How to beat the heat?

It was 90 degrees outside today.... It's the middle of April and its already that hot??? So to beat the heat we invited some friends over to play in the pool!

These are Caleb's friends, Ava and Jamison Todd




They thought it was fun to have me spray them with the hose


Caleb has become obsessed with bikes lately. The other day some kids were outside riding and Caleb stared out the window without making a word for at least 10 min

No candy left behind

Happy Easter!

We've already had our fill of candy already and there is more to come from Paul...I mean the Easter Bunny tonight.

Yesterday for playgroup we had an Easter Egg Hunt, this was perfect because the city one that we went to today was crazy busy with all the kids hording eggs. So for playgroup each child was allowed 12 eggs (that's how many we each brought). Caleb was able to take his time finding them and open each one and grab a candy snack while he looked for the next egg.



"Eggs where aaarrree you?!"
"Oh there it is!"





And today we went to another egg hunt. He got his face painted and a picture with the Easter bunny (they'll email us a better picture soon).


He was willing to yell "hi" to the Easter Bunny while we waited in line but when it came to sitting on his lap he was too scared. This is, until the bunny gave him an egg with candy in it. The Easter Bunny had all Caleb's attention after that.


We were smart to choose the other side of the grass area, away from this hord of kids

.


And dying eggs went better than I planned. Caleb didn't get very messy and he enjoyed it more than I thought he would. A success!

lookin' good

When you look this cool...

...life can be tough.

I guess New Hampshire, is famous for Maple Syrup. Yesterday was the open house for all Maple Sugar Houses in New Hampshire. We choose to go to the one that listed the most FREE food online, and it was a good choice. (Hey we're a student family, what can I say, FREE is what keeps us alive.) We went on a tractor ride, which Caleb loved! He kept saying "whoa, bumpy ride, whoa!" or screaming, "Tractor!!!"


We ate and ate and ate. They had maple flavored hot dogs, popcorn, and chili. As well as hot chocolate and doughnut holes. And my favorite was a homemade buscuit covered in maple syrup. After eating that I HAD to have a pint of pure maple syrup to take home. Back in the Fall Paul and I bought some pure maple syrup from an apple orchard store but we didn't really like it. I have higher hopes for the pint sitting in our cupboard. Apparently it's a sin to eat store bought maple syrup here. Oops.
Lately Caleb has been into guitars. They had a live band at the Maple Sugar House and Caleb only left the music for a tractor ride, then went straight back to the band when that was over. He danced, rocked out, and pretended to strum his own guitar. I know what we're getting him for his birthday.
It was pretty interesting learning a little about Maple and how it's extracted from the trees. I kept thinking about Joseph Smith, maybe becuase there is a scene in a movie about him where he is gathering maple during the winter with his brothers. We'll definately be back there next year.

haha I love Caleb's super cheesy smile. We told him to say "cheese" for the camera. He said "cheese please" and gave us this face.

It's a GREEN kind of Day

We had a fun St. Patrick's Day! I hope you did too. I decided to celebrate it like many others, with green food, and we loved it so much I think we'll make it a tradition.
We woke up to green "Leprechaun" Milk and Lucky Charms with a green smoothie.


Because it was Saturday and Paul didn't have to study we drove up to Winnepesaki Lake for a walk and picnic. We didn't fully think it through but 1 hour North is a lot colder than here in Concord. We walked on the railroad tracks and looked at the lake, then jumped in our warm car for the picnic.



For dinner we had green fajitas, with green peppers, avocados, green beans, a green apple and green Sprite. And for dessert green cupcakes with green frosting. Yummy!





We were babysitting our friends Jensen, Kenzie and Kaylee and Caleb enjoyed eating at the "little table" with his friends. And after allowing them to frost their own cupcakes it was bath time!

More Good Times

Since our computers broke we have done other fun things besides going to DC, so here are a few more pictures showing the fun times we have been having.


We went to the discovery museum here in concord and Caleb had a blast playing with all the airplanes. Amelia and I also got in on the fun. I tried 5 times to land the space shuttle but crashed every time :(


For playgroup Amelia and Caleb got to go to the firehouse and play on the firetrucks

This is Calebs best friend out here, Jensen Cruz. Caleb gets so excited when he sees Jensen

Here is a video of Caleb, Jensen, and Mckenzie(Jensens sister)singing and dancing with elmo


This is one of the cool orangatangs from the zoo as he crossed the ropes


Two weeks ago my best friend from Weber State come out to Maine for a PT school interview(he got accepted too hurray!)so we decided to drive up and have dinner with him. We went and toured a lighthouse. We found out there are only certain days during the year when you can actually go in the lighthouses so we just got to see it from the outside.

We FINALLY have our new computer! Which means I have my pictures at my fingertips and I can blog! We have had SO much fun the last month and this would be a really long post if I tried to type all about it. I'll let the pictures below do the talking about our trip to D.C., our amazing friends the Barton's.
We had the BEST spring break with an AWESOME trip to Washington D.C. This would never have been possible if it weren't for our super duper really cool friends Jeremy and Heidi Barton and their sweet 3 little girls. The Bartons moved to D.C. for the Spring and Summer for Jeremy's law internship and invited us to come visit for Spring Break! I was SO excited for many reasons, #1 being becuase that meant I got to have some girl talk with Heidi. Heidi was so welcoming when Caleb and I moved to Concord, she and I quickly became friends and Heidi has taught me a lot about what it means to be a mother, friend, and wife. Thanks Heidi, Jeremy, Lizzy, Abby, and Becky!
Here is all the fun we had!

We saw a lot of memorials, all of which reminded me of how many great men have led our country. Now I fear for it. Reading quote after quote on these walls I realized how much God was a part of these men's lives. They acknowledged Him and followed promptings, and the country thrived. It would be a blessing for this country to have a man lead by the Spirit again.

Thomas Jefferson memorial



World War II Memorial (this one is pretty new). Behind us are thousands of golden stars each representing 100 deaths.


Martin Luther King Memorial (very new)


Washington Monument-it's still closed because of the damage that was done after the earthquake the reflecting pool is also closed for repair.


Abraham Lincoln memorial




Iwo Jima


Our little group of troopers! Abby, Becky, Caleb, and Lizzy. We LOVE these girls...and Caleb!


Paul and I really enjoyed Arligton Cemetary. There is a special feeling here for all the men and women who have served our country. I am absolutely amazed by the amount of graves. War is a horrible thing, and I am thankful for those who serve, dying for our country and leaving their families behind.


Korean Memorial


The National Zoo was so fun! Caleb is now old enough to enjoy the zoo. He knows his animals well enough to understand. The animals were active while we were there, we watched the lions wrestle and "roar", we watched the crabs eat, and the octopus crawla ALL over his aquarium, and we watched the oragutangs swing along ropes connected to towers right over us! It was so neat! (I was so enthralled by the animals I didn't take many pictures).



Again, thanks to Heidi for babysitting, we were able to visit the temple. Ah! As always it is a great experience to be in the temple with your spouse.

And after the temple we went to Cafe Rio. Oh how we've missed those pork salads!

The Metro was a highlight for these boys.



The Botanical Gardens


The Capitol Building and Lady Freedom



Everyone doing yoga, looks like the girls get it but Caleb isn't sure what's going on...

but if you tell Caleb to do Downward Facing Dog, he's got it.


After a week full of FUN, we were exhausted. We also left 70 degree weather in D.C. and came home to 6" of snow as you can see out the bus window.