Camping

We took the kids camping in August. We were going to go for a couple of nights but had to wait because of a dangerous storm. We ended up only going one night. We had a great time. We went on 2 hikes, played games, roasted hot dogs and smores, and let the kids play in the dirt.
Joshua was so excited about sleeping in a tent he hung out in there after we were set up.
Jacob came prepared with his mosquito net. We really didn't have too many mosquitoes.
Emily and Rylie had a good time together. They are enjoying a glass of water.
The campfire was very enjoyable. I was about to say no one got hurt and remembered I did get hurt. Josh wanted help getting his hot dog off the stick and dropped the stick in the crook of my arm. I have a permanent reminder of this fun campout. When it got dark we went around the campfire and each added on to a scary story. All the kids jumped at least once during Darren's part regarding a scary bear (even Jacob).
Josh is kicking back enjoying one of his favorite foods, hot dogs. He follows after Grandpa Burgess.
Rylie and Emily entertained themselves by lining up pine cones on the cement slab.
Our family had a great time. Too bad it is too cold to do it again. There is always next year.

Our Table

Darren and I have completed our first furniture project. We could only squeeze six around our old kitchen table. When Emily was too big for her highchair, we could no longer sit as a family around out table. We found a large table at a garage sale for $20. Darren fixed the leg and I sanded the table. We both painted it. We can now seat 10, if needed. We learned some things and it turned out just okay. We probably should have put several more protective coats on it, but at least we can now eat together as a family. hurray! I think we will probably paint the chairs to match, but not right now.

Road Trip

On July 14th we started out on our ward trip to Nauvoo. Several families went. It took us a little longer than most to get there due to Rylie being newly potty trained. We made a few extra stops. The kids love the DVD players. We took three with us. What did our parents do without them?
We stopped at a nice rest stop for a picnic lunch. It had a pond with a walking trail. We stayed a little longer than we had planned but it was a good break to get out and run around.

When we arrived, we checked into the hotel and then met at pioneer past times park with the ward members for a potluck dinner. After dinner we went to one of the shows. We had a long first day. We all slept good and were ready for the next day. Here are the kids playing on the wagon at the park.

Nauvoo Visitor Center

We started our day at the Visitor Center. I had forgotten something and had to run back to the hotel, so Darren entertained the kids by taking lots of pictures of them.


By the time I got back they were done with this and so I missed out on the visitor center. There's always next time.

Nauvoo sites

After the Visitor center we went to ride on the wagon pulled by oxen. This was a little more exciting for the younger kids.
This would be a great picture of our family if Rylie was not behind Joshua. The ride was short but about the right length. It sure gives you an idea how uncomfortable it would be to have to ride for long periods of time.
Here we are in the printer shop. The Missionaries would give a little talk about each building. Some were brief and some were not brief enough. As you can tell, it would have been better for us if we could just walk in a look around without the details. The hardest one was the blacksmith shop. I eventually had to take some kids out during the presentation. It was hot and humid that day which added to the impatience.
The animals were always entertaining for the kids.
We had to drag Rylie away from the horses. Alison also likes horses. What is with girls and horses?

We went on a hour wagon ride tour. It was nice to sit down and rest. Emily liked it...
But she only lasted less than five minutes. I was happy that she got her nap in, but my arms were killing my by the time the tour was over.
Alison
Jacob and Josh

More Nauvoo pictures

After the wagon ride we headed inside for some air conditioning. It is nice that they have placed for the kids to learn and play at the same time.

Darren was chosen to wind the machine while the missionary was teaching how to make rope. Rylie and Josh ran up to help Darren. Darren pulled Rylie's hand out just in time before she would have lost a finger. We quickly learned that this job was not for children. You wouldn't think making rope was such a dangerous job.

The Nauvoo Pageant

Our ward had blocked some good seats for us. While we were waiting for the show to start we decided to get the kids a treat. They chose snow cones. I thought it was good because it was hot...


Then I remembered that snow cones are very messy. All the kids except Jacob stained their shirts. We They had to sit through the whole show with sticky clothes. I was worried that it would attract more mosquitoes, but we didn't see any all night. (weird). The best part of the show was at the end when the temple lit up in the background. It gave me the chills. It was late after the show and we had a long day. We headed back to the hotel for a good nights sleep.

Carthage Jail

The next morning we met everyone at Carthage Jail for the tour before heading home. I enjoyed the tour. Our kids were good and it was fun to go with a group. We asked a missionary to take a picture of us with the Anderson's and the Langston's in front of the jail. Before we were situated he snapped the picture and was done. Some of us were still moving into position. But this is the only one we got.
On the drive home we stopped in a town to try and find a park to have a picnic at. We found this Mormon Handcart Park. We thought it was ironic. It had a trail and information about the pioneers camping here. What a way to end our trip. We stayed 2 nights and should have stayed at least one more. Unfortunately Jacob said his favorite part was watching Spongebob at the hotel while we ate our dinner one night. This was the first vacation that we packed food for the whole trip. I missed going out to eat, but it was also very convenient (and a lot cheaper).