Kansas City's Crown Center

After Luke left Mo. to head out to the course, Porter and I met up with one of my childhood friends from Columbia. We met up at Kansas City's Crown Center and took our kids to Kaleidoscope which is a really fun, interactive, fairytale-like "imagination machine" as they call it. The kids loved it...okay, we totally loved it too! Afterwards, we ventured outside to the "dancing water" and let the kids play until they were ready for a nap.It was a fun-filled day!


















This was as close to the water as he'd get.

America the Beautiful

Please take a moment to reflect and listen to this Canadian broadcast by Gordon Sinclair given back in 1973. It's one of my favorites.

To live in America is one of the greatest and most precious blessings one could have. I am so blessed to be a part of this great nation; a nation prepared by God for us. A nation whose Founding Fathers were so inspired by God to compose the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence some 200 years ago that it still stands as a model to other nations as well as our own. In composing those documents (as well as others) they secured Liberty, Freedom, and Independence for generations upon generations. Our freedom is not something to which we are entitled. Our freedom is a gift. An unfathomable number of men have paid for the freedoms that we have today with blood and sacrifice so great, we may never come to comprehend.

Not a day goes by that I don't thank my Father in Heaven for the freedom that we have to worship freely, to travel, to buy homes and cars, to teach anything, to learn anything, to choose whatever profession interests us, to speak freely, to bear arms, and most notably, to bring children into the world and have the peace of mind (that we so often take for granted) that they won't be exposed to war or tyranny, but will enjoy the same freedoms we enjoy.

So get out there and do your part to preserve what we have by voting (we've gotta keep those politicians in-line), and being an active participant in this country's (and our children's)future. I encourage you to find a Hero this Independence Day and thank him, and to thank our Father in Heaven for this blessed land in which we live.

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." -Preamble to the Constitution

"We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness—That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed, that whenever any form of Government becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness..." -Declaration of Independence

Blue

Is it just me or does he look more like a 5 year-old than a 9month-old?

Not for the Liberal Eyes

Luke ran a shooting activity with the Laurels and Priests of our stake. We all had a blast out in the mountains shooting clay pigeons and steel targets.

Baby in a Bag

Why can't we, women or mothers, be this creative? What is it about men that instinctively makes them see bags, laundry hampers, or even book shelves as places to hide small children and animals? They keep us young and on our toes. Without them we'd be ol' sticks in the mud that forgot what fun was!

Baby in a Bag VIDEO

Leave it to Luke to come up with creative ways to entertain Porter. No, who are we kidding? To entertain himself :) He's always making me laugh. And Porter loves it too!

Our Big Hawaiian Vacation!

As some of you know, our little family took a much-needed-trip to Hawaii. Luke and I went on our honeymoon cruise to Hawaii back in 2004 and were able to see 4 of the islands so we had a pretty good taste of each one. Luke was scheduled to fly to Oahu for work so we turned it into a family vacation. We stayed at Ford Island in Pearl Harbor, a few yards away from the U.S.S. Utah. Porter was a champ! The flights I was so worried about went smoothly, and he adjusted to new sleeping environments pretty well. He even cut two teeth while we were there. My sister, Daphne, flew in the last week of our vacation to give us an extra rotational babysitter and time without baby. Through much trial and error, we feel like we got a good grasp on places to go, things to see, and what to do so that next time we'll be prepared. We can't wait! The hiking and scenery were breath-taking, the beaches were relaxing, seafood was amazing, and snorkeling was even better! I would have amazing snorkeling pictures but...well...we won't get into that :) It was my fault. (sigh) It was so difficult to choose which photos to post. If you can believe it, they are whittled down to the bare minimum!Enjoy!


Our entertainment


Porter's sleeping arrangements for the first 3 nights! Ha!


Diamond Head



WWII era runway, tower, and old station



U.S.S. Utah...the one less visited


The Bowfin

U.S.S Arizona and Missouri


Handsome Hubby

Pali Lookout Point






Hiking up near Pali


Porter's beach tent


Hanauma Bay


Waikiki

Perfect way to end our visit

Porter NOT Napping

He thinks he's soooooooooooooo funny! He was supposed to be napping :)

Play Pen

Porter has SO much fun in his play pen! I love it because it keeps him safe while he does what he loves to do...walk around. He holds on to the sides while walking around the perimeter of it and will often times, just hang out in one spot for an hour just to check out what's going on outside the pen. Luke and I came into the living room one day, and Porter was smooshing his face against the netting. We were hysterical. We started taking turns doing it back and forth and now it has become one of his favorite games!

Trip to the Beach

These were actually taken a month ago but I forgot to post them. They were taken at the Coronado Dog Beach when Porter's cousin came to visit.

Discovery of the door stop

Playing with Dad

Can you spot the puppy?

Caught with Mom's Water Bottle