{The Grand Adventure}

Palmyra, NY to Niagara Falls to Kirtland, OH to Sandusky, OH to West Virginia and back to Maryland. (With a lot of stops in between) Plus for days of DC!

After 1100 miles, 1200+ pictures, laughter, tears, fighting, one scary hotel, one lost blanket, and a lot of time together....our vacation with my family is over. It was glorious. Despite the heat, the sleepless nights, the strep throat, and the tired legs...we had a blast. Thanks for coming, for planning, for sponsoring, and for loving us...we love you right back!!

(Of course I uploaded the pictures in reverse order...oh well)

Taryn dove through the back window (which was down) to get into the car. Hilarious? Absolutely.

The traditional D.C. temple picture.

On the porch at Mt. Vernon. Fun place!

Trying to get a picture of my kids for my Grandma. Didn't go over very well.

We're missing Brookie...but here are 3/4 of the girls.

Lou-Lou liked all the attention she got!

Jonas and Devin throwing rocks off the Wharf at Mt. Vernon.

The first tomb that Washington was buried in. He was moved later to a bigger, nicer tomb. I have a picture...but didn't locate it in the 1100+.

Stained glass at the Visitors Center at Mt. Vernon.

Joining the Washington Family

The DC Duck tours. One of the most fun ways to see DC! Our Captain (Wayne) was awesome. It was hotter than HOTT...but so much fun!!

Jonas fell asleep...we wore our kids out!

Lou-Lou was awake for the first part of the tour, but fell asleep not long after this.

Brookie and Lou-Lou being disobedient. (notice the sign)

Brook LOVED the few minutes she got to ride on Devin's shoulders. Not sure what Taryn is looking at :)

Kaylee Bug and Lyvy Lou taking a much needed nap.

Cooling off after a REALLY hot day at the Zoo.

All the kids in the Orangutan house.

Mom and Jonas at the Great Cats. (We saw the Lion cubs...so cute!! Again somewhere I have pictures)

This tree had fallen on the path to the Zoo (We rode Metro in). Don't worry though....Taryn and Kaylee lifted the stroller (WITH JONAS) right over it. Tough girls? Absolutely!!

Jonas riding Metro...happily!!

Taryn...being forced to happily ride Metro :)

On our way back from the "Grand Adventure" we stopped in Fredrick at this little covered bridge. Not exactly what I had in mind when we looked for one...but it was cute.

Papa and Jonas

Throwing rocks into the stream below.

The Covered bridge. It was located in a city park.

In West Virginia at Coopers Rock. Brook was helping Dad hold the bench down :)

Jonas running away..again.

All the kids at Cooper's Rock look-out. I was scared of the snakes....I should have been scared of what Taryn and Kaylee were up to!

CEDAR POINT!! So much fun. I have about 100 pictures of Jonas on the roller coaster, the Bus, the swings, etc...I'll save them for another post. He L.O.V.E.D. it!!!

The slides outside our hotel. We stayed at Castaway Bay...it was the coolest indoor water park!

In Kirtland. Taryn helping Jonas jump through puddles. We missed a big rainstorm while we were on our temple tour.

The Kirtland Temple. (Taryn is holding Lyvs blanket...not hers)

Amish Country. Very cool...and the best breakfast on our trip!

We saw quite a few of these....fun! Brook really wanted to ride in one, but the place wasn't open on Mondays :(

Quail Hallow Resort. Very nice. Best Pool....except for Castaway Bay.

Blue Indigo Hotel in Buffalo, New York. A little weird...but nice!

Lock 29 in Palmyra. VERY cool. The guy who ran the lock even filled it up and opened it for us.

Martin Harris Home.

The Family at the Hill Cumorah Visitors Center. (is that what it was called?)

Taryn "Driving" in New York.

At the Log home in Palmyra.

Kaylee...driving in New York. (she really did drive around the circle at the Whitney Farm)

Cute girls in the Sacred Grove. (very cute girls.)

Taryn trying to keep J on the path.

Peter Whitmer Farm

Small World! Taryn knew this Sister Missionary! She helped at Taryn's school last year. It was very nice to meet her.

Cooling off at the Log home. (did I mention that it was hot?)

Brook was a great helper the whole trip. She rode in the van with us off and on and was so good to help with the kids. She watched movies, read her horse magazines, and made friendship bracelets. She's a good traveling nanny. (All the girls were good helpers....thanks girls!!!)

The Palmyra Temple at night. I was shocked at how small it was. *another Small World story....Dad knew a missionary that worked at the temple. (We saw him outside just before he went it) He lives in Bear River City. He and his wife are on a mission at the temple. (Dad knows someone EVERY where we go...and if not...he makes a friend!)

Still to come....Niagara Falls!!!

{The BIG 3!!}

Jonas is 3!!!!!

After weeks and weeks of planning a Monsters, INC party....Jonas promptly changed my mind when we went to get supplies at the party store. He picked up the Thomas the train plates and wouldn't put them back. Soooooo.....Thomas the Train it is! :)

Opening his "Bus Book". This is his favorite book ever. We read it before bed and naps. It goes like this:

Mom:riding the..

