Pioneer Day

For the first time in years our ward had a Pioneer Day celebration on July 24th! I had planned to do some fun pioneer games but with swim lessons in the morning and the evening we didn't get in as much as I would have liked.  We did try out hand at some taffy pulling.

It turned out to be one big giant, sticky mess.  And it didn't taste good anyway.  So maybe I'll find another recipe for next year... or give up on the idea all together.  We  did have a fun time singing pioneer songs while we pulled the taffy so it wasn't a total loss!  (But really, if anyone has tried it do you have any tips for us??)

That evening we met up with our ward at a park near our house.  We had a delicious picnic and had fun visiting with the other ward members.

The boys all had fun with the tons of other kids that were running around.  James especially loved rolling down the hills.  It might be that the grass is softer or maybe that there are more hills but the boys are loving rolling down hills lately!

We are grateful for our pioneer heritage and talk to the boys often about the early pioneers.  Hopefully we are teaching our boys to display the same courage, faith, and endurance that their ancestors.  Like the primary song says:

You don't have to push a handcart, leave your family dear, or walk a thousand miles or more to be a pioneer.  You do have to have great courage, faith to conquer fear, and work with might for a cause that's right to be a pioneer!

Discovery Place Kids

A few weekends ago Rich had a seminary training meeting so the boys and I decided to check out the children's museum nearby.  Rich met up with us afterward and we had a great time.  It's a pretty small little place but tons of stuff packed in!

The boys loved becoming race car drivers.  (Oh. My. Word.  Everywhere we go around here there is some sort of race car.  I'm pretty sure that the mascot of our new elementary school is a race car.)

We played some awesome music in unconventional ways.

We explored the ocean.

James milked the cow.

All the boys really loved the sports area with the balance beams,

and the rock wall,

and the rings.

I personally enjoyed the little diner where Rich, Henry, and I sat in the booth and had the three older boys be our servers.

My favorite part of the children's museum growing up was the grocery store.  I don't know what it is about little pretend grocery stores and kids... but they are the best!  Alexander loved the one at this museum.

And the older boys loved working the cash register.

Alex and James thought the drive up bank was pretty neat...

... and William was the bank teller.  They even had little video cameras so that you could see each other!

Henry's favorite place was the little area reserved for tiny kids.  He was happy to get down and move around some more.  And Alex liked it too.

We are excited to have found such a fun little place near our home and can't wait to get back there any play!

Fourth of July

 Yep, this is pretty much how things are at our house....

Rich had to work on Independence Day so the boys and I hung out around the house and had a pretty low key day.  We had planned on grilling that night when we got an unexpected invitation from some friends in the ward.  We had a fun time getting to know them and some other ward members a little better while we ate some delicious dinner.  When it finally got dark we headed outside and let the kids do sparklers.

When all the sparklers were gone (and there were a TON) some of the men put on a fireworks show.  It was pretty fun... I've never lived anywhere where you could set off your own fireworks in the street.  The neighbors even had some illegal fireworks and put on a pretty impressive show!  And we could see a few other distant shows from the street.  It was awesome.  Alexander has never stayed up for fireworks before so he was especially enthralled with the lights--although I think all of the boys loved them.  It ended up being the perfect celebration!

What we've been up to: Part II

Okay, so here is more of what we've been up to.

Our old desk was ruined by the movers.  We tried to fix it which only left Rich with a pounding headache--because the top fell on his head.  So, he did was anyone would do and chopped it up for firewood.  Somehow our saw got left behind in one of our moves so he ended up using a sledgehammer to break it apart.  The boys thought it was pretty awesome.

That night we had a bonfire and made some delicious s'mores.

One afternoon the boys and I made some frozen chocolate covered bananas.  Too bad that James is the only one who really likes them.  William just eats the chocolate and candy off of the banana.  Weird.  At least we had fun making them!

 Thanks to Pinterest we discovered the fun of waterbombs.  The boys helped me make them and we had a fun water fight in the back yard.  Unfortunately one of the neighbor boys came over and took them all apart so they only lasted for one good fight.

 While Rich lived here on his own he spied this little ice cream shop.  He kindly waited to visit it until we moved here so that we could all discover it together.  It was delicious!  Even Henry loved it.

Check out Henry's face!  He sure is eying that ice cream!

Another Pinterest inspired idea was to freeze some of their action figures in big blocks of ice and then let them squirt their water guns until they become free.  It was fun... except they were spoil sports.  First, they learned that if they got really close they could just shoot the action figure and he'd come free a lot sooner.  Then they found that if they just pour a bucket of water on top it was super quick to free them!  At least they're thinking, right?

One of the first Saturdays we were here Rich took us up to a State Park for a hike.  He'd run the trail while he was here on his own and wanted to share it with us.

It may not have been the best trail for us to start off on--especially considering the walk James went on with Elise in California... he couldn't even make it around the corner without needing a rest!  But we did  make it.  The trail was beautiful.

I'm sure James needed more stops than anyone!

Henry was the best "hiker"... although it would have been nice to have some sort of backpack to put him in!

And then the view from the top!

We are looking forward to many more adventures here in North Carolina... stay tuned!