Family Temple Time

A highlight of my family's visit was a trip to the Philadelphia Temple. Between my parents, my grandma, my brother Jordan, my sister-in-law Leah, Peter, and me, we performed eighty-eight ordinances for our family members. It was a sweet experience. Big thanks go to Bryan who took the four younger kids to the museum, making my time in the Temple possible.

Photo credit: Jordan

Grand Travelers

We've just finished a wonderful visit with my parents and Grandma. Over the last week and a half I took almost no pictures. This morning, just before they left, I gathered the kids for pictures.

 

 

Thanks for visiting! We love you!

Evidence of a Good Dinner

 

Niagara Falls: A Photo Essay

 

Splash About

One exciting thing about our little trip last week was getting to swim in the hotel pool. Unfortunately, the pool was kind of gross and needed to be cleaned. Thankfully the spa was clean, so we splashed around in there for an hour. It was Topher's first pool experience and he was a big fan.

Centered on the Temple

This is a view of the Palmyra Temple as seen from the Smith farm. Yes, my eyes are open, I'm just squinting a lot.

The Hill

On the first day of our adventure last week we drove to Palmyra, New York.

We met Bryan's grandma, Aunt Lorna, Uncle Paul, sister Melinda, brother-in-law Jake, nephews Nathan and Sam, and niece Emma at the visitor's center for the Hill Cumorah. Topher and I were taking a break in a quiet room nearby when this picture was taken.

Next we hiked a very, very steep hill to see the monument of the Angel Moroni and the gold plates. I wore Topher in the Bjorn and was thankful I didn't pass out.

Then we drove over to the Sacred Grove. It was beautiful. And Topher yelled nearly the entire time we were there.

Afterward, we claimed the awesome seats that Paul and Lorna had saved for us for the Hill Cumorah Pageant that night. We met some of the cast members before the show started.

Then we shared picnic dinners and ran and played and unintentionally lost a few children and then quickly found them again and got out as much energy as possible before the show started.

It was a long, hot day, but it was really fun. We loved getting to see our family!

Grandma Great

We had a quick adventure to upstate New York last week. The highlight was getting to see some of Bryan's family. Bryan's Grandma trekked out from Utah and was able to meet Topher for the first time. It was wonderful.

The Art of the Selfie

The Littlest Washer

"Oh, what are those big kids doing?"

"They're sticking these wet washcloths on the walls?"

"I can do that too!"

Use Your Imagination

Yesterday was rough. Really rough. Lots of fighting and meanness and stubborn pride. We finally, finally made it to bedtime. I realized later that Sophie's song choice was an excellent example of how the rest of the day had gone.

Me: Okay Sophie, what song do you want?

Sophie: (after much deliberation) I want... I want a song that doesn't exist.

Baby Giant

Photo credit: Bryan

Axe Building

Today we trekked to learn how guitars are made. It was pretty awesome.

The tour was about an hour long. We zig-zagged around the factory while we learned about the construction of guitars. The tour guide cracked lots of jokes and directed several comments right to Topher, which amused the other kids.

There was also a museum and a hands-on area. The kids really loved strumming on the guitars.

It was a fun adventure.

In the Moment

One of my goals this summer is to be present with my kids. I already keep my phone tucked out of sight most of the time, but I'm upping my game. I'm focusing on listening to them, looking at them when they talk, asking questions. They are usually content to talk at me rather than too me, but I don't think that's a good idea for any of us.

This plan requires me to point out when several of them are talking to me at once, something they seem not to notice. At one point today I had to assign an order for who spoke when, so I could give each one attention. I guess that means this plan is giving them opportunities to develop patience. It also means that I'm not taking as many pictures. This is an unintended side effect, but not having my phone out means it's not always close enough to grab. It also means I'm trying to interact with them face to face instead of face to camera lens.

And since I've been putting my phone down more, the kids have been taking advantage of having access to a camera. In the last two days, Miss Sophie has taken one hundred and fifteen selfies, all while I was busy being present and listening to one of the other kids. These two are my favorites.