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.

Bountiful Triathlon

Well I finally joined Ryan on a Triathlon. It was a lot of fun. I was soooo nervous for the swim but it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. The hardest part was seeing Ryan jump out of the pool heading to the bikes before I even moved up in line. The entire experience was really exciting and fulfilling. Glad I finally did it.

FIRSTS

Alright this might be it for another while so here is an update on our wonderful 2010. I will just give you a peak and see all of our "Firsts" so far.

FIRST BALLET RECITAL: Raiyah LOVES being a "beautiful ballerina." She had so much fun dancing in "Swan Lake."

Teacher, Ms. Laura. She is so sweet with Raiyah. Every time we see her Raiyah just starts to giggle and needs a hug from her.
FIRST TRIP OF 2010: Rugby National Sevens Tournament in Las Vegas. It must be love because I watched 24 games of Rugby straight with Ryan. I didn't see many other wives there. But it was a lot of fun getting some sun, and learning more about the world of rugby.

We had fun hanging out with CourD'Alene. We could tell we are old when she kept wanting to go do more, and go have fun. We were just ready to get back to the hotel and sleep. Sorry for being old party poopers now Sis. But thanks for sticking with us. We love you.

FIRST FAMILY HIKE of 2010: We gave Raiyah her own trek poles; she thought she was on top of the world. It was a lot of fun. We just messed around up Farmington letting her practice for the upcoming season.

FIRST HAIRCUT: We took Raiyah to Cookie Cutters because she was pretty nervous for her first cut. They are awesome. She didn't even pay attention to the cut, and loved the cars, movies, and sucker.

FIRST HOUSE LOCK OUT: We were locked out of the house so we played in the car and went on a walk until Ryan got home from work. The kids thought it was pretty funny.


FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!!! Malakai is ONE! Can you believe it. He had three parties, and loved the whole thing; especially eating his cup cake all by himself. We are so lucky to call him ours.

My VETERAN, My HERO

I wanted to say thank you, and I love you to my soldier. You are my hero and I'm thankful for all that you've done for me and this country while serving in the military. I used to worry about what it would do to us when you were all the way around the world; but whether it's from Iraq, to Korea you always find a way to connect us.

I know that this country wouldn't be what it is without volunteer soldiers like you. Starting with the Revolutionary War until now in Iraq, Afghanistan and all over the world: it is you, the Soldier that has given us our freedoms. I always miss you, and know I will in the future when you deploy again but I am and will always be proud to call you my best friend, husband, and soldier. Thank you for you.

TE AMO

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

...."Was to support their lands, and their houses, and their wives, and their children, that they might preserve them from the hands of their enemies; and also that they might preserve their rights and their privileges, yea, and also their liberty, that they might worship God according to their desires." Alma 43:9

Even if you do not agree with certain government ideas or areas of conflict remember that the soldiers fighting these wars are doing it for us: the citizens of the United States. Please thank a Vet for all that he has and will sacrifice in the name of liberty.

Hola from Portugal

Well Ryan has class every morning for three hours. I usually go wander Lisboa and talk to cute old ladies while he is gone but this morning I've decided to be lazy and just enjoy this beautiful morning by myself. So for all of you, and mostly my sweet little Raiyah here are some pictures of our trip so far. Portugal is beautiful. There are many things I don't like: EVERYONE smokes, including all of the high school kids, and everyone looks at me like I'm crazy when I smile or say hello. So it's not the happiest place in the world unless you get outside the main cities, which is what we have found we love doing. It's kind of nice to just let Ryan take care of everything, because although I like to pretend like I speak Portuguese really well obviously Ryan is a little better than me. :) The people we are living with sit and talk "at" me forever, and Ryan just told me to nod my head and smile like I understand because they are truly just talking without waiting for a response. Pretty funny.

This was my first Professional European soccer game. It was a blast. The crowd even yells at their own players for hogging the ball, getting off sides, or not moving fast enough. It was a lot of fun.

We went to a REAL palace. It honestly was the place of every little girls dreams. And it's Portugal so we just walked through the entire thing. It was absolutely amazing.

This is part of a castle we went to. For every girl who is in love with the galant knights of old, this place was a dream as well. Ryan and I had so much fun wandering the entire thing. It was incredible imagining what used to happen within those walls.

Took a ride on the wine boat in Porto. This is my favorite "big" city. There was something new, and incredible around every corner.

My favorite little village, Obidos. It was just a maze of cobblestone, tiny white houses, beautiful flowers, and churches.

So as we were driving to Nazareh I looked over and saw this bench full of cute old men just hanging out on a beautiful Sunday. It may sound funny but this is the scene I was looking for all over Portugal. I knew I would find it if I looked hard enough. It was so fun to stop and talk to all of these cute old me. They were so animated and happy. They all would stop each other mid-sentence, shake their fists, and were just so friendly. They all wanted to get cute and handsome for a picture with me, it was so much fun. I was giggling in the car for a long time after we left them.

TOP OF THE WORLD...

Okay, not really but close enough for me. I hiked to Kings Peak (hightest peak in Utah) last weeked with my family and some good family friends. I wouldn't say it was the funnest thing I've ever done but I loved every minute of it. We did this trip when I was in eighth grade too but I got sick the morning we hiked the peak so missed out last time. I had a major headache the night before we were heading up the peak so I was pretty nervous I wouldn't be able to go- but no worries everything turned out fine. :)
I had quite an adventure on the hike- I took my own route (my Dad likes to say I got lost) but I could see the peak the whole time so I was not lost. I had to boulder up the East side of the peak which was one of the more scary things I've done. I was mostly worried that a huge boulder would kill me and no one would have any idea where I was, and I'd never be found. But after a little prayer and a little hope somehow my Dad heard me yelling and sat at the top of the peak waiting for me. It was truly a life changing experience. I'm glad I went even without Ryan (who had to stay home and go to drill) Sorry sweet heart. I thought of you on our 6th Anniversary as I was sitting at the top of the peak.

Do I look cold? Because it was freezing at the top.

As you look at this picture keep in mind we are on a backpack trip and there is no way to get clean other than the baby wet wipes I stole from my kids on the way out the door.
Picture of me and my Dad at the top of the peak. The man I know I can always count on to hear my cries. Thanks for waiting at the top of the mountain for me. Ilove you

You know that creepy feeling you get in the woods like there has to be something out there... it's because there usually is. As we were hiking back to the parking lot on the last day my Dad needed to go to the bathroom. He walked probably fifty feet off the trail and there was this moose just staring at him. I took this picture and could have gotten a lot closer becasue he was just staring us down. But I chickened out and just went back to the trail. I knew he was still standing there when I got to the trail but I couldn't see him. I really wonder what is out there when you get those goose bumps knowing something is watching you. :)

Family Photos

Still working on a family photo that actually looks good of all of us. We will triumph one day. :) In the meantime we are having fun.

Does Malakai look a little different? It's probably due to the fact that this is his third hair cut and he is only seven months old! His hair grows soooo fast, but I love it. He is still as sweet as ever and finally getting to the fun playing, crawling, eating, and loving his Mommy stage.

Raiyah is still her precious self. She constantly reminds me that she

is my princess. I cannot believe how grown up she is. This next week she will start Joyschool with some kids in our neighborhood, and ballet class (which she practices for every day on her stage aka the fireplace.)