Battleships and TownePointe Park

 At the Nauticus shipyard we were able to tour two different Japanese War Ships. Their sailors were constant smiles and very helpful. This guy carried both kids down a really steep ladder. It was overwhelming and really interesting to walk around these gigantic ships.

 Raiyah has started to love mermaids since moving here. It bothers her that "they show their bellies and are immodest" but she still likes seeing them all over. She thought it was great she could look like a mermaid in this model.

 Battleship Wisconsin. I cannot remember the details right now but I will let you know when I figure out the great significance of it. I know it's a great WWII battleship. It was fun to see.

 TOWNE POINTE PARK, DOWNTOWN NORFOLK
We stumbled upon this park, which was a lot of fun. There were couches, different boxes of games, and best of all fountains. We were finished with our day at the marina so we let the kids run through the fountains. It was a lot of fun seeing them enjoy this  spur of the moment time at the park, and we got to watch all of the boats coming in and out. What a great city to see so many different kinds of things.

 Spirit of Norfolk: They have a mermaid at every point they can in this city. Each place has their own decorated. It's fun to see all of the different designs.

Spring Photo Shoot

I am so glad we had these pictures done before we left home. My mom always does a fantastic job. The guy at Walgreens wasn't going to let me take them because he said they were professionals and I couldn't make copies. I assurred him my mom was the photographer and with some coaxing he let me have them.

The kids loved posing, I wish I could post all of the photos. They were adorable.

Jamestown Settlement Aug 2011

JAMESTOWN SETTLEMENT
For an interactive history lesson I really liked visiting here. And being a Virginia Resident we got a season pass for a great price. The whole place is full of replica's of what the settlement used to be like. It's great to see it in real life, not just history books. There is the fort where the settlers lived, a Powhatan Village, and the three ships the settlers came over on. There were actors all along the way to explain what is going on, and share tidbits of information.

 Mixing up food in the Powhatan Village

 The Susan Constant. This is just a replica but they said they have done everything exactly the same. It was great to explore. And humbling to think how much they went through to get here.

 Cuddling up for nitetime on the ship.

 Raiyah giving a sermon from the pulpit. Did you know they could be killed if they didn't show up for church services which were every day. Good way to teach tolerance, and accountability. :)

Hiding below deck on the Susan Constant Ship from the major down pour of rain. I would not have made a good sailor. It was very cramped quarters.

Arrival in Virginia

Welcome to Virginia!!! We started thinking about doing travel nursing some time during January of this year. We were ready to either sell or rent out our house, Ryan was ready for a new job, and really we had just enough time for an adventure before Raiyah starts Kindergarten. This is our adventure. Our first assignment is in Norfolk Virginia. We knew this was the right thing to do at this time in our life, and have felt it's blessings every step of the way. We rented out our home in Utah starting in June. Moved in to my parents basement for the next two months. We had a lot of fun during these two months; and will be forever grateful for their hospitality. Our drive across the country was absolutely fantastic. And we have met nothing but incredible people along our way. We arrived late Friday, and were welcomed into our new friends the Whitings home. They helped us get a great start. The next morning we drove around and checked the internet for a place to live. Since it was a Saturday nothing was open. I was starting to feel very upset because I just wanted my kids to be able to be done with the driving and get settled. So after some tears, and prayers we went to the Bishops house. He was wonderful. They invited us into their home and hooked us up with their friends. We met the Blocks at their Beach House thinking we would just stay there for a few nights until we found an apartment in our price range. After staying in the house for a few days they offered it to us for our price we were looking for. This was a great answer to our prayers. They are wonderful friends already. We have made so many wonderful friends in this area, and been able to be part of some great things so far. What a great feeling to know we are right where we should be right now. We are loving life, and feeling very humble for our blessings.

Chesapeake Bay

When we decided to move to Virginia we were really excited for all of the history we were going to see and learn about. We didn't anticipate the joys of living on the beach. I have never been a fan of the ocean; I have changed my thinking. We go as much as possible. We are renting a beach house right on the Chesapeake Bay. We just walk a little path behind our house and wala we are on our private beach. At low tide the kids can walk all the way to those rocks. These pictures are all taken during high tide, but even then we have so much fun. I am grateful our beach house is on the bay because I don't have to worry about the huge waves when Ryan is at work, and then when he is home we can drive fifteen minutes and spend the day in Virginia Beach. Our kids are official Beach Bums. We are loving beach life.

Raiyah still talks about her friends she has left behind in Utah. I reassure her that we will return home one day and she will still have her friends. She has been really happy to find a great friend in Addison. From the first night we arrived they have been best of friends. It helps that we really like the rest of her family too. I think Malakai and Porter are still figuring each other out but they like each other. We are grateful for good friends already.

