Happy birthday NORMA!!

Norma turned 101 August 28!  I love her!

For someone her age she has a very good memory

and always remembers me and gives me a kiss.  Well,

atleast if she is awake.  If I try to wake her up, she doesn't

like me very much.  What a sweetheart she is and she was

sure proud of the fact that it was her birthday and that

she was 101 years old!!  Good for you Norma, lets hope for 

another one!!

Top of Utah Half Marathon

This is Bryce's friend Conner.  He is 13 years old is I think

this is his 3rd half marathon.  He is an amazing runner and this

marathon beat his last time by almost 5 minutes.  His finish time

was 1:16:58 (or close to that).  He finished 8th overall.  I just

call him Speedy Gonzales!  Pretty amazing runner!  GO CONNER!!

Greg decided at the last minute to run in the half.

He has been running, but not specifically training for a half.

I think he did really well, he is very talented in running.  He

wasn't too happy with his time and knows he could do better

if he trained.  

His time was 1:42:48.  

I am proud of him!!  

First day of School!

Tanner is in 11th grade!
His goal is to keep mom from
forcing him to get his haircut!!
He is handsome though!

Bryce is in the 9th grade this year!
His goal is to get straight A's!

Day 2 Lake George

We went to Ft. Ticonderoga which was a fort built by

the french in 1755-1758.  Ticonderoga was the gateway

through which nations passed in war and in peace.  For a 

generation spanning the French and Indian War and the 

American Revolution this post on Lake Champlain 

guarded the narrow water highway connecting Canada 

with Britain's American colonies.  Whichever nation controlled

Ticonderoga controlled America.

During the French and Indian War Britain and France fought to possess Ticonderoga as a 

launching point for each nation's aim of continental conquest.  In the American Revolution

Fort Ticonderoga was the scene of America's first victory in its struggle for independence 

and the United States' northern stronghold protecting New York and New England from

British invasion from Canada.

A soldier stands guard

An inside view of the Fort

I loved these windows

Bryce up inside the Fort

Beautiful view of the King's Garden outside the Fort

We spent the rest of the day at a Six Flags Indoor Waterpark.

The only pictures I took were of the boys surfing!

Tanner trying a trick to go from his knees to a sitting

position.  He also got good at laying on his stomach and rolling

over twice and landing back upright again.  

Bryce doing a trick (pulling the board out and back in)

without crashing

Surfing the wave

The next morning we got back in the car and drove 4 hours back

to Connecticut where we had a yummy dinner with Christa's

nanny family.  Laura is Italian and also a great cook!  I can't

believe I didn't take the camera in!  We spent the night

at a hotel in Danbury, Connecticut then flew home.  It was

a wonderful week!  A week of:  Green wonderful trees, lots

of driving, togetherness, toll booths (lots of them), bridges,

waterfalls, church history sites, Spiritual experiences, more

trees, lakes, fun, a few yellow and orange leaves, nice New York

people, some not so nice New York people, bus rides (watching

rude people almost get in a fight as they are pushing and shoving

trying to get off the bus--pretty comical!) more driving, picnics,

more toll booths, roasting marshmallows at a campfire, and the

list goes on and on!  

Lake George

We left Canada early in the morning for a 6 hour drive to

Lake George.  Our first stop was to the Peter Whitmer home

back in Fayette, New York.  It is about a 30 minute drive

from Palmyra, so it made me realize how important it must

have been that Joseph Smith became friends with Peter and

that the church was organized in this home.  It would have been

quite a long buggy  ride!  I also forgot to mention before, that

after being to Palmyra, I realized The Hill Cumorah was not

close to where Joseph lived.  It was a very long walk.  

These are acorns that fell from trees at the Peter Whitmer home.

Greg was inspired when he said, From the mighty oak comes

this tiny acorn.  Just like the church being organized and

starting out so small and has now grown into a mighty church! 

(or something like that...I guess you had to be there!)

Lake George at Sunset

It was pretty chilly

Walking around the shops, Christa and Tanner trying

on some cool shades!

This picture is for my mom!  She loves Betty Boop!

2nd day in Canada

We spent the whole day doing tours at Niagara Falls.

This is us after we got off The Maid of the Mist!  It

was awesome!

A beautiful view of the Falls

One of the tours we did was the walk to see the 

rapids.  (Before the Falls) 

An interesting wall that we saw during this walk, a rock wall

covered in chewed up chewing gum!  Bryce is adding his!

After a long day visiting the Falls, we headed back to the hotel

and relaxed.  Greg and I went to find a grocery store so we could

make dinner in our hotel instead of eating out.  The cheapest lunch we 

found was $75 for all of us!  We ended up getting a roasted

chicken, some frozen vegetables with pasta in them, cottage cheese 

and ice cream for dessert.  Much more affordable!! (and pretty

creative, if I do say so myself!)  All we had was a microwave.

1st day in Canada-Niagara Falls

On the drive to Canada (I couldn't resist this picture!)
We spent a TON of time driving during this trip and
the kids did great together in this cramped back seat of
an SUV.  They didn't have any arguments!

One of the bridges that we went over

Once in Canada, we walked around on a street 

called Clifton Hill.  It kind of reminded me of Vegas, flashy,

touristy, EXPENSIVE!  We went to the Ripley's 

Believe it or Not Museum.

Christa and Bryce on a VERY large chair

This is what they do to misbehaving children in Canada!  haha

Life sized keyboard (it really worked)

Standing over the falls

The Canada falls

The New York falls

At the Hersheys Factory

I refrained from buying this HUGE candy bar!  Well,

actually it wasn't too hard (it cost $50!)

Yes, this is a live man dressed like an Elvis statue!

2nd day at Palmyra

Martin Harris Farm (oops! this was actually the day before)

Its a beautiful home.  

Joseph Smith's log house that he lived in as a boy when he was

wondering which church he should join.  Then he read in the 

scriptures in James 1:5 which says, "If any of you lack wisdom,

let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; 

and it shall be given him."  

He loved this grove behind his house and decided to go out in

the grove and pray out loud to find out for himself which church

he should join.

This log house is actually a replica (but the church does their

very best to make sure it as close as possible to the way it 

would have been.

The bedroom where Joseph would have slept, where he

was visited by Moroni.

A beautiful view of the Palmyra Temple

This is the frame house that the Smith's moved to for a short 

time.

In the frame house there are several walls that are original

and this fireplace is original.  Under this very brick the plates

were hidden for a short time!

My family sitting around together in the eating area of the

Smith home.  It was a wonderful experience!

The kids walking into the Sacred Grove

I can understand why Joseph chose this grove to come to 

pray!  The minute you walk into it, the spirit is so strong

and its instantly quiet and peaceful!

Greg & Tanner walking out of the grove

Christa and Bryce