Bucks county children's museum

There are definitely some perks to living in the richest county in the state of Pennsylvania.  Although the bucks county children's museum was not nearly as impressive as I may have hoped, the free pass I checked out from the library was.  Yeah, the library system in Bucks county is pretty impressive.  I've checked out books, videos, CDs, hand bells, learning tablets, cake pans, board games, and now museum passes.  It's a good thing I got the pass for free - even though I wasn't too impressed with what the museum had to offer, in the eyes of young children, it was perfect.  Zabien even asked if we could play there everyday.  Probably not, but one free day was good. 

Hazel and the other kids digging for dinosaur fossils. 

They made their own cars out of legos and raced them down the two tracks. 

There were a couple of exhibits with science based themes - wind, water, and electricity.  Zabien is putting a handful of rags into this wind tunnel.  They came shooting out a different pipe. 

It took some effort, but I was finally able to build the arch out of these soft blocks.  I'm surprised they lasted long enough to snap a picture, but seconds later, they were all over the place.  We finally had to leave this section when a friendly activity of bouncing on these became a dangerous wrestling match. 

Eliza is a wonderful doctor.  After taking my blood pressure and other vital signs, she clearly explained that my bones were causing me problems, and even showed me an x-ray.

Clearly the best ice cream scoopers. 

Eliza loves the mermaid dress grandma Richards sent her

Hazel gets the prize for endurance.  Shortly after arriving, Hazel desperately needed a nap - when she gets tired, she literally run around in circles screaming at the top of her lungs - it gets loud.  The element of distraction helped her last the afternoon.  She did almost take a nap on this flower bed. 

An afternoon of playing in a children's museum was the perfect way to spend a hot summer day. 

5th birthday party

I am still in a bit of shock that I have a 5 year old - 5 years old. This is big - kindergarten in the fall, music lessons, extracurricular activities - I have a school-aged child.  Eliza is a special girl with a plethora of talents and abilities.  I really tried hard this year to make the girl feel special.  Parties, celebrations, and gifts are so important to Eliza.  She has been "planning" her birthday party for 6 months.  She wanted a Little Mermaid cake, plenty of decorations, and a chance to be Ariel.    2 weeks before her birthday, she told dad that he had better start making the decorations for her party.  Everyday she asked him why he wasn't working on her decorations.  The night before her birthday, I sent Bruce to Walmart to pick up some Little Mermaid decorations to hang up around the house.  While he was working on spicing up the house, I spent some time making this.....

A glimpse of some of the decorations - not pictured is the princess themed "Happy Birthday" sign and the dozen Littler Mermaid streamers hanging from sporadic places in the front room and kitchen. 

As the clock turned over welcoming in the next day, Bruce and I looked at each other in the midst of a messy kitchen and decorations everywhere, and we both had the same thought.  If we had started doing this when she told us to, we wouldn't be up late the night before trying to get this done. 

In the middle of the night - that's when Eliza made her big debut.  We waited and longed 5 years to see that sweet baby face, and now 5 years later, I couldn't wait to see her face in the morning when she saw our hard work.  Neither she or I was disappointed. 

Later that afternoon, we had a "mermaid" swim party at the local pool.  With our pool membership and guest passes, we were able to get everyone in.  We took a quick break from swimming for some pizza and lemonade. 

not sure why Zabien is pouting here

We didn't have enough chairs at one table, so poor Ian had to sit at a neighboring table.  I don't think he minded too much though. 

Back in the water while I cleaned up the pizza, then it was time for cake.  Singing to the birthday girl. 

 She was really quite thrilled with the Little Mermaid play set on her cake.  She loved playing with all the pieces and acting out the movie. 

 

 Some of her party guests had to have an early exit, so she opened the presents from her friends. 

I thought Amalie and Amara's present wrapping was very cute and creative.  Boo-boo-chicken is kind of Eliza's catch phrase. 

 

The princess on her birthday!

playing Little Mermaid in the water

Hazel enjoying some cake

We stayed at the pool till they kicked us out.  They closed early to accommodate a swim meet, but we still got a good 4 hours in.  When we got home, she wanted to open her presents immediately.  I apologize in advance for these blurry pictures.  My phone camera lens has a hard time focusing, and lately the kids seem to think they need to move during the pictures. 

She got everything princess: princess body wash, lotion, and bathrobe, princess puzzles, a Cinderella and Jasmine Barbie doll, some Frozen canvas art for her bedroom wall, and some Disney learn to draw books.  Grandma Porter gave her an Anna and Elsa skating Barbie doll, 

Grandma Richards gave her this mermaid costume.

This little girl sure brings a lot of joy and sunshine in my life.  She is bright, smart, inquisitive, and thoughtful.  She sees a need and does her best to fulfill it.  She is helpful to her younger brother and sister.  She has such a desire to learn- she's creative, spunky, and definitely sassy.  She's beautiful inside and out and I love her so much.  I'm happy to see her grow, blossom, and flourish.  I know she will become even more amazing as she grows, but my heart is a little sad knowing that she is growing up.  Here's to many more years of happiness, joy, and fulfillment.  I love you sweetheart. 

Camping and Palmyra Day 3

On the morning of the 13th, we packed up our campground and headed out of town.  We had to get back for Eliza's birthday the next morning, so we tried not to waste any time.  We had two stops to make on the 5 hour drive back home.  Our first stop was the Peter Whitmar farm.  They have made some additions to this church history site since the last time I visited 13 years ago.  We watched a video that illustrated the role Peter and David Whitmar played in bringing forth the Book of Mormon and the organization of the church.  I was touched by his involvement.  It just goes to show that the spirit can move and inspire anyone who is willing to listen to its promptings. 

 at the entrance to the Peter Whitmar home

The fireplace where the church was organized

They really liked the little rooms and quaint decorations in each room. The upstairs room they thought was the coolest and they even mentioned that they could all sleep in the same room.  How cute!

