observation for the day

So I have been super overwhelmed with planning a baby shower all by myself and really felt a need to just take a break and relax from making all the handmade decorations for the party. It was quite a stress reliever to just sit in my dinning room and look out the window while Kenidi and Kaden were playing on the swing set out back. So as I sat there I noticed that Kenidi was chatting away, she always has so much on her mind. Kaden was next to her swinging and licking his ice cream cone but had really not much of anything to say. So then I started to imagine what it is like when Adam and I are conversing and well it is pretty much the same scenario. Some things will always stay the same! It may just be a Steimle thing or maybe it is just the difference between girls and Boys. It gives me a good laugh none the less.

Palmyra and Niagra Falls Trip

July was a very busy month for us! My mom was in town for two weeks and during that time we had many fun trips planned. It was such a peaceful experience to go to the Sacred Grove, the small little sounds of Creatures really helped me to imagine that spring morning of 1820. I just couldn't stop thinking that I was actually standing in an area where God the Father and Jesus Christ appeared! I sat on one of the benches and just felt this overwhelming feeling of peace come over me. It was interesting to think that some of those trees actually stood there at the time that Joseph Smith had his Vision, my mom was noting that at that time those trees would have been just babies. So I looked really hard for all the really Big trees which wold have been now fully grown. Later that night we went to the Hill Cumorah Pageant and I mean to tell you I was thoroughly impressed! They really went all out with the staging and the props everything was amazing and the kids were so wonderful the whole time which is a big Bonus! After staying in Palmyra for almost two days we headed to Niagara falls which is really only about an hour and half drive. We took a trip to the Falls back in May with our Couples Retreat so this was our second time going. It was very nice to go again and I am sure we will be heading back that way a lot more in the future. Next time we are going to the Canada side!

                   This guy does tight rope walking in Niagara Falls, but on the Canada side and he does this all day.

All of the pictures from here down are from our May trip to the Falls that I am just now posting, I am so on the Ball here!!

                                           Kaden is just like his Daddy; A BIG GOOFY NERD!

Britynn was shivering the whole time on The Maid of the Mist. We had to huddle up in the back and then she fell asleep from all the rocking of the Boat.

                                                             Our little Thrill seekers!

NYC trip

When I was younger I used to dream about living in New York City. I thought for sure I would move there someday and have such a happy life living like some of the celebrities. Well lets just say I am sure thankful that I don't live there, I know that it is perfect for some people but not me! We made the trip out on the 3rd of July and stayed till the 6th. I think those three days would have to have been the most busy days of my entire life. WOW! It was very much the way it looks in the movies, all the lights and big billboards. Thank goodness for the USO which is a Army information center which was located at the Port of Authority. Every morning we would wake up and rush to hop on the bus to get there and fill up on free drinks and snacks for the day. NYC is definitely a fast paced and worldly place to be! We did have some fun though, I felt kinda uncomfortable in certain situations with images and things but I knew that we would eventually get back to our slow yet happy way of life. Britynn ended up getting sick on our last day in NY and thankfully we drove most of that whole day. She and daddy went to the hospital that night and found that she had developed Bronchitis and Croup. The poor girl had been through so much on our trip and went without her beloved nap which was very hard for me to witness, since I am a very scheduled person and like to have a predictable routine.

                                    Here are the kids with Elmo, I guess quite a few people thought this would be an easy way to earn a few bucks, because we saw quite a few of them especially around Time square. Britynn was terrified of him! LOL

 Here we are at the Toys R us store. This was a very neat experience, I can now say that I have been inside a Toys R Us that had three levels, mini Ferris wheel, and life sized Lego creations!

 This T Rex was robotic and made some blood chilling sounds, Britynn stood right next to it. Interesting that she would not be afraid of T Rex, yet was terrified of Elmo?

                                                    Statue of Liberty made from Lego's

Here is a picture of the Empire State Building, which is the tallest building in America. Before 9-11 the tallest buildings were the twin towers

             Here is a statue of Theodore Roosevelt which is located in front of the Museum of Natural History.  The Night at The Museum was filmed at this Museum, pretty Cool stuff!

It was crazy to see all the detail of these dinosaurs bones, the tail was so long!! I cant imagine how hard it would have been to find such tiny pieces.

It was so amazing to see how they had preserved this wildlife, I had to keep explaining to the kids that the animals were once alive. They just couldn't seem to understand why they were killed. Quite honestly I didn't have a good answer. But it was fascinating to see none the less.

                                      This is a giant clam shell found somewhere in the ocean

         Thank goodness he is not alive, could you imagine how freaky that would be to be chased by one of these!

The lds Temple Located right at the Heart of Manhattan. This is one of the most unique temples I have ever seen. This Temple has four levels.. The first is I believe an area for Changing and the baptismal font. The second floor is distribution. The third floor is a church building which has in rotation three separate wards each Sunday, and the fourth floor is the temple.

                                             Here we are just after getting off the subway.

We got tickets to go see 9-11 well in advance, we were worried that we wouldn't make it because we were running behind. But thankfully we were okay. I didn't realize it but they are actually rebuilding the towers!

Here is one of the two reflection ponds which is in the exact location where the towers once stood.

                                      This is the only tree that was a survivor after 9-11.

While we were walking out of the memorial a Butterfly landed on my moms hand. I thought that was very good timing and a perfect place for it to be! After all the Butterfly is symbolic of and how our nation has gone through quite a lot since we were attacked, yet we never fail to recognize the strength that it took to regain ourselves. The Butterfly has an amazing story to tell that is quite similar as well. A new beginning, a change for the better, and a motivation to press forward no matter how challenging it may be. I am so thankful for the Firefighters that made sacrifices that day and for the many soldiers who fight for our Freedom!

We took the ferry to Staten Island so that we could see the Statue of Liberty and the city all light up at night. Amazingly the ride was free

                                                  Such a Beautiful Picture with the sunset