Back to Blogging Part 2-Nana and Papa's Visit

Nana and Papa visited us for a few weeks in April and May. We had a wonderful time with them. It was still a little nippy here in Michigan, but we had a great time in spite of the weather.
We hoped to take Nana and Papa to Lake Michigan but it seemed like the weather was never very good when we had the time to go. Instead of spending a cool day at the beach, on this day we decided to have a hot dog roast around the campfire in our back yard.

Kourtney was on her way back to the fire from the picnic table when she didn't see one of the big logs we use to sit on. She tripped on it and ended up with her hands on the ground and her feet in the air. Luckily she didn't get up too fast and I was able to get a picture of her that looks like it's been photo shopped although it really hasn't.

Kourtney had a field trip to the Butterfly House on MSU campus. Nana, Papa, Ellary, Keegan and I accompanied her. Nana got to ride the bus! Kourtney was so excited.

Each student in Kourtney's class got to pot a plant and take it home too.

Ellary turned 3 years old while Nana and Papa were visiting us. We took her to McDonald's for breakfast which has become a tradition because the day she was born Kourtney and I went out for a date at McDonald's (pregnancy craving), and we share a big stack of pancakes. Just before we were about to leave Micky D's I started having contractions. 4 hours later Ellary was born! We had a fun time including Nana and Papa in our tradition. Ellary is obsessed with Micki and Minnie Mouse, that's why I made her a Minnnie cake this year. She was very excited!

Ellary loves to dance so we gave here this leotard and a dancing video called "The Music Box". Everyone liked dancing to it.

Nana and Papa got Ellary this Princess table. Ellary and Keegan love to play with their pretend food on it in her room.

The first weekend Nana and Papa were here was Easter and General Conference weekend. So much fun!

Kris and I had the opportunity to see some friends sealed in the Dtroit Temple. Nana, Papa and the kids all played at the Stake building next to the temple.

We also took a walk in Lansing along the Grand River, then went to Impression 5, a children's museum. That was a lot of fun too!

The day before they left we almost ventured to Lake Michigan but the weather wasn't cooperating. So, we went to the MSU Dairy instead. It was neat to see the calves and cows and how they are milded. It was also stinky and mucky, but fun all the same.

This cow insisted on trying to lick my coat. When it licked Ellary she got upset. She's our little girlie girl!

We also took Nana and Papa to the Brody Cafeteria at MSU. It's an amazing smorgasbord of authentic cuisines. We then took a little walk on campus.

We had so much fun with Nana and Papa. They will be coming to visit us again in less than a month for Thanksgiving and we are so excited!

Back to Blogging Part 2-Alyson's Birthday and Baptism

We're going to back up almost two months before our June trip to Palmyra, all the way back to Alyson's birthday and baptism on April 30th, 2011.
Alyson turned eight, and she was very excited about this birthday for several reasons. First, she was looking forward to being baptised and becoming a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Secondly, Nana and Papa made it out for such a special occasion.

We have many traditions in our family. One of them Kris and I have started in our family is that when our girls turn eight years old they receive a locket. On the back is the inscription, "AIOH" meaning "Always In Our Hearts". We included a picture of us on one side and a picture of Alyson on the other. If our picture is ever replaced we hope it's a picture of a righteous young man who takes our daughter to the temple for time and all eternity.

I love this picture. This is what Alyson's day was all about....love and happiness. This picture of Aly with her daddy says more about that day than any words probably could.

Nana and Papa gave Alyson a mini hymnal with an inscription on the inside cover. Very sweet.

Nana and Papa also have a tradition for their grandchildren that has been going strong for 20 years now. They give each of their grandchildren a statue of a child kneeling in prayer. It's a sweet reminder to stay close to Heavenly Father by speaking with Him often.
Alyson also received numerous gifts from friends and neighbors in honor of her eighth birthday and her baptism. This box was given to her from our neighbors, the Thomas' from across the street. What a kind gesture!
Alyson wanted to make something special for the little reception following her baptism. We spent Friday, the 29th busily and happily dipping strawberries into chocolate and making frosted covered sugar cookies.

The whole family got involved!

Here are some tender moments of Alyson getting ready to go to the church.

And this is Aly, Kris and I just before she was baptised.

Ellary is missing because she came down with strep and had to stay home. All of the children had strep at one point or another while Nana and Papa visited. Ella just happened to still be contagious on Alyson's baptism day.

This is a picture of Kris and Bishop Wille with Alyson following her baptism. What a special day!

And here are Aly and I that evening following her baptism. I am very proud of her and happy that she chose to follow in Christ's footsteps by being baptised and that she became a member of our church. She is a wonderful daughter with so much love in her heart. Thank you, Alyson, for being my daughter!

Back to Blogging Part 1

Yes, I am back to blogging after six months! I got a little lazy because our internet was so slow, and now that we have faster internet to download all of the pictures we post, I am back to blogging. Hope you enjoy the pics as we back track.

We had the opportunity to go on a road trip with some friends to their home in Chatuaqua, New York and then to the Palmyra, New York area for their temple sealing after school let out in June. It was such a great experience! Here are a few pictures from our time in the Palmyra area. We will post more pics of our time in Chatauqua very soon!

The Hill Cumorah Visitor's Center
This Christus is located within the Visitor's Center. Ellary especially loved seeing Jesus.

This is Hill Cumorah. A crew was setting up for the Hill Cumorah Pageant that showed the very next week.

This is the monument on top of hill Cumorah. Moroni is standing on top. It was a beautiful place to be.

Ellary cried when we said we needed to go because she didn't want to "leave Jesus."

This is a picture of Henry and Jan Kanui. These are our friends that we stayed with in Chatauqua, New York and for whom we attended their Temple Sealing in the Palmyra New York Temple. They are very special people, and we are grateful to have been invited to participate in their sealing and be with them in their New York home.

You can see that the stained glass window behind Kris is of trees. It's very beautiful. The window facing the Sacred Grove isn't stained so that you can view the grove from within the temple. It was done this way as President Hinckley asked. Pretty neat and inspiring!

The Sacred Grove is where Joseph went to pray and in response to his prayer saw God the Father, and His son Jesus Christ. It's located just west of the temple and can be seen from the temple. It's a very special place and we enjoyed being able to walk through it.

There was a crick with a lot of beautiful dragon flies all around.

This is one of the few pictures we took of the fourth of July. We spent it with a lot of friends and had a great time.