Nauvoo: 3/22/08

Nauvoo: 3/21/08

Nauvoo Trip: Day 1

Highlights: Getting to fly!! (picture of Kendra in the airplane). Also, we HIGHLY recommend booking the emergency exit aisle as we had at least 3 times the legroom of everybody else on the plane.


After landing in St. Louis, we got our "Black" family rental car:

Less than an hour after landing in St. Louis, we had made it to the Temple, which is just off the Freeway - very cool!!

Below is the picture that the very nice Temple grounds worker took of Kendra and I in front of the temple. (yes, we were also surprised that we are not in the picture).

Also, we were the VERY FIRST people in the history of the Church to get to try out the new Nature Trail on the Temple grounds!!

This morning, we're up early & off to see Nauvoo. More pictures to come.

Snow White & the Seven Little WHAT'S???

It's been a really great winter here in Huntington, with snowstorm after snowstorm. We're definitely ready for Spring now, but the snow was pretty awesome. At one point, we had well over a foot of snow on the ground, with drifts and snowbanks that were several feet high. The snow is beautiful not only in that it is nice and white, but also in that it hides all of the ugly things underneath it.

The snow has now melted, and as the dirt in our backyard started to show again, we noticed that there were some unsightly things in our backyard. At first, I thought they might be really big mushrooms, but Kendra immediately recognized them for what they were.

The most amazing thing is that they're almost perfectly spaced. It's as if seven cows stood right next to each other and pooped.

That, friends, is life in Huntington!!

NO!!

To celebrate their birthday today, apparently Kimball & Koria decided to all-of-the-sudden get extremely cranky. Kendra and I thought this was going to be a fun weekend with lots of exciting birthday things going on. Instead, it's been one crying toddler after another.

To top things off, Koria has developed a very frustrating new favorite word, which is NO!!

I capitalize it and put exclamation points to emphasize the fact that she does not just say no. She says NO!! with attitude, emphasis, and authority. And she says it over and over and over and over. She has probably been in time out more than she hasn't the last day or two. And in Sacrament Meeting, naturally, she was at her best. Even her nursery leaders admitted to us that she says it alot.

Just for fun, I'm attaching a picture from today, when she was in a NO!! mood.

So how exactly do you teach a barely-two-year-old that she does not run around telling everybody in her path NO!! Well, apparently you don't. Grrrrr

Is a Vacation Really a Vacation?

As we prepare to leave this Thursday for our 5 day trip to Nauvoo & Independence, I keep asking myself if it is really worth it. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to go--it's just that I have to put myself in double-time mode just to get everything done so that I can leave (and I still won't get it all done, or even close). And there's always that thought in the back of my mind that leaving for 5 days just means that I'll have 5 days of extra stuff to get done when we get back. Nevertheless, it will be fun!!

KENDRA AND I DO PLAN ON UPDATING OUR BLOG AS TIME ALLOWS WHILE WE ARE ON VACATION, SO CHECK BACK FOR NIGHTLY UPDATES ON MARCH 20-24!!

Cast Not Away Therefore Your Confidence

In talking with a close friend recently, I was reminded of a talk given by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles given in 1999. It helped me out at a time when I was making some life-changing decisions, and still helps me to this day. I think of it often and thought I'd share the link with any of you who might be interested. Dano da vi pomognish! Here's the link:
http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=f318118dd536c010VgnVCM1000004d82620aRCRD&locale=0&sourceId=9da4196b5a1eb010VgnVCM1000004d82620a____&hideNav=1

Welcome to the Gun Show

Thanks to everyone who cast their votes on the Hellga vs. Aunt Kendra contest. I (Kendra) have to agree with the overwhelmingly high numbers of voters who voiced their opinions and said that I look much, much tougher than Hellga. Must have been these guns I've been packing around since the twins were born. I'm on my way to the dentist this afternoon for who knows what kind of procedures. Maybe I will opt for no shots to numb my mouth, no anesthesia, no medicane of any kind. After all, the polls don't lie. This body can handle anything!
And Lance, you're comment about how I would be snapped in two like a little twig by Hellga was funny. Very funny.