Iowa

We've been talking about going out to Iowa to see my sister and her family for a long time now, and at the end of June, we finally got the chance to go. It's an 18 hour trip which can be done in 1-2 days, but we wanted to see some stuff, so we took 3 days to get there. Our first stop was at Fort Bridger. It was a good introduction to all the Pioneer stuff we were going to see. We also saw Martin's Cove by Devil's Gate and Independence rock with were both route markers for the pioneers along the trail. Then we drove up into South Dakota. On our second day we saw Devil's Tower (made famous in the movie Close encounters). We went through Jewel caves, and then we saw Mount Rushmore. We were there right before dusk and by the time we left, the lights were getting ready to turn on, so we pulled off the road and watched the lights come on. That was neat. Our 3rd day of driving was just driving. That's a long drive. It was so fun to see my sister and her family. The kids really hit it off. The big kids decided to have a lemonade stand, and the little kids played in the water. We played base ball, and went to my one of my niece's soft ball games. One of the days with them, we drove to Nauvoo. It's only 2 hours from their house! We had a great time seeing all the sights!

We went to the blacksmith shop to see how they made wagon wheels and Horse shoes. We also learned how to made rope and candles. And the kids got to help print newspapers the old style way. On the way home from Nauvoo, we went to Carthage Jail where Joseph Smith was killed. We had quite the experience at Carthage. When we went into the visitor's center the weather was fine. But when it was time to go into the Jail itself, they told us that there was a tornado warning and that we had to go into their storm shelter, which happened to be the Jail. So in we ran with umbrellas. While we were in the jail we could hear the rain, the wind and the thunder outside and the lights kept flickering off and on. It was a really cool experience.

We had a great time at my sister's house. But all things must come to an end. The kids had a great time with their cousins. On the drive home, We detoured through Missouri where we saw Adam-ondi-amen. We also stopped in Liberty to see another Jail where Joseph Smith was kept, and Independence, where the Mormons settled for a while. The next day of travel, we went back up into Iowa to see council bluffs. It was here that Brigham Young was made the prophet. It was also where one of my ancestors, Tunis Rappleye, lived in the winter with his family while he helped wagon trains travel all the way to Salt Lake every summer for several years! That was really cool to see. Our next stop that day was in winter quarters. The church has a really neat visitor's center here where they talk about the experiences and progression of the Mormon Pioneers as they were kicked out of their homes and eventually moved west to Salt Lake. During part of the Tour, the kids got to dress up and pull a hand cart. It was a really fun hands on experience. Our last day on the road was just driving. We drove straight through Nebraska, Wyoming and then home. That was a long drive, but it was well worth it. It was great to see all the historic sights along the way, but best of all we got to see my sister and her family. They've lived there for 6 years. It was about time we went to see them! Thanks to Monica for hosting us!

June accomplishments

Not much interesting happened in May. At least I don't have any pictures to show for it. But June made up for it. Devin finished up Soccer. He had a great season. In the past, he's been tired of running and not so sure he wanted to continue soccer. After taking a season off, he has loved soccer this season! He's so much better and that helps. He loves his games, and John loves it too. It's been fun for them to practice together. Erin had her dance recital to finish off the year. I was so excited when she showed some interest in dance this year. It brought back so many memories from when I was a child. The only problem was that she had to choose between Karate and Dance. Now that dance is over, I think she'll go back to Karate again. It was great to see her up on stage. She didn't smile during this performance at the park, but she did for the full on recital. My pictures didn't work very well for that though.

It was really funny that when she tried the costume on she said, "It's not very modest, Mom." I've raised her well, but it was had to explain why I allowed this immodesty while she was dancing, but not in normal life. I was proud of her though, and I'll be watching that more carefully in the future.

Devin's had some more fun stuff happening. He had a big preschool Graduation! It was so cute to see him up on the stage singing his heart out. At his Christmas program he sang the first couple of songs and then lost interest. At this one he sang so hard! He did all the actions and paid full attention the whole time! I am so proud of him! Here he is with his teacher Miss Gaylene.

