April '17- Week 1- General Conference, Spring Break in St. George!

Darling Spring pictures! They took these while we were gone in DC so I'm thankful they turned out so cute! 

Saturday my sister babysat and we took McKenna to Salt Lake for her first General Conference INSIDE the Conference Center.  The weather was beautiful and the talks were wonderful!  Again...I felt like I listened better just because McKenna was there.  :) 

In between sessions of Conference Dan conducted a baptism for a neighbor and I went grocery shopping.  During the second session we got out Legos to help the kids be more quiet and engaged.  Afterwards, we played outside and I did some weeding, then Dan went to the Priesthood session.  The kids and I headed up to Grandma's house for soup, salad, and donuts!  The kids watched "Trolls" while the moms chatted.  The menfolk came around 7:45 and we got to hear about all they learned.    

Sunday we had our Conference french toast then settled in to watch!  I also worked on blurb and ordering Costco pictures.  In between sessions we went for a walk in the rain to get out some wiggles.  We had cereal and leftovers for lunch.  After the second session we did showers and baths then headed up to Grandma and Grandpa's house again but this time for the Conference Recap with popcorn and banana splits.  It's always so fun to hear some behind the scenes information from Grandfather.  We found out that his topic was actually assigned to him by the Quorum of the Twelve.  Usually topics are never assigned in Conference.  

Kid at the recap eating ice cream and popcorn! 

Monday started our SPRING BREAK! I ran 2 miles in the morning and played games with the kids.  The kids had play dates in the afternoon.  After dinner we did some yard work in the back yard and the kids set up the fairy garden we got from Grandma Kelly.  

Tuesday morning I ran a bunch of errands, we ate lunch, then we dropped Bethany off at Stewart's to nap while I took the kids to see Beauty and the Beast.  Grandma came too!  

We stayed up late at night getting ready to leave for St. George the next day.  

Wednesday we left at 9:45am.  I read a book most of the time and the kids watched the Lego Movie and played with the toys and books they brought.  We arrived at the Alexander's condo around 2:45 and we unloaded, then we headed to the Children's museum and splash pad.  Bethany loved "driving!" I barely saw the bigger kids.  Thankfully, we had a lot of grown-ups there to keep track of everyone.  Rachael got lots of great pictures too.  

It was kinda cold by the time we finished the Children's museum but the kids had a blast! 

That night we had Papa Murphy's pizza and watched Moana in our PJs.  The Moulton's got there by 9:45 and we talked and went to be by 12:45.

Thursday was Brittana's 8th BD!  We ate breakfast then packed lunches.  We headed to Thunder Junction All Abilities Park.

It's an awesome park but because it's new it was SUPER busy with a very long line for the train.  I wish we would have let the kids play longer instead of standing in line for so long.  Oh well.  After the train we ate a picnic lunch, rode bikes and went for a walk.  

Babies in the bike trailer. 

We got back to the condo by 2pm. Bethany had a quick nap in car and then we went swimming at the Sand Hallow Aquatic Center.  Such a fun place!  

 I loved watching the kids do this lily pad course.   

Brittana wanted to go to Fatty's (a burger and shake place) for her BD dinner.  Unfortunately they were SUPER slow with their service and the food wasn't even that good.  Good thing we had great friends to keep us company.  

We ran to the drug store to get Anna some cough medicine and they did cake and ice cream for Brittana.  We put the little girls to bed and McKenna and Ben went swimming with the big kids at the condo pool.  After the kids were in bed we talked and talked as grown ups and went to bed about 12:30.  

I love being with our friends for extended periods of time to observe all the different parenting styles.  I love learning from them! 

Friday Dan and McKenna went with John, Brittana, and Charley to hike Angel's Landing in Zion's!  They all did so awesome!  John is really good at telling stories and keeping kids distracted.  They loved seeing lots of chipmunks and having lots of strangers cheer them on when they found out how young they are.  

So proud and I'm excited for when I can go! What a view! 

While they were gone, I woke up around 8 and showered.  We ate breakfast and packed lunches then left for the Red Cliffs hike.  Love these little knuckleheads!

Because it was Spring Break it was pretty crowded and not a lot of parking.  I ended up staying with the kids while Rachael and Melissa went to park cars.  The Moultons went on their own adventure that morning and met us later at the Red Cliffs.  

Bethany loved giving me snuggles and playing with my hair while in the hiking pack.  

The hike was short and sweet because we only went to the first pool.  The older kids were pretty brave to go on a little rock slide but they said the water was freezing! Ben and McKenna only waded a little.  

All the kids except baby Ivy.  

That night we had taco salad for dinner and went swimming some more at the Condo pool.  *Note: Anytime I have put Anna in a swim diaper the last 6 months or so I have told her NOT to pee or poop in it.  For whatever reason she takes that very seriously and will get out of the water, pee on the side of pool and get back in.  That means she is totally capable of being potty trained, right?  So that night at the condo pool, she said she needed to go, John pointed to where the potty was, and she willingly went me and peed in the potty!!!  

