Lucky 13!

So...

Logan had a birthday on May 12th

and I am just now getting around to posting about it

(pathetic, I know)

 One of the really great things about this birthday

was that he turned 13 in Massachusetts and then got to fly to Utah

where he celebrated a few days later with...

 COUSINS!!
(and that is something he hasn't been able to do in a very long time)

Let me tell you a few things about my teenager (!!), Logan...

He is a very happy boy
who always has a positive attitude about things,
especially his own abilities... I love that!

His favorite TV show is whatever is on the Military Channel (yikes!?)

He loves airplanes and guns
and will gladly tell you anything you want to know about them.

He loves to read.... anything he gets his hands on.

He is not afraid to stand up for himself and speak up when he sees something wrong.

His favorite class in school is Spanish
and he is really good at it.

It still is not unusual to see him dressed in some kind of costume or uniform.

He loves being a Boy Scout
and takes his responsibilities very seriously.
(and there is the uniform :)

He is a great piano player and doesn't seem the least bit nervous about performing for people.

He likes to play board games... and win
and is especially unbeatable at The Game of Life.

He is not a fan of getting out of bed on school days.

He can carry on an intelligent conversation with any adult
and always seems to be known by all the teachers and staff at school,
most likely because he stops to chat with them often.

His favorite thing to do when he gets home from school is
sit at the kitchen table,
read the comics,
and eat chocolate chip cookies dipped in a glass of milk.

He's almost as tall as his mom!

He loves music and likes to sing enthusiastically while listening to his iTouch,
but then he pretty much refuses to sing if you ask him to.
(I guess he doesn't realize we can hear him singing along to iTunes :)

He loves being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
 and often shares his testimony with others.

He is a very special boy who tries hard to do the right things
 and to make good choices.

He gladly gives his mom a hug anytime she asks for one.

I am so proud of the wonderful young man that he is and feel so blessed to be his mom.
I am thankful every day that I have Logan in my life.
He makes me smile and laugh and always keeps me on my toes.
His happy face makes all of my days brighter!

Happy Birthday, Logan!
(I love you twice as much as you say! :)

Spring Break 2011

We've been home from our vacation for a couple of weeks now, 

but I am just now getting around to blogging about it

(I should break this into 10 different posts so it looks like I'm really on the ball)

But instead I am giving it to you in one (rather large) nutshell:

Our first stop was in Pennsylvania at Valley Forge

where Collin and Logan fit right in

This is an example of one of 2,000 cabins that were built to house the 

12,000 soldiers who spent the winter here.

 The house where George Washington, Martha and his staff lived

(somewhat nicer than a cabin)

 the Reading Railroad passes by there now and

Logan couldn't believe his great fortune to be thisclose to a freight train!

 We made a quick stop in Philadelphia so we could say we saw Independence Hall

(which is being renovated)

 and then moved on to Gettysburg

(which was probably my favorite place to visit)

We drove through the Park while listening to CDs that described the events and battles

that took place during the three days there.

It was really something to look out over those fields 

and imagine what it must have looked like and been like then

it was quite sobering 

and is such an amazing story

 The view from Little Round Top

 and looking down into Devil's Den

 Logan discussing battle strategies with a Union soldier

 The Witness Tree

meaning that it was there at the time of the battle

 it's right across the street from this barn that still has a cannonball hole in it

This is the scene of the final battle, known as Pickett's Charge

 where this group of trees marks the High Water Mark,

 the farthest point that the Confederate Army was able to reach 

before being pushed back by the Union Army

 The Gettysburg Address monument at the Soldier's National Cemetery

 Gettysburg was a great place to visit.

We learned a lot and gained a whole different perspective of the events that happened there.

We would love to go back.

Next stop: 

Richmond, Virginia state capitol building

 and the White House of the Confederacy,

where Jefferson Davis and his family lived during the Civil War.

We visited the museum there and took a tour of the house, which was quite interesting.

(back view)

Of course, with all of this educational exposure we were giving the boys,

we felt it was necessary to give their brains a break and visit an amusement park,

so we stopped in at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia

where Collin and I rode lots of great roller coasters, like this one

and Logan tried out a few gentler rides

and Dana mostly waited for us :)

 Later we met up with our good friends, the Johnson's, for dinner.

It was so great to see them!

 Our next stop was Colonial Williamsburg

I think Logan's face pretty much sums up how they were all feeling about the photo situation at this point

(but look at how nicely Collin and Dana are disguising their true feelings)

It certainly was a lovely town -- I wonder if they'd let us move in...

 Here are the boys next to the James River in Jamestown

in the area where the first settlers arrived and lived.

 While in Virginia, we drove through a few of Dana's mission areas.

This is in Harrisonburg, in front of the chapel that WASN'T there when Dana was.

There were so many other places we wanted to see

and people we wanted to visit, but we just didn't have the time --

we'll save that for our next trip to VA.

 Here's a view from the car window as we drove through the Shenandoah Valley.

It looked like this everywhere -- so pretty and green!

 And what great endurance test doesn't deserve some chocolate?

Last stop...

Hershey, Pennsylvania

 where the streets are practically paved with chocolate

(at least the street lights are)

 It was a really nice trip.

We covered lots of territory and saw and learned (or were reminded of) some great things.

It POURED rain on the way down and it POURED rain on the way back,

but in between, the weather was great.

We were so glad we went and were so glad when we made it home.

(and so was Teddy!)