Vacation Continued at the Sacred Grove

 We continued our vacation by going to the sacred grove. I had a fantastic time seeing some historical sites. The environment at the sacred grove is quiet and people are reverent. However, the word 'sacred' does not bring to mind this picture...

 Marie stayed up all night watching TV and was ridiculous the next day. She lost all control of her faculties and was screaming, freaking out at the sacred grove. I was embarrassed, but Teddy just sat with her in the van until she regained some form of a human being. 

 We also got to see where the first Book of Mormon was printed and also a rare first edition copy!

Palmyra Pageant Vacation!

 These girls were so excited to go on vacation. They kept asking when we were going to get to the hotel so they could watch TV. They like how the movies just keep playing on their own and don't stop!

Thad was very entertained by the phone. He kept picking it up and saying, "Hello!"

We went to go see the Palmyra Pageant and the kids loved it. I am glad that we brought some warmer clothes because it got pretty cool when the sun went down. The kids loved watching all the theatrics (fire, water, lightning, etc.). The pageant is a play about The Book of Mormon and I thought it did a great job of making the stories in the scriptures more lifelike and understandable for the kids.

We all enjoyed the production and were glad to be done driving for the day. We taught the girls how to count in Japanese on the way up and it took almost the whole drive. I think it might be a little harder to teach them the language than we thought. Of course, it will help to be submerged in the country with everyone speaking Japanese.

Ice Cream!

 We have walked to McDonald's to get ice cream cones a couple of times during the summer heat. They are highly motivated to walk quickly when they know ice cream is at the destination.

Our herd!

 Happy painters!

We all enjoyed the free food at Chick-fil-A! We have a great herd.

Rock Quarry

 We went to the rock quarry in town and the kids had a fun time. We did a little hiking and ate a picnic. It is nice that it is so close. We were able to go on a week night after Pa got home from work.

Soccer Skills

 We got some new soccer balls after watching the world cup. The girls (and their father) were inspired by the tournament. I like soccer, but I admit that I do not posses any soccer skills.

 They got a good workout in and we all had fun running around the park. Soccer will probably be a reoccurring activity with our family.

Outdoor lovers!

 Theodore likes to wear his sunglasses and refuses to have help putting them on.

 Thad is an outdoor lover and runs around with his siblings as fast as he can go.

 Theodore likes to show us how fast he can run.

 These girls are fantastic puttering friends.