  

We gave the kids showers and had a hair brushing party with Charley's hair then put kids to bed.  

Here are some cute pictures of how obsessed Bethany was with baby Alexandria Moulton!  She just wanted to hold her all the time!  

March '17- Week 4- Washington DC!- Temple, APA Award, National Mall, Salters and Wittwers, 7 Brides, Moms and Muffins

Wednesday we got up super early, got the kids ready and off to school, then Sam drove us to the airport (Sam and Lara babysat our kids for the day, Thanks guys!).  Dan and I were actually on different flights to DC in order to save money.  His flight was paid for by his company, mine was not.  He flew United, I flew Delta.  I had a layover in Detroit.  Dan's was in Houston.  While on my flight I watched "Arrival" with Amy Adams and some of "La La Land."  My flight leaving Detroit was actually delayed leaving by about an hour, but it worked out perfect for my arrival time in DC.  Dan and I landed at Reagan Int. Airport within 5 minutes of each other (it would have been about 45mins apart) and only two gates away from one another.  We got our luggage and hopped on the Metro to go to our Airbnb! I felt like a real grown-up.  ;) We dropped our stuff off then walked to the Homestead restaurant, ate dinner, then walked to the Safeway to buy some breakfast food groceries.  

Thursday morning we took an Uber ride to the Washington DC Temple!  I often came here as a youth to do baptisms for the dead but this was my first time there as an adult doing an endowment session!  What a stunning temple!  Everything is so elegant and large in there.  And the best part was Dan and I could sit by each other!  Another fun fact about the Temple is the chandelier crystals make a nice tinkling noise in a very quiet atmosphere. :)  

After that, we took another Uber to a pizza place for lunch, then back to our airbnb.  Then we had a little down time before we headed back out.  We took the metro to Union Station and walked to the American Psychological Association building.  Dan's company, Utah Foster Care, was receiving an award for being one of the top 4 phychologically healthy workplaces in North America!  

There was a little mingling and hors d'oeuvres before the awards ceremony.  

Mike, Nikki, Les, Dan, Tina, Lee, Lisa, Kelly, Mick, and someone from the state psychological association.  

The other three companies being awarded were from Hawaii and Puerto Rico.  The two companies from Hawaii were in the health care field and the company from Puerto Rico distributes fruits and vegetables.  Each was awarded the Psychologically Healthy Workplace award for different reasons.  Dan's company was nominated by the Utah Psychological Association.  Their employees took a survey, and there were site visits and interviews as part of the selection process.  

They had a nice reception afterwards with delicious tiny tacos!  After the reception everyone from Dan's work went out to eat at Old Ebbitt's Grill.  It was established in 1856 and used to be an old bar.  It is famous for being frequented by politicians since it was just a block or so away from the White House.  Such a cool atmosphere and GREAT food! We both tried oysters for the first time and both thought they were meh. We took the Metro back to our airbnb.  

Back at home the kids were busy doing their usual homework, but also playing Pokemon Go!, and doing Yoga with Aunt Lara!  They're such fun babysitters!  

Friday morning we rode the Metro to Union Station and then had a rainy walk to Senator Orin Hatch's office.  We arranged to have a tour of the US Capitol building!  

Each of the 50 states is allowed to have two statues to represent their state and it's history.  The state can change them at any time as well.  Here are Utah's two: Philo T. Farnsworth (inventor of the television and one of Dan's ancestors) and Brigham Young (of course!).  

*Funny story about my sweatshirt... I got a couple comments about my BYU sweatshirt, both from security guards.  One said, "BYU huh?" and the other said, "Go Utes!"  I didn't really like either one of those. ;)  

We saw lots of Italian art work that is constantly being restored.  We got to go through the old main entrance to the Capitol.  

This light fixture was so awesome.  If you zoom in you can see all kinds of armor and weapons! 

The bottom picture is from the appropriations committee room.  

We saw the old senate chamber where they mention Senator Daniel Webster! 

This is Senator Hatch's President Pro tempore office.  That means he is 4th in line to be president (Behind Trump, Pence, and Speaker Paul Ryan) because he is the most senior member of the Senate.  He is briefed every morning in this office as to the affairs of the country and world.  I had fun sitting at his desk and feeling important.  Also, there's a picture in that office of Abraham Lincoln on which the penny is based.  The tour guide told us they would grab that painting if there was ever a fire!  The bottom right picture is the old supreme court chambers was actually used as a storage room until the 70s.  

That star emblem on the ground is the point at which all major streets in Washington DC converge, followed by a picture of  the rotunda.  The painting at the top is of George Washington with 13 virgins representing the 13 original colonies.  

