Whiteoak Canyon

We thought it would be a good idea to spend the last day in July doing something really fun.

Just kidding.  We didn't realize it was the last day in July.  Today just happened to be the only day this week our schedule (ie my new nausea medication) and our friends' schedule and the weather meshed.  

And we are so glad it did.  I have heard about the Whiteoak Canyon hike from various people over the years that we've lived here, but we've never made it up there.  Since I knew there would be water involved, I thought it would be an exciting idea for the boys.

I was wrong.  The boys are never excited about a hike before we go.  And sometimes there is a fair amount of complaining on the hike.  But, usually, they warm up to it during the hike and have positive reviews to give afterwards.  Today with the promise of friends, no more than 2 mile long hike and the opportunity to play in the water there was less groaning than normal.  And I am pretty sure that they ended up having more fun than normal because it took us 4 hours to do a 2 mile hike because of the multiple breaks for water fun.

 

And along the way we got to see some wildlife.  At one point a bear crossed our path.  Jason stopped the boys and the bear stopped to take a look at us as well.  Sadly, we didn't get any good pics of him (guessing on the gender - didn't get close enough to check).

We also saw two snakes sunning themselves.  Jason conferred with his buddy Google and he's pretty sure this is a Northern Water Snake.

Everyone had a great time and everyone (except Jason the driver) fell asleep on the way home.

11 years and 17 weeks

Happy 11 years to us!  To celebrate Jason took the boys to a church activity in the morning to give me a little break and then I spent the afternoon taking a nap trying to sleep off some wicked morning sickness that I am still experiencing at 17 weeks pregnant (the other milestone of the day).  We definitely know how to celebrate.

The Fruits of our Labor

What does it say about me that we have lived in our current location for almost 7 years and this is the first year that I have noticed that raspberries and blackberries grow all along the path near our house?  I don't know that it says anything flattering about me (oblivious? lazy? afraid of physical exertion during the summer?), but I am sad about all the berries we have missed out on over the years. 

Ben discovered the joy of raspberries this year at Oma and Opa's house.  They have a bush out back and Uncle Doug was kind enough to pick some for Ben.  And Ben was hooked.  So, he was thrilled when we saw a bunch of raspberries along the path last week when we were out for a walk.  Sadly, the berries weren't ready and mostly made our mouths pucker.

This morning seemed like a good time to try again.  

Success!!

Merhaba!

And another successful summer of foreign language camp has ended!  This was Josh's 3rd year participating in Startalk, but this year he took Turkish instead of Arabic (Jason was a little sad).  It turns out that Josh liked Turkish better than Arabic (the alphabet could have something to do with it).  His teacher was a lovely woman who told him he had a natural talent for Turkish (which he liked) and kissed him on the head every day (which he didn't like).  We love that he gets this language exposure and the fact that it costs $40 to send him to a camp that runs for 3 weeks from 9 to 3 with free busing isn't too bad either.

Cravings

Normally, eating gluten free is not a big deal.  I have been doing it for 3 1/2 years and, for the most part, I am not sure I can even remember how some gluten foods taste.  Some GF foods are actually really good (Enjoy Life GF snickerdoodles - so yum and I have several delicious quinoa recipes).

But then I got pregnant. And the memories came back.  And then the cravings.

Nothing easy like pickles (naturally GF) and ice cream (several GF options).

Nope, that would be too easy.

No, at the moment I would kill for Krispy Kreme doughnuts dunked in Nutella (or slathered with, I am not that picky) and KFC extra crispy chicken.

And I don't mean me making an approximation of those foods or an uber expensive GF knock-off.

I mean KRISPY KREME and KFC.

Normally, I wouldn't even think about entering either of those stores because I am fairly certain that there is enough flour floating in the air to cause me to have an attack.

I may have to send Jason out for some Nutella.

