America the Beautiful....

Finally, a month later I am posting our vacation pictures.

We took over 500 photos, so choosing a few was like looking

for a needle in a haystack.

They are in random order of a variety of things we saw.

Gettysburg, PA

Battlefield

Brooklyn and a cannon Gettysburg. We have tons of pictures of cannons.

Lincoln and the kids walked the corn field.
A infamous part of the Gettysburg battlefield.
It goes from Seminary Ridge (Confederate)
to
Cemetery Ridge (Union)

Benjamin and a cannon at Fort McHenry.
The place the National Anthem was written.
During an attack by the British
Baltimore, MA

View of the Jefferson Memorial across the Potomac River
Washington D.C.



Benjamin, Bailee and Brooklyn
in
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington, VA

The kids with a very reluctant Benjamin...
"Why do I have to wear ears?" :)
The biggest Teddy Bear Store in the US.
It had 4 floors of stuffed animals.
It was a stop specifically for Brooklyn.
Gettysburg, PA

The family and many others helping take down the flag at the end
of the day at Fort McHenry.
This flag was HUGE!!
The children in an Amish buggy.
Intercourse, PA.
Amish Country.
The children in front of a Great White Jaw.
National Aquarium
Baltimore, MA
The kids in bunks on the Submarine in Inner Harbor.
Baltimore, MA
National Firefighters Memorial.
Made after 9/11 depicting a picture taken at the site of the World Trade Center.
It is located at the Fire Academy and home of FEMA.
This is a cool place it is less than 5 miles from Camp David.
Emmetsburg, PA.
It is a huge statue.
Lincoln and the kids standing by.

Everywhere we go on vacation if there is a temple we take the kids to do

Baptisms for the Dead.

Here are Bailee and Benjamin at the Washington DC. temple.

They have done baptisms in London, St George, Manhattan and Washington DC. to name a few.

Iwo Jima Memorial

The whole family at Mount Vernon.

George Washington's home.

This estate is beautiful.

His tomb is here and is cool to see.

The Girls at the World War II Memorial

All of us in front of the Lincoln Memorial.

A reflection of the kids in the Vietnam Memorial.

This photo was my idea. We have a better one but it is flipped the other way

and I don't know how to rotate it. :)

The view of the Mall from the Capital Building.

It was an awesome vacation, full of history and learning.

It was also a very patriotic and meaningful trip.

Many times I felt myself almost in tears.

We saw so many things that reminded us to be grateful for the sacrifice

and hard work of all those who have come before us.

I am Proud to be an American!!

27 Dresses

After great debate with the dad...

I have posted a picture of the

Sexy Yellow Dress!!

But only with the wrap on, and not too close up.

Dads!! :)

Without the wrap, it has a two inch strap on each shoulder.

It is very form fitting and looks darling on her.

She has decided that if she gets asked to prom

(she will)

She will wear this color of dress.

She recieved so many compliments...

Just the right color for her, etc.

I am sure there will be many more dresses to come...

Maybe even 27 or so.

The play is over. It is always bittersweet when they come to an end.
Sweet to have a normal family schedule.
Bitter, because according to her it is just one more step to the end of
High School.

Goodness we still have a year and a half.
Scary!!
Before we know it, she'll be graduating and off to college :(

No No Nanette!!

So it's that time of year again. High School Musical time. No, not "High School Musical", but the musical put on by the high school. This year my daughter's high school is doing "No No Nanette". It is a cheesy almost spoofy comedy from the 1930's. Not my favorite, but anything with my daughter in it is worth watching. (you all know what I mean, anything to support the children) I'm sure I'll see it every night it plays. ALL 3 of them.

It made me laugh....That is all that matters. Oh and the totally sexy dress my daughter wears for the final act. The row of guys behind me all let loose with a ohhhh when she makes her entrance, the girls with them said "close your mouths boys". Seriously she is smokin' hot in that dress! :) The dad gave me a look, you know the one, the what is my daughter wearing look? (eye roll and all) He then looked straight to the boy sitting with our family, who had driven from Orem to see her. I think it was a look like, "Don't get any ideas"...Poor poor boys.

Finally, you know how you take flowers or whatnot to give the cast member. NOT I...I put a yellow star and her name on her bedroom door. She was so surprised and loved it. It goes with the theatre theme of her room. She is a Star after all.

If he allows it I will post a pict. He is funny about that kind of stuff you know.

I'm moving up!

I have been coveting a blog!! On one of the blogs I follow immediately plays music as soon as I pull up her blog.

I want music!!

So I got it!!

It was easy!! Once I played around with it for a while.

I admit, I am not the most computer/internet savy person on the block. I am learning though, and now I have music. :) It (the music) brings joy to my heart. You will notice I am a very diverse music listener. One of my favorite current songs is by Taylor Swift...It's about Romeo and Juiet. I couldn't find it. DRAT!!

I wondered if I could just download my itunes onto my blog....This works just as well.

