Lots to Do

The summer has officially begun in our house. I know it snowed Friday Gentry is in Baltimore. I have been there and back. His office is put together and running (not quite smoothly yet but that will come).


I thought I would come home from being out there and be bored, but so far I can't keep up with everything that needs to get done. The kids are filling up all of my time with end of year activities. It really is so fun!
My week looks like this:

Monday
Grocery Shopping, including diapers and formula
Return some hats to the mall
Get some clothes for the boys birthdays
Laundry

Tuesday
Sister's birthday
Peach to preschool
Court field trip
Kevin here to help finish up Courts car
Hope of America Performance at BYU

Wednesday
Another sister's birthday
Bank run
Clean house
Court's ballroom practise

Thursday
Peach Preschool
Boys send flowers and gift certificates for teachers
Courts dress rehearsal for ballroom
BOOK CLUB

Friday
Tate's field trip to the zoo
Laundry
Pinewood Derby
Ballroom Performance

Saturday
Yard Work
Ballroom Performance

I Will Be His Hands

This year Easter and General Conference fell on the same day. Initially I was disappointed to hear that. One of the things I love about Easter is seeing all of the beautiful dresses on Sunday and the great Easter lessons/messages in church, the fancy dinner, the family activities, and the spirit of the day. I love Conference because we usually make it a "jammy" day (wearing PJs all day), watch conference from the couch, have a relaxing dinner, hang out just at home, and the spirit of the day. Combining the two didn't make sense in my mind. Boy was I wrong.
Easter was a perfect day. We spent Saturday night at my mom's, kids woke early for baskets, had a big breakfast with everyone, and then Conference began. The girls still wore their Easter dressed and I did their hair during the talks. In between morning and afternoon sessions we did the family activities that have become Easter traditions. Sunday evening we ate dinner, played some games, and talked.
Saturday's sessions seemed to have started the theme of parenting and relationships and Sunday just continued it. So many good talks, and lessons that I needed to be reminded of and have reinforced. I really feel like I will be a better mother because of it. One high light for me was when the tabernacle choir sang "Christ the Lord is Risen Today". It is a beautiful song and one of my favorites.
Dieter F Uchtdorf's talk moved me. He told of a statue of Christ that was destroyed. The towns people tried to have it fixed but His hands were unrepairable. The statue now has a plaque next to it that says, "You Are My Hands". He talked about how members of the church have done many deeds of service and love, but unfortunately not all do, and not always. My sister and her husband have been through a lot in the past couple of years living in the South and when I hear some of her stories, my heart goes out to them. I want so badly to be able to reach out to them and lighten their load. I want to give service and love to them, but I am two thousand miles away. I have prayed often that Christens in her area will do things for them that I can not. Then the spirit bore testimony to me to do the same. I can be someones sister here, I can reach out without judgement and love, I can do more and be more. Hopefully someone can do the same for my sister and her family.

I had a great day on Easter Sunday this year, with new resolve that I can and will be His hands doing good for my family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, and strangers. May you do the same. There was just something about the spirit of the day.

BALTIMORE

This summer we will be hanging in Baltimore MD! We are all so excited. Gentry thinks his guys will do great. Court is looking foreword to seeing all the places he has learned about this past year in history. Tate just wants to do all the things we did last year (mostly the water slide). Peaches wants to see the "summer house". Isabel keeps bringing me her swimsuit and telling me to put it on her. I love it all!
I've spent the day researching the city and surrounding areas and would love to fill you in.

Baltimore played a key part in the American Revolution. In 1814 after burning Washington, DC the British attacked Baltimore where troupes successfully defended the city. Francis Scott Key witnessed the battle and later wrote "The Star-Spangled Banner", a poem recounting the attack.

July is typically the hottest month of the year with temperatures typically between 91 and 73 with high humidity. May will probably be the best month with average temperature being 77.

Baltimore has a light rail system. Its airport is the Baltimore-Washington International Airport and is about 10 miles South of down town.

As I do every year I have started compiling a list of some "must see". Here is what I have come up with so far:

The Baltimore Harbor, John Hopkins University, Baltimore Orioles is the MLB team, Colts are the NFL team, Historical Ships, Maryland Science Museum, the National Aquarium, American Visionary Art Museum, Fort McHenry, the Inner Harbor in Fells, The Baltimore Zoo, Washington Monument, The Enoch Pratt Library, Lexington Market, St. Mary's Park Island, Walters Art Gallery, Tyson Street, Antique Row, and Edgar Allan Poe Grave.

In DC I will be going to the Smithsonian, Holocaust Museum, International Spy Museum (Court wants to rob banks when he grows up so he will LOVE this), National Cathedral (sixth largest in the world), and a visit to the White House to name just a few.

Not to mention its location in the East.

I googled how long it would take me to get from Baltimore to a couple places and these were the results:

Washington DC 1 hr 3 min

New York NY 3 hr 30 min

Philadelphia PA 1 hr 55 min

Virginia Beach VA 4 hr 43 min

Warwick RI 6 hr 20 min

St Cloud FL 15 hr 23 min (hint hint Chad and Teri)

Fort Walton FL 17 hr 41 min (hint hint Sean and Spring)

Bethlehem GA 11 hr 14 min (hint hint Doug and Joanna)

If you have ever been , please let me know what I should do while there. And for anyone of you that have ever wanted to go, I know we could make room in our (actually quite large) apartment. We haven't had many visitors during the summers and I would love some!

Swim Wear

I have been coveting this swim suit since I saw it. Too bad I wouldn't look good in it (still need to loose some baby pounds) but boy do I want it!

You can find it at www.anthropologie.com if you love it as much as I do

Fangs

I know it isn't Halloween but Tate just lost his fourth tooth in a row. Giving him FANGS! I hope they grow in soon so he can chew his food befor swallowing it; :)