New York Vacation

I've decided it's finally time to post about our summer vacation--you know, now that it's been a month and a half since we got back, and the kids are about ready to start school again!

We had known for about a year and a half that Robbie's team would be doing a tournament in Cooperstown, NY this summer.  Cooperstown only takes 12 year old teams, so it was a now-or-never type thing.  We debated whether everyone should go or just Chris and Robbie go, but decided that it was a great opportunity for all of us to see some sights on the other side of the country!  In the end, we left Cody at home with Grandma Matthews because we couldn't justify the expense and headache of bringing him along on a trip he will never remember--but we sure did miss him while we were gone!  We started off the vacation with a red-eye flight to Buffalo, NY.  The red eye flight was actually not too bad, but we were all pretty tired the next day.

We drove straight to Niagra Falls and crossed the border into Canada, where our phones promptly informed us via text that we were now incurring "international rates" at $12/min.  So the phones were turned off and Chris had to just hope and pray that all went well with work.

American Falls--the American part of Niagra Falls

Horseshoe Falls--the Canadian part of the falls

After checking into the hotel, we walked along the river walkway (don't remember the name!) and took pictures of the falls.  Then, after lunch and walking around Niagra Falls (which, FYI, is carnival central with haunted houses, wax museums, bowling and mini golf, etc--all of which we did NOT partake in) we took the Maid of the Mist boat ride to the base of the falls.  The tour provides lovely blue ponchos which turned the 95 degree weather into what felt like 125 degree weather--lovely!!

We didn't get any pictures of Horseshoe Falls because there was so much mist at the base that I was afraid to take out my camera.  But the falls are very impressive and the kids loved the boat ride.
After this we were all hot, sweaty, and done for the day.  We went back to the hotel and the kids and I went down to the hotel pool and waterslide, which were awesome by hotel standards!  We spent a few hours there and went back to the hotel room with the intention to get cleaned up and go to dinner.  But after showers, the kids all fell asleep at 6:30--a first for them!!  Another bonus to the red eye flight!!
The next day we went to the IMAX theater and watched a movie on the history of the falls and the people who have gone over them.  Then we bid goodbye to Canada and went back over the border en route to Palmyra.  After a pit stop for an early dinner in Rochester, we arrived in Palmyra with just enough time to tour the Hill Cumorah and let the kids watch the church movie about the life of Joseph Smith.

Hill Cumorah

Hill Cumorah

Monument at the top of Hill Cumorah

The next day we toured the church history sights of Palmyra.

We started off at the Palmyra temple

and then went to the Sacred Grove and Smith Family Farm.

In the Sacred Grove

The feeling in the Sacred Grove was very reverent and peaceful.  I was surprised by how large it is--I think we spent at least an hour in the Grove, and didn't take all the trails that we could have.  It was cool to see the remnant of the rock wall the Smith family built to mark their property line.  I think the Sacred Grove had a big impact on the kids--they all commented on how peaceful it felt to be there.


After the Sacred Grove, we toured the Smith family farm.  We had a brand new sister missionary from Italy give us a tour, and her English was very heavily accented and very difficult for the kids to understand.  She would ask them questions and they would look to us with a completely blank look on their face because they didn't understand a word she said!  Chris had a great time with that--and after we emphasized to Robbie that in 7 years that will be him somewhere else in the world, trying to explain the gospel in a brand new language.  Holy cow--I can't believe I only have 7 years until he goes on a mission!!!

In front of the replica of Joseph Smith's boyhood home

At the Smith family farm

This house was the original larger house that the Smith family built later on

We finished our time in Palmyra with a tour of the Granton printing press, but I didn't take any pictures there.  By then we were anxious to be on the road because we had a 3 1/2 hour drive to Cooperstown.  We got into Cooperstown that evening and got situated in the house we rented for the week.  The next morning we had to check Robbie in at the baseball park.

We have arrived!

Robbie and his team loading their stuff on the wagon to be driven to their bunk house and checked in for the week.

The team at opening ceremonies.

The first day of the tournament was orientation and opening ceremonies.  The team didn't play any games that day.  After Robbie's team checked in, we got to go down to the bunk house with them and walk around the facilities with them.  We also checked out the vendor booths, and then said goodbye til the opening ceremonies that evening.  This first day in Cooperstown was also Chris's 40th birthday, and we made sure the waiter at the Mexican restaurant knew about his special day (see pic below)!

Doesn't he look excited to be 40!

 Later that night, after opening ceremonies, we celebrated with cake and ice cream.

Here are a few pictures of Rob from the tournament.  I didn't get very many, but enjoy these three.  Robbie's team played great in the tournament, and they ended up winning the whole thing!  They broadcast the championship game live online, and I had to watch it that way because by then the girls and I were home.  

In front of the Green Monster wall

The girls and I got to watch four games, and then we left and went to New York City for a day and a half before we flew home to relieve my parents of Cody.  Speaking of Cody, he had a fabulous time with my parents at their cabin, and loved spending time with his cousins from northern Utah.  He didn't act like he missed us at all!
More details about New York City coming up......

