It's always fun when Grandpa comes

My dad surprised us with a visit recently. He was here just in time to help with the kids, dishes, vacuuming, even some laundry! We even managed to squeeze in some fun.

We went to Castle Island and toured an old fort there. I love this picture of Abby with my dad. She twirls her hair when she sleeps or gets upset. In this first picture she's twirling my dad's hair as he's listening to the tour.



We also let the kids play on the beach there.

Lila and Johnny found some jellyfish (the clear blob by Zack)

Thanks for the fun dad! You can surprise us anytime!

Scripture Power

Johnny and the kids reading from the Book of Mormon Reader tonight

Peanut, Peanut Butter and...

We were driving to Sharon Vermont to go camping (more later) over the 4th of July. The babies had finally fallen asleep and we were driving along quietly. Johnny and I were talking and I said "I can smell peanut butter... that's weird." About a minute later I realized that I had set the basket full of our camping food on the back seat next to Lila. I turned around to find this...


Turns out our Family Home Evening of making peanut butter balls was a little too fresh in her memory. She had a big ball of peanut butter in her hands.


We pulled over at the next gas station and I took her into the bathroom to try and clean her up a little. Luckily there was a shower in there so I stripped her down and scrubbed. I don't think we'll ever quite get the PB smell out of her car seat though...


Lucky for her Johnny and I have a good sense of humor!!

Low...ride...er

Lately, Emily has found it difficult to face going to the grocery store with all three kids (I certainly don't blame her). On her last attempt earlier this week she bailed and came home. The threat of a weekend without milk helped us rally our might and we went together. We decided to divide and conquer. Lila was with me. After fighting about why it isn't OK to put one foot on the cart and hop a long on the other, Lila and I finally settled on this compromise.The best part (besides the fact that Zack only has one shoe on) is that we didn't take these photos. We got them when we noticed a nice women taking pictures of Lila with her iPhone. I told Emily to ask her to email us the photos from her phone. This is the spectacle we have become, we are camera phone material.

If All The Rain Drops Were...

Chocolate covered peanut butter balls,


Oh what a rain it would be.


Standing outside with my mouth open wide,


Ahh Ah Ah Ahh,


Ah Ah Ahhh,


Ah Ah Ahh,


Oh what a rain it would be!


Some of our best family nights are those that require the least planning.

Temple Teachings

About a week ago I was teaching a Young Women's lesson on the temple and wanted to give the girls a framed picture of the Boston Temple. The ones I had taken last Fall didn't print well so I sent Johnny up to the temple to take pictures for me. Trouble was, it was nighttime and it was raining. (And he was using a fixed lens because I dropped our other lens and broke it...) Despite all his limitations he did an amazing job. Johnny is getting pretty good at photography and I'm worried he's going to leave me in his dust. Either way, he took some great pictures of our beautiful Boston Temple. The last one is the one I framed for my girls. (Remember to click on the picture, if you want to see the bigger versions.)

Front Door Friends

One of the coolest things about our little New England house is our old front door. Add in a few friends and a few good laughs, and it's almost perfect!

he's laughing...