Zoo

It has been several years since we made our way over to the National Zoo.  I don't know how many years exactly, but enough years that Ben had no memory of the zoo.  And the National Zoo really is a lovely place, it is just a ways away and it involves driving in DC - something I avoid most of the time.  However, Jason is home these days and he prefers to drive, so I was happy to suggest this trip secure in the knowledge that I wouldn't have to drive in DC.

Oh, and the weather was going to be nice (by Virginia summer standards).  Oh, and the baby isn't here yet so we are currently the parents of three kids who can carry their own water (love water backpacks!) and move under their own power for hours at a time - all ideal for a trip to the zoo.

We left early in the morning to ensure parking in our preferred parking lot and to beat the afternoon heat.  The boys did really well, although by the end Ben complained of his feet hurting.  Walking and standing on pavement for about 4 1/2 hours will do that to the best of us.

A picture of two wild animals stopping for a drink.

We covered most of the zoo, but I only took pictures at a few places because my camera phone lens doesn't really zoom very well.  One of these gorillas pounded his chest and roared for us before settling down to snack on bugs.

This elephant stood remarkably still for a picture of Jason and the boys.

This one didn't stay still for very long, but she did take a break from her lunch to come say hello.  The boys kept trying to convince her to kick the ball, but she just wanted to take a look at us.

We spent a while watching family dynamics in the lion family.  Turns out the kids like to bug the dad during his nap and he wasn't too keen on that.  Also, the wrestling of lion kids (yes, I realize that is not the actual term for them) is not unlike the wrestling of human kids (well, ours at least).  There is a quite a bit more biting among the lions.  Or at least I hope that is the case.  I am not often downstairs when the boys are wrestling...

We also watched the sea lion feeding and saw the zebras, orangutans, komodo dragon, alligators, crocodiles, small reptiles, golden tamarinds and so on and so forth.  The most disturbing part of the zoo, in my opinion, was the naked mole rats.  Aside from being creepy in appearance, their social structure more closely resembles a beehive or ant hill (1 queen, worker moles and 2-3 breeding males) than other mammals.  Insert multiple shudders here.  Luckily Jason and the boys share an interest and fascination for all living things; I just try to keep my revulsion in check with some of these creatures.

Another adventure that left me and Jason completely wiped out and the boys ready for more.  I often think that this baby has to be a girl (warning: horrible gender stereotyping ahead) because the thought of another boy is exhausting.  I try to think of activities that will run the boys into the ground only to find that I end up beyond tired and they are ready to wrestle in the basement for another few hours.

Churchy Stuff - NY Day 2&3

After getting soaked at Niagara Falls, we headed back to east to check out a couple of church sites before the Hill Cumorah pageant.  First stop: Smith home and Sacred Grove.  

This is a reconstruction of the house the Smiths were living in at the time that Joseph Smith experienced the First Vision.  According to the missionary inside, the ceilings are a little bit higher.  I would guess this is to accommodate the fact that the average human at the end of the 1900's/beginning of the 2000's is taller than those in the early 1800's.  I took this picture of Jason and the boys out front.  I have a couple of other pics, but all of them include our green shirt photobomber.

The boys were impressed with how many people fit into such a tiny home, but their interested waned quickly.  So, we headed over to the Sacred Grove.  I always assumed that they knew the actual location where Joseph Smith had the First Vision, but apparently all we know is that it was somewhere in this forested area.  So we picked a spot in the forested area and took a picture.   Don't let Jason's smile fool you - he was actually being eaten alive by mosquitoes.  He was quite the mosquito magnet both times we went to the grove and those little suckers, much nastier than their Virginia counterparts, sting when they bite.  We didn't stay long.

Just around the corner is the Palmyra temple, so we did a drive-by photo shoot.

And finally on to the main event!  Remembering that we had to reserve seats a bit in advance (they have plenty but it is first come, first served so you want to stake out a place before it gets too late), we went over around 6pm even though the pageant doesn't start until 9:15pm.  But, we came prepared with blankets and dinner and balls and Pokemon cards to pass the time.  We spread our stuff out to save 22 seats and then settled in for the wait.  Diane also brought sports equipment so between our stuff and hers, the kids had a blast wearing out their parents in the grassy field behind the chairs.  The boys were sweaty and happy.

