2010 First Day of School

The First Day of School has inevitably arrived. A few weeks ago I wasn't sure I was ready for the routine to start up again. But, as always, the last few weeks of summer seem to do a good job of helping me to look forward (desperately) to school starting again. Here's the first day pictures. Maybe you can tell who was happy about school starting up again.

Happy--Yea I get to see my friends.
Happy--Yea I get time alone with mommy. Happy and Tired--Yea I get time to myself--maybe a nap.Happy- Yea I love everything about school (except maybe math). No more comments from the author are necessary.

Springfield Museums

Mike took two days off the last two weeks of summer. On the first day off we went to the Springfield museums. Four museums-two art museums, a museum on Springfield history, and a Science museum, plus they had a Dr. Seuss sculpture garden. The museums were just the right size for our children and had plenty of variety.
Here we are in front of Horton the Elephant.
The girls are making peace with The Lorax.
We thought the girl in the painting reminded us of Lilly with Attitude.
Of course, Poseidon complete with horns, we thought resembled Mike.

Geoff is sitting in a chair sculpture made so that you can sit and ponder the other art in the room from many different angles. I'm sure that Reagan's pink sunglasses are aiding in the pondering process.
I think we were pretending there was a fire. I guess I'm just not a very good sport.

More Springfield. . .
The second day Mike took off work was for Lilly's birthday. This year we gave her the choice between a party and taking the family to Six Flags Amusement park. So we went back to Springfield and spent the day HAVING A BLAST!!! Mike and Geoffrey took me on Bizarro first. Truly the fastest roller coaster I have ever been on. Yes, I "screamed like a little girl." Reagan and Lilly rode on most of the little kid rides but truly Loved the scary rides. They almost lost it on Pandemonium, a roller coaster that spins as it speeds down the track. I reassured them that we were having fun and they put on a brave face. Their eyes were really wide but they forced a smile and a Wheee. Now they say that it was their favorite ride. At the end of the day Mike and Geoff took off to ride Batman and Mind Eraser. I thought I was getting a deal by going with the girls on the tame rides but after several whirly rides on the teacups and my first experience with feeling motion sick, I realized I may have done better screaming like a girl (I am a girl, after all) on the scary rides. Thanks Lilly for turning nine and inviting us all to your Awesome Birthday Party.

Forty

It had to happen sooner or later. Mike was nice enough to throw me a party to celebrate the day. I knew he was throwing a party but he kept the details to himself. He did a great job of planning food and inviting my friends to help me celebrate the arrival of my new decade.

I'm wearing the "Forty Hat". It was given to Mike for his 40th and had a few owners before him. Before I pass it on to the next victim I'm going to figure out the history and have each birthday honoree sign the inside of the hat. Keep the tradition alive. Thanks for the party Mike and friends. Best birthday ever.

Castle Island

While my mom was here we sent part of a day on Castle Island. It's not really an island but is right on the shore of Boston Harbor. We had a great time there walking around, playing at the playground, walking around Fort Independence, watching the planes take off and land at Logan airport, putting our feet in the water, and watching two guys do tricks while parasurfing.

July

Trek was July 1-3. Of course, we had to have a party on July 4th. Crazy? Maybe, but we sure had fun. The next day we went to our local parade at a friends house. It was a great weekend.


A few days later my mom came to visit. We decided to take a weekend trip to Palmyra to see the Pageant and the church history sites. Mike and I (and much younger versions of Geoff and Rachael) had seen many of the sites before but I was the only one in the group that had seen the Pageant before.
The Sacred Grove near the Joseph Smith home

A few pictures from the Pageant

Here we are on Hill Cumorah.

Trek

This summer Geoffrey got to participate in Trek, a three day re-creation of the Mormon Trek West. I was also able to participate as the person in charge of the food. It was a HUGE job but very rewarding. Here's our adventure.

For me, the adventure started months before Trek--deciding on how to cook everything, what to cook for dinners, breakfasts and lunch, snacks, how to pack everything, how to keep things cool, buying all of the food, etc. Half of my basement was taken over by Trek food.

My decisions:
How to cook everything-Each family (2 parents and their newly assigned children~8 youth)will cook their own meals together as a family. They used Dutch Ovens and camp stoves. My goal was for this to be a bonding experience for the family. It was so fun watching the families work together as they cooked their own food.

What to cook-If food talk bores you, just skip this section. I decided to not go the completely authentic route. The authentic part was cooking their own food.

Lunches—Ham or Turkey Sandwiches on Homemade Whole Wheat Bread with Cheese and Lettuce, Chips, Brownies, Fruit (Apples, Oranges)
I had several wonderful women in the stake make homemade bread ahead of time. They ate their lunches on the trail. Each family had a food bin and a cooler on their handcart.

Snacks- Beef Jerky, Crackers, Trail Mix, Dried Fruit. Also available any time—Peanut butter and Jelly on White Bread.

Thursday Dinner-Cross the Plains Chicken with Potatoes, Onion and Bacon, Corn on the Cob, Milk or Water, S'mores. The chicken dish was made in the Dutch Oven, the Corn over a large fire.

Friday Breakfast-Steel Cut Oats with optional toppings-- Dried Fruit, Cinnamon, Honey, Brown Sugar. Muffin, Orange Juice. I made the whole wheat muffins ahead of time.

Friday Dinner-Boston Baked beans with Ham, Corn Bread with Butter and Honey, Green Salad, Dutch Oven Apple Cobbler, Milk or Water. I made the beans ahead of time and had some friends make the corn bread ahead of time.

Saturday Breakfast-Dutch Oven Breakfast-Sausage, Egg and Biscuits, Cantaloupe, Orange Juice.
Everything turned out great and I received a lot of positive feedback. I am pleased to have had the opportunity to be a part of Trek.

Now for Geoffrey's experience. Here we are in our Pioneer Trek clothing.

The first night we stayed in an open field which seemed very prairie like.


The second night was a very beautiful site. The bull frogs in the pond kept me awake but Geoffrey slept soundly. He got to sleep on the ground by his handcart with only a tarp over him. They hiked several miles every day and had firesides with their family and as a group.
They let out the dam for us to get a great picture and so they could re-create the Sweetwater River rescue. Here is Geoffrey getting ready to cross the river with his family. Geoffrey really enjoyed his Trek experience.

Not enough of me

Yesterday, Reagan was goofing around and explained that she wants two moms, two dads, four sisters, two brothers and four Reagans. As silly as that may be, just think of how much I could get done if there were four of me--even two of me would be great! Which leads me to my post. First, notice that it is nearly August and I am just now blogging about an event that happened in June--Rachael's birthday party. Second, recognize that Rachael turned thirteen in April. Yup, two months behind. Oh well, Happy Belated Birthday Rachael.