Right outside the home, Zabien felt the need to "climb" this apple tree. 

What one does, another must do

Monkey see, monkey do

I made some sandwiches in the parking lot, and we ate them in the van while driving to stop number 2 - the priesthood restoration site in Harmony, Pa.  Driving from the Peter Whitmar home to Harmony wasn't eventful, but it made me appreciate modern technology.  We drove on so many small, winding roads and had to use GPS to arrive.  It amazes me that David Whitmar rode on a horse in faith (having never met the prophet Joseph Smith, but wanting to) and rode all the way to Harmony to meet the prophet.  I have no idea how they even knew which way to go.  We would have never found it without GPS.  Eventually we arrived.  The church just completed in the fall of 2015 a renovation of the priesthood restoration site.  It is definitely worth seeing.  Bruce and I went 5 years ago, and there was one small monument.  Now, they have moved the main highway, reconstructed the Hale home and small farm Joseph and Emma lived on, built an interactive visitors center, and recreated the sugarbush.  It is really neat. 

I loved these statues of the priesthood being restored - the whole thing is amazing. 

In the kitchen of Joseph Smith house, they had a box that resembled the weight of the golden plates.  It was surprisingly heavy - over 60 pounds.  I can't imagine carrying those heavy things around.

We would have liked to stay a bit longer, but by this time of our 3rd day seeing church history sites, our children were definitely done. 

Even though we didn't originally plan to see these things this summer, I'm so glad we did.  It will make a lasting impression on our children. 

Camping and Palmyra Day 2

On Tuesday July 12, we left our camp site to drive into town - Palmyra.  We stopped off at the Hill Cumorah visitor's center to save us some good seats for the pageant that night.  We found some good ones in the middle section about 6 rows from the front.  From there, we drove over to the Joseph Smith farm house.  One of the senior missionaries there talked about how he had served his mission in the same place as a young man.  When he was a young man, the missionaries put on the pageant.  They flew in some BYU coed's to play the female roles.  I thought it was neat that he got to serve the same mission twice.  We went inside the farm home, and stood in the bedroom where the angel Moroni appeared to Joseph Smith 3 different times.  The kids were quite surprised at how small the room was.  Zabien asked me where angel Moroni was.  That was a common question throughout our tour. 

After seeing the farm house, we had the opportunity to walk through the sacred grove.

I'm not quite sure if the kids truly understood the significance of the sacred grove.  They had a nice time walking through it, but Eliza wanted to know where Heavenly Father and Jesus appeared.  As we were walking around, she choose one spot and said, "that's where it happened.  I want to pray too."  We encouraged her to pray to know for herself if Joseph Smith was a prophet and if he restored the true church on the earth.  She said a sweet and sincere prayer.  Afterwards, she asked why Heavenly Father didn't answer her prayer.  we had to explain to her that Heavenly Father talks to us through the Holy Ghost.  We asked her to think about what she feels in her heart and that was the answer to her prayer.  I honestly think she was expecting to experience the First Vision herself just like Joseph Smith.  She told me afterwards, she was disappointed that she didn't see Joseph smith in the grove because she had a lot of questions for him. 

As we took a turn down the sidewalk, she turned to me and said, "Mom, of course I know that he is a prophet.  He is my favorite prophet, and I know that he brought us the true church on the earth.  I know it's true."  That made my heart extremely happy.  What a special moment in both of our lives - I hope she always remembers the beginnings of her delicate testimony. 

    A family selfie in the sacred grove

We drove back into town and found a local pizza place for some lunch and much needed air conditioning.  The Grandin print shop where the Book of Mormon was printed was right across the street.  We walked right over after lunch and went through the tour.  The kids were fascinated by the tools and the process.  Eliza paid attention so well, that she could have given the tour to the next couple of groups. 

After our visit to the Book of Mormon printing place, the kids (and Bruce) took a nap in the car while I went to the temple.  Afterwards we drove by the Martin Harris farm house and the cemetery where Alvin Smith was buried.

We grilled some hot dogs we had brought with us at the picnic area behind the stake center then headed over to the Hill Cumorah for the pageant.  We got there in plenty of time to walk up to the top of the hill; however, Eliza and Zabien were so fascinated with all the actors walking around in their costumes that by the time our interactions with them were coming to a close, so did the hill.  Bummer!  Next time. 

We knew a couple of people who were acting in the pageant that night.  It was neat to talk with them and get a picture.  Eliza particularly likes the colorful and exotic costumes.  It's too bad they were all wicked.  The righteous people had very plain, boring costumes. 

with the Fergus's - they moved out of our ward after Eliza was born

While seeing the actors, the kids decided they wanted to be in the pageant, and they were already choosing who they wanted to be.  Eliza wanted to be a wicked priestess and Zabien wanted to be John the Baptist. 

We had to search all over the grounds for our favorite BOM characters: Lehi, Alma, and of course Abinadi

And of course, Eliza had to get a picture with her favorite prophet

When it came time for the pageant to start, I was a bit nervous because it begins at 9:00 pm.  I wasn't sure how well the kids would be entertained by it, and I didn't want them to misbehave.  However, that was never a problem.  Their eyes were glued to the stage.

Hazel fell asleep about 25 minutes into the pageant, and the other two sat on our laps and watched intently the entire thing.  They were absolutely fascinated by the special effects (the water spraying, lights, music, etc), and they knew the story line well.  They absolutely loved it and want to go back again and again.  Maybe some day we will be in the pageant, but I think I will wait until the kids are a little bit older. 

I'm so glad we decided to head up to Palmyra to watch the pageant and see the sights.  I hope it is something the kids always remember, especially as it helped strengthen their testimonies.