Church Sites.....one last time

Our journey today took us to Liberty, Missouri to see the Liberty Jail where Joseph Smith was imprisioned for 4 months. The prison has been recreated to show what the conditions were like inside. The walls are 4 feet thick. The floor under the straw is the original rock floor. The sister missionary that took us on our tour today told us that The Community of Christ musuem in Independence, Mo. has the original door to the prison, an interesting bit of information that we didn't know. Todd and I have been to Liberty 5 times now since moving to Kansas and we learn something new every time. There is such a Spirit at these church sites.From Liberty, we drove to Independence. We have always talked about The Community of Christ's interesting building, but didn't know anything about what was inside, until today. The outside has a tall silver spire that twists up like an ice cream cone. The museum inside was very interesting. They had a lot of information on Joseph & Emma Smith and the early church as we know it. It was very fascinating. From here, we walked across the street to the LDS visitor center. We always enjoy the tour here. In December, there is a display of about 300 Nativity scenes set up from all around the world. Each one is so different and unique. During the tour, I started comparing our experience over at The Community of Christ to our church's visitor center. Both had a lot of great information, but one was lacking the warm, peaceful feeling you get when learning these things. I am so grateful for the early saints who sacrificed everything they had, even their lives, to give us the church organization we have today. I gain a deeper appreciation for them with each visit to these wonderful church sites that we have been blessed to be close to over the past 2 1/2 years. We are going to miss visiting all these places! At the end of the tour, there is a pioneer playroom for kids. Paige loved sitting on the wagon. Carter and Hali were in school today, so that's why they are not in the pictures.

Hali's Gymnastics

Hali had her last night of gymnastics tonight, which meant we could go inside the gym to observe and take pictures. It made the night more special to have Grandma Pingel and Grandma & Grandpa Sanderson there to watch Hali. She loved performing for them! It's been fun to watch her become more confident, especially in the balance beam.

Kansas BBQ

We are moving from Kansas one week from today and trying to squeeze in all of our favorite things. Tonight it was BBQ for dinner. Kansas has some of the yummiest BBQ restaurants, Arthur Bryant's and Vermont Street are a few of our favorites. We have been so excited for grandparents to come this week. We picked Grandma Pingel up from the airport yesterday and Paige talked her leg off the whole way home! I was getting Paige ready for bed and she asked me if she could go look at Grandma again. I told her she needed to go to bed, and she said, "I just want to look at her again." It's been a while since we have seen family and we appreciate them coming to celebrate graduation with us. Grandma & Grandpa Sanderson flew in today and Paige was once again excited to go to the airport.

Gingerbread Houses

Our family was invited to make gingerbread houses on Saturday with another family that we go to church with. This has been a family tradition of their's for 30 years. We had to bring our houses and icing and they supplied all the candy to decorate with. We had such a fun time and the kids loved being creative. I was surprised at how their houses really resemble their personalities. Carter likes to build things that are very neat, organized and symmetrical. Hali likes things colorful, fun and not very organized. Paige was just trying to stick candy on as fast as she could get it in her little hand. Hali was so sweet to share her house with Paige. If anyone is looking for a gingerbread house recipe and pattern, here is the link to one that is tried & true. It is very easy and kid friendly. http://www.mormonchic.com/recipe/recipebox/pages/gingerbread.asp

It was truly a candy wonderland! The hardest part was deciding what to put on the house! I think the kids walked around in circles several times, taking it all in, before gathering candy.

The finished houses! Carter had a tree in the yard with lights on it, Santa in the doorway, and a woodpile on the side of his house.

Hali and Paige had a tree, snowman and gingerbread man in their yard. They also added a pond and a flower garden.

I am thinking this is a great family tradition to start!

Lollipop Reflector

I always have good intentions to journal the funny things our kids say and do, but for some reason, I rarely get it done. I am finding that I actually do it now that I am blogging. Being able to have a picture with the saying is so much more fun. Paige and I saw this reflector when we were on a walk and she quickly said, "A lollipop!" I explained to her that it was a reflector and told her what it was for. She thought for a few seconds and said, "Yea. A lollipop!" I don't think I will see reflectors, just as reflectors anymore. Too Cute!

New Glasses

Carter is into his 3rd year of wearing glasses. It's funny to see him become more particular about what he wants the older he gets. On the way to his appointment, he informed me that he wanted orange glasses. YIKES!!! Orange? He thought that would be pretty cool. Well, after the check-up with the doctor, we went to pick out some new frames. The assistant had some trays with frames inside and asked if we wanted plastic or metal. Of course the plastic, and very colorful frames had to be on the top of the pile. I quickly said, "metal" and Carter said, "I'm ok with metal." Phew!! A major disappointment avoided, so I thought. We moved on to the metal frames and picked the winning pair. Then came a question I was not prepared for. "Can you put some orange and yellow flames on the sides?" What??? Flames??? Like a good mom, I started laughing. The assistant tried so hard to keep her composure and did a pretty good job. She explained that they didn't have any with flames on the sides, but maybe when he ordered new frames next year, they just might have some. So needless to say, no orange and no flames. On the way home, I told him maybe we could find him some sunglasses with flames on the sides. He said, " I don't want sunglasses with flames on them." Then he asked me if his glasses were going to be orange. It's a good thing check-ups are annually!

Photo Tag

I've been photo tagged by Valerie. The rules are: go to your 4th folder, pick the 4th picture and post it. This is a picture of Hali showing off her art work. She is our little artist and likes to have me take pictures of her hard work.

I passed tumbling!

Well, not me. Paige and I have been taking a "Mom-n-Tot" tumbling class and today was the last day. She looked forward to it each time and is really going to miss it. The kids in the class were able to use all the equipment that the older kids use. She has been watching Hali for so long behind a window and she loved being able to go in and do everything she's seen Hali do. On the last day of class, friends and family can come into the gym to observe and take pictures. Paige seemed to really be performing for the camera! Here is our gymnast in training. You just might see her in the Olympics in 16 years!