Talia's 7th birthday

Talia turned 7 in June and we had a "Pancakes and Pajamas" party.  It was from 9-11 in the morning and all the girls were asked to wear pj's and bring a blanket and/or pillow.  When they arrived we had a pancake bar, complete with pancakes and all the toppings:  chocolate chips, blueberries, strawberries, jam, syrups, whip cream, sprinkles, etc.   

Pancake breakfast

More pancakes please!

Yum Yum!

Then the girls went downstairs with their blankets and pillows and watched Talia's favorite cartoon--Tom and Jerry!

 After the cartoon watching, we opened presents and then moved on to the craft--coloring pillow cases.

We finished with a "Happy Birthday" song and blowing out the candles on her doughnut.  I didn't get a picture of the party favors, but they were the pillowcases the girls colored along with a bowl and small box of cereal.  

Talia loved her birthday party, and I loved that it was over by 11 a.m.!!  All the girls seemed to have a lot of fun, and Talia got the pajama party she has wanted for a few years.  The birthday party was the day before her actual birthday, because I was an absentee mom and left to run the Ragnar on her birthday.  But I made sure to recruit people even better than me to help her celebrate--her wonderful Aunts Ashley and Becky!  While I was running, they took her to dinner, took her skating at Classic Skating, and had an awesome sleepover at Grandma Bevie's.  Here's a shout out to Ashley and Becky, the best aunts a girl could have--thanks SO much!!

We had our family party two days after her birthday.  Here is a picture of her cake:

She requested a cake that looked like her beloved stuffed dog, Molly.  I lined the sides of the cake with starbursts, her favorite candy.

 A few of her favorite gifts:

Dangly earrings! So grownup!

Dreamlite--seemed like a waste of money at the time, but has been the best thing ever!

Roller skates!

Polly pockets!

What started out as being "the worst birthday ever" (her words when she found out I would be gone on her birthday) ended up being a whole weekend of celebrations--lucky Talia!  I love this girl so much--she is so fun, creative, imaginative, whimsical, sweet, and loving.  She still tells me constantly that she loves me--which is always music to a mother's ears.  She is always making up stories or dances or elaborate play worlds for her and Cody.  Life would be much more dull without Talia around.  We sure love her!!

Busy Week

Start girls in dance--check

Finish swim lessons for Cody and Talia--check

Baseball games x4 for Robbie--check

Day at Seven Peaks--check

Throw pancake and pajamas birthday party for 16 little girls--check

Pack kids for New York trip--check

Run Ragnar Relay race (197 mile race from Logan to Park City)--check

Family birthday party for Talia--check

Loads and loads of laundry to prepare for New York trip--check

Lots and lots of cleaning so house is clean and ready for company to come when we get home from New York--check

Whew, it's been a busy week!  I will post photos later, right now I can't get my computer to upload them.  

Summer Goals

Easter Sunday 2012

We started a new tradition this year--summer goals.  I got this idea off the blog "71 toes", and I really liked it--the kids, not so much!  The point was to make two summer goals in three different categories--spiritual, physical, and mental.  After explaining what each of those areas means to my kids, they were given the assignment to set goals.  The goals were then reviewed and I vetoed some and made them make others more specific (the goal eat healthier is NOT specific enough!).  Anyway, they came up with some good goals, and if you want to know what they are working on this summer, here they are:

Robbie

Spiritual Goals:

1.  Read scriptures and pray every day

2.  Have a testimony (ok, this is very unspecific, but I let it slide)

Mental Goals:

1.  Read three good-sized chapter books this summer 

2.  Move up a level in piano

Physical Goals:

1.  Throw the baseball or pitch every other day.  (He currently doesn't pitch on his baseball team, but he is playing fall baseball with a different team and that fall team will want him to pitch, so he needs to start developing arm strength now--hence the reason for that goal!)

2.  Do 3 sets of 10 push ups and sit ups every night

Talia

Spiritual Goals:

1.  Write in journal 1x/wk

2.  Pack own scripture bag to take to church each Sun (I usually bring things for her to do during sacrament mtng in the bag I take for Cody and she gets up and down all during sacrament mtng to get into my bag.  It's very disruptive, and this goal is trying to cut back on her getting up and down and help her sit still for the whole mtng)

Physical Goals:
1.  Ride bike up and down street each day (she needs better leg strength and better bike-riding skills!)
2.  Get her back bend kick-over

Mental Goals:
1.  Read "Bella the Bunny Fairy" all by herself
2.  Do one math worksheet each Tues and Thurs


Sarah

Sarah eats this type of stuff up--she loves the whole setting and reaching goals thing (she truly is her father's daugher!).  So she decided to set three goals in each area!  Here are hers--

Spiritual:
1.  Bear testimony in sacrament mtng
2.  Write in journal 1x/wk
3.  Pray morning & night

Physical:
1.  Get arial on ground
2.  Practice back flips on tramp every day
3.  Each 2 fruits and 2 veggies each day

Mental:
1.  Read 3 chapter books this summer
2.  Learn 3 hymns on piano
3.  Learn how to french braid hair (we might downgrade this to fish braids--we'll see how she does learning french braiding!)