Around 7pm-ish the cast started wandering around among the audience.  Some were gung-ho trying to drum up some missionary experiences and some were happy to chat about the pageant and get their pictures taken.  I like pictures with the bad guys - they always have the best costumes.  The boys spent almost the entire time playing in the field with Jason and the cousins, so I only got one picture of them with a cast member this year.  Behold, guy-who-chases-Lehi-out-of-Jerusalem who also plays guy-who-shakes-Joseph-Smith's-hand!

And then the pageant.  The boys seemed pretty riveted for the entire 1 1/2 hour performance.  Of course, there was fire and destruction and battles involved.  During a post-pageant poll, we discovered that the destruction of the city in the New World was the boys' unanimous favorite part.

We got back to the hotel at about midnight and got everyone into bed.  For once, Michael did not wake up at 6:30 the next morning.  After a somewhat leisurely Sunday morning, we head out to the Sacred Grove for a family picture.

On a somewhat related note: I have heard that "it never rains on the pageant."  I am sure that this is a Mormon Myth seeing as how the Hill Cumorah pageant is held in western New York and not in Arizona or the high desert of California.  In this case, it actually did not rain this year for either the Friday night or Saturday night performances.  On Sunday, however, the heavens opened and it poured.  Regardless, we headed into the Sacred Grove and waited with three umbrellas for 21 people for everyone to arrive and the rain to slow down sufficiently for a good shot.  It did all eventually come together and a very nice young man offered to take the picture and then waited for all of us to get situated.

Several pictures later and we headed back to the car.  We ate our lunch and then settled in for the long drive home.  After several days with multiple hours in the car, we were ready to be home.  So we drove the 7 hours straight through with just one gas/potty break.

It was a fantastic trip and I am so glad that we did it before the baby comes, but it may take me a while to convince Jason get in the car again.

Niagara Falls - NY Day 2

The family consensus was to attend the Hill Cumorah pageant Saturday night.  That left Saturday morning and afternoon open.  And that gave me an idea: Niagara Falls! 

I have wanted to see the NF for a while - we always drive by them on our way to the cottage in Canada, but it is always in the evening or in the middle of the night when we get to that area, so we've never been.  But here we were with time to kill and NF only a couple of hours away!  My Google research showed that NF was part of Niagara Falls State Park and there were several different activities (mostly $$) that we could do.  After looking around the park website and watching some YouTube videos, Jason and I settled on the Cave of the Winds.  And not just because when you go to the Cave of the Winds you get these really snazzy sandals.

Because you also get these really styling ponchos too!

We talked the Lattins into coming with us; no one else seemed to be as excited as we were at the prospect of having the Falls (Bridal Veil Falls in this case) come slamming down on top of them.  We were pretty sure that would be awesome.  So we crammed into an elevator and headed down to the bottom of the waterfall.  It was pretty cool to be down at the bottom at get the perspective of looking up at the falls.

And it is always fun to get wet.  After stopping at the platform pictured below, we headed up to the Hurricane Deck which was where you could get right under the Bridal Veil Falls.  No pictures because it was so wet and I didn't want to get either my camera or my phone drenched, but it was awesome.  The power of the water pummeling your body was crazy strong and the boys wanted to go under it again and again and again.  At which point, I questioned the purpose of the ponchos because we were all pretty wet underneath them.  It was so much fun.

When we were sufficiently drenched, we headed up top to see the falls from above.  Jason and the boys at the top of American Falls:

Looking down at the Hurricane Deck.

Pretty rainbow in the falls.

More falls. Another rainbow.

American Falls and the Observation Tower (where we had planned to go, but once we discovered what a zoo this place was, we settled for the Cave of the Winds and walking around to see the falls at the top).

At this point we were in need of food and water (okay, maybe the pregnant lady was in need of food and water) and the boys were busy digging in the dirt and wrestling, so Jason walked over to the Horseshoe Falls while Megan, Diane and I made arrangements to go eat someplace where Josh and I could find something safe to eat.

