Palmyra

Jason and I had been to Palmyra, NY to see the church history sites before, but our kids had never had the opportunity.  We decided to take advantage of living so close and take them before we move. The Hill Cumorah was the first stop.

 On the way back down.

 The Hill Cumorah, where Joseph Smith received the gold plates.

 This was the printing press where the first 5000 copies of the Book of Mormon were miraculously published.   Melissa and Rachel got to learn how to fold the first 16 pages as they appeared when first published.

The view of the Sacred Grove from the Palmyra Temple.

This is what's left of the fence on the eastern border of the Smith farm.  It's on the grounds of he Palmyra temple.

 In the Sacred Grove, my favorite place in the world. 

Emily was so done with the 90 degree, 90% humid day.

The view of the entrance to the Sacred Grove from the Smith family home replica.

For more information about the church, visit mormon.org.

Graduation, Again

Jason graduated--again.  I think this was his 8th, but by far the best one.  Short and simple.  I would say it's his last, but he still entertains the idea of MFM (high risk pregnancy) in his future, so we'll see.  He's a real doctor now!!  This is him with the other two from his graduating year of OB/GYN residents. 

Melissa says that friends at her school told her that doctors are rich.  She asked me if we aren't rich because we have so many kids.  Then when her dad graduated, she asked if we are going to be rich now.  If only it was that simple!!  We are truly rich with blessings, though, and will always be grateful for that. 

I can't communicate how glad we are to have all of this schooling and training behind us.  This has been a LONG, hard road and I couldn't be more proud of my incredible, hard-working husband for what he has accomplished.  Congratulations, Jason!!

Rachel's 9th Birthday

Rachel had a great birthday.  We went to the park and played, then came home for her favorite pizza dinner and some fun presents.

 She decided on the oreo cake again this year.  I tried a different filling this time and it was wonderful!  Happy birthday, Rachel!

Comparison

William used to fit into this little blue bowl for bath time.  This was him at his lowest weight, about 2 pounds, on Christmas day. 

 Here he is next to the same bowl today.  He's about 12 pounds now, still has very skinny arms and legs and his head isn't shaped quite right yet, but it's amazing how much he has changed in the past five months!

The Busy Month of May

Jason chose the busiest month of the year, school-wise, to work nights.  This week alone he has missed a choir concert, a band concert, and tonight, Ashley's induction into the National Junior Honor Society.  Modern technology is a wonderful thing, and I'm glad he can still watch everything that went on via video.

William's Blessing

Five months old and William finally got his baby blessing!  Good thing my mom made his outfit big enough.  He looked very handsome in it.  

We were lucky enough to have some family able to come for this event, too.  My brother and Jason's brother and their families made for a wonderfully loud house.  I will miss these kids when we move!!!

Melissa Turns 11

I have some old kids.  Wow. 

Melissa had a great birthday.  She's old enough now to appreciate a cake for it's taste rather than it's looks, so we had a very delicious s'mores cake with no princess attached and nothing pink on it.

This is her "you mean now I can have all the gum I want?!?" face.  That's right...a gumball machine. 

 Mario Party.  Yea.

 The inside of this wonderful cake.  Pinterest is my new best friend.  Those are layers of buttery graham cracker crust in between the layers of dark chocolate cake and ganache.  Oh, my goodness, so yummy!