Our trip across the country- Maryland to Carthage, Illinois

Boy, oh boy! Has it ever taken me a long time to get to posting this! I guess a lot of it is due to the magnitude of the project. . .and the busyness of settling in a new home. . .and 3 children 4 and under. . .and technical difficulties/ lack of consistent internet connection. . .etc. But, if I don't get cracking I still won't get it done! Since interruptions are a way of life around here, I am going to post this in segments so that I feel like I am actually accomplishing something and so that the draft doesn't just sit in my line-up for weeks.

So, we left our apartment in Bethesda, Maryland on July 14th. We left around 4:30 pm, got out of town a little ways and then stopped for dinner. Going out was definitely a welcome treat after all the work I did getting the apartment packed and cleaned (And I had movers!!! I don't know how I will ever do it alone again!) I am so thankful to my dear friends in Maryland who watched the kids so that I COULD get it all done. And to Jenny, who came over and cleaned with me! (Thanks, Jenny, if you read this!)

So we drove all that night and arrived in Carthage, Illinois the next morning (hence our ragged appearance in the pictures to follow). We let the kids run around at a park while Kenneth, who had driven most of the night, took a nap on a park bench (my husband, the bum, hahaha). Then we toured the Carthage Jail. This is the site where Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were killed. It was a place full of emotion for me. I once again felt confirmation that Joseph Smith was called of God to restore the Church of Jesus Christ in these days. Christ called him as his prophet to once again bring his Church back to the earth in its fullness. Even with 3 small children in tow, I was glad to be able to visit this place of reverence.
Miles and miles of cornfields we drove through in Illinois- Kenneth was loving it!

Beautiful grounds of the Carthage Jail Visitors Center

Larchar Family in front of the Joseph and Hyrum statue

The kids and I outside the jail

The window out of which Joseph fell

Quite Possibly a Perfect Day

Kenneth had the 5th of July off and we had quite possibly the perfect day. (Except for the heat- it was getting pretty close to 100 that day) We had a nice breakfast at home and Grant got a good morning nap. Then we drove the 15 minutes over to the C and O Canal and the Great Falls overlook. Great Falls is a portion of the Potomac River and an impressive, wide waterfall. Fun to see. Then we drove to a park close to our home for a picnic lunch and for the kids to play on the playground. That same evening, after some good naps, we went to the pool and grilled up some hot dogs. We even bought an ice cream cake to celebrate the Fourth of July one day late. I sure love spending time with my little family!

The fourth of July is probably one of my favorite holidays. We had a really relaxing weekend all around. Saturday we went to a pool party and had a blast. Saturday evening we had dinner and spent the evening with a friend of Kenneth's from High School, who lives in the area. Sunday we had a wonderful day at church and a quiet, relaxing day at home. We didn't even watch the fireworks this year, and do you know what? I'm okay with that! And you heard about Monday's activities above. The best part was I had forgotten that Kenneth had Monday off, so when he asked me on Sunday afternoon what our plans were for tomorrow I was completely surprised and elated that he got to spend the day with us. It made it that much better.

I feel so thankful to live in this country and to enjoy the freedoms we enjoy. I actually enjoyed having the Fourth on Sunday. I get all choked up during all those patriotic hymns! Happy Birthday America!

Emma and Grant. What a good big sister she is!!

Three little munchkins swinging on the swings!

Handsome Grant. He had his first haircut just 2 days prior to this.

Merry-go-round fun

Heidi and Grant on the firetruck

Mommy and Grant

Riverboat and Geese at the C and O Canal

Grant learning to point. 2 handed. There were so many exciting things to point at!!

Helicopter over Great Falls

Great Falls, Potomac River

Larchar Family at Great Falls (Four year old meltdown in process)

Emma the rock climer

Kenneth and Grant over looking the falls

Another portion of the falls on the way to the main overlook

Monkey See, Monkey Do

We had to share this video of the girls working out with me. They are hilarious. You will notice Emma has no pants on. So, she put on this skirt this particular morning that was too big for her and then she started to jump around and exercise with me it was falling off. So, she asked if she could take it off I said yes, not knowing they were going to be so cute that I would need to call Kenneth in to video the whole thing! Then, of course, Arianna wanted to take her shorts off too! My favorite part is the end when Emma is jumping around. So funny.

Emma really likes to exercise with me and today did the full half hour!! I was very impressed with her. She did ask about 6 times when we were going to be finished, however.

. . .but it's more important to be nice

Recently, this Mormonad keeps popping into my head. I keep thinking about my interactions with my children and how I can improve. This Mormonad has been a great mental exercise for me when I feel my stress level rising and my blood start boiling.

I fill in the blank for the appropriate situation:

It's nice to ____________, but it's more important to be nice.