Another fun NY adventure.

On another note: this is the day I became converted to Google Maps navigation on a smartphone.  I had printed up maps avoiding toll roads for every leg of the trip.  Thus it was that we got to places just fine while driving through the extremely scenic New York countryside.  Until Saturday when we got horribly lost (roads not always marked very well in the extremely scenic New York countryside).  So, we got out Jason's cell and it led us easily to the park, even though at one point it led us over a bridge that looked an awful lot like the one that takes you into Canada and I was concerned that it was trying to take us out of the country even though we didn't have our passports.  I didn't need to worry - we stayed stateside and got there just fine.

Watkins Glen - NY Day 1

This last weekend was a whirlwind adventure that involved two state parks and three church sites and about 1,122 miles of driving.  The kids and the car all held up beautifully, although at one point the a/c gave up (we think it was just tired because the next day it was fine) and on the trip home, both Michael and Ben slept for about 3 hours (unprecedented).

Our plans for today: do nothing.

But, back to Friday when our grand adventure began.  The main purpose of this adventure was to see the Hill Cumorah pageant near Palmyra, NY.  I mentioned to Diane a few months ago that we should all go up to see the pageant this year.  We had gone to the pageant two years ago and it was a nice trip.  Now that Ben was older, I assumed it could only be even better.  The idea spread and so we all, at various times, headed up to NY Friday morning.  

The drive is about 7-8 hours, so I also started to look for places to stop on the way to break the trip up.  After a glance at Google maps, I began to come up with an idea.  The finger lakes were between us and Palmyra so I started looking for activities to do at the lakes.  And that is when I found Watkins Glen State Park with its gorge hike.  Boasting over 19 waterfalls on a 1.5 mile hike and a swimming pool (admission for the whole place $8 a car), it seemed like a great pit stop on the trip up. 

We got to the park at roughly the same time as the Wellings and the Lattins, so we all prepared to head up the gorge path together.  The hike was uphill the entire way and comprised of several sets of stairs, including a set at the end called Jacob's Ladder because it is quite the struggle.  But entirely worth it.  It was gorgeous.  Lovely.  Of course, it helped that we were in western New York and it was a high of 80 that day.

I always worry when I pick a destination sight unseen and then convince others to go with me.  Will it be a bust?  Will I have dragged a bunch of people to a lame place?   And I don't have the best track record when it comes to picking races (or hikes for Mom).  This place did not disappoint.  We didn't make it to the pool because we spent so much time on the hike, but we loved it.

And then I called mom to tell her that I thought about her several times on the way up and how relieved she should be that she wasn't with us this time.

Surprise!

What is better than THREE children?  Well, FOUR, of course.  

Or, at least, we hope so.  (Please, please, please let it be so.)

We've announced it several other places, but I thought I had better record on the blog (our family history as it were) that we are expecting another minion munchkin monster blessing on January 3rd-ish.  

So far everything is right on target - I feel sick, exhausted, nauseous and slightly depressed - so we assume all is going well with the baby.

Some amusing stories associated with this pregnancy so far:

• When we told the boys that we are going to have another baby, Ben burst into tears.  When we asked him why he was so sad, he said, "Because it might be a GIRL!!!"
• Josh wanted to know how I knew I was pregnant.  I told him that I took a test that involves peeing on a stick.  He thought that was hysterical and then went and told every kid at church who would listen that we knew I was pregnant because I peed on a stick.  You're welcome, parents of other Primary children.
• Two of my cousins are pregnant as well and due in November and December.  I swear it looks like we planned it, but we didn't (or at least, we certainly didn't).
• Instead of developing a baby bump, I have started working on my baby inner tube - nature's way of making sure that stay balanced all the way around, I guess.
• I love, love, love my boys; however, if this is another boy, I am fairly certain that I will need to be institutionalized (the fact that they are all home for summer vacation and none of them have any volume control may be reinforcing this feeling).
• One day the boys stuffed two balls apiece under their shirts and ran around the house announcing that they were going to give birth to peanuts.  Don't ask.  I don't know.

