June 2011

This month was another busy one. It started with M's graduation from elementary school. He had a ceremony dating back to when he first started school. His class was the very first kindergarten class, and now they have graduated and are moving on to middle school. I can't believe that my little man is so big now. M was awarded the Presidential Achievement Award with a letter from President Obama and a special pin. His teacher paid him the highest compliment, which is that M made teaching easier. He always stepped up and helped those who were struggling and stayed on task himself. She told him that it would be hard not having him in her class next year. What a great compliment!

T was a hero this month as well. We found two, five foot long, bull snakes in our front yard. T managed to keep a hold of one of them with a rake until animal control came to take it away. Our neighbor apprehended the other one!


We traveled a lot this month as well. We started by going to New York to visit my brother and sister in law. They have a beautiful house by a lake in upstate New York close to where I grew up. We were able to do a lot in a week. Our first day, Sunday, was spent going to church and then touring the church sites. We went to the Grandin Building where the Book of Mormon was first published. We went to the Joseph Smith log cabin and home, followed by the Sacred Grove. Following that we went to the Hill Cumorah. It was a beautiful, spiritual day for us and drew us closer to each other and our faith. The next day, Monday, was spent playing by the lake. It was cool and had a lot of growth in it. Unfortunately it was a bit too cool for us, so we spent most of the day on the grassy beach. Tuesday we went to the Museum of Play. This was incredible!! It was huge with a carousel and train inside the museum. Our favorite spots were the full scale Wegman's Grocery store and the super hero area. We were able to make videos of ourselves as super heroes flying through the city. Add on the fantasy area, Berenstein Bears, Sesame Street, etc. and you can see why we literally ran out of time. I wish we had a museum like that here. I don't think we would ever leave. Wednesday we went down to the Corning Museum of Glass. It was amazing to see how glass vases are made as well as all the lamp work done. We finished taking classes ourselves. E and I made glass flowers and everyone else did sandblasting. We were even able to see some Amish communities and it gave us the opportunity to talk about different people and cultures within the US. Thursday was spent reliving my past. We went to each of my schools, elementary, middle and high schools. The kids liked seeing the schools that I went to and comparing to the ones that they are going to. We were able to go into the house that my family built and I grew up in. It has changed so much from when I was last there. Mostly the trees are huge. Following that we met up with some of my high school friends that I haven't seen in over 20 years. It was great catching up with them and a bunch of other classmates. It felt like it had only been a few years since I had seen them. Friday was a shopping day where we went to the mall that I had worked in when I was in high school. It is about three times the size of the mall I worked in, but it was still fun. That night the girls made monster cupcakes with my SIL and M toured through all of my brother's hunting stuff. We left for home on Saturday but were able to see Niagra Falls and take the kids into Canada. They loved seeing another country, even though for the most part it was a lot like the US. It was a great trip back to my roots, full of fun and family.

We came home, did laundry and packed up for our second trip. For this one we drove out to Idaho for T's family reunion, stopping briefly in Jackson, WY. His family gets together every two years. It is interesting though because there are new members of the family every time. There are 29 cousins now and that isn't final, with some of the siblings not married yet, and others not done having children. We were able to meet the significant other of one of T's little brothers, plus hear about another one of his sister's boyfriends. There were 45 of us there on a farm and it was a lot of fun! The kids fished in the pond, milked cows, saw cats, dogs, horses and all things farm. We went to a beautiful man made lake where even B felt comfortable playing. Add to that a huge tramp and a lot of volleyball plus lots and lots of talking and you have a great reunion. It was great seeing everyone and especially having T's dad there after the surgery. What a great time!