Special Dates

Life is filled with memorable dates. Birth dates, Blessing dates, Baptism dates, First dates, Wedding dates, death dates, etc. etc., you see where I am going with this. We celebrate or mark these special dates in our lives in different ways, depending on the reason the date is memorable. Sometimes it's a happy joyful day, sometime a day for reflection and tears. Sometimes both. My life is marked by dates. Each one special and I hope meaningful in some way. I hope I can make each day of my life a special date, just to be alive, a wife, mother and a friend.

I celebrated one of these special dates this past week. My 21st wedding anniversary!! Wow, it has been a long time and not so long. I felt this special date warranted a little tribute to my "Sweetheart".

L....Lascivious ;) and Laughter.

Need I say more. Both a major requirement in a happy relationship. If necessary get a dictionary.

I....Invaluable

'To valuable to be measured, priceless.'

He is this to me. I don't know where I would be without him in my life every day.

N....Noble

He always lives his life with integrity and has taught this to our children.

Have a high moral standard.

C....Chief

He is the chief of our home. He has always been a good provider and takes charge of whatever needs to be done. (that I don't want to do)

He can fix anything, and if he doesn't know how he gets a book.

O....Observant

He is the king of remembering all things. (good and bad, lol) He gives me the greatest gifts. Things I have said I wanted or needed. Things I can't even remember. He remembers anything and everything special and makes a big deal out of it. He even makes a big deal out of dinner and notices when I clean house or do yard work.

L....Love

Can't leave out this one. It is just too obvious. I love him! I love him!

He shows love to me and our children in so many ways.

N....Nut

He is a nut. A tease! He laughs and teases continually.

Sometimes the girls can't take it anymore. :)

He says the craziest things. (beware)

Now that I have been cheesy and mushy and all those things. I will just say I am grateful for the day he came into my life and for the past 22 years. (counting the 1 year of courtship) I look forward to at least 22 more. And eternity. Check out my Sweetheart Tag post a few before this one for a cute picture.

Only People I Choose

So I have been contemplating changing my blog so only people I choose can read it. My husband is having stress about all the phsyco blog problems talked about on the news lately. He wants me to privatize my blog.

This would mean all of you (the sum total 5-6 of you who READ MY BLOG) would have to log in before you could read my blog. Be honest....Would this be a big pain in the arse? I want feedback.

I have assured him, it is fine. He does not believe me. :) Husbands sometimes think they know everything. You got to love them.

"Sweetheart" Tag

Once a long time ago.....

Still, to this day

Loved you Once, Love you Still..

Always have, always will.

So I have been tagged again!! This is a new one and I like it so I will do it. ;)
Thank you Kelli!

What is your husbands name? Lincoln

How long have you been married? 21 years yesterday. Still going strong too!

How long did you date? 14 months. But he was in the Air Force for 6 months of that and we wrote letters the whole time. He said he knew he loved me during our letter time.

How old is he? 42 for a few more months!! Wow, he's and old man. :)

Who is taller? He is barely...He is 5'9 or 10 depending on whose asking.

Who can sing the best? For sure him. He sang in Madrigals in high school. I know big shock huh.

Who is smarter? Depends on the topic. He definitely is in Math. Me more in Language. He has a 4.0 in post high school, so I guess he is Smarter overall.

Who does the laundry? I do. However, he knows how and has been known to do some if I already have it sorted. (oh, and only if it's whites or towels, stuff he can't ruin by throwing in the dryer)

Who pays the bills? What bills? lol, jk! He does! He does! I am grateful. I can if I have to, but ick!

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Looking at it or laying on it? If it is laying on it...I do absolutely and no way no how will there be trading!

Who mows the lawn? He will say he does more often than I, but that's a crock...I do! I edge and trim too. I like my edging method better than his it looks sharper. He knows it too.

Who cooks dinner? It's a toss up. Mostly me, but often him. He is by far the better cook. It must be all the firehouse cooking. They have great recipes.

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Hmmmm..I think it's a toss up. I don't know what he would say, he's not here to ask.

Who kissed who first? No question, he kissed me first.

Who wears the pants? We both do. We make combined decisions on all things important!

Now I tag Monica and Michelle as they are the only people on my blog list not already tagged.

Have fun with this one. ;)

Better Late Than Never

Our own little "Dorothy" acting crazy in the Halloween Parade at School!

Bailee showing off her singing pumpkin. Notice the round mouth with music notes coming out.

The notes continue all around.

Ben and Brooklyn Showing off there home grown carved pumpkins!

According to Brooklyn the best part of carving pumpkins is cleaning out the yucky gooey stuff!!

Ben wont even clean out the yucky gooey stuff.

"Why do it when Brooklyn loves it soooo much."

You'll notice this is my first posting of pictures!! It was not an easy task.
I am learning.
I really don't like Halloween. It is by far my least favorite holiday.
I still however do all I can to celebrate the hated day with the kids.
Now that Benjamin and Bailee have past the age of 12
we don't allow them to trick or treat.
They both went to parties.

My favorite part of Halloween is eating HomemadeHot Soup and
Homemade Hot rolls, that is our tradition.

P.S. Vacation Picts still to come and the post for Paula's B-day.
The Scanner is giving me fits.
I admit I am somewhat computer challenged.
Blogging is a big step up for me, and now with all the news about blogs,
my husband wants me to make it private.
Pfff. I wouldn't even know how.