Devil's Hopyard and Chapman Falls

Our next stop (only a few miles away) was to Devil's Hopyard State park which is home to Chapman Falls. The falls were lovely and it was so peaceful there. I loved seeing Sophia walking with her Grandma and Grandpa... she loved being with them! Olivia and Coleman liked exploring on all of the big rocks and Grandpa helped them cross over the water to get closer to the falls. This was one of those hidden gems... I don't think we would have even known to look for it if our favorite local tour guides hadn't taken us there.

Close to Bruce and Terri's house is a really cool bridge that lowers for trains to cross. We stopped and walked along a pier where many people were fishing and crabbing. Throughout the week we saw a few birds native to the area and only got photos from pretty far away :).

We ate dinner that night at Pizza Works in Old Saybrook... which had some very fun trains that kept the kids busy until our yummy gourmet pizza arrived. I love Sophia's expression while she is talking to Terri... she very clearly adores her Grandma and loved all of the attention she gets from her.

Gillette Castle

Our biggest challenge during our week long stay in Connecticut was deciding what to do... there were so many options! Bruce and Terri have been there long enough that they have seen quite a bit and made great suggestions. We loved everything that we did and know that we could have easily spent several more days checking out all the Connecticut (and all of the surrounding states) have to offer.

After a fun few hours at the local beach (which I neglected to take any pictures of!) we took a drive to Gillette Castle State Park, which is home to Gillette Castle, commissioned by William Gillette. He was a famous actor in his day (the early 1900's) who is most well known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes. He was kind of a quirky, eccentric guy and his personality came through in the home that he built. From the outside it looks like a medieval fortress, but on the inside had all of the modern conveniences of the day. He designed secret passageways and a state of the art water system to put out fires if necessary. He also positioned mirrors so that he could observe his guests' arrivals and actions without them noticing. It was really interesting to see how he lived and got me wondering about which of today's famous people might someday have their homes preserved for tours and such. We have plenty of movie stars and athletes that (to put it kindly) are "eccentric" in their own right.

I loved all of the rock that was used around the castle. It was great for some photos of the kiddos... I especially love the one Ryan got of Sophia hanging from the rail... those blue eyes just pop!

New Canaan and a New Babe

We were so lucky to be in Connecticut at the same time that my brother Matt and his wife Ashley were going to bless their newest baby girl, Cecelia. They live in New Canaan, about an hour away from Ryan's parents, and they were kind enough to let us use their car to go to church with Matt and his family. Matt and Ashley even got to teach a portion of the combined RS/Priesthood meeting which was fun for us to hear.

It was so fun to see Samuel and Eli... Sophia is still talking about them!  Liv was great with CeCe and Sophia really wanted to get her hands on that cute girl...  we kept telling her to "hold her piggies" so she wouldn't jab her in the face or spread too many germs. I love the photo of her dutifully holding those piggies. It was fun for all of the kids to spend a little time with cousins that we don't get to see nearly often enough. We ate a yummy lunch with Ashley's family and loved having a chance to visit with them.

Before we headed back to Old Saybrook (where Ryan's parents live) we stopped by a new facility of Blue Streak inside Chelsea Piers in Stamford. Matt works so hard running this sports training gym (now with multiple locations). He showed us all of the neat equipment that they use to train athletes in all different kinds of sports--back there lacrosse and hockey are a pretty big deal, but they also help athletes with soccer, football, track, etc. Liv and Coleman loved trying some of it out and they thought that posing for photos was pretty fun. Sophia napped in the car with Ryan during our tour :).

It was so good to be with Matt and his family! 

Plum Island, New York

Bright and early on our first day in Connecticut we woke up and got to go to Family Day where Bruce works for the Department of Homeland Security on Plum Island, New York. The day started out a little bit cloudy, and on the ferry ride over we hoped for good weather since they had a beach party BBQ planned for the day. We had a few drops of rain on the boat... and after our bus ride to the beach there was a torrential down pour. The kids still loved going on the slippery slide (and Bruce even raced a co-worker... I'm pretty sure Bruce won!) and we laughed at all of the water that was coming down. The people there were so kind and did everything they could to make it pleasant despite all the rain. They finally invited us all inside to eat our hamburgers. I would estimate that between the three kids there were at least 17 bags of Cheetos consumed. Even though the beach party got rained out it was fun to see where Bruce works. His coworkers love him and it is obvious that he does a good job there!

After our dry ferry ride home (we rode inside on the way back :)) we all crashed for several hours for a glorious afternoon nap.

Traveling to Connecticut

We were so excited to travel to Connecticut at the end of July to visit Ryan's parents. Ryan got to be Sophia's travel buddy... for some reason she behaves a little better with him (much to Olivia's and Coleman's  dismay... they wanted to sit by him too.... I agree, he is fun to sit with!). They all did great. Sophia watched her favorite "Rella" (Disney's Cinderella) over and over again. Olivia was more nervous about the take offs than she wanted to say and Coleman thought flying was really cool. We had a stop in Chicago and tried some official Chicago pizza... I don't think airport food can ever count as anything official. We changed Sophia into her PJs for the last leg of our trip and finally landed in Hartford late, late. Ryan's parents were so kind to come and get us in the middle of the night... and with both of their cars so we could fit all of our bodies and stuff. We were so happy to arrive! Terri and Bruce were wonderful hosts and we got to see and do so much while we were there.

St. George

Since it's October already it is probably time for me to share some summer photos! We had a great summer... full of activities and busy days. 

In July we took a quick trip to visit my youngest sister Lindsey who just moved back to the southern part of our fair state from Arizona. We braved the heat and spent a whole lot of time in the water! We loved being with her cute boys Jonah and Jaxton. We had fun going through all sorts of cute little girl baby clothes to help Linds and her family get ready for their sweet baby who came in September. We packed in a few sessions at their community pool, a trip to the splash pad, and of course lots of playing and yummy food. We were so happy to spend a couple of days with them and even more happy that they finally live close enough that we can zip down and back.

Day of Forgiveness

It's been two years since this sweet angel left us. Today her parents have called for a "Day of Forgiveness" in her memory. We miss her so much and our hearts ache that she isn't here, but we know that we can channel our grief into goodness, and we hope you will join us.

We spent a bit of time with Laura and her family at Mikkie's grave to talk about and remember her. Laura's mom provided white balloons and we all let one go as part of the Day of Forgiveness. Laura's dad played a neat song and her sister gave each of the kids a baggie