Summer 2010

Summer is almost over. It has been mild and uneventful here. But I have enjoyed both. Carlee is growing and becoming one of the family. She is crawling and standing, and sharing in everything we do. Her favorite thing to do is what ever he sisters are doing. She is very observant and active Here is watching fish with Ariel at Thanksgiving point.

Garden 2010

Here are a few pictures of fun things we grew this year. In addition to all the traditional stuff (tomatoes, beans, lettuce, squash, cucumbers, melons, beets, peas, carrots, broccoli) our newbies are blackberries (look they are almost the size of my thumb) and rainbow peppers, and of course Carlee. She thinks she is an expert Gardner already. If let loose she will pick berries or veggies on her own. Ariel and Shantell thought picking carrots on their own was fun too. So fun infact that they picked almost all of them in one day. Now I have a bushel of carrots in my fridge. Anyone want a carrot?

playing in photoshop

Here are a few pictures I took of Baby Carlee when she was 3 months old. I thought they were cute. I would love to learn how to edit pictures someday. But for now I like to experiment. There is also one of baby Coban (Adelle's baby) of course one can tell, I am not very practiced at editing. But it is fun anyway.

Preschool graduation

May 2010

My cuties at their preschool graduation. They are little smarties and talented in so many ways. I love these fun videos with them singing solos.

Palestinians

One thing that I did not expect while in Israel, was the companion and tender feelings I felt towards the Palestinians. Of course any interactions I had can only be a wide generalization due to the fact that I was only in Israel 1 week. But from what I experienced, this group of people were overall very kind, hospitable, and humble. The photograph above was taken at the BYU center where we met two kind young women who were taking classes at a near by hospital. A few of the tourist sites we saw were in the West Bank or other Palestinian territories. The people seemed more eager to engage, and were often times much poverty stricken. I admit there were one or two times I was a little scared as I stuck out with my blond hair, rental car, husband who questioned everyone on their ethnicity and political views. But in the end Travis made friends with all the locals and thankfully we arrived home safe. I am sure there are good and bad people of all races, nationalities, religions ect. Yet, I was thankful for the experience to interact and view a new perspective.

Picture above: Random camel on the side of the road, and the security wall that separates Palestinian and Jewish territory.

Thank you for a chance of a life time.

Uncle David and Aunt Lynae. The wonderful people who made our trip to Israel possible.

My parents divorced when I was 2 years old, and I did not have any further interaction with my Father's family until I was over 18, and even then it was very limited. My Uncle David lovingly and generously included Travis and I in a journey to Jerusalem that he spent many years planning for his family. Through this wonderful opportunity I was able to get to know several of my cousins who live all across the country and enjoy a chance of a life time. Thank you so much. We will never forget our experience, and the memories we shared with you.

Israel Favorites

My favorite places in Israel:

The Garden Tomb. I went to Israel with high expectations of spiritual feelings due to all the special connections I have with these well known sites. I did in fact have some very wonderful experiences, but many of the sites were so unrecognizable from their original state (to be expected after more then 2,000 years) and felt more like places of idol worship rather then holy spots. The Garden Tomb was one of the few places that I really felt the Holy Spirit. It remains in a garden state with out an overly decorated church or overwhelmed with tourists. I do not know if this was truly the site of our Saviors resurrection or burial, but I believe if not here it was somewhere like this.

The Sea of Galilee and the Church of the Beatitudes. I do not remember if this is the official name of the church, but is is the reported site of the Sermon on the Mount. A group of nuns care for the surrounding gardens which over look the Sea of Galilee and a humble church on the mount. Israel was a large desert and this was one of the few beautiful places. I felt the spirit here too because of the humble surroundings. It seems like when it comes to adorning a Church less is better.

The Dead Sea. It was fun to float in water that is 26% solid. I was able to do synchronized posing and have a lot of fun. WARNING- do not get the water in your eyes. Travis got only a few drops in his eyes and said it felt like acid. I think this might be just a little bit dramatic, but he had to get it out and flush his eyes.

BYU Jeruselum: I felt the spirit here too. As there was no preference between Palestinians or Jews. They has a beautiful view over looking the old city of Jerusalem and near by there were miniature replicas of Jerusalem through out the significant time changes, so that it was possible to see the evolution of the city and it's building. If you look next to my head you can see the Gold Dome of the Rock which is the holy site for Christians, Muslims, and Jews.

ISRAEL

Saying "Good Bye" to Ariel and Shantell at the Airport on Saturday Afternoon. We left them with their Grandpa Bill. He and his wife Cindy took marvelous care of them for the week that we were gone. Our trip took about 24 hours from Airport to Airport but Israel time is 9 hours ahead so we left Saturday afternoon and got there Sunday night.

Cesarea along the Mediterranean. This was a city built by Herod in Honor of Cesar. This is where Gladiator fights and Chariot races took place as well as Paul's near conversion of King Agrippa. I thought the water was beautiful and the history was fascinating. Travis and I are pretty tired though because we only had a few hours of sleep (I think 3 on average for me) for the past 2 nights in a row due to plane rides and baby jet lag. She did so well on our flight, she slept the entire time, but that meant night time is her day time now and no sleep for Me. You'll notice I am in the same clothes as at the airport. Our luggage did not make it on the plane from our layover in Atlanta so we were with out clean clothes from Saturday to Monday night. That part of the trip was not fun!

Carlee's Baby Blessing

We named and blessed Carlee on Feb 7th, 2010. I wanted a picture of myself with my little baby to remind me of this special day and the heavenly bond that we share. A local photographer came to our house and took these pictures of Carlee and I. Now I just have to decide which one I like the most so I can have a print made.

Carlee 2 months old

Now that I have several little ones at home, it is just too much work and stress to leave our house for almost anything, including getting our picture taken. So I have been experimenting at home with my own camera. These photos are ones I took myself. Including the one with me in it. Thank goodness for timers. I love my sweet baby. Babies grow up too fast and the only way they stay babies forever is through photographs.