Palmyra, NY

Jared finished his first phase of crna school with flying colors. Before he starts phase two in June we decided to take a quick trip to Palmyra, NY. The boys and I had never been before, but Jared had been there about 20 years ago. We first stopped at the Hill Cumorah visitor center. The boys enjoyed the interactive displays and videos of Joseph Smith. We then hiked to to the top of the hill, which is steep but not very tall. Brig was sure he was going to find the place where the gold plates used to be buried. There was a storm rolling in but we made it back down the hill right when it started raining and sleeting. We then made our way to the hotel where we had a great time swimming and eating cookies and milk (Hilton's are the best!) The next day we took turns going inside the temple and touring the Sacred Grove and Smith farm. My favorite part was having a family prayer in the Sacred Grove and then having the boys each pick out a leaf to put in their scriptures to remember our special trip.

The boy's in the visitor center. I like this Christus statue because Christ is smiling.

The area of the hill where the Hill Cumorah pageant takes place.

This is a view about 2/3 of the way up the hill. It's steeper than it looks.

The angel Moroni statue at the top of the hill.

Palmyra temple

Brig pushing Benson through the sacred grove

The apple orchard on the farm

Joseph Smith Sr.'s cooper shop

The plates were hidden up in the loft one night while a mob searched under the floor boards.

The barn

The frame house Alvin was building before he died. This house was gorgeous!

The farm house

Brig was so tired on our way home he fell asleep eating his hamburger!

Spring in Connecticut

It turns out that spring weather in New England is almost as unpredictable as spring in Montana. We had a lot of rain, some snow, and now it's 75 degrees. With all of the rain we were getting a little bit of cabin fever so we got some bouncy horses to hop on. Brigham named his Red-ie and Benson's is Freddie. They have provided hours of entertainment.

Brig participated in a six week gymnastics class. He is a natural gymnast, but oh, it was hard for him to stand still in line and wait his turn. We survived though.

The boys were super excited to watch General Conference at home. I had to take a picture of them while they sat in their chairs for a few minutes. 

Brig is my handsome cowboy and wears his boots everywhere he goes.

Easter was fun this year with an egg hunt with our play group and dinner at our house with friends. The boys practiced hunting eggs at home weeks beforehand and were surprised to find actual candy in the eggs during the real hunt.

Benson still loves playing with his toy animals. He likes to line them up and count them multiple times a day. 

I got to be a "mystery reader" at Brig's preschool. He was so excited to show me off to everyone.

The boys and I took turns getting ear infections. Benson twice in the same month. Here he is enjoying playing at the park after a round of antibiotics.

Benson has decided he wants to be a BIG boy and is using the potty chair. It was his idea and he has been doing great!

Have I said how much I love our local YMCA? We all tried rock climbing and Brig made it 2/3 of the way up the wall. I was surprised because he is a little afraid of heights.

I received lots of valentines in February. My favorite one says, "Mom, you are so big and strong and I like you. -Brig."

The boys were playing with stamps one day and got into a fight over the letter "e". Guess who won?

Brig often fills up my phone with silly pictures like these.

Moo Moo Benson is 2!

Oh, Benson is a fun boy at age two! Some things about our sweet and happy boy: I will often see him singing and dancing by himself. He thinks it's so funny to combine songs- his favorite right now is the ABC/ Twinkle Twinkle Little Star mashup. He idolizes his big brother and wants to do everything he does-even wear the same clothes and sit on the potty. I'm not sure that I am ready for that adventure yet, but he thinks he is. He still likes to suck on his silk lovies to fall asleep. Some of his favorite activities right now are reading books, playing with play-dough, coloring, puzzles, emptying the bench that holds our shoes and hats and gloves, and playing with his farm animals. He talks all the time and I think he may have a photographic memory.
On his big day the boys woke up to a balloon drop that Dad made the night before. We then made farm animal cupcakes and ate them with cherry ice cream and opened presents. We also went to the Kidcity museum in Middletown. The boys had a great time exploring all of the hands on exhibits. They liked shooting the cross bows the best in the dark ages castle. Happy birthday Benson, we sure love you!

balloon drop

our budding artist

"I'm an astornaut!"

Benson is a little afraid of fire and did NOT like the candles.

Teeter totter at Kid City

We've had two big snow storms lately. This is after the first storm when the snow wasn't very good for snowman making.

We all went and watched a ball game at CCSU. They have the worst team in the conference so the boys took some selfies to stay entertained.

The second snow storm took everyone by surprise with 8 inches of wet, heavy snow. Lots of tree branches broke and I was worried about the power lines but they held. However, the snow storm ruined our travel plans while Papa choo choo and grandma were visiting. We were planning on going to Boston and Rhode Island but we got snowed in.

I didn't manage to take pictures of Papa and grandma while they were with us. I did snap this one of Brig falling asleep while we were waiting for our dinner at the Cheesecake factory. He was coming down with a cold and was asleep by 630 two nights in a row.

Benson putting on socks all by himself. He loves changing clothes.

We had a fun night at an indoor trampoline place. The boys liked shooting hoops and jumping in the foam pit the best.