Hawksbill

The 4th of July was predicted to be an unseasonably lovely day this year.  Which partly made me want to kick myself for pushing to do the 4th in DC last year (so hot) and partly made me want to go up to the mountains.  Kicking myself proving to be increasingly difficult, I opted for a trip to the mountains.  Hawksbill Mountain, the highest point in Shenandoah National Park, became our goal.

And then invited our friends and Nana.

Nana, I think, still regrets saying yes.

Which isn't to say that the weather wasn't perfectly lovely and that the views from the highest point in Shenandoah National Park weren't gorgeous, because it was and they were.  

But the trail was a loop.  Going one direction was the easy way and going the other direction was the very hard, completely uphill, not-so-nice-way-to-get-back-into-hiking-after-a-two-year-hiatus (for Mom) way to the summit.  Sadly, Alison and I completely missed the entrance to the easy way and just started heading up the only path we could see.

Unfortunately, the last time Mom went hiking it was with Rachel and it was also a strenuous hike.  And the time before was with both Rachel and I (and Jason and the boys) and she (Mom) eventually gave up and decided to head back to the car via Skyline Drive.  After waiting a while at the car that day, Jason and I decided we should go have a look see to find Mom and Rachel and found them walking on the road.  I am not sure if Mom has ever been more excited to see us.

So, you can see why part way up the mountain she became convinced that Rachel and I are trying to kill her and that Doug is the only one who loves her.  Doug takes her kayaking and she loves kayaking.

Anyway, back to Friday.  It was actually rather chilly when we got up to the trail head, but nothing some good exercise wouldn't remedy.  We all (eventually) made it to the summit of Hawksbill Mountain and enjoyed the gorgeous view.  Sadly the wind was quite strong, so we decided against letting the boys scamper around on the rocks next to the steep drop off.

The Millers and their hats.  Oh, and the boys now all have water backpacks and I could cry with joy.  Hiking with kids who carry their own stuff is wonderful.

The boys and their buds.  Our boys always have so much more energy on these hikes when they have friends along.

The rest of the hike was just lovely and so easy that I hesitate to use the word hike.  Maybe saunter or stroll.  We didn't see any wildlife other than the critters pictured below.

In the final analysis, I think we all had a reasonably good time (wobbly legs and all) and would do this hike again...now that we know where to start.

The Rest of June

I was on such a roll.  Shoot.  Well, here is the rest of June:

June 24th was my grandfather's 93rd birthday.  To honor the occasion, we had two nights of family fun.  On Saturday night, we headed over to Dad and Diane's house to record Grandpa talking about his career (boys spend most of the time in the basement playing on the Wii since some of them have the attention span of a gnat and the noise making ability of a herd of elephants).  On Sunday night was the big family birthday party/gathering with 11 kids and a lot of food.  Fun times.

Aunt Rachel had come out for the occasion and for a few days after so the boys had a great time spending some quality wrestling time with her.

That was also the week of STEM camp for Josh.  This was a first time camp offered through the county and among the various options, Josh chose coding.  I don't think he really understood what coding was, but the online demo video was a Pokemon game so he was sold.  It turns out he really enjoyed the coding class and spent much of the time making his own Pokemon game.

Then on Thursday my Dad felt that he wasn't getting enough attention (just kidding, Dad!) so he decided to have a heart attack.  That or he was looking for a really exciting way to celebrate his 63rd birthday.  Either way, he got us all a bit worried, but all turned out to be not too bad (well, considering that he did actually have a heart attack) and we were all relieved that he got to come home.

On a positive note, Doug got to come up on emergency leave.  So on Saturday, after the boys birthday celebration with friends (laser tag and pizza with 3 friends - for the win), we headed over to Dad and Diane's place to celebrate Dad's birthday and his triumphant discharge from the hospital.

And that was June.  Kind of a crazy month.  We're just a little relieved to be in July.