Last Hike

Well, we're here! And San Antonio is hot, even in October. While we get organized, here's a quick look back on the day the movers finished with us. We were left alone with an empty house and looking forward to seeing Jared that night. We had some time, so we decided to go on one last hike to the lake. We're still a little nostalgic about having lived there.





Looking for bad guys....


Ellie ended up falling asleep because the boys dawdled so long.




Isaac insisted we keep this turtle (we didn't).






Soon, soon, impatient ones. I will get to the visitors, the goodbyes, the road trip and the Texas first impressions.

That Little Sucker

It was late. We had been up since five and out in the sun all day among thousands of others at the capital. Isaac had had a run-in with poison ivy. Noah had had a violent and loud meltdown at Pizza Hut on the way home. They were both tired and very dirty. A bath and a shower were desperately needed. Noah was shrieking nonstop; Isaac tried to stay in the car, jumping out of his seat to the floor and falling back asleep. Nothing short of a miracle could help me bathe these two without losing my mind. And that miracle came...in the form...of..."Washy."


"That little sucker just saved your life!"

It stopped the tears. It talked and sang to each of them. First, Noah in the tub upstairs and then Isaac in the shower downstairs.

What Isaac had to say:
"Mom, do you know what Washy did? He made me want to take my shower. I don't know how that works. It's a mystery. He must be a magic frog!"

Thank you, Washy (and thank you, Mimi)!

One Crazy Camping Trip

In July we went to the pageant in Palmyra. It was a quick, fun, challenging, fulfilling trip. We set up camp and headed to the show. I didn't bring the camera, but the pageant was awesome. After seeing the Manti Pageant, I wasn't expecting anything too great, but it was very impressive. Isaac kept saying, "this is so cool!" whenever he recognized a story. Noah said things like, "Did Jesus drink his cup all gone?" Ellie watched almost the whole thing, skipping her evening nap altogether. You know those effects are special!

I hadn't been camping in a decade, so it was interesting to go again. With kids. I decided I like hotels and was glad we'd only be there one night....

I can't believe we thought we could all fit in this itty-bitty tent! It was rather crowded, to say the least.


Mud River rose considerably during the night from all the previous day's rain, so we had to watch the kiddos closely as we packed up to go.


Watch out for the 'skeeters! Wet wood, muddy table, but grateful for yummy yogurt.

Isaac had a good time.

Of course the sticks were their favorite part.


Little Lady was a very good sport. She slept through the night very peacefully, unlike some of us.

Packing up after a dirty, mostly-sleepless night. We went for the Church History sites the following day.


Up we go.


Some unfriendly-looking types on the footpath


There's a smile!


It's a pretty little hike to the top.


Noah gets some inspiration...


He feels the Spirit!


A view from the top of the Hill Cumorah. You can see the fantastical stage. The green area is the audience's seating.


Going down again....



There were tears on this trip, believe it or not.


The coolest thing about the Smith Family Farm tour? These are the original bricks under which Joseph hid the plates at one point.


Path to the Sacred Grove


Walking through these woods together was the closest thing we could possibly have to being in the temple with our little family. It was very cool, very undeniable, almost tangible.



Taking a rest after a long walk. There are a lot of paths to take there!


Isaac's excited to be in front of the Grandin building, where his parents were engaged by interesting tours while being simultaneously mortified by their children. Wise, old missionary couples had tootsie rolls and that helped for about 2 minutes at a time. Then Noah interrupted a testimony with "ribbit-ribbit, hop! hop!"


The boys were getting restless of sightseeing by now.


Isaac at the Peter Whitmer Farm


Noah has to do it, too.

Then we drove home; I had a renewed appreciation for that place (home), let me tell you!

Way Back in July

So...I went to the beach and the camera didn't make it back fully functional. Yikes, this is camera #2 in our days of poverty. Sorry, Jared!

But, to keep my promise of more posts, here's what we looked like last month.

The boys thoroughly enjoyed dressing up for the Fourth.


We celebrated with the Shannahans and had us a ball.


We discovered that snakes aren't the most exciting fireworks. But the type of firework we brought was apparently too exciting for Noah and he started screaming like a mad man. Snakes had suited him just fine, although it was widely agreed that it was about like watching dog poo catch on fire.



My little lady was, of course, the life of the party.

And Isaac & Noah had a great time playing with all the other kids.

Bye Bye, BBH!

Jared & I have worked our last days at BBH, so it's time to say goodbye. I'm going to miss that place. For me, it was the most effective way to get that "Baltimore Bond" that I never thought I'd have when I moved here. I know I'll always keep the folks there in my prayers. It's a facility for dual-diagnosis patients: mental health issues along with addictions. It was always a fun challenge to teach there, whether the topic was schizophrenia or diabetes.

Perfect hours, amazing people, getting teaching experience, decent pay, and a boost in self-confidence are among some of the benefits I received while teaching there. And you know what they say: the best way to learn something is to teach it...so I learned a lot, too. Goodbye, friends, and good luck. Never, never give up!

Noah & Ellie

My sons amuse themselves by adding "tuba" to most anything. And they've never even seen my Dad with one! But Ellie, like me, was just tired of it this day apparently. :)

Stop Your Whining

Did I get your attention with that title? Well, despite the record-breaking heat and the departure of the spouse this morning, I thought I'd write a little reminder for everyone (well, for me). This is NOTHING compared to what the pioneers went through. Happy Pioneer Day, everyone!

My sons are both named after Mormon pioneers, ancestors on Jared's side. One lived through the Haun's Mill Massacre, miraculously. My daughter is also named after a pioneer: my grandmother.


What an awesome lady!

I also consider both my parents to be pioneers.

And when it comes to teaching missionaries Armenian, so is my little sis:


But let's get back to the Days of '47 folks. How did they do it?! When I got hot today, I went inside to air conditioning. When I said goodbye to my husband this morning, I knew I'd see him again in a few weeks. The people who went west said goodbye and knew it would probably be forever in this life.

Still, it is hard to say goodbye for what will be the longest separation we've ever had.


We'll miss the Daddy.

Many Posts to Come

Jared's heading to New Hampshire this weekend. I'm going to be a lot more faithful in blogging because he'll be there 4 weeks, then he's going to Alabama for 5 weeks, and then we drive across the country all together. But we don't want Daddy to miss a thing.
Here's Ellie (& Noah) earlier this month: