The BIG 30!!!

So, this is long overdue, but Bryan's birthday was on the 10th of September. I threw him a big surprise party with a bunch of friends. There were approximately 40 adults and 20 children. I had a luau theme for him. I have so many wonderful friends who helped me pull this off. Deanna Hilton had the wonderful idea of making candy lei's for all the guests! Very cute and a lot of work!! She also helped with the decorating and then, to our surprise, she made Bryan and I the real flower leis. Natalie Buchkovich watched my kids all morning for me and, with Nick's help, made Bryan a really nice DVD reflecting the last 30 years of Bryan life! What a great keepsake! And I have re-named Bonnie Seelinger "Chip-chop"! This girl chops food so fast I am surprised she still has fingers left. Of course she is professionally trained to do so.......(Chip-chop, you should definitely start a catering business.) And Chip-chop could not have done it without Sierra Parke letting us invade her kitchen on 10 minutes notice for 3 hours or more! And not only that, she watched Mason and let him throw rice and goldfish crackers all over her house! Another special thanks to Mallena Ricks, who helped me plant last minute details, Alyson Peterson for taking pictures, and Ryan Anderson for letting us use his laptop at 2 seconds notice!! We are very blessed to have such great friends. And then a big thanks to everyone that came to support Bryan on his big day! Everyone I invited came, minus one husband and the Kuehne's, who if there name wasn't so hard to spell, would have been there too! A big Oops on my part and one I wish to forget! Any way, it was such an ordeal how it was all pulled off! Everyone tells me I should write it down for memories sake, but another time, it will take too long! All in all, it was fun to plan and fun to throw, but most importantly, Bryan had a fun time! He didn't realize how loved he was! But he should have! Because he is loveable!

Natalie, Chip-chop, and Me

Kevin, Bryan, Mason, Me, and Alyssa bug!

Grisel, Consuelo, Deanna, and Me

Yamani! Enjoying something sweet, as usual! Yummy!

The Freedom Trail

Here are some pictures of our self-guided tour through Boston. We took the famous Freedom Trail. A little red trail though out the city that guides all the tourists. This first picture is of the state house. It is so majestic! I really enjoy design and architecture so this was a highlight for me! I am not 100% sure, but I think the small statue to the left is of a woman named Ann Marbury Hutchinson. This woman is famous to Boston. She came to Boston in 1634 from England with her husband and 9 children. Later, she formed a group of women to discuss religion at a Sunday meeting gathering. Years later, she was tried, persecuted, and driven out of the state of Massachusetts. Her husband eventually passed. Following their exile, Indians came upon their home. She and eight of her children were massacred. Her sole surviving ten year old, Susannah, is whom I am a descendant of. Ann Marbury Hutchinson is considered a hero for her courage to have an opinion and is a great example for women everywhere. I was so excited to learn of her and read about her. Ironically, I did not know about her until I returned home from Boston.

We went to a cemetery where John Hancock, Paul Revere, and Samuel Adams were all laid to rest. Among them, several others. It was real peaceful to be there and think of all those there and how they impacted our freedoms, allowing us to have what we have today. This first is obviously John Hancock, the second is Paul Revere and the third is Samuel Adams.

The End of the Freedom Trail

The picture below is of Paul Revere's home. You can see that it is slanted a bit. I loved the windows of the house and the stone laid streets. This made a bumpy ride for Mason in his stroller.

This is a memorial for all the soldiers who have lost their lives in the Iraqi and Afghanistan wars. For each soldier, hangs a dog tag.

Bryan and I are waiting for the ferry. A beautiful view of Boston! When we looked out we could see most of the buildings we had just walked around. We also walked away from the city, into the residential areas and over to this particular lookout.

Boston Gardens

Labor Day Weekend Bryan and I and crew drove to Boston for our very first visit. We went with good friends, Lindsay and Dan True, Jon and Alyson Peterson, and Nick and Natalie Buchkovich. Boston was exceptional. I LOVE Boston. One of our first stops was Boston Gardens. A few highlights were this bridge we are on overlooking the gardens, then Mason enjoyed his time sitting on these little bronze ducks lined up in a row. We temporarily called him Sitting Duck. But I like Mason better. As everyone was walking away, Mason insisted that he follow the squirrel. As he was pointing, he was trying to explain why we needed to follow that squirrel. He was indeed convincing. He loves animals and tells us a story, or at least tries to anyway, every time he sees something furry and moving.

The Mayflower at Plymouth

To conclude our very fun and relaxing weekend, we went to Plymouth to see Plymouth Rock and the Mayflower. In all my life I pictured the rock to be this huge platform that the ship docked at. I never realized that it was just a rock that could easily compliment a flower garden. I was a little disappointed. Oh well, the scenery was beautiful regardless. It was really great to see the Mayflower.

Of Mice and Molen's

Since we have been in our current place (almost one year), we have had some mouse invasions. Bryan and I are both petrified of mice. It is ridiculous that we are both wimps considering our size compared to theirs. The first invasion came while we were vacationing in Salt Lake over Christmas. The damage: $200 of wasted food, a lot of house cleaning, and being scarred for life with the thought that a mouse and the Molen's could actually preside under the same roof! UUuuuhhhG! Since the invasion we have liked to believe that we are so brave when it comes to mice. If we can clean up after them......we have got it together! So, tonight was the true test. Yesterday, I saw a little mouse run from under the fridge to the oven. Sleeping in fear, being that it was the weekend and we had no traps on hand......we slept knowing the little bugger had free reign. We felt so violated! I knew he was still prodding around here somewhere, I just wasn't sure where. Well, after the kids were in bed tonight, and Bryan was at the computer........I came out of the bedroom to say goodnight and there he was with all his POWER......THE mouse! He ran under the couch, we ran, we screamed (and stood on chairs) and everyone froze, everyone meaning Bryan, the mouse, and I. All we could hear were the pounding of our chests. Bryan and I both looked at each other wondering what to do next. Well, to shorten things a bit, we were able to scare the mouse to the entertainment center. I prepared goldfish crackers with a dob of peanut butter on each. I hear mice like cheese and peanut butter, so I thought this was appropriate. While I made the mouse some dinner, Bryan stood in a football stance, ready to attack! Game ON little bugger!! I put the crackers in places that would entice him towards our traps. The weapons: A 3 ring binder, shoved in to the spaces of the armoire so he could not escape between bookshelves, a tin can, and a blanket. I was convinced this was all useless after sitting and staring at the armoire for about 45 minutes. I was too tired to shake anymore being that it was now 1:45 a.m. Bryan was still in the game, stance and all. He could not sleep until we caught the mouse. Bryan added another weapon, a squirt bottle. I didn't think that was a great idea because I heard mice like water. Well, it annoyed the mouse enough to move right between the center piece of the armoire and the bookshelf. Keep in mind, the binder was stopping him from getting all the way through. Well, Bryan shoved the binder back toward the mouse to try and get him to come my direction, where dinner was awaiting him, and then we heard him.....squeak, squeak, then............silence. We waited about 3 minutes. Still nothing. I took the flashlight and shined it on the wall behind the book case and told Bryan to use the binder to push him out so he could run toward me. I geared up to catch the mouse because, if Bry pushed far enough the mouse would surely run. As the binder started to move its way toward the wall, forcing the mouse out, I saw it! Only he wasn't moving. Surely he was joking, right? What a cruel mouse. Here we are, adrenaline racing, ready to get the guy once and for all. And all I see is his bum up in the air and his head tucked under his belly. He was in a roll. Bryan thought it was a joke as well. Why wouldn't he move? Then we thought maybe he got scared and had a heart attack.......hmmm. So Bryan ran and grabbed a pole to poke him gently.....still, no movement. Finally after 2 and 1/2 hours of trembling, the crusade was over. But then, the guilt came on. Bryan and I found ourselves apologizing to the mouse for scaring him to his death. All we really wanted to do was to trap him and release him outside in the street. Bryan got a zip lock and another bag and scooped him up from his tail and dropped him in the bag. Bryan felt it necessary to determine the cause of death. So, we looked at the little guy, his little tongue stuck out, for sure.......heart attack! But then, we flipped the bag and looked at the other side. I think cause of death was obvious when we saw his little head smashed in. Poor little guy. To this sight, Bryan concluded with an unsettled and sad expression, "Cerebral Trauma. " We really did feel bad. Bryan said he felt like he needed to repent, and I thought a proper burial would be nice...........so straight to the dumpster he went. And now, we can both sleep well knowing there are no mice in the house that we know of, for now anyway.

Boating with the Hilton's

We had an opportunity to go boating on the Delaware River this past weekend. We had so much fun with our friends, Deanna and Andy Hilton. Andy is also our Bishop. It is always fun to spend time with the Hilton's. They are both very busy in dedicating there time to serving others that they don't get much play time. We have some good memories of them and with them. When we lived by them we were able to get together more, but haven't been able to recently. So it was nice to connect outside of our church callings. How refreshing to get out on the water and tube and ski. I have many memories of my childhood out on the boat, skiing and taking in the sun! We didn't have a chance to make it home this summer so it was really nice to do something that was familiar. Although it was not a lake.....I absolutely enjoyed my first experience skiing on a river. The water was warmer than our swimming pool. The views are so different, with industrial plants, bridges, and tugboats on the water. We even went past the LENOX headquarters. Alyssa had a fun time tubing with her Mom and then Dad! She would say, "faster, faster" so Bishop would go faster, and then she would get nervous and ask for him to slow down. We had sore bums until we realized we should lay on our stomachs. That was a blast! Bryan was able to get up on the wake board! I was proud of him because he didn't grow up skiing and so the few times he has been have been with me. And he has never tried wake boarding until now. He did great! While I was skiing, I heard thunder and we knew it was supposed to rain. Well, I couldn't pass up another ski run, so I said I would go one more time, then when I fell, I said, "I'll go one more time, this is worth getting struck by lightning." I was having too much fun to get in the boat. Then, Bishop, with his boat grill, cooked hamburgers while Deanna and Bryan got the cover on the boat. As soon as that was all done, it POURED rain. And it was thundering and lightning! It was insane being out there on the river in the storm. The craziest part about it was I wasn't scared one bit. I was just so relaxed. Aside from the factories and tugboats, I couldn't help but notice how spectacular it is to recognize that behind the trees of this big beautiful river, are 2 big cities on each side! Another cool experience added to our adventure in Philly! Thank you to the always so generous Hilton's!

Alyssa and Bryan enjoy tubing!

Mason was a little unsure about the entire experience! We weren't sure what was wrong with him...................

...........oh, Deanna guessed it! He didn't have any food! See, now he has a chip, and we have a happy little boater!

I thought I would give some skiing a try

Looks like Bishop Hilton is giving out lessons!

"Dad, how do you keep your hat on? I don't know if the wind or this life jacket is going to make my whole head blow away!"..........YIKES!!!