Where have I been? - June

Whew! Summer is a busy time for me. Let me see if I can sum up where I have been since I last wrote (let me also find where I put all my photos).

June
After my trip to Utah I was home for a few days, then we went to Newport to celebrate my in-law's 50th Anniversary. Most of Brian's siblings were there - Susan, Larry, Lori, and most exciting was Richard who came over from Germany. He doesn't have a chance to visit very often, as tickets are very expensive, but we sure love it when he does get a chance to come.

We stayed in a lovely cabin near the beach there in Newport. I always love going to Newport, as they have tidepools and the Hatfield Marine Center, and Brian and I celebrated our honeymoon there in Newport. We played on the beach, flew kites, and sat around the cabin enjoying each other's company. Anna Mae had a slight cold or viral infection so she was out of sorts for a couple days, but otherwise we had a blast.

Then, on our way home we took Richard up to Tillamook to visit the cheese factory. This is Luke's favorite place to go. We stayed there a couple hours and of course, we got ice cream and squeaky cheese. Daddy also bought Luke his first little wooden-handled pocket knife with his name on it. Now Luke won't go anywhere without his pocket-knife. Great. Just what a 5-year-old REALLY needs, a knife.

Richard stayed for another week before he had to head back to Germany. He likes the nonstop Portland-Frankfurt flight that you can catch, as he lives near Frankfurt. Luke and Richard really hit it off while he was here. Someday it would be neat if Luke could stay with Richard in Germany, as I believe that traveling expands a child's view on the world better than books ever can.

Both kids loved playing with their big, new friend from Europe. Luke liked learning German words from Richard, though we'd need to practice with him if he was to rememebr anything he learned. Anna Mae was just being a cute charmer to everyone, and it's hard to resist her sweet looks. Here they are playing on Grandma's couch. We sure miss Richard!


Here's Richard and Luke pouring over the change purse that Richard carries with him. Richard travels for the church setting up Geneaology research all across Europe, so he carries a pocket full of random coinage from assorted countries. Luke was getting excited, as we've been working with him for the last few months on counting with coins (mostly nickels), so Richard's collection was captivating.

We noticed this sign in Newport. Which direction are you heading? Forward or backwards? Just ponder if you are going contrary to the truth and see where you are headed.

AnnaMae and Mom in Utah

Whew! What a week! We're exhausted, but had a great time.

Friday morning I had a little spare time, so we headed down to the conference center. It was really neat to see, since the last time I was there was for my brother's wedding, and we didn't have time to wander around. Before that, Brian and I had visited while it was still under construction. It was hard to keep AM from climbing into the fountains on the roof.

Right now they are having an art show in the lobby of artwork made by members of the church. It was pretty neat to see the collection. Mom was getting re-inspired to paint, while I tried to keep AnnaMae from touching anything.

While I was busy teaching and demoing all week, my Mom took AnnaMae down to see her relatives. First they went and visited an aquarium. Ever since then AM has been obsessed with fishies. She already loves my mom's big fish tank at home, but these tanks were huge!

Then, Saturday they stayed down in Mapleton with my mom's brother. Mom's family threw her a mini family reunion because we were coming in town. Here's AM with her second cousin and my aunt that I adore.


I missed most of the fun, since I was still up in Salt Lake working, but I was able to drive down and get the last little bit of the action. AM had a chance to visit cousins and see lots of neat animals, like this horse, and the baby chicks that my aunt was raising in her bathtub.

Driving was a nightmare- they had thunderstorms the whole time we were in Utah. What should have been a quick drive was slowed down greatly by blinding rain, lightning, and water-logged roads. Luckily the roads were clearer when we drove back to the airport on Sunday.

It was nice to see my cousins and other relatives again, but it's also great to be home. Traveling with a baby and my Mom is definitely not as easy as traveling by myself.

Memorial Day Memories

This is taken from my Work Blog, which you can enter to win a prize if you post a comment on. However, I want my family to know how much I respect the military. If you have some spare time and like to make greeting cards you can support our troops by helping Cards for Heroes - an organization that sends blank handmade greeting cards to military overseas who don't have places to buy cards to send on special occasions.

Memorial Day- Honor those who served

As I think of all the sacrifices made by servicemen over the years I need to stop and say Thank You!

My father, grandfather, and on back were all in the military. Here is a photo I found of one of my ancestors, Major General Henry W. Halleck. He was the General-in-Chief of all the Union armies before Grant took over during the Civil War.

His face is so similar to my father, it's hard to look at him and not think of all the stories my dad would tell about boot camp and basic training. My father was a teenager during WWII, and entered the service during the Korean War but never went overseas. My grandfather was an electrician for the Navy building the ships during WWII up in the shipyards of NY. All the hours of toil and struggle that these fine men went through so that I could be born in peace and prosperity and enjoy my country.

In February I had a chance to stop and visit the USS Alabama, which was built in 1940. Touring through the ghost of a ship was a sobering experience for both me and my husband. Thinking of all those men, away from their families for months at a time, sailing from the Atlantic to the Pacific, always on alert from weather or enemies... It really helped me appreciate my freedom and peace here in my homeland. I thank every person who has served, does serve, or will serve in defending and upholding their country.

Please do your part this weekend. Make some cards, make some artwork, visit a memorial, or just tell a military person "Thanks!" Don't forget to appreciate their hard work and sacrifices. Have a great holiday weekend!

David is here!

Saturday afternoon I drove up to Portland to pick up my nephew, David, who will be staying with us for Winter term. He and his sister came out at Thanksgiving for a week. They both attend BYU-I. David's a freshman and his sister, Kelly is a Junior.

My sister felt that David would get more out of hanging around Oregon for a winter than he would hanging around cold Massachusetts, so now he's sleeping on our futon for a couple months. We are excited he's here and told him he can stay as long as he wants, however, I think it will be the kids that finally drive him away. He's not used to that much energy, particularly when that energy is aimed at him. We'll see how long he lasts. He knows he can always move in with Grandma :).

I on the other hand am used to the madness and enjoy the attention. Sunday was such a nice day and the kids were SOOOO excited to have their older cousin around that they were at peak wild levels. Climbing, making messes, destroying...all the good stuff. Poor David. He doesn't get this kind of happiness at his house, especially after living on Campus for the last few months he hasn't been exposed to any kind of noise and lack of personal space.

I need to get back to my artwork, I have way too many projects that I need to complete in the next week before I leave for Anaheim. However, I'd like to leave you with this cute photo of AnnaMae looking at the temple. In the middle of her climbing she stopped and stared at the temple pictures for a good 15 minutes. They were really taking her attention.

Moments like this make you stop and think about what do little kids really know. AnnaMae is so young, yet she's figuring out things so quickly and she was in Heaven such a little time ago that although we think she's seeing something for the first time, she has probably visited the temple many times before she was born.

I love the little snippets that Luke would tell us when he was 2 or 3 yrs. old and before his thoughts got confused by things in this world. It won't be long before AM can tell us all about her experience, and the more she learns to speak, the more those experiences will slip away.