Winter Quarters

Last weekend we made the drive to Winter Quarters to attend the temple. We also visited the church history sites near the temple grounds: the cemetery, where I just discovered I have a relative buried; and the visitor’s center. My appreciation for our ancestors grew, as we walked through the cemetery in the freezing windy weather. I can’t begin to imagine what the pioneers experienced, but I am grateful for their sacrifice, faith, and determination to endure.

Let it Snow

Yesterday we woke up to a white neighborhood ...it snowed at least four inches and a couple more came later.  We went sledding in the backyard and the kids loved it.

 

Freezing

Winter has come.  The high for today is supposed to be 16 degrees.  With the current wind factor temperature is -3.  Bad day to schedule doctor's appointments and grocery shopping.  I have never been so cold in my life.  Dakota's adamant statement today, which we will adhere to: "Mom, we are not going anywhere on cold days." Sounds good Dee.      

Thanksgiving in Denver

We are much closer to Denver now that we are living in Iowa. We made the drive to my parents house for Thanksgiving, and it was wonderful to see my family and be with all of my siblings.

Taylor and Dakota especially loved playing with Travis.

Bryce and Bryan played against Matthew and his friends in a game of flag football.  They taught them a thing or two, but were quickly reminded how out of shape they were compared to the teenagers.

 Katelyn made beanies for each of us. We all loved them, especially Camryn.

Just Another Sunday...or so we thought

It was just another Sunday. We happened to be.. Church had started, but we saw an empty pew in the chapel, so we took our seats. An hour later the meeting ends and I turn to look behind us. "Bryce, look, that guy looks a lot like Mitt Romney," I say. "Pam, that is Mitt Romney," Bryce says. There Romney was, sitting behind us at church and we didn't even know it. Guess he was in Iowa for the caucus and just happened to come to our ward. Taylor shook his hand and we had a brief few seconds of chit chat. We thought it was pretty cool.

Christmas Fun

We had a great time on our vacation! First we stopped at Universal Orlando. Harry Potter World was pretty cool. We loved Hogwarts Castle, the butter beer (non-alcoholic of course), and Dakota conquered her fear of roller-coasters, riding the Hippogriff 17 times.

Teacups make me sick, but Bryce and the kids love them!

Our next adventure was our cruise.  We left from Port Canaveral and stopped in Grand Cayman and Cozumel.  The kids loved the beach, and while some of our group was enjoying the sunny weather...

others of us were scuba diving. I have to admit I was pretty anxious beforehand, but our dives were pretty cool. The coral and fish were beautiful, and we were lucky enough to find and watch two sea turtles.

The kids loved choosing dinner five nights in a row: spaghetti with ice-cream for dessert.

Hopefully more pics to come.

We're Ready This Time

We are ready for the snow this time. Hopefully Taylor can play in it for hours now. A few great lines from him today:

"Mom, this day is awful. The snow is melting. I have no snow to play in."
"Mom, can I sleep in the snow?"
"I am going to play in the snow forever, ok Mom?"

We knew this boy would love Iowa.