It was so cute. Afterwards, we went to the Jefferson Memorial and then saw the D.C. temple at night which was really pretty. I didn't realize it was also Cameron’s favorite temple. I’m kicking myself for not having him bring his recommend so he could do some baptisms while we were there… didn't even think about it, but he still enjoyed seeing the temple.

The next day we went to the Air & Space Museum in Dulles. It was way cooler than the one downtown. We watched an IMAX movie about the Hubble telescope and then we toured the planes and space shuttle. The three oldest went on a Space Shuttle simulation ride and then a fighter pilot simulation ride which they all really enjoyed. Emma got to sit in a small airplane and drive, which she thought was cool. Then we went in the observation tower and saw and heard the air traffic controllers and their screens. After a few hours there we decided we would go to Mount Vernon instead of back to the Library of Congress. None of the kids were looking forward to the tour of the Library and we had several friends tell us we “had” to go to Mount Vernon, so we opted for that. The kids had an activity where they had to go to different exhibits to fill out questions to get a prize, which they enjoyed. I enjoyed touring George Washington’s home and Mike enjoyed the museum. They had a cool 4-D movie about the Revolutionary War. Emma enjoyed the play room with the doll house, dress up clothes, babies, etc., but there was a 20 minute time limit so she was crushed when she had to leave so soon. Then we drove out to Arlington and saw the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Kennedy grave with the eternal flame. Logan thought it was so cool that the cemetery was so big and that he could see the Pentagon in the distance.

Then we went to the Visitor’s Center at the D.C. temple and walked around the temple. The grounds had been closed for the last couple of weeks for maintenance so it was the first night open and a great way to end the vacation. It’s such a beautiful and grand temple that you can’t help being impressed with such a structure as well as feel the Spirit there.

We slept in the next morning since the drive to Shannon's wasn't very long. On the drive back we had the kids watch National Treasure and they were all excited to see so many things in the movie that they had just seen in person. Even Emma was excited to see things she recognized. We made it to Shannon's house and were able to talk for a couple of hours before going to bed. We woke up at 4am to begin the long drive back home. We were doing great until 6 hours from home and then Emma threw up. We stopped the car, cleaned it up, and then 10 minutes later she threw up again… everywhere. It was horrible! We found a rest stop to clean up at while Emma lay on a picnic table. Emma threw up again at the rest stop, but then was good for the rest of the trip. We got home at almost 11pm, started some laundry, gave everyone showers, and then went to bed.

It was a long, jam-packed vacation but all in all, we had a blast! We saw so many really neat and wonderful things, had a good time together, and hopefully will provide our kids with some fun and neat memories. We've realized we don’t have too many summers left with Cameron before he goes on his mission, so we've made a goal to have memorable summer vacations and see some well-known sites. We'll probably have to repeat the vacations eventually so the younger ones can see the same sites, but it will still be fun. Cameron will study U.S. History this next year in school so I'm excited that he was able to see so many things he will study about. I'm also excited that we were able to see so many church sites and the kids were able to have their own spiritual experiences. I’m also glad the kids had fun… yes, it was mostly in places we didn't expect (the Museum of Play, Hershey Factory, fountains at Battery Park, catching fireflies in Gettysburg, and D.C.), but they had fun. What a great vacation!!