He's also learning how to ride without training wheels. I am so excited for this, cause the boys his age near us all ride and he's just followed along in his car or his Hot Wheels. Once he really learns, he'll be able to keep up with them much better.

As for Colin, I haven't blogged about him is some time, so I thought I'd talk about him a little here. He is so fun!!!! He's getting to be a big boy! He talks, and talks, and talks. Sometimes he drives me crazy with the talk, but it's usually very true and insightful stuff. He's always trying to be one of the big kids. He's a teaser too. Here he's untied John's shoes, and it trying to tie them together. he's always full of hugs, cuddles, and giggles. What a fun kid.

April

April started with Easter! We had a great Easter in Delta with my Family. The weather wasn't excellent, but we had good food, and great company. The Elders helped out with the Easter egg hunt! We have a new addition to our family! We decided to get some baby chicks! The plan was to get 2 chickens so that we could have eggs when they get a little bigger. But when we got to the store, they told us we had to get at least 5! so now we have 5 baby chicks. They are so cute! I know they won't stay cute for long, but we have an area out the side of our house that we plan to fence off with some chicken wire so that they'll have a safe home without making our yard a mess. I know, . . . We're crazy. We'll never know if we like it though until we try, and If we get sick of them, we'll have chicken for dinner. ;) Just don't tell the kids that! A couple of weeks ago, we had a baby shower for 2 of my sister-in-laws at my house. Roger's wife Tasha is having a girl in August, and Ryan's wife, Jocelyn is having twin boys! She's due in September, but will most likely come early, and since she lives in Las Vegas and won't be able to travel much longer, we decided that sooner was better than later for the shower. It was so fun to see the cute twins outfits that Jocelyn got! It was like two of everything!

And Tasha got some of the cutest frilly little girl things! It's been a long time since we've had a girl in the Rappleye family.

At school Erin entered a contest similar to reflections (if you know what that is) And she won an award for a poem! She won teacher's and student's choice. Pretty cool considering it was a last minute entry. She had her art and her photos all ready to enter, and she came down to me at the last minute with a poem that she wanted to enter as well. I was pretty proud of her for having the guts, and she won! Pretty cool.

Well there is a reason I'm so far behind in my blogging, and everything else around the house for that matter. I've been so tired lately, cause I'm expecting a baby in December! I'm due December 5th. I'm pretty excited because I've been ready for another baby for a while now. Between my sister-in-laws, my older sister who just had a baby in march, and me; we will have a grand total of 5 babies in the Rappleye family this year! That's a record for us!

Erin's Baptism

On March 6th, Erin was baptized. what an exciting day! I can't believe we have a child old enough to be baptized! I had these pictures taken of her in the baptism dress I made for her. It was a really nice day. We had a lot of my family and a few family friends come, and John's Mom flew in from Ireland just to be there! It was so great to have everyone come.

While John's Mom was here we took a couple of day trips. One of them was to the Gateway Children's museum in Salt Lake City. The kids thoroughly enjoyed their time there. I even enjoyed it there. They had all sorts of fun things for them to do. There was a store where they could cashier, make sandwiches, or just go shopping. They had a farm where they could plant and harvest crops, ride a horse, or collect eggs. They had a ton of science experiments that the big kids could do, and a news and weather station where you could read the news or see yourself on the green screen. There was also a helicopter that they could go inside. I highly recommend children's museums. I've been to one before, but this one is excellent. We all enjoyed ourselves. John's Mom loves convertible cars, so John though it would be great to borrow a convertible car from our very generous neighbor, and take her for a ride. They all had a great time. We also went to the aquarium in Draper. Yes, Utah has an Aquarium even though we're completely landlocked. It's not huge, but it was still fun. My favorite part was this huge Octopus. She was very active! Every time I've seen an octopus at aquarium, their hiding, not out in the open like this. I found out later that I wasn't supposed to take pictures with a flash. Oops!

On the 14th of March, we celebrated John's birthday. I took him out for dinner and a movie on Saturday, and then we had a family dinner and Cheese Cake on Sunday. It was a nice relaxing day. Happy Birthday John! We love you!