Aloha!

Aloha from Kauai!

Land of the Little Horses

Yes, there is actually a place called The Land of the Little Horses. It is also true that it is the perfect place for little girls to spend the day. Cami, Lauren, and Sam had a blast feeding the horses, llamas, and goats. We arrived just in time for the show and then wandered around feeding the animals and the girls even got to have a pony ride. It was a fun time and I think we'll definitely go back again sometime.

Cami riding frosty the horse.

This little guy followed them around for a long time. He loved getting treats.

The llamas were the easiest to feed. Lauren and Cami were just getting comfortable here - they were pros after just a few minutes.

The pony show was really cute.

Sam was very proud of herself for riding the "big" horse.

Second Cousins

Cami was SO excited to get to visit with her second cousins Lauren and Sam. Gramma Seguine's brother Karl and his wife Deb were in town with their two beautiful girls. Cami was an only child for the week (Dallin at EFY and Taylor in New York) so we went to Hanover. Lauren and Cami are two peas in a pod and instantly disappeared playing for hours. Little Sam couldn't be more adorable and quickly warmed up to us. Gramma was so kind to let the girls pick flowers from her garden to make bouquets and sprinkle on the stairs. They had a great time.

Modern-Day Miracle

My brother told us an amazing story about this picture.

When the Palmyra temple was built, President Hinckley requested that a clear window be put in one of the hallways so that he and others could look out at the sacred grove. There are no clear windows in any other temples. When he made this first-of-its-kind request, the grove was not visible due to a line of trees. After the temple was complete, and the window had already been placed, the church requested permission to cut a path through the trees so that the grove would be visible. The request was denied.

A few months later, Palmyra experienced a terrible ice storm. When the storm had subsided, an event nothing short of miraculous had occurred. The tree line in front of the clear window had fallen away, creating a perfect line of sight to the sacred grove. None of the surrounding trees fell - only those that blocked the view from the clear window.

Often we wonder if miracles occur in our day - this certainly qualifies.

The Sacred Grove

We really enjoyed touring some of the sites in Palmyra. Jim and Cheryl get to take people on tours all the time - but not usually in torrential downpours. I'll explain.

Cami is getting baptized on August 9th and really wanted to see the sacred grove while in New York. The day after the Hill Cumorah pageant the weather was terrible. It rained a little in the morning, but a big storm was coming so we decided to try to squeeze in a visit. We arrived to thunder and rain and waited for a while to see if it would stop. Eventually we just decided to walk through. My brother even volunteered to come with us so that he could take a picture of Ed, Cami and I. Cami enjoyed talking about the story of Joseph Smith and trying to imagine where he might have knelt down to pray knowing that many of the big trees have been around for hundreds of years. It was really dark and stormy, but we did get a few pictures.



It was wonderful to have this experience with Cami and we are so proud of her decision to be baptized.

On the way back from the grove, it started to POUR! Lightning was striking, thunder was rumbling and you could barely see through the rain. A poor pregnant lady in front of us was struggling to push a baby in a stroller (on gravel) while pulling a toddler along. My brother looked at me with that "I have to go help her" look and then kindly hurried up to cover her with his umbrella and pick up the frightened toddler. He helped them all the way to their car (at the far parking lot) and waited patiently in the rain while she searched for her keys (about 15 minutes). He was completely drenched by the time he returned to our car. Thanks for taking us and enduring the terrible weather!

Hill Cumorah Pageant

After visiting with Jim and Cheryl's family for a few hours we headed out to the Hill Cumorah Pageant. This pageant depicts stories about Christ and teachings of prophets in the Book of Mormon. Our youth were already there and a family from our ward (The Nielsons) was participating in the pageant this year. We searched out everyone, had some snacks, and settled in for the show. It was perfect weather and the show was fantastic.

The Taylor and Seguine families before the show.

My dear friend Tina. I finally found her in the crowd right before the show started.