So....  there are our summer goals.  Mine include a lot of things, such as blogging 1x/wk (hence the reason for these posts out of the blue!), taking more pics of my kids, losing weight (of course!), cooking vegetarian meals 2x/wk, giving kids spiritual lesson at home each Sunday, reading the Ensign cover to cover, etc, etc.  There are so many to things to work on--the possibilities for goals are endless!!  We also made lists of things the kids wanted to do for fun.  They included:

Cabin
Lagoon
Bike rides
Hike to Y or G
Zoo
Seven Peaks

Let the summer fun begin!!

Where have we been?!

 What have the Shippens been up to since we last posted almost TWO years ago!?!?  Well, let me tell you.....

Robbie graduated from 6th grade.  At our elementary school, they don't have a big graduation thing, which is kind of disappointing.  They did have a program with a guest speaker and they read the names of the kids who completed extra credit assignments to get "degrees" in different areas, but that was it.  I took a few pics of Robbie and his friends after the "graduation" and before they headed outside for the 6th Grade Celebration (aka a day of water games and fun on the fields at school).

 Goofy 6th grade boys!

 A few of Rob's good friends

 Me and my 6th grade graduate!

 I got a little teary-eyed while listening to the guest speaker and thinking about how this elementary school time is all done for my oldest.  I've had an overwhelming feeling many times in the past few months that life is moving too fast, the kids are growing up too quickly, and there's so much I'm not doing to enjoy life in-the-moment.  I have friends who are so excited to see their children grow up and become more mature and experience new things, but I'm not one of those--I just want to keep them young and freeze these moments in time.  But despite what I want, my oldest son is growing up and moving to Jr High next year.  I'm SO not ready for this, and he is SO excited!

The last day of school--Rob 6th grade, Sarah 4th grade

 Last day of school for Talia--1st grade

Summer officially started on June 1st, but dance for Sarah didn't end until this weekend.  She had her recital yesterday, and she did awesome.  She has decided she loves to dance, and is doing dance steps all over the house lately.  After watching Talia's dance team compete this past year, Sarah decided she wanted to be on a dance team, too.  So she tried out for a team at the same studio Talia has been taking at, and was excited to make a beginning level team.  She starts dance at the new studio Monday, so no break for her!!

Sarah before her dance recital

Summer brings all sorts of outdoor yardwork around the Shippen household--I tell my kids that we don't live on a farm but we do have about 1/4 acre of flower beds that have to be weeded, so that is where they will learn to do outdoor work!  This year we have an annoying problem--squirrels have taken over!  What started out as a few cute little animals running around late last summer has turned into a full-blown invasion.  They have tunneled under all the concrete (notice the hole to the side of the trap in the pic below), eaten 8 pepper plants and 3 cucumber plants along with several shrubs, and littered our yard with walnut shells from my neighbor's walnut tree.  I was fine with leaving them alone until they ate my vegetable plants--when that happened, I knew they had to go!  Enter my neighbor the falconeer--he is trapping the squirrels (notice one in the trap below) and feeding them to his hawk and falcon.  Its a win-win situation for everyone except Talia, who is heartbroken at the thought of those cute little squirrels being killed and fed to a big bird.  Anyway, the kids are always checking to see if we have caught a squirrel, and this past week we caught 7 or 8, so we're off to a good start!

Summer 2010--Cody turned 2!

I can't believe my baby is 2! Cody's birthday was Aug 22. He woke up to balloons in his room (a family tradition), and he didn't really understand what was going on but he liked all the attention. Grandma and Grandpa Matthews came down from Brigham City, and Michael and Katie came for presents and ice cream.
Cody is my wild child--he is into EVERYTHING, constantly moving, the kid who will empty every cupboard in the kitchen in less than 30 seconds, loves to wrestle with his dad and brother, loves throwing the ball and anything with wheels. As crazy as he is at home, he is very shy when he is around people he doesn't know. Nursery has been a nightmare. Cody and I do a mom-and-me gym class and a swimming class, and he doesn't want anything to do with the teachers in those classes. But get him at home around people he knows well, and he's quite a character. He loves to torment Talia, and will use any opportunity to kick, hit, pinch, or pull her hair. He has the best hair--naturally curly all over--and the best laugh. He is the first one to run to Chris when he comes home, and he misses having all the kids around now that they are in school. We do love our "coder-dude"!

He had to have a truck cake--of course!

Playing with his new car, shark, and flashlight

Chris was responsible for getting a ride-on for him, so of course he got this monster-sized four wheeler! Cody LOVES thing, and always wants to ride it. Thank goodness the batteries run low easily! He rode it around the house on his birthday, and you can see from his face how much he loved it.