Jonas: Bus

Mom: to..

Jonas: Mcool (school)

Mom: to

Jonas: Mcool (school)

Mom: riding the...

Jonas: Bus

Mom: to

Jonas: Mcool (school)

We repeat this several times. He also knows some of the animals that get on the bus. Its my favorite to read it with him. He cracks me up.

Alyvia got lost in all the wrapping paper :)

Since my parents and sisters arrived earlier in the day, they were here for the party too. (We celebrated early since we were leaving and didn't come home until the day of J's birthday)

I think this was the first year that J realized he could just keep opening gifts because they were all for him. He loved opening. Brookie just kept bringing him more and more. He got so many things I couldn't list them all. Among his favorite are...

• The Cars Pop-Up tent from my parents. He sleeps in it more than his bed.
• The flashlight from Gma and Gpa Misrasi. They sent other things, but the flashlight goes with us and he HAS to have it at night.
• The Bus book. (I expected this)
• The Mickey Mouse scooter from Mom and Dad. Although so far he just stands on it and wants to be pushed around. That's not gonna happen forever buddy!!

Jonas is such a sweet, special boy. He loves his Dad and thinks his Mom is ok (as long as Dad isn't around!). He is very careful with Alyvia...he calls her Ayaya. His vocabulary is BOOMING!! His recents are: Carry me, Hold me, and WAIT! (he uses this at night when he doesn't want you to leave him in his room for bed.) The last 3 years have been lots of fun with Jonas in our lives. We're so happy to see all the progress he's made, all that he's learning. He's taught us to be better listeners, to smile and laugh more, and he's helping us learn patience every day.

Happy Birthday JoJo!!!

{Just Stuff}

Blogger is being weird. Whatever.

Hot, Humid, Sticky, Yucky, July is in full swing here in Maryland. This is the time of year I REALLY want to move. I hate feeling like I have an elephant on my chest. Anyways, since its been so sticky, we've been laying low indoors. Jonas is working on his last few days of school for the summer...and we're preparing for family to arrive TOMORROW!! Here's a quick re-cap on the last little bit.

• Lyv ate rice cereal and baby food like a champ one night. ONE night. Now she gags if I even get the spoon near her mouth.
• We went to a different Park (still next to our house) the other day. Through Jonas into a minor out-burst. The kid LOVES the park. Every day...several times a day he asks..."how 'bout the park?" Once he saw all the toys at the "new" park..he was fine. We've been there before, but its been awhile. He had fun with the tunnel...as he did last time. He played in there until I laid Alyvia down. Then he was gone. (She's poison, you know)
• Speaking of Alyvia...she's been killing me as of late. Up every 2-3 hours hungry as a hippo. This is the longest growth spurt EVER!! She's also bored to tears with all of her entertainment. Devin got the jumper down last week, and she's really enjoyed it! She bounces a little, but mostly she eats the seat and hits the birds above her head. I should also note that for an entertainment fix we can turn a movie on for Jonas and let him hop around near Alyvia. Makes her happy every time.
• Jonas got his first black eye a few weeks ago. He was hopping around, tripped over one if his gazillion blankets he loves and hit our entertainment center. He cried. A lot. It looked painful and I worried if his eye would be ok since when I first looked it had already started turning purple. It never did swell much. Just turned all sorts of colors. This was towards the end of it. I didn't think to snap a picture of it before this.

{4th of July-2011}

We celebrated the 4th this year with lots of fun. We started on Saturday by going to the Wheaton Park. They have a carousel and a train to ride. Jonas had been there with Devin a month or so ago, so he was VERY excited when we pulled in. They are also building a huge playground that we are pretty excited for. We were smart and let the kids have a nap so we could actually enjoy ourselves.

I got to ride the carousel with Jonas...he dragged me on here. I thought he was excited. He was...until we got on...then he was shaking with fear.

Alyvia got to chill with Dad.

Everyone on the train :)

Look at this little boys face...he LOVES the train!

All 3 kids ;)

It was pretty hot and VERY humid. Add to that a not so patient almost 3 year old...and things start to look like this...

If he'd had the strength I think he would have broken down the gates! He was just so excited!

On the actual 4th we had a lazy morning (well, Jonas had school so he wasn't lazy), took long relaxing naps, and then headed to the Castle Park to play and watch the fireworks. We hadn't been there in a while and Jonas was SOOOOO excited. Honestly Devin couldn't keep up with him because he was running around so excited. Then it started to rain and most of the people left or took over-so Jonas had the place to himself. He was in heaven!

Pretty wet boys!

Cheese!

Jonas didn't even mind walking around and getting wet.

Alyvia and I kept nice and dry under our umbrella. We kept all the stuff dry too. It was nice to NOT have to sit on a wet blanket for the fireworks. Lyv managed to get a nap in too.

It was a great idea to play at the park and then watch the fireworks from there. Both kids loved the colors and brightness. It was a great night!