Apple picking

Our friends, the Lansings, invited us to go to Carter Mountain Orchard to pick apples with them. Despite being rainy that day and Michael being in Boston (for a conference), we made the trip over the mountain and were so glad we did.

Henry was really happy to take this picture.

 Cute worms.

 Everyone busy with their own bags of apples. Henry was unfazed by the slippery grass and steep slope--he just kept picking himself back up again.

 That's a good one up there, Mom! Can you reach it for me?

 Checking out the rainbow.

 Ooh, this is a tough one, but I'm going to get it!

Happy kids.

We had fun going out for pizza in downtown Charlottesville afterward, despite busy traffic. It was great being with such wonderful people and having a good time. It's crazier the more kids we have, but I'm glad we don't let our children prevent us from getting together--it just adds to the fun.

Now I need to get moving on using up a ton of granny smith apples!

Fall getaway

Michael's parents (Grandma and Grandpa) came up last week for a visit. It was wonderful to have them, as always. Michael took them up to Pennsylvania for a night to visit Philadelphia, attend the temple, and see some of the places where his dad grew up. They had a great time. (See previous post for more details.)

The day after they returned, Michael and I left the kids with Grandma and Grandpa and drove down to the Fort Lewis Lodge, which is about one and a half hours away from Harrisonburg.

The fort from the 1700s no longer exists, but the current owners have made the lodge, barn, cabins, etc. into a bed and breakfast. The wife makes breakfast and dinner for all those staying there (about 50 people?), and it is always delicious.

 We stayed there for a night five years ago (Hyrum babysat Clara at home), and we were looking forward to returning. This time, we stayed in the silo. It was awesome--we were on the third floor, and our room was round (actually it had 12 sides, a dodecagon, I just learned).

 With the great weather, we enjoyed a lot of time outdoors. We went on a hike on Friday morning on Hickory Gap Trail, a view that overlooks the lodge and surrounding property.

 Michael found me a great walking stick, but then had a hard time finding one that worked for him. This one was almost a good fit . . .

In the afternoon, we drove an hour south to Lake Moomaw, a huge lake that was virtually empty. It was really fun to go canoeing--I hadn't done that in a long time. My muscles were sore the next morning. We also met a woman who was a less-active member of the Church there--that was special.

 Gorgeous scenery.

Back at the lodge, we enjoyed the grounds and played some disc golf and ping pong. I am terrible at disc golf but had fun anyway. Michael, who plays any sport better than I do, was encouraging and never made me feel bad but helped me fish my frisbee out of the "shtuff" (the tall weeds and brush into which I apparently loved to throw it).

 Resting on the hammock was awesome--another experience I hadn't had in years. It was so peaceful looking up at the leaves, hearing the birds, feeling the breeze, just talking together and enjoying each other's company. We commented on how a photo just doesn't capture these experiences well--you have to enjoy them with all of your senses.

My handsome hiking companion. I just feel so immeasurably blessed to have such a great friend as my husband. We make a good team and feel renewed when we enjoy time away on our own. It is always reassuring that we still like hanging out together--we know when the kids are gone we'll be just fine.

We sure missed the kids, though, and were happy to head back on Saturday afternoon. Thanks so much again to Grandma and Grandpa for watching the kids--it is not an easy job, that is for sure.

Fun with Grandma and Grandpa

Last week, Michael's parents came up for the week. It was great having them! As part of their visit, Michael took them up to Gettysburg to see Bob's parents, then to Philadelphia for a night to attend the temple, explore the city, and see some spots where his dad grew up outside of the city.

 Michael with his grandparents. They are growing more feeble but are still in good spirits. His grandpa is 91 now.

 They headed over to the new Philadelphia temple that evening, where they performed some temple work for their ancestors which Michael had found in his family history research. Super cool. They also enjoyed dinner (and breakfast) at the Reading Terminal Market and brought home some yummy treats, too.

 The next morning, Michael went running along the Schuylkill River (pronounced "skoo-kul," apparently) and then he and his parents headed over to the Museum of Modern Art to see Rocky.

 And of course, Michael ran up the steps and did some jumps and punches to complete the pilgrimage.

The day after they returned, Michael and I left on a little getaway (see next post). But then when we returned home, we got to spend some more time with Grandma and Grandpa. We headed over to the pumpkin patch to pick a couple of pumpkins for carving.

 Clara wasn't too thrilled with Grandma for some of the time we were gone (because Grandma was following my instructions), but fortunately she forgot her frustrations and had fun, too.

 Different varieties of pumpkins--both living and not.

 What a great-looking couple!

 Robbie sure looks thrilled. These are my favorite people!

 Henry loved being up on Grandpa's shoulders. He also likes to fall backward while his feet are still being held. Fun but scary!