Taylor, Bethany, Carissa, and Crazy-eye Cami. Bethany and Carissa played Nephites in the destruction scene. They got to pretend to die during the explosions and thought it was pretty fun.
(FYI: See the guy just over Cami's shoulder? He is Pres. Coltrin from our Stake Presidency and he looks so much like my Grandpa Garnet. Every time I see him I have the urge to run up and tell him. My brother was with me and I pointed him out. Jim was amazed at the resemblance too.)

Craig used to be our Bishop and Cami adores him, but she was a little freaked out by the beard and outfit. He played Alma and actually had a pretty big part.

We found Dallin and Hayley in the crowd too. They had a great time.

Taylor and Bethany are good friends. They are going to camp together in August.

Gentry was a Nephite warrior and had a really cool battle scene right in front. I'm glad we knew where he was on the stage so we could watch him fight!

Peter Whitmer Farm

First stop on the tour was the Peter Whitmer Farm. This is the site of the organization of the Church. The girls and I enjoyed a tour while Ed checked on all the youth in our ward. I love visiting these kinds of places. All the sweet older missionary couples are so eager to help and teach. They take time to talk to the kids and are patient beyond belief.

This is a replica of the Whitmer house built on the same foundation.

This upstairs room is where the last portion of the Book of Mormon was translated.

This downstairs main room is where the organization of the church took place. Approximately 50 people were present during this meeting in this tiny room.

Youth Conference

Cousin Ben came back with us from Indiana so that he could go to Youth Conference with Dallin. Our group was heading up to Palmyra to tour all the church sites and see the Hill Cumorah Pageant. I wasn't an official chaperone, but Ed was, so we packed up the family and decided to tag along and visit my brother Jim at the same time. Here is a picture of the boys before the first night and I'll have more posts to follow.


I thought they did a great job on the T-Shirts. Cool Logo!

Daisies

Just look what was waiting for me when I returned from Indiana. These Daisies are about 4 feet tall and just beautiful. My neighbor's mom sent me a start of these in a Ziploc bag in the mail last spring! I have 6 huge plants from that little bag!




I will be taking some starts to my mom and sister this fall. My mom had daisies at her wedding and I think she'll love to have some in her yard.

(I have dozens of pictures of my flowers that I keep intending to post on my flower blog - it may not happen this year:)

Shaving Cream War - Take 2

We had a shaving cream war last year and decided to do it again. It always seems like a fun idea until someone gets it in their eyes and then rubs it in their mouth. In other words... I don't recommend it. Regardless, they had fun and enjoyed creating crazy hair styles.

Fireworks

(*Warning: If you have a deep love for Barbies, you may want to skip this entry!)

When you give boys fireworks they can't control themselves.
How can boys that seem so innocent...

Do such horrible things?

Will Turns 2!

We celebrated William's 2nd birthday while in Indiana. Emi and Cami made his dessert and he enjoyed being the star of the show. Happy Birthday!

His boy cousins put trick candles on his cake - he was very confused!

Justin is Will's favorite person. He doesn't even mind that he gets teased constantly!

Cami and Melina

Cami and Melina were friends when we lived in Indiana. They attended preschool together and when they are together it seems they have never been apart! We wish we had been able to spend more time with the Shermans, but we are glad we got to see them! These two cute girls are both getting baptized this year and we found out that they are scheduled for the same day! We'll be thinking of you on August 9th Melina!

Larkin Family

We got to visit our dear friends the Larkins. Their triplet girls have changed so much in the last year! Not to mention the addition of a new brother, Penn. They are a very busy and very blessed family. We enjoyed playing with the girls, holding the new baby and helping entertain during dinner. We don't get to see Joy and Aaron very often, but they hold a special place in our hearts. Joy took the missionary discussions at our house and we felt lucky to witness her testimony grow as she decided to be baptized. They are wonderful parents and just all around great people. We're happy that they have their new house under way and hope everything goes smoothly. Hopefully we'll see you before next summer!

Cami, Taylor, Hayden, Cami, and Sloan


Baby Penn - just look at those cheeks!


Hayden loved swinging in the chair with Taylor.


Sloan liked the ribbon much more than the puzzle it came on!

These two pictures crack me up! We were trying to keep the girls happy during dinner by playing with the camera. As you can see... we didn't exactly have everything under control, but we were having fun!