A lot to Catch up on. February, March & April

Time flies when you have 5 kids and are in medical school.  However, we count our blessings and the amazing quality time we have together.  A lot of our days lately had been full of hanging out, doing schoolwork and adjusting to this new little LemonLime that has joined our family.  

I was lucky enough to go with the young women in our ward on a temple trip to D.C.  WE arrived late Friday night and walked around the mall.  lemon was a good sport, as always!  Again, I am just in love with the history and legacy we come from.  There were such amazing lives lead, many great battles fought and such epic sacrifices made.  All in the name of truth and improvement.  

We stayed at a home of a very kind family, just a mile from the temple.  It was a beautiful home.  Full of great books and beautiful artwork.  We are so blessed in so many ways!  Blessed to live in this nation, blessed to have the freedom to search for truth, and freedom to worship our Father in Heaven and live a life that is in accordance to his laws.  We are showered with blessings when we live a life where we try to do our best, and repent when we screw up.  Because we all screw up. And still...we are blessed and forgiven. I am so thankful.

Just a week or so before we were talking about the long process it took in order for the time to be prepared in order for the gospel to be restored.  One of the things we discussed was the translation of the bible into English.  We had no idea it was there at the library of congress!  How cool was that!

On of our young women leaders is working on writing a book and has been working at the Library of Congress for the past 6 months!  She gave us a behind the scenes tour.  It was very neat!  That building is AMAZING.  I could spend a lifetime studying and learning about all the symbolism in that building.  It is a peice of art, a place of learning, a history lesson, a philosophy school and so much more, I was in awe. I love the history of this place.  The Library of Congress was also the first building in D.C. to have electricity.  Just a little tid bit of useless information thrown in there as well.  

Carlee Finished out her last "season" of soccer.  A few families in our ward got all the kids together to let the kids learn some soccer skills.  It was fun!  All the parents took turns coaching.  It was the perfect introduction.  Carlee loves running and playing with her friends!

Anytime the ball would come close to their end of the field, they would all run to guard the goal.  It was pretty entertaining!

Spring in Virginia means a lot of rain!  The kids really loved jumping in the rain and then once it got hot, insisted on the sprinkler under the tramp.  Every childhood dream.  Being back here, all on our own has created an environment where our kids have become the best of friends.  It is pretty magical.

Martins birthday was a success.  The kids insisted on a BBQ.  We enjoyed the nice weather and some yummy food.  

For the birthday celebrations we took the kids to Fairy Stone State Park.  It was about a 2 hour drive, (but what isn't a drive back here!)  It was so beautiful.  One of the pluses of homeschooling is that we choose our own holiday.  We had the entire park to our selves pretty much! We went hiking around  Virginia's largest lake.  We saw millions of tad poles and water snakes.  And even the perfectly carved B+M carved into the tree.  Its true...Brook Loves Martin.  Happy Birthday Martin!

He had had enough walking. Silly boy.

No filter needed.

Fairy Stone State Park got its name because of a legend where, once the fairies living in this area of the forest heard about Christs Crucifixion, cried. Once their tears hit the ground they magically turned the stones into crosses.  You can read more about the fairy stones here.  The kids spent a few hours searching for the perfect stone.  

After the search for stones, we ventured over to the beach area.  Again, we were the only ones around and I realized that I left the beach bag at home.  So, we decided to just throw caution to the wind, and let the kids run wild.  

The happy birthday boy!

The kids were in heaven. 

And then we read the sign...Opps...what a silly sign.  The kids had a blast and Mom got eaten alive.  The bugs virtually disappeared for nearly 6 months!  But alas, all good things come to an end.  The little buggers.  (The ring around the bottom of the pole was the "toilet" that Carlee and Cameron spent most of the time making...I just about died laughing when they told me what they were working on.  No comment to the question regarding whether or not it was used.)

Happy end of April!

Happy New Year 2016!

Well all I can say is that I have been a total slacker, and haven't been in my right frame of mind.  Winter blues and wishing that Spring would show it's face soon and all.  And then our computer crashed.  So this will be a quick recap. 

January Brings the Snow Helps the Sleds and Skis to go!

We had a great welcome to the new year, after the fun celebrations of my birthday, we headed into Roanoke for the day as Martin had some service canvasing with the Red Cross, so the kids and I headed over to a museum while we waited for him. 

It was the coolest place!  The kids got to play with sting rays and explore all the life that a low tide would bring.  The place was practically a ghost town, and there were workers at every station.  Talk about information overload.  I am positive that my kids don't retain much, but, hopefully it is the standard of life and new things we are ingraining in their little minds.  If just one small bit of information sticks and lights a fire, We will be happy parents!

They got to pretend to be the weather men, that was pretty amazing!

They learned (hopefully) all about the weather patterns and such...

There was an exhibit with all real body parts and in depth explanations of each organ.  I am so happy that we can take time to give our kids such experiences.  There is so much in this life to learn...its amazing.  And I am positive we don't even begin to skim the surface in our understanding.  We will be amazed at all the wonders of the world, constantly.  

Uncle Reggie would have been proud at their knowledge of the mouth in this interactive display.  It was a "touch" mouth where the screen in the back would share information and tell how certain things effect dental hygiene.  The kids would be told to find, and touch where the cavities were and other such issues the mouth can have.  Kinda col if you ask me!

I personally have this internal admiration and awe for all the sciences and the history of how we have gotten where we are today.  Each one of these names on the stairs just amaze me and I'd love to dive into their life, learning about what gave them their spark and what things frustrated them, what trials they overcame and how strong they must have been.  I'd love to just sit back and observe their lives and see what kind of people they were and take from them an example to share with my children!

The butterfly sanctuary was pretty amazing.  Carlee was in her element.  

And last but not least, the arcade...with every arcade game ever invented.  There was loads of information on how the coding began and how it has continued to grow into the massive industry it is today.  I have to admit...I just liked walking around playing all the games we played as kids at Classic Rollerskating.  Arcades are so cool. 

Drum roll please!  Carlee learned to ride a bike!!  She has been deathly afraid for some reason of the two wheeled beast...but for no reason.  She has all the skill and talent needed.  Just needed a little confidence I suppose.  We love having Huckleberry Trail right out our back door.  Makes for fun family walks and memories.

Audrie picked up long boarding and totally rocked it.  She was in heaven.  Andrue also decided that he would rather roller blade than ride his bike.  That didn't last too long before his feet fell asleep from the bumpy asphalt!  January was a fun month!