Happy Birthday to US!

Today is OUR birthday.

I woke up this morning thinking about mine and Josh's first birthday together. He made me this shelf. He stained it and painted our names and birthday on it. He also gave me some nick knacks to set on it. Actually, the 2 bears on the shelf holding the heart quilts were given to me by Josh's Mom on this same first birthday.

I think the best birthday present I recieved today was this morning when Isaac said, "Mom can I clean the dishes for you?" This past week Isaac has been emptying the dishwasher every day and earning marbles for his marble jar. I love it! He is a great cleaner and helper around the house. And Luke started crying when I left the room because he wanted me to hold him. He hasn't done that in forever. I held him for a while and he didn't want to let go. I keep asking him if he will please stay my baby forever. Maybe he is listening.

We went to Pizza Hut for dinner. Pizza Hut is more upscale here, serving wine and cheesecake. The pizza didn't taste as good as we had hoped. We ordered pepperoni with black olives. The black olives were whole and kept falling off the pizza. It was pretty funny. Then we went to our favorite bakery, Bettys, and got fresh stawberry tarts for desert. Bettys never dissapoints!


Thanks to all of our friends and family for so many birthday cards and wishes. It made us feel really special.

Vacation to Southern England

For the Fourth of July holiday weekend, we travelled to the southern coast of England to see the sites on the other side of the island. On our first day, we went to the Bournemouth peer and beach. It was the first time we've been to the coast without rain. Luke didn't like the waves or the sand (it got in his mouth). Isaac loved every minute. Dad tried to build a sand castle, but the twin engines of destruction kept knocking over the walls and towers.


On day two, we visited Stonehenge. The clouds cooperated just enough to snap a few nice pictures. The boys were more impressed with the free guided-tour handsets that were handed to us and undoing the ropes that surround the site.


On our last day, we toured Stratford-upon-Avon and the birth place and childhood home of William Shakespeare. Dionne has always had an interest in literature and performed a scene from "Two Gentlemen of Verona" in her Shakespeare class once upon a time at BYU.

Happy Birthday - Isaac Turns Four!

Isaac had his birthday today, turning 4 years old. This week, he starred as Sleepy in his school's pantomime of Snow White. He held up the production because he refused to wear his beard like the other dwarfs.

To celebrate Isaac's birthday, we spent the day at Flamingo Land. Isaac rode all the children's roller coasters with his Dad and got wet on the water ride with his Mother. We also spent time seeing the zoo animals.

Isaac's number one birthday present was a bug catcher. The gun has a battery-powered fan to suck in the bug and force them into a samll jar with a magnifying lid for viewing. Mom thought is was a great gift until the bugs started arriving inside the house.



Happy Birthday Isaac! It's been a wonderful four years!

Top of Ben Nevis

Here are some pictures of my Young Mens trip to Ben Nevis in Scotland. Ben Nevis is the highest peak in Great Britain at 4,406 feet above sea level. It is a rocky 10 miles to the top and down again.


Fortunately, we had some beautiful weather. As we hiked the mountain, the clouds lifted and presented us with a breath-taking view of Loch Linnhe and the town of Fort William, and Loch Leven.



At the summit...

FHE at Brimham Rocks (Lemonade & Banana Pants)

We had such beautiful weather this week that on Monday as soon as I got off work, we decided to drive up to Brimham Rocks to eat dinner and have Family Home Evening (FHE) not at home. We ate our pasta salad, bread sticks, and capri sonnes on the large smooth-rock cliff overlooking the dales. The boys love to go rock climbing here.






Here are a few interesting conversations we've had this week:

Dionne to Isaac: “Isaac, you’ve drank two big glasses of chocolate milk. I bet you have a lot of pee pee with all that chocolate milk inside you.”
Isaac: “I better go potty” (after going potty) “Mom, I just had lemonade.”

Dionne to Luke: “How was nursery today?”
Luke (our 2-year-old): “Good.…I cried because I was missing you.”

Dionne: “Boys eat your bananas”
Luke to Isaac: “Banana pants”
Isaac: “Luke, I don’t have banana pants!”
Luke: “Banana pants”
Isaac: “LUUUUKE, don’t call me banana pants!”
Luke: “Banana pants”

Lawnmower Attack

This week we have spent a good amount of time working on our garden trimming back bushes and waging war against the moss that can take over the lawn. Everytime I mow the grass the boys run and grab their pitch forks and torches to kill the monster...

Lake Windermere & Hill Top

On Saturday, we took a day trip to Lake Windermere in the Lake District with our friends, the McNeely family. The beauty of the Lake District rivals that of North Yorkshire. We ate lunch at the Adventure Playground and then walked along the lake.

Photo Op with Mr. McGregor...
Next, we drove to Hill Top - the holiday home of Beautrix Potter. For those of you that have seen the movie Miss Potter, this was the home that inspired most of her writings. After the popularity of her book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit and others, she was able to purchase the other farms around Lake Windermere, thus perserving the beauty of the area from modern development. We were able to see quite a few of her original drawings and paintings at the home and the Beautrix Potter Gallery nearby.


One of Dionne's favorite flowers: Forget Me Not
After walking through the gallery, we stopped to get some ice cream. The boys got pretty messy and I said to Dionne, “Isaac has ice cream all over his clothes.” Isaac replied, saying “It’s OK Dad, I can lick it off.”

The White Horse of Kilburn

For our ward Aaronic Priesthood Commemoration, I was able to take Isaac on a walk atop the White Horse of Kilburn. It rained a bit, but as we arrive at the white horse, the clouds lifted for a fantastic view of the Vale of York.




The horse's head is visible here. Isaac is holding a post card of the horse. 24 people can sit in its grassy eye.

Newby Hall & Gardens

After returning to England, we've had one of the hottest weeks in May, since precise measurements began in 1772! During the week we visited Newby Hall’s twenty-five acres of award winning gardens. We packed a picnic and ate our sandwiches under a shady tree with little white flowers blooming small patches. Once inside the grounds, we started in the children’s adventure garden and let the boys play on the boat swings, rope swing, and playground equipment. They also had a small waterway with paddle boats to cruise around in.


The gardens were quite spectacular with all the May flowers, stone paths, and compartmented gardens.


Two boys on a toadstool...