That giant flag hangs over the staircase where President Trump walked down and went out to the balcony on Inauguration Day.  And here's our only picture "with" Senator Hatch. ;)  

This is the House Chambers where many of the state's statues are.  This particular day was quite busy here with lots of press and security because they were voting on Trumps Health Care Bill (which failed, btw).  

We left the Capitol around 12pm and headed to the Library of Congress.  Such a beautiful building!

Here is a reading room!  Every book ever published is in there!  

I was sorely disappointed in the cherry blossoms!  There was a blizzard the week before we got out there which delayed the peak bloom.  Here are some we found just outside the capitol and the here's the best shot we could get of the White House.  

Back at home Anna and Bethany were in kitchen heaven playing at the Hamblin's!  

After leaving the Capitol we walked, and walked, and walked, and walked..... 19,000+ steps to be more accurate! Here's what we saw!  The Washington Monument, the WWII Monument...

We bypassed almost all the museums and headed to the Lincoln Memorial.  Such a LARGE building!

*We sent the bottom picture to our kids' babysitters and McKenna said we look exhausted!  

The view looking back at the whole National Mall we just walked!  

On the way back towards the Capitol, we saw the Vietnam Memorial, and quickly stopped in the Natural History Museum.  Then we went to the National Archives and saw the founding documents.  

After our full day of walking and walking, we were so excited to meet up with Dan's cousin Will and wife Brooke, and Dan's mission companion Trevor Salter and his wife Kristin.  Will and Trevor knew each other from BYU before their missions, then once married reconnected during law school!  Will and Brooke brought their adorable baby!  It was Trevor's BD and he chose a small plate style Greek restaurant.  It was so great to catch up with them and talk about family, church, politics, and life!  We continued the talking and got a milk shake with Will and Brooke afterwards.  

Saturday morning we were up and out the door by 7 am and caught an Uber to the airport.  My flight was slightly delayed leaving so I got to Facetime with my kids for a few before takeoff.  My layover was just long enough to grab food and find my new gate and board again.  I edited pictures and watched La La Land and Big Bang Theory on my long flight.  Mine and Dan's planes landed within 10 mins of each other and we met at baggage claim and were home by 2 pm!  

After getting settled and cleaning most of the afternoon, McKenna and I went to dinner at Costa Vida and then the General Women's meeting with all the available Webster women plus Laurie's mom!   All the men folk and kids had a pizza party at Dave and Laurie's house.  

I feel like going with McKenna for the first time made me a better listener because she was listening so well and taking some awesome notes!  

Sunday Ben sat with Dan on the stand.  Mickelle went to nursery with Bethany and we had a linger longer after church.  Afterwards, we headed to Dave and Laurie's for the March Webster BD dinner (not McKenna's BD, not sure why she was helping blow out candles).  

Monday we got groceries in the morning.  Anna had her friends Lizzy and Avery over to play.  I also worked a lot on Blurb.  

Tuesday I caught Anna and Bethany playing hide and seek together and it was adorable.  They even did it mostly correctly!  I got together with Rachael, Sarah, and Melissa to talk about our upcoming St. George trip.  I made zucchini bread in the afternoon.  My afternoon and bedtime with the kids wasn't very peaceful.  I remember being pretty frustrated with them.  So thankful for "tomorrows" so I can try to be better!

Wednesday I made banana bread and wrote thank you notes.  Camille came over to play.  Dan helped our youth do baptisms for the dead at the Bountiful Temple and he said it was a wonderful experience!  

Thursday I got to attend moms and muffins in the morning with the kids.  I delivered my thank you notes and breads to people who watched our kids.  I had a meeting about girls camp.  Then the kids and I met Dan downtown for a free half hour concert in the Tabernacle put on by the King's Men, singers from King's College!  It was short, but so amazing!  Their tone and harmonies are incredible!  Dan's mom and sister Brynn also attended and then we went to Ugurt after.  

My visiting teachers came over in the afternoon.  My sister Mickelle babysat that night while Dan and I attended "7 Brides" at Hale Center Theater with his parents!  I was giddy and "big teethed" the whole time!  The other picture is from Anna's preschool.  I can't remember what they did that day.  :) 

Friday I worked on my menu and we watched Oliver and Ellie for a bit, then I volunteered in McKenna's class for their Spring Equinox Activity.  I was at the station where they made tissue paper flowers.  I love being able to go to their classrooms and see who their friends are.  So thankful Dan could be home with the kids and that he is willing to babysit other people's kids as well.  He watched Ivy Roth and they developed quite the bond.  ;)    

Some other cute pictures from the day.  Ben was super excited to finish Junior Achievement and come home with a new bank.  He also learned a very important life skill-- crossing his eyes.  And Bethany is adorable trying on my shoes and loving dress-up jewelry.  :)