Ready to do some exploring!

Daddy with his boys.

We were grateful to have Grandma and Grandpa on Sunday as well, and look forward to seeing them again at Thanksgiving!

A birthday surprise

On the 7th I turned 34. Woohoo!

 Michael got this delicious cake from some fancy farm in Pepperidge. (Guess who likes making forts in the living room, btw?)

 Half-naked boys helped me blow out the candles.

The week before my birthday, Michael surprised me by informing me that he had gotten me a plane ticket to fly out to Utah to see my family for a few days. (He hadn't officially bought the ticket--he wanted to get my okay first, but he'd researched everything and contacted my family, etc.) I was so pleased and surprised.

So for my actual birthday, the kids/Michael hid little travel goodies around the house and I played "hot and cold" to find them.

I was nervous to leave, especially with Clara dealing with homework in middle school, etc., but I knew Michael would be fine and everyone would have a good time with Daddy.

I arrived in Salt Lake safely and was met by my parents, who are serving an eighteen-month mission in Salt Lake in the interpreting department of the church. Their office was in the Church Office building but was moved for six weeks over to the Conference Center to prepare for General Conference.

Here's a chart of the 95 languages that conference is translated into--my parents are over 27 (?) of those languages. A lot of the languages I have never even heard of!

 You can see little plaques with the name of a language on each of these cubicles.

 This is the monitor that the interpreter looks at as he interprets. He typically has the talk in advance to prepare. He is supposed to stand while he's interpreting and really do his best to be like the speaker. I like the thoughts on the yellow posters above. There is also someone sitting next to him to jump in/help as needed.

Pretty exciting and amazing! One fun thing is that there were two different water fountains by the interpreter cubicles--one for cold water and one for room temperature water. Since people in some countries don't like ice/cold water, it is a thoughtful touch.

 My parents worked hard before my arrival so they could take some time off of their mission to hang out with me. We enjoyed walking around temple square and had a yummy lunch at the Lion House Pantry. We took a brief tour of the Beehive House and I even got to walk in the tunnel that goes underneath the temple to the Conference Center--that's how the General Authorities get around without having to go above ground. They use little carts. Pretty cool.

The lower two windows on the first floor of the building behind me are President Monson's office. And all the flowers everywhere? So beautiful and peaceful.

In the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, there is a really neat family history center with interactive screens where you can visually learn about your ancestry. It was really fun!

After temple square, we drove around to see the houses where my parents grew up in Salt Lake. I don't think I'd seen any of these places before, so it was neat to imagine my parents playing here as children.

 The house my dad grew up in as a young man.

The house my dad lived in as a young boy.

My mom's grandparents' house--she played here as a girl. I couldn't get a good shot of her house on G Street--there were lots of trees in front, unfortunately.

 We also visited my dad's parents' graves. They died before I was born, and I can't wait to meet them someday.

That night we drove down to Provo to do some sealings in the Provo City Center temple with Heather and Bryan and Emily. Sadly, they stopped doing sealings at 7pm (we missed it because we were taking pictures outside, haha!), so we drove over to the other Provo temple and had a great time being in the temple together. And fortuitously, I ran into Susan Wilson, a woman I sang with in the Augusta Collegium Musicum down in Georgia--it was wonderful to see her.

 The next day I hung out with Bryan and Emily. Emily and I went to BYU and I got to see one of our former Laurels from our ward, Maddie Allen. I really enjoyed just hanging and talking with Emily. Bryan showed me around the house they are renovating (check out the view of the mountains!), which is a lot of work but will look awesome when it's done. I also had a great time just sitting on the porch and hanging out with him.

He got a box of Dunford Donuts, one of which is a meal in and of itself.

On Saturday morning, Michael's brother, Joseph, and his wife Jenna, made me a yummy waffle breakfast and we went on a hike to Slate Canyon Park. I had forgotten about this place, and it has a beautiful view.

I am so blessed to have such great family as my in-laws.

Later that afternoon, I hung out with Heather. Here's Heather with her youngest, Duncan (age 11) at his soccer game. It was great just talking and being together and hearing and learning from Heather throughout this trip.

Hanging out in the sun at the game.

And then later, we all went out to Cubby's for burgers/salads/fries. Really good! Here are Bryan and Emily. I sure like them.

Four of my nieces and nephews--Duncan, Grace, Caroline, and Clay--and you can see my sweet parents in the background.

On Sunday morning I flew home. Here's the Great Salt Lake from my airplane window around 7am. It was a wonderful trip, and I was missing my family and ready to go home. Michael and the kids all survived and I came home to a clean house with roses on the counter.

Such a generous and thoughtful birthday gift from my favorite person.