These last pictures were taken the first day we arrived in Virginia. As our landlord was showing us the area we didn't even have time to talk to the kids about the ocean before we looked over and Malakai had his pants off, and Raiyah was already in the ocean. They haven't looked back since.

Cross Coutry Drive from Utah to Virginia!!!

I would have to say for only having a week to plan our drive across country it was a perfect way to start our family adventure. It took us from Monday 11:00am to 9:30pm on Friday. I think with our kids we timed it just right. We had plenty of play time at our stops and drove about eight hours each afternoon into bed time. I had a huge box of prizes they couold open when getting unsettled in the car, one movie a day while driving, and snacks. It was a real success. We drove through Wyoming straight to Custer South Dakota. We camped at Flintstone Village which the kids LOVED! Mount Rushmore, and Crazy Horse the next day. Then slept in Omaha Nebraska Tuesday night. Winter Quarters on Wenesday, then the Nauvoo Pageant Wednesday night. Nauvoo all day Thursday. Drove through the most spectacular rain storm I have ever seen while we drove through Iowa and slept in Columbus Ohio. Had a fabulous breakfast at the local Waffle House (okay it was really dirty and disgusting, but hey you have to try it, right.) Woke up on Friday morning drove through West Virginia; the Shenanadoah Valley, and Appalachian Mountains, and arrived in beautiful Norfolk that night.

NAUVOO, ILLINOIS

Ox ride is only ten minutes and you get personal time with them. With kids I would recommend this over the horse wagon ride. Kids loved that one of the ox names was Owen like their cousin.
Typical Malakai trying to show the love, and Raiyah acting like she is annoyed but loving every minute.

This was the kids favorite place. They played school with the sister missionaries, in one of the old schools.
Getting energy out before another long car ride.
Our goal was to wear them out every day. This was always accomplished their eyes would close the minute we put them down, and they would be out. Such sweet little angels.

I was able to go inside and do some work in the Nauvoo Temple. It was so beautiful. I am so happy they built after the old one. The Spirit was wonderful in this city, and temple.


WINTER QUARTERS TEMPLE AND VISITORS CENTER IN OMAHA NEBRASKA

I'll be honest we almost did not stop here, and were going to take the kids to the local zoo. I am so glad we didn't miss it. It was our favorite stop on our drive. We pulled into the temple parking lot, and thought it was beautiful just like all the other temples. But until we actually walked the grounds we didn't realize how special this temple is. I have never felt such deep reverance before. We were truly on sacred ground. We ended up spending several hours touring the visitors center which was wonderful, and the pioneer cemetary where they have a memorial built for all of the pioneers that died here. I didn't want to leave this place. I will never forget the humble testimony I gained here.



MOUNT RUSHMORE

I have had this on my bucket list for a long time. I am very glad to say it did not dissapoint all of my anticipation. What an incredible tribute to our country. I am so grateful I was able to see it. I am very glad we put this on the itinerary.

WASHINGTON: Birth of our country

JEFFERSON: Expansion of the nation

LINCOLN: Preservation of the nation

ROOSEVELT: Development of our country


Side Note: wait for another twenty years (maybe it will be done by then) before you pay to go see the Crazy Horse sculpture, which is right by Mount Rushmore. We paid $20.00 to drive into the park, and then saw the exact same thing we saw while driving on the road outside of the park. Only the head is sculpted so far which is amazing, but again you can see it from the road. Don't waste your $20.00 driving into their money making park. If someone doesn't agree you can let me know. :)


FLINTSTONE VILLAGE IN CUSTER SOUTH DAKOTA
Ryan had visited this place when he was little, I am glad he had us go here. I wouldn't say it's very classy but it was fun for the kids. There is a huge playgroud, swimming pool, tons of little houses from the Flintstones: you can't go in them just look inside-we wanted to go inside. :) There is a train ride, a car ride, and even a show by Fred, Wilma, and Dino. The show was quite pathetic, the characters did the same motion over and over again for fifteen minutes while they played songs from a cd but again the kids got a kick out of it. They loved meeting Fred and Barney afterwards. Raiyah couldn't figure out why they felt like fur. Again, I wouldn't tell anyone to go to Custer South Dakota just to go here but if you are going to Mount Rushmore I would highly recommend staying here and playing in the park the next day before moving on to see Mount Rushmore.

This is us racing in the parking lot in no where middle america. I wanted to buy Riayah a pair of sandals so I asked the pizza hut girl if they had like a mall. She pointed to the wal mart and said, "yes, there it is." It was quite comical.