Some examples of what I might put in that blank are:

be on time
have a clean house
have perfectly dressed children with their hair done nicely

I know that it is the spirit that is trying to teach me how to be a better mom. How grateful I am for that guidance and for Heavenly Father's patience with me as I am a slow learner. I appreciated President Monson's words that Elder Hales shared in his General Conference Address. (Also the words of Joseph Smith as recorded in the Doctrine and Covenants):

To a small group of mothers, President Monson recently said, “Sometimes we are too quick to judge the effect of our successes and failures.” May I add, don’t look at today’s trials as eternal. Heavenly Father does His work in the long term. “There is much which lieth in futurity,” the Prophet Joseph Smith said. “Therefore, … let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power; and then may we stand still, with the utmost assurance, to see the salvation of God, and for his arm to be revealed” (D&C 123:15, 17).

So, here's to all of us doing "cheerfully all things that lie in our power!"

Trip to D.C.. . .times 3!

Last week we went down into the city 3 times! They kind of all happened spur of the moment, but it has definitely been fun to experience more of this wonderful city (and revisit old favorites, namely, the Zoo)in the short time we have left here. You are now probably thinking I am going to tell you where we are moving after said short time. Well, no. We still don't know exactly where we are going to be in one month from now! We will keep you all posted. (We really do mean it- I know we have been saying that for the last 5 months or so!)
So, 2 Saturdays ago we went to see the National Building Museum. The girls loved it! It is a very large building with an open atrium and plenty of room to run. There is a fountain in the middle and there were even birds who lived inside. The girls had a blast chasing the birds all over the place. There was also a special room for kids where they could build and play. After the building museum we decided to go see the Lincoln Memorial since we hadn't seen that since we had lived here. It was a very hot day and it was a lot of walking, but worth it.
Last week, we finally got a call from our Senator's office saying that we had White House Tour tickets for Thursday. So, Kenneth took a half day and we rode in on the Metro and finally got to see the White House. That was an interesting experience. So, there are all kinds of stipulations as to what is and what is not allowed to come on the White House Tour. Some of the things NOT allowed are: cameras, STROLLERS, food, BAGS, etc. So, we had to figure out how to get all these 3 children into the city and through the tour with no stroller, snacks, diaper bag, etc. We decided we really needed to Metro in because we were afraid of driving all the way down and not being able to find parking. Luckily, we did not have to transfer trains, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. We brought the Snugli front carrier for Grant and Kenneth put one diaper in his back pocket and off we went. Luckily, no one needed a diaper change throughout the whole ordeal! The girls actually did quite well listening and holding hands. On the way back to the train we did have to stop and get them a little something to eat to hold them off til dinner time. After the tour we went to the park across the street from the front of the White House and I fed Grant while the girls ran around with the birds and squirrels. There was a lady there feeding the squirrels that had them eating out of her hands! She could even pet them. I was amazed! (So we really don't have any pictures of this day since we weren't allowed to bring a camera. Kenneth has a few on his Blackberry, but I haven't gotten them off. So, you will just have to picture us in the city with 3 kids and no stroller!)
The third visit to the city last week was last Saturday. We went to the Zoo again. I think that makes 4 times since we've lived here. The girls had been begging to go again. They enjoy seeing the animals so much. I think my favorites are the meerkats. They are so darn cute. Arianna cracked me up at one point when we were looking into the Koi pond. She saw some black and white spotted fish and said, "Look! There are some cow fish!"

So, here are the pictures and a video of the girls in the Building Museum:

Kiddos and Dad riding in on the Metro

Enjoying the Artwork in the City

The Law Enforcement Officers Memorial (Building Museum in the Background)

Dad building with Emma

Grant the Builder. Can he fix it? Yes he can!

Mom and girls in Building Museum

Building Museum Atrium


The girls chasing birds at the Building Museum

Heidi and sleeping Emma at Lincoln Memorial

Heidi at Lincoln looking out on Washington Monument and the Capital

In the Zoo sign

Emma feeding the monkey at the zoo

Mom and the girls and the Lions!

A goat's got to have a good time too!

My favorite little meerkat

The black hole in my closet

I have a black hole in my closet. It is getting larger everyday. Maybe you have one too.

I have a section of my closet where I keep the clothes that need to be ironed. Ironing is one of those things that is always on my TO-DO list and never gets checked off. The items stay there until:
A) I get desperate enough and iron it just before an event
B) Kenneth asks really nicely for a different shirt to wear
C) I remove them because my children outgrow items that were hanging there
D) Kenneth takes shirts on business trips- then he has to iron them himself in his hotel room! (This is my favorite way of things leaving the black hole. . .unfortunately they keep coming back. . .)

If only shirts were actually wrinkle-free. If only. . .

My Adorable Baby

I am so in love with this little guy!!! Here he is playing this afternoon. I just have to share because I think he is so cute.



I love this face. It cracks me up!

Emma wanted to hold him a couple of days ago and asked me to take her picture. Here it is! Grant is getting so big!!!

Look at the difference in his size! This picture was taken 9 months ago: