Orlando

This doesn't have anything to do with Orlando but I just wanted to put it here. The dress McKinley is wearing is one that I wore at about her age for a family picture. It is cute on her.

After driving all day we stopped at Flagler Beach about an hour and some away from our destination but a much needed break from the car and time to play. McKinley was happy in this thing for a little while and then she lost it and wouldn't calm down for a while. I think she was just tired.

Denzil was happy to play in the sand and he might have liked the water more if it didn't splash him right in the face the first time out. He ran from the water after that.
We got to see some gators and even eat some gator nuggets. They have a few feisty gators there with a rough reputation. One, Chester, bit the hand off of a park employee. You can youtube the video.
The play area and pool were a hit at the hotel. We had a great time everyday!
We went to Midevil Times for dinner and a show which was lots of fun. I like eating with my hands.
Denz covered his ears for a while at first but then he got into it even booing the knights that weren't our colors and cheering our knight on.
What would a trip to Orlando be like without a trip to SeaWorld. The dolphin show was the best and it was fun to see the other animals too.


Thanks Mom for the awesome place to stay! I can't wait to go back!

Thanksgiving, Boston style

With the uncertainty of where we will be next year we decided that it would be the perfect time to visit our friends who recently moved to the Boston area. We had Thanksgiving dinner with the Sears family and it was fabulous! Steve's sister made the little turkey place settings and they were just sitting on the dining room table all morning while the food was being prepared. Steve's mom saw that Denzil was chewing on something so she went in an found that he had been munching on the candy corns on the turkeys. Good thing that was all and they were easily replaced but it was sure funny to see the wounded turkeys.

McKinley had a wet diaper that leaked on me and then she had a blow out so I went to change her clothes only to find that there were no spare clothes in my diaper bag so Steve's mom found some little boy clothes that we could borrow.
Denzil and Chase at the USS Constitution. We walked the Freedom Trail and this was at the end.
We went to Walden Pond.
And the monument for the shot heard around the world.
Thanks to the Sears for having us! We had a great time.

November...we have been busy!

I was told that 4th year can be a bit crazy and awesome and now I am living it. Interview season has been going on since the last week of October and continues until the end of January so life has been a bit busy. We have taken the family on several of these interviews and Kris has gone alone for a lot too. We have found a little time for some family fun though like hiking in Hanging Rock State Park to Window Falls with some friends.

McKinley is growing up so fast. This was the first time (at least that I noticed) she grabbed the toys on her mat. A few days after this picture she rolled from her tummy to her back for the first time. See ya later tummy time. She didn't really like you anyway.
Denzil likes to "help" me with the laundry. I let him fold the burp cloths and the washcloths so that we both are happy. If you can't tell, his folding consists of crumpling up the article and putting it on the back of the couch...just like Mommy!
We had a fun tinfoil dinner with our friends followed by s'mores. Delicious! Denzil only wanted to eat the hamburger meat. That's my boy.
We spent many days at the park enjoying the awesome fall weather.
When we went to Charleston for Kris' interview, the kids and I went to the children's museum. I think we spent the better part of an hour (maybe more) in this tiny grocery store. He'd fill the cart and check out then put the groceries away and repeat.
A stop at the beach to play in the water and sand. He didn't really care about finding seashells.
We stayed an extra day and went to a plantation. Denz was happy to be by the animals with daddy but not too excited to try to feed them on his own.
Oh, and McKinley is 4 months old now. She is such a fun little baby to have around. She loves Denzil and laughs with him and at him all the time! Every time she sees him or any child running she starts to laugh. We sure love her!

October highlights

McKinley is now 3 months old and really has a great personality! She loves to smile and she's starting to laugh which is so cute. We love having her in our family.We took a trip up to New Hampshire and Maine (we also were in Vermont and Massachusetts) for a couple of Kris' interviews. We went to Sharon, VT to the birthplace of Joseph Smith. It was a beautiful and peaceful place. We definitely felt the spirit while the missionary shared the story of the place and of Joseph Smith's life. This monument was built in 1905 so they had to move all this granite with oxen and horse power. This stuff is heavy and it took lots of smarts to know how to get all of these pieces to the place. Pretty amazing.

In Maine the kids and I went to a lighthouse. Denzil tells me frequently what a lighthouse does. He was more interested in picking berries and rocks and such but we had a good time.
Then we went to a narrow gauge train museum. I guess that a standard railroad track is 4 ft 8.5 in across so anything less than that is a narrow gauge. Well, this one was 2 feet and the only place in the US that used them. They were used to connect the rural areas to the big railroad.

Then we did Halloween at our friends house just outside of Boston. We didn't get there until kind of late so we just went to a few houses but Denzil was more than happy with what he came away with.
This last picture is of him wearing the cabbage patch kid clothes. He was determined to get them on so I let him. I couldn't resist taking a picture though!

Utah again

These two had a great time together! One night we made cookies with Carver and Maddie too and these two wanted to get in on the action and help so bad! It was fun to have them each put something in the mix and then to enjoy the cookies afterward.So I found this tub to use for McKinley and then Denzil decided that he wanted to take all of his baths in it too. I had just finished bathing McKinley and was getting her ready for bed and then it got really quiet...
We were able to see my friend Janae and her family who were also in town visiting. We went for a little walk to Bridle Veil falls in Provo Canyon. As soon as we saw the water Denzil said "wanna go swimming!" It was too cold for that but he still managed to get his feet wet.
He also learned how to peddle the tricycle! He spent quite a bit of time just riding up and down the sidewalk and driveway. I'm glad there were people willing to let us borrow their toys while we were there.
All kids like to wear the mom's shoes right?!
Between the 2 trips to the cabin it had snowed so Denzil got to eat some and throw a snowball or two. He didn't want to leave! He still talks about the cabin every now and then.

Last night Denzil prayed about the bear and mommy's elk. Cute.
Maddie is such a good cousin! She loved holding McKinley whenever we got together with them and she does such a great job.
Remember how I said he can't resist any body of water...well here are some more pics to prove it.

Conference Weekend

Since Kris found out that he could do an away rotation at the U of U, I wanted to spend conference weekend up at the cabin. We it is just right with the leaves changing colors and we had a fabulous time. This little row boat was at the cabin when we got there so we took Denzil for a little ride on the lake. Check out that sweet life jacket. That was what I used to wear! It's a pound puppies one in case you are wondering;)

Denzil loves the 4 wheeler. We spend another weekend in Moroni and I rode the 4 wheeler around the house countless times to try to charge the battery and also to take him for a ride.
This is what Saturday afternoon conference session looks like. I'm sure they were just resting their eyes and feeling the spirit and getting inspired to be better!

Remember the swing, well this year someone got the idea to make a kid swing. It was a hit for Denzil and Nicalee.
This is the sweet fort that Jack and his grandpa made last year or something. Denz was a little nervous the first time we went in but I think he got over it.
Then we stopped to give the horses a treat of some ears of corn on the way home. Denzil wasn't too thrilled but he was totally pooped. We had to wake him up when we got there and then he fell back asleep as soon as we put him back in the car.