It's not very hard to entertain an 8 month old

Everything but the Kitchen Sink...

...and the CAMERA!

When you are traveling with a family of 5, the amount of time and thought preparing for the actual departure date is endless. On the big day I find myself running around adding and subtracting things, packing and repacking things into bigger and smaller bags -- the amount of ziplock bags is just ridiculous -- all right until the car is pulling out of the drive way. After the many bags (hopefully all under 50 lbs, but don't worry I have a back up plan for that too) are packed into the car, I drive away and with each mile thoughts of home and preparation start drifting away, and I my thoughts change to the fun things we are going to do, who we are going to visit, old stomping grounds we have to visit. We finally make it through the horrible airport scene -- unfortunately with only half our party, due to summer stand-by (the first hiccup of fun) -- but half of us are started and I want to document the event. I rummage around and there is no camera. How do you forget one of the most important thing while traveling? The camera is right next to underwear on the list of things to bring.

But not to worry, my mom always taught me some great traveling advice: there will still be stores on vacation and you can buy it when you get there, or you can borrow it. And in this case we did the latter -- thanks to Aunt Megan and Aunt Crystal our precious vacation memories were preserved. Thanks ladies for saving our vacation.

Part I: St George, UT with the McFadden side


Part II: 4th of July in Northern UT with the Frost side

We Picked....

Strawberries

Strawberry picking can be somewhat of a gamble, due to heat, bugs, mud/dirt, ease of the harvest, and most importantly, the mood and tolerance of the family. But this time we won --the humidity was tolerable, we had plenty of bug spray, we had nice dry dirt that a stroller could ride on, we had plenty of divine strawberries, and best of all, we had happy, helpful and excited kids. We have been pretty lucky at Wegmyer Farms.

How much longer do I have before the kids realize this is work?

After picking so many strawberries we had to do something with them...

so we ate a lot

we made some delicious popsicles

and a strawberry pie.

We LOVE strawberries!

Chelsey Poppins

We were in need of some help, and Aunt Chelsey was looking for adventure.

And I think we came up with a perfect summer solution.

"Chelsey Poppins"

Three and Dino-Mite

Super Henry and Goodbyes

We went to the library and brought Henry's robot arms so that he could practice using them in the community, since he was doing so well with them at home. He willing put them on as we were looking at the movies. Then together we walked over to the drinking fountain for a refreshing drink. I guess I was taking too long, because Henry let go of me and started walking independently with his robot arms. I told him to wait and he looked over his shoulder and said "I can do it." And he did. He continued to walk around the library the rest of our time there. I was amazed.

I was so excited to tell Mike and our family, but I also couldn't wait to tell Ms. Karen (Henry's physical therapist). April is her last month working with us, since when Henry turns three he ages out of the early intervention program, meaning no more Ms. Karen. We are so sad to lose her, I feel like she is part of our family. But I guess Ms. Karen has done her job well, because Henry is up and walking. What a great going away gift.

Thanks for helping Henry each step of the way.

The Only Elephants We Support in This Town

At least I don't think they claim a political party. They are just here to party. Every March the Ringling Bros and Barnum & Bailey Circus comes to D.C., and the parade of elephants kicks off the opening of the circus by getting off the train and then parading downtown to the Verizon Center. This year we had to see it for ourselves.

The anticipation...

It always help to have a clown nose on when you are meeting circus elephants. It helps to make the elephants feel more at home, and keeps everyone entertained while waiting.

More waiting = Mom taking more pictures

The BIG elephant debut.

And Henry was happy seeing the elephants with all his loot.

Our life right now is the real circus.

Brothers

Megan sure is at school a lot these days, but luckily Henry has his new brother to play with. They really do have fun together, despite the less-than-enthusiastic faces you see here. Henry likes to slip on his "blue steel" gaze every time we pull out the camera, and Eli seems to think the camera is a torture device.

Eli may not be very mobile yet, but that doesn't stop Henry from driving his car in circles around him, and picking out a truck for Eli to play with.

Golden Birthday

It was Megan's Golden Birthday this year.

For those of you who don't know what a golden birthday is, it is a very special birthday that only happens once in life time. Your golden birthday happens when the day of your birth matches your age, so Megan's birthday is March 6th and she turned 6.

GOLDEN.

And we definitely celebrated it to the max.

Aunt Crystal and cousin Hazel came to visit just for the event (it was pretty convenient that it was the same time Mike was going to Africa). A party is always better with Aunt Crystal and Hazel Jane.

GOLDEN

We started out our golden birthday celebration with Dad before he left on his trip. He was very sad to miss the official birthday. We had Megan's favorite dinner of fish, baked potatoes, veggies, sourdough bread and strawberries with fruit dip, sang Happy Birthday and opened presents.

Megan has been wanting a "science kit" for a while and we found a great one that is perfect for a 6 year old scientist. It was an instant hit when Mike and Megan did the volcano experiment. Mike shook the bottle for maximum effect and it erupted everywhere, and I mean everywhere: ceiling, walls, spectators. Luckily most of it was cleaned up before Mom saw the devastation.

GOLDEN

The next golden birthday celebration was a Fancy Nancy Explorer Extraordinaire party, and it was extraordinary. We decorated the clubhouse, read Fancy Nancy Explorer Extraordinaire, and the girls passed tests to become an official member of the Explorer Extraordinaire Club. They made an explorer notebook, went outside to explore and record their findings of nature, dropped bugs in a jar, played "bug bug who has the bug" and hot spider, and lastly planted flower seeds. All of this earned them a magnifying glass, fancy gloves, and an official club membership. After all their exploring they went to the clubhouse for a fancy lunch of butterfly sandwiches, fruit kabobs, cheese and pickles, pink lemonade and fancy tarts as the finishing touch. It was divine.

And GOLDEN.

After this party we just keep on celebrating -- at school, at church, the real birthday date, spa day with Aunt Crystal, etc.

Like I said it was a GOLDEN Birthday.

We love you Megan, and you are a delight to have in our family. Happy Birthday.

P.S. None of this could have been possible without the help of Aunt Crystal. Thanks for EVERYTHING, we miss you. You are a Golden Aunt forever.