Nauvoo (Part 2)

The next day we headed down to walk around the temple.  Having absolutely no idea where things were, we figured the temple would be a pretty safe location to start out at!

It was just beautiful.  The feeling surrounding even the grounds itself was amazing and you could tell that even the children all knew what a special place it was.  Juliana kept saying, "Temple!  Temple!"  She caught on quickly :-).

"Temple!  Temple!"

Our beautiful children--and a decent picture of all of them to boot!

Cubby and me...and my belly :-)

My big boy and me!

 We then let Emily and Christian take turns with the camera--they got some good shots in!

My old friend, Alex, who I've known since I was 14!, just happened to be in Nauvoo with his family!
(They were on their way out and we were lucky enough to get to meet up for a few minutes!)  Sadly, this is the only picture we got of the reunion!  It was fun to see him and meet his family though and he gave us lots of good tips on where to go and what to do while we were in Nauvoo.

Beautiful flowers--to match the absolutely GORGEOUS weather we were blessed with all week!
Seriously, I wouldn't have lasted more than 10 minutes outside had this been a typical summer in Nauvoo!

Christian's sweet selfie!

"Keepin' it cool" with Cousin William

Aunt Sara and Uncle Kirk

More shots courtesy of the big kids...

We love our cousins!

Some attempts at a big group shot!

Our forever family!

Nauvoo Trip (Part 1)

All smiles as we head out!  (It lasted 7 minutes before Juliana decided
she wanted "out." )  {Sigh}

 This summer I was determined that we would go somewhere and do something as a family!  We discussed close-by options, but nothing really came of it.  I had wanted to venture out to Utah, but being so pregnant and not sure if our old van would make it that distance, we decided that probably wasn't going to work either.  Then, Cubby's sister, Sara, asked us if we wanted to meet in Nauvoo for a few days!  (Nauvoo is a city in Illinois that was home to the early pioneer Saints.  It is now a historical city and there is a lot of see and learn about church history.)  It's only about 5-5 1/2 hours away so you'd think being from Nebraska I would've gone at least once while growing up, but I had never been!  Things all fell into place and at the end of July we loaded everyone and everything up and were off!

Kari is our star traveler and has figured out the fasted way to pass time is to just go to sleep!
Love that girl!!!

 Juliana and Christian kept themselves busy doing stickers and coloring.

Eventually, they fell asleep too and Emily was more than happy to watch a DVD.

Daddy drove :-)

We reached the hotel around dinner time and the kids loved exploring their new digs.  (Cubby had a bunch of Hilton points saved up from his various work travels and so we were able to get adjoining rooms for next to nothing.  It was awesome and proved invaluable at bed and nap times.)

Juliana got cozy :-).

Kari and Emily played peek-a-boo!

After unpacking, we went to dinner and by the time we got back, Aunt Sara, Uncle Kirk, and their kiddos had arrived.  We spent the evening swimming in the pool--the kids' favorite thing to do!  All of the children were soooo excited to see their cousins!!!

Proof

Proof that Emily did do a little summer reading :-).

My Sweet Ju-Ju

I just love this little girl!  She wanted to take a couple of pictures with me one day--such a cuddlebug and a sweetheart.  We have hit the "terrible twos" (which is different from the other kiddos who had "terrible threes"), but, thankfully, the terrible part doesn't last all day and most of the time she is sugar and spice and everything nice.  I mean, just look at her sweet little face!!!  

A Midst the Sprinkler Fun

 While Christian and Juliana were doing sprinklers, Kari was painting!

And...then she wanted to eat a snack like a puppy dog.  Yup, Kari is one-of-a-kind.

 Semi-sweet morsels are not the easiest to lap up, so pretty soon she opted for her "paws."

Messy girl :-).

Do They Dare?

While my children LOVE the pool, they've never been too hot on sprinklers.  Never really sure why, but maybe it's the cold water thing again (like the splash pad).  Well, this summer Christian has been a bit more adventurous and one evening was so sweet in helping Juliana discover the joys of the backyard sprinkler.

First, he turned the sprinkler way down low.

Then, he showed her how fun it is to put your face in!

Juliana tried one foot....

And then put her own face in!

Such a sweet brother--he loves it when he can pass on his wisdom to his younger siblings :-).

Science Camp

This summer Christian did a "College for Kids" camp that Metro Community College offers.  He and his friend, Sullivan, did a Design and Build It class and a Math Logic class.  They really liked it and I will definitely be signing up him (and the other kiddos) next summer!

On the last day, parents were invited to see their marble run creations in the design and build it class. Christian and Sullivan's was the longest and was successful!  So cute :-).

First Haircut at the Salon

I took all of the kids in for haircuts near the end of July.  Oh yes, all four kids in a confined public space where there are swivel chairs and hair products lining shelves.  But, they did surprisingly well!  It was Juliana's first visit to Ms. Kelly and she was such a big girl and loved every minute!  She just got the tiniest of trims, but it was enough to curb the mullet and encourage her hair to grow just a little bit faster!! 

 Can you tell who wanted in on the pictures below??