Houses of God

This past weekend Tenille had a conference for her math research stuff down in Maryland. We took the opportunity to take the whole family and enjoy a couple extra days of sightseeing. We visited with our cousin Stacy and her husband Cameron. (Thanks again for letting us crash!)

The first of our posts from the DC trip features two houses built to honor God: the National Cathedral, and the LDS Temple in Kensington.

The DC Temple -
This was Nat's temple growing up. As a youth he went to to baptisms and has fond memories of those group trips with friends from the ward. This time was special, since it was the first opportunity he's had to go through the temple as an endowed member. We actually went thrice; once with the kids to show them around and tour the visitor's center, once without the kids (again, thanks Stacy!) to go through a session, and once in Sunday best to tour the grounds. Here's some pics.


When we first got in sight of the temple Grants reaction was a mix of awe and excitement. He just stood there pointing and saying "Oooooh" for about five minutes.


In the visitor's center there was a really cool exhibit of Hubble telescope images. These were displayed with creation/universe-type scriptures (think Pearl of great Price kindof stuff). Above is a picture of Nat telling Grant about bar-spiral galaxies. The caption might read "Someday, son, all this will be yours." Fitting for the temple...

Fact: Most temples have cool doors. The DC temple is no exception. Here's a picture.

One of Grant's favorite bed-time songs? "I like to see the temple, I'm going there someday..."


The National Cathedral -
This national landmark is waaaay underrated. Nat had been to DC how many times and never even really heard of it? It is an interesting blend of old world orthodoxy and new world democracy. The founders nearly achieve sainthood in this cathedral celebrating both the gospel of Jesus and the birth of American freedom.





Saints Washington and Lincoln?



The burning bush and tree of life, perhaps? These windows face each other from across the nave.



The rose window makes a striking feature, heading a procession of the flags of the states. We liked this in conjunction with a line from Washington's War Message to congress, which is etched into a side chapel wall. He sums up the aim of American freedom as being to "bring peace and safety to all nations and make the world itself at last free."



A final and futile supplication: "Lord open the King of England's eyes."

Grant in Trains

This weekend we went to Lancaster and had a blast. While in Lancaster, we went to a train museum because Grant loves trains. I didn't take many pictures of Grant, but I did take pictures of the letters in Grant's name.

Just Enough Time to Post Some Pictures

Sadie Elaine turned two months old. She is cute and smiley as long as mom is holding her. We don't think she looks much like Grant did at this age. What do you think?

Grant got a hair cut. Here's his really cute before shot.I really miss the long hair, but I don't miss the puddle of sweat Grant's hair created every time he took a nap. Seriously, this kid's head can really sweat!

We wore the kids out on the Fourth. Sadly, we missed the fireworks and the 4K race. Oh well, there's always next year.

Stealing the Show

Grant sure loves his sister.

He holds her and talks to her.
He shares his toys with her.
He sits by her while she sleeps.I wanted to make a cute movie of Sadie smiling at her fish mobile. Unfortunately, I think Grant stole the show.

Who's Dressing This Boy?

I started my PhD program this month which means we've been juggling the kids around. Currently, I get up before the sun to work on campus in the mornings and Nat gets to go to campus in the afternoons. This works out well because Nat can sleep in a little in the mornings. Unfortunately, it means that he is also the one dressing the kids.

In general, I would say that Nat dresses well. He even likes to give me fashion advise. But sometimes I wonder what he is thinking when he dresses the kids. Nat's had to learn a few hard lessons these past few weeks.

Lesson 1: The Top Button Goes in the Top Button Hole

My sister already noticed that Grant's shirt was buttoned incorrectly in the pictures in the 2 to 200 post. I come home to incorrectly buttoned shirts regularly, but I usually give Nat the benefit of the doubt because Grant can be kind of squirmy.

Lesson 2: The Fly Goes in the Front

So it's a little difficult to tell from the picture, but Grant's shorts are on backwards. Again, I think Candace gets credit for noticing this one when we got home from working on Thursday. In Nat's defense, most of Grant's pants have fake flies.

Lesson 3: Two Plaids? Really?

This is what I came home to today. I can't think of a valid excuse for my husband on this one; he's not colorblind.

From 2 to 200

About 2 months ago, Grant could say basically two words: ball and apple. Okay, so maybe he could say a few more, but he still wasn't saying "mama" or "dada". He understood a lot, but he never tried to say anything. Things have completely changed over the past few months. Grant picks up 2 or 3 new words a day. It makes my life so much easier and enjoyable.
In this first video clip, Grant tells us what's for dinner and what he wishes was for dinner. It features the words: banana, peas, milk, apple, hi and bye.

This next video is a little long, but I thought that grandparents and aunts and uncles might enjoy it. I've titled it Grant Helps Mom Read a Book and it features the numbers 1-9 and the following words: bumble bee, more, fish, turtle, duck, frog, and home.

The first time we tried to video Grant "reading" the book, our camera battery died. Luckily we were able to capture Grant's first attempt at the word "turtle" before the battery was completely gone. I edited the video below to include just the fish and turtle pages.

The pictures were taken at Millbrook Marsh Nature Center during our Saturday afternoon picnic.

Memorial Day Cuteness

Memorial Day in Boalsburg is HUGE! The town claims to be the Birthplace of Memorial Day and celebrates the holiday with carnivals, firetruck parades, reenactments, and much more. We began the weekend by visiting the massive war memorial. The above picture doesn't even begin to capture the size and majesty of this place. It was breathtaking!

Then it was off to the parade, which was hosted by the fire company. The adults enjoyed seeing the old fire engines. Grant was memorized by the firetrucks and a little perplexed by the candy flying from the engine. But once mom let him gather and eat the tossed candy, he began to cheer as each engine passed and loudly shout "YEAH!" when they threw candy to him. This shout of "YEAH!" was much like the shouts of "YEAH!" I hear each Sunday when I drop him off at nursery. I don't know if I should be happy that he is secure enough that I can leave him at nursery or if I should be worried that my son like nursery more than me.Sadie looked adorable in her Memorial Day outfits. I love to see her smile.