Helping Out in Temple

Louis and Jen decided to take a train trip up to Chicago for Jen's birthday and so we went down to Temple to watch the grands while they were away.  When we have the opportunity to do this I am always reminded of what a supermom my daughter is.  Once upon a time I ran with 5 children from dawn to dusk as well, but those days are far behind me.  Whew!  The older I get, I am amazed at the stamina reduction taking place.  Let's just say I slept well this week.




So let's get going with the few pictures we stopped moving long enough to take.  That in itself is a statement to how busy we were.  I am not sure if Josh is unhappy here or just thoughtful.  At any rate, Mister likes to catch the boys when they are not paying attention.  Jacob is simply watching someone else quietly.

Soccer games!! Yep -- they were on the schedule!  We loaded everyone up and were off to watch Bekah.

Josh had his own little chair and was quite comfortable playing and talking with Grandpa.

Trying to get good action shots is always a challenge in a game.  Bekah is a fun player to watch and is definitely an asset to her team.

OUCH!

In between Bekah's games, we had Jacob on the field as well.  He, too, is a great little player and we really enjoyed watching him.

Back on the field with Bekah once again.

In addition to games, we were kept busy preparing Halloween costumes.  Mister (Grandpa) and Jon spent quite a bit of time making this robot costume and rigging it so that the lights worked as well.  I loved it.















Days at school were also themed each day for costuming.  Bekah wanted to really do the "Nerd Day" up and so we went to work on her.  It took awhile and little creativity, but the overall effect was dang good.  Check out the final effort below.

We had a great time with our grands this week.  Not sure just where the camera or Jared were hiding but at least we have these few shots.  We'll have to try harder next time.

Happy First Anniversary to Us - Hot Springs, Arkansas

Has it really been a year already?  Where has the time gone?  We had not really planned anything for our anniversary and so at the last minute decided to go up to Hot Springs, Arkansas for the weekend.  Since it is fall, the colors are pretty and this is taken from the top of The Mountain Tower.  Isn't this a pretty view?

We didn't really take many pictures on this trip, but I did talk Mister into taking in one of the baths for which Hot Springs is so famous.  We went to the Buckstaff Bathhouse, the last operational bath house in the original Bath House Row.  This was certainly a unique experience - one that I would recommend to everyone before this is lost to history.  It was a treat and my skin felt so amazing when I finished with the treatment.  Here are a few shots of the type of bathhouse I am speaking of.  These were at the museum.

It was a great weekend Mister -- Thank you for the great room, food, sights, and bath.  I will never forget this time together.

Chicago w/Matt and Fam

It had only been nine days since I returned Hyrum and Zyra to their parents when we were given another opportunity to spend time with them.  Matt had to go to Chicago for some training and wanted to know if we would meet with them so that Becca and the kids could go along for some fun.  Since we love Chicago and time with the family, naturally we said yes.  So, off we went to Chicago.

As soon as we checked into our hotel, Zyra was quick to come and visit.  Matt had brought her with him and so we were called on to babysit for the day.  Well, we went to do some shopping and buy a few new outfits for the kids and soon were back in the room playing.

Any chance to photograph this little one is taken advantage of and so click click went the camera.

When Becca and Hyrum arrived the next day, we went to the Shedd Aquarium for the afternoon.  I love it there and the kids had a great time as well.

We tried to get Hyrum to sit on a small wall that had a huge drop off the back and get a picture with the city skyline in the back.  He did so, but if you look real close -- he is not sure about the whole thing.

He was way more interested in the chocolate milk that waited for him on the ground.


We then returned to the hotel and relaxed until Matt was finished with training for the day before heading back downtown for some sightseeing and dinner.  It was great fun to watch Matt as we drove among the skyscrapers.  He was fascinated and I didn't realize that he had never really spent any time around tall buildings.

On the way to dinner at Portillos for a good old Chicago Hot Dog, Becca found the car of her dreams.

After dinner, we quickly walked to the Buckingham Fountain in time for the hourly show.  I so love fountains and this one if superb.

We continued walking around downtown and into Millennium Park.  The Cloud Gate, lovingly referred to as "The Bean", is always fun and at night the reflections are so different.  Having been there both during the day and evening, I am not sure which I prefer.

As Hyrum reached up to touch "The Bean", Grandpa snapped a cool picture.

We continued walking around downtown and arrived at the John Hancock Observatory for some beautiful views of the city below.

As we are walking around the city, Hyrum runs from "circle to circle" (manholes) on the sidewalk and makes Becca oh so nervous that he is going to run out into the street.  He loves this little game that he has created and it makes us laugh to watch him.  Soon, he has Daddy running with him.

The next day, while Daddy was at training, we set off for the Morton Arboretum and the Children's Garden.  It is a beautiful fall day and the kids are eager to get out and run around a little.  Naturally, arboretums offer ample photo ops and we take advantage of as many as possible.




Hyrum and I find a maze and wander through it with him leading the way.  Such fun together.

As we reach different areas it is fun to watch their minds at work.  The garden is lovely and this is one of the best Children's areas that I have ever visited.  I wish we had this in Dallas.

So many places to see and explore and the kids are going every direction while Mama is nervously trying to keep track of them.

For me, Zyra is a bit too much of a daredevil.  She wants to do absolutely everything that big brother is doing.

Some things though are just for big brother alone.  I went on this with Hyrum to try and ease Becca's worry somewhat.  He was absolutely in heaven climbing on all the ropes.

Zyra once again thinking she can do it all.  Way too funny.

Waiting and watching while Hyrum climbs and runs, redoing the course over and over again.

He has endless energy and even Zyra has given it up by now.  We finish our afternoon with a walk among the scarecrows.  They are scattered all along the path back to the entrance and the kids take great delight in running and finding them all.

Back to the hotel to pick up Matt and we head back into the city again.

As we were driving to dinner, we spotted some churches that were absolutely incredible.  Most were closed, which we found odd, but we loved looking at them anyway.

The last one was open and we were able to look inside, Hyrum said he wanted out of the car with us to go and check it out.  It was being renovated, but was still beautiful inside.

Our destination was for dinner at Podhalanka, an authentic Polish restaurant in the Polish section of the city.

It is always fun to get Matt to try new things.  Does he like this?  One is not sure but since I don't see a lot of food on the table, I think this is just deep thought.

Our final event for the evening is to ride the "L".  As we are waiting for our train to arrive, the kids keep looking down the track to see if they can find it.  They have been watching them run overhead the past two days and are excited to ride one.

It is a great ride and a great end to a fun time with family.  We cannot wait to do it again.