Conference Weekend

We enjoyed watching General Conference this weekend. Probably the most memorable aspect of this conference was that Elder Hales passed away between the Sunday Sessions. Elder Andersen gave a great talk at the conclusion of the conference with part of Elder Hales talk that he had written, had his health permitted him to speak. It was very touching.

We finally got rid of a nasty yellow jacket nest along the back of our house, so we got to get back outside and get the yard cleaned up - and get eaten alive by mosquitos. It always has to be something...

Autumn should hopefully arriving soon, along with Rachel's mom, who is coming out to visit for a week. We're looking forward to Brookdale farms again and all the other fun fall activities we can do as a family.

Dolphins, Dinosaurs & Lincoln

We made it back from Chicago! We all had a crazy, great time visiting the Shedd Aquarium, the Field Natural History Museum, and Springfield, Illinois to see Abraham Lincoln's home, tomb and a museum about him.

We decided to split up the stops in Springfield to some on the way up, and some on the way back. On our way up on Monday we visited Lincoln's home and tomb. We've seen them before, but something about his tomb I still find very venerational.

Upon our arrival to Chicago, we first went to the aquarium and the kids had an absolute blast. Their favorite part by far was the dolphin show. So, of course, we had to stop by the dolphin show gift shop right next to it to get a fuzzy pink dolphin for Annalyn and a shark for Declan.

After lunch there, we headed over to the Field Museum to catch a special exhibit of Jurassic World, we they had state-of-art dinosaur animatronics that turned out to be quite impressive.

 

They had at least 7 full scale dinosaurs moving around, as well as a replica of the creation lab from the movies that had real props that we could get our hands on. Declan ate it up. Annalyn still got scared a few times. And of course - another gift shop. 

And then I got sick...

On the way back we stopped to visit the Lincoln Museum, once again in Springfield. One of the most enjoyable parts is a small live theatre stage that involves ghostly special effects. He talks about the importance of studying the past to help us understand who and where we are today. 

The slandering they did to Lincoln during his campaign seemed surprisingly familiar to what is still done today by the public and the media. It really made me feel that there really is no piety in politics - if there is, it's only political. On the other hand. The depiction of what he went through in the Civil War and with signing the Emancipation Proclamation, really helped bring a sense of reverence to his death, as they displayed a replica of his casket in the capital.

Overall, it was a wonderful trip, and we made it home safely. Now it's just a matter of shaking off the last bit of this cold...

In Chicago

We made it safely to Chicago! Tonight will be our first night here. We broke up the drive by stopping in Springfield to see Lincoln's home and tomb.

We tried a Chicago stuffed crust pizza for the first time (by accident) for dinner and were surprised by the sheer amount a of inside. Finally, after a good swim in the hotel's remarkably warm pool, we got the kids to eventually settle down and everyone was able to quiet down enough for Walter to fall asleep.

Earlier this week, work proved challenging with a customer accusing my assistant, Rob, of stealing, and the security footage making his actions questionsble at best. A verdict about a police officer shooting a black man upset the community enough to have workers and schools shut down early and the national guard on hand to lock down downtown St Louis.

Other than that, this past week has felt clam enough, like most other weeks, with fall steadily growing closer and general conference just around the corner. Here's to hoping everyone is able to sleep well enough outside of their normal, familiar environment.

Change in the Season

Autumn is quickly arriving. The temperature has dropped and the painting of leaves is sure to follow soon. This is by far my favorite time of year. The temperature, the colors, the holidays...I'm so glad we live somewhere that it lasts more than 2 weeks.

One more week of work and we'll be on vacation! We are heading up to Chicago again for the aquarium and the natural history museum. Plenty of pictures to come.

Rachel has been happier as she's been running each morning. She finds it very effective at not only staying healthy and in shape, but relieving stress as well. Maybe I should take a cue and do some excercising myself.

Annalyn had yet another visit to the dentist. This time to get her latest 2 cavities filled. Luckily she's getting use to the dentist; she's getting more and more brace with each visit. It went well too: no unexpected expenses, and the kids didn't give Rachel an ulcer! 

Happy Labor Day

Yesterday was Labor Day - so glad to have the day off from work! 3-day weekends are always welcome, as they don't seem to come often enough.

The weather has been cooling off, but yesterday was one more randomly hot day as it hit 93 instead of the upper 70's that is has been lately. It made for an enjoyable day at the park for the ward picnic (until everyone was simply through with the sun) and for the kids to come home to sprinklers and popcicles. 

For the first time now too, I'm trying to batch out some cutting blocks to sell; I'm making more of the same type I made for Rachel. All that walnut was quite expensive, but with the price point I should be able to make something off of it. Rachel and I are wanting to finally get my feet wet to see how feasible it would be to invest some time and resources into a woodworking side gig. Who knows? We'll find out hopefully writhing the next couple of weeks.

Walter is finally cutting tooth number 5 and 6! He seems to be a late bloomer when it comes to teeth. He was also late crawling, but fast walking, so maybe his teeth will all come in at once!

A Flower Up the Nose

So Declan decided to make our weekend extremely interesting. When cleaning up the toys Thursday evening, he stuck a toy flower up his nose, which he never told us about - we just noticed it when brushing his teeth. 

We tried getting it out ourselves - no luck. Rachel took him to the pediatrician - no luck. We then tried with an otolaryngologist (ENT) - no luck. We had to take him to he hospital. 

After 3 days of appointments, we had an early morning appointment to put him under and they were able to quickly take it out. It would've been just as simple for us, but as a 3-year-old, it's impossible for Declan to hold still. No more Playmobil toys.

He came out a talkative little trooper. Hopefully he's learned his lesson and won't stick anything else up his nose.

Solar Eclipse

Today we got to see a  solar eclipse! They've referred to it as the Great American Eclipse as it spanned across the entirety of the continental US. At 1:18pm, we were in the path of totality in a park next to the temple and we got to see the sun completely blocked by the moon. We saw one bright star (which was presumably a planet) and felt the temperature drop about 10 degrees. As it approached the light all around turned to an other-worldly pinkish hue. Finally it happened. The light dispersed, a star came out, and the brilliance of the sun's corona stretched across the sky. The bluish, pinkish streaks of light eminating from behind the moon was truely astronomical and beautiful. It was as though the heavens came down to let us see them, almost within hand's reach. 

Annalyn was able to watch with her class at school, which she loved. Declan and Walter were with us. Luckily we were able to wait in the car as it was so hot out.

Earlier this week too, on Saturday, Rachel and I got the opportunity to visit the King Tut exhibit at the St Louis Science Center.

We had tried before a few weeks ago with the kids, but that turned out to bedisastrous, as the crowds and the dark was too much for them, Walter in particular.

But going back was well worth it. Everything that was discovered in his tomb had been recreated. I even found out the ancient Egyptians used dovetails in some of their woodwork! Full-sized shrines, all 3 coffins and the death mask, hoards of treasure and  artifacts were amazing to see. The scale of his burial was very surprising to see all at once.

He was even buried with thrones and chariots!

We feel lucky to live where such world-class exhibits come on such a regular basis.

In other news this week, Annalyn has just gotten over a cold, to which she has passed on to both her brothers. We're not looking forward to what we assume will be a night filled with crying, runny noses, and headaches. We will be praying hard tonight.