The Griffon Roller Coaster

As part of our Christmas, my parents took us to Bucsh Gardens in Virginia. While we were there we rode the most amazing rollercoaster ever. When we got to the park we saw it was running and we watched the entire freaky thing from the ground. I honestly thought the people that were on the thing were going to die when it did the first "free fall" type drop. All of us turned to each other and said, "We've got to go on that ride!!" So we waited in line for the front row, biting our nails the entire time. On the Griffon you aren't allowed to have any loose objects, hats, shoes that aren't practically glued to your feet, etc. I rode with no shoes. Anyway, the ride was AWESOME. It was the biggest rush I have ever had in my life. I couldn't hardly even scream because I was so stunned at what my body was going through. It was incredible. When we reached the end of the ride, Darrell, Melodie, Bryant, Eric and I all rejoiced that we were alive and ran to get right back in line.
This video shows what the coaster looks like:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cL5NfOFA_1E
Even this video doesn't do it justice if you ask me!
Anyway, the day was a blast...thank you mom and dad for taking us to Busch Gardens!

Growing Up

Ethan's 3rd birthday arrived on December 1st and with it a fun-filled day which included a Mater cake made by daddy (yes, my husband is extremely impressive), a host of exciting gifts from family, friends, and grandmas, games at Chuckie Cheese's, and dinner (by his own request) at Chili's. What a party! But the fun didn't stop there...later in the week we had Ethan and Jack's traditional birthday shindig with friends. There were cupcakes and mocktails and lots of excitement from the kiddie section. Ethan is such a sweet, funny and darling little boy. I can't believe he's already three!

Little Buddies

I caught these adorable scenes on film the other day. It was so sweet. I wonder if my brother Darrell and I ever had any moments like this... Probably not.

Keeping Up With Libby

Libby has had a few events in her young life as of late. First, she learned how to walk. It is adorable. We love to watch her cruising around in that bow legged fashion of a brand new toddler. She isn't terribly steady yet, but there is no denying that she walks.
Second, she learned to dance. Hilarious, lovable, etc. She stands at her little table and shakes what her mama gave her!
Finally, she had her first trip to the Emergency Room. Poor angel. She was tottering around our bedroom with her new found walking skills last Monday night and crashed right into the bed frame at the end of her jaunt. Of course, she nailed her head on a sharp part and cut right above her little eye. The poor baby was bleeding like the dickens, and I thought she was gonna faint from loss of blood and all that. Thankfully, my good friend Melissa, a pediatric nurse, lives right next door, so I ran and got her. She helped us butterfly Libby's ouchie which stopped the bleeding so we could get her to the ER. There isn't really much of a climax...the doc glued the cut together with some dermabond stuff, sent us home, and Libby seemed to have forgotten about it by the end of the night. It is astounding how tough kids are. Now the bloody wound that I thought was going to send her to meet her Maker is no more than a tiny scab on her forehead. Amazing things, these bodies!
Anyway, there is the scoop on the Libster. Stay posted for Liberty birthday number one!

Happy 28th!

The days, weeks and years keep going by and Eric made it to the ripe ol' age of 28 on November 16. He managed to get his walker and oxygen up to the kitchen table to eat a delicious birthday cake and open some gifts. Just kidding. About the oxygen, that is... I Honey, your like a fine wine, ya just keep better with age...

Thanksgiving Time

The last two Thanksgiving Holidays we have traveled up to New York City to hang out with my cousins, the Hills. This year we were lucky enough to have Sarah and Jonathon come see us in North Carolina. It was a ball! Ethan and Christian had the time of their lives playing together and watching Lightning McQueen. I totally wish I had a little clone of Christian around to play with Ethan constantly. Libby and Andrew mostly stared at each other, but got a little physical a couple times. Haha. The food was absolutely delicious. Thanks to the Hills experience, we brined the turkey...and I'll tell you what, it was amazing!
Thanks for coming and hope to see you next year!

Pizza Map

Chip Off the Ol' Block

This was my dress when I was little. My mommy sent it to my so Libby could wear it. She looks so sweet and cute!

New Moon

So last night a bunch of friends and I went to the midnight showing of New Moon here in Durham. It was a ball! It was pretty funny because, from what I could see, the theater was about half teenage girls, half housewives and two dudes. It was fun to be hangin' with girls, kid-free, in the middle of the night at a teenybopper movie. I got a kick out of the whole experience. As far as the movie, my opinion is that it was a 100% improvement from the first one. The first one was entertaining...and that's about all I had to say about it. But this one had better acting (except for Robert Pattinson, poor guy) better special effects, the actors looked better, it was funnier, etc. I just thought they took it up a notch. Loved Jacob. There was a drawback, however. I went to bed at 3AM, woke up around 7AM and have been crosser than I'll get out all day long. Was it worth it? Oh yeah!!

Right Back Where We Started From

Here is where it all started over four years ago. And we're still alive to tell about it. (More importantly, I'm happy that I'm still alive to tell about it!)

I Heart Engrish.com

Halloween 2009

Again, this year my mother-in-law provided my children with some darling Halloween costumes. She made a darling flower costume for Libby and Ethan was Lightning McQueen, his current favorite character. I was a dice, or rather, a die, I suppose. Eric didn't dress up, as usual. However, all members of the family had a very fun day!

Philadelphia and Palmyra

During Eric's fall break this last week, we decided to be brave and take the kids on a trip up north. We hit Philadelphia first, experiencing Independence Hall, the Liberty bell, and the most amazing Philly cheese steaks ever.
Next we saw Valley Forge--absolutely beautiful with the fall colors. We had such a fun and relaxing afternoon there. Ethan ran around like a wild man, Libby enjoyed her stroller and Eric and I loved the temperate weather, scenery and history.
Our next stop was Lancaster Co. Pennsylvania. We went on an "Amish Driving Tour" that Eric found online which took us across and past several old school covered bridges, Amish farms and little Amish school houses. They were beautiful. We also stopped at a Farmer's Market and ate at an incredible buffet cooked in the "Pennsylvania Dutch" style. We saw several Amish/Mennonite families which was very neat. We tried to imagine their lifestyles and we tried even harder not to gawk.
We took the back roads up through Pennsylvania to New York and finally arrived in Palmyra where we stayed at a very luxurious hotel: The Econolodge. Palmyra was so neat. We spent time at the Hill Cumorah, the Smith Family Farm, the Sacred Grove, the Grandin Press (where the first 5000 BoMs were printed) and we got to drive up around the Palmyra Temple. The Sister missionaries at all the sites were absolutely awesome. The gave amazing tours and we really appreciated the wealth of information they had. The spirit was very strong in this special part of the country. Eric and I decided to read the Joseph Smith story out of the scriptures one of the nights we were there and it really hit home. One of my favorite parts was sitting on top of the Hill Cumorah marvelling not only that Joseph Smith had been there, but that this was the place that Moroni of old buried the plates. Astounding to be there.
It seemed appropriate that we had first visited Philly where the Declaration of Independence had been signed and Valley Forge, which was a hotspot of the Revolutionary War and then Palmyra where the First Vision had taken place. It really got me thinking about the big picture; the events that had to take place (the forming of the US) before the church could be restored. It puts things into perspective a lot, and I felt assured like I have many times before that the Lord's hand is in all things.
Our final stop was in Gettysburg on the way home. As we drove around the battlefield we passed hundreds on monuments to the men who died in this huge battle of the Civil War. Eric enjoyed the rich military history of the battlefields we visited.
It was too bad to come home after such a marvelous trip, but we made many good memories and we are glad we had the opportunity to go.

Gettysburg

Palmyra

Amish CountryValley ForgePhiladelphia