16th Wedding Anniversary

Day 1: Visit to "our" temple

Jordan River Temple

Sixteen years ago we were sealed in this LDS Temple by our mission president Richard Winder (husband of former General Relief Society President, Barbara Winder).  We met 19 years ago in the MTC going to the same mission--Czechoslovakia Prague Mission (the name changed while we had our call to Czech Republic Prague Mission).

Day 2: Foothill Elementary School's Arts Gala

Day 3: Jasmine Thai Cuisine...yummmm! (Thanks, Mum.)

Day 4: Lagoon Fun Park

It was a bit chilly...and windy on the rides (Flying Ace), but we had a great time.  We realized that the older we get the less appealing the thrilling rides are.  The kid friendly, family rides are thrilling enough (tsk, tsk, hee, hee).

Happy Days!

Ohio or Bust (Kings Island Detour)

We couldn't pass up the chance to go to King's Island, so we decided to do an evening only.  Our first ride was in the water rapids...

before...

...after

(little did we know that this was only the beginning, of getting wet, that is)

 I had fun with the younger kids and caught some precious moments--Hyrum, especially as the flying ace!

Ally and the kids just couldn't keep their lips off of Snoopy.

The best part was Mom and Dad could "let down their hair" and be kids again!

 P.S. It doesn't show, but we spent the last two hours of the night trying to dodge the pouring rain.  Most of the rides were closed down, which led to some disappointment, but the memories will be forever embedded in our minds.  Gene Kelly can't hold a candle to our version of "singing in the rain."

'cause Daddy said!

Ben claims that he had this fun tradition as a kid to play with shaving cream on the lid of the toilet. When my kids asked me if they could play in shaving cream, I didn't see any harm in it.

THIS IS GOING TO BE SO FUUUUUUN!!!!

WHAT TO DO, WHAT TO DO?

I LET THEM TALK ME INTO THIS?

Not even Hyrum thought it was a good idea by the end.

Little did I know they would give me a really good reason to give the table a good cleaning!

I have to admit that face painting was my idea. Each of the kids had a go at my face. Okay so even I let down my guard sometimes...

Sammie's a pretty good artist don't you think? This is her "bee" turned "butterfly"!

Ben and I may not always agree on what's fun and what's not, but we can always agree that the kids will make the most of it. Fun, in their case, is an understatement!

Oops!

I was informed that I forgot the funniest thing that Hyrum (one year old) did.  (I'm changing the post time so that it will stay in the right order.)

See, we have this Fisher Price family minivan.  Normally Hyrum pushes it around and plays with the interactive buttons--"Are we there yet?"  Then one night when Ben and I were talking, we saw his foot move towards the car.  We both stopped and watched...with all four doors open and a little grunt, he attempted "to get into" the minivan, starting with one foot.  He repositioned and tried again. When he finally resigned that it wasn't going to work he put on his frustrated face and moved on to the next adventure.

“My dear brothers and sisters, may the laughter of children gladden our hearts. May the faith of children soothe our souls. May the love of children prompt our deeds. ‘Children are an heritage of the Lord’ (Ps. 127:3.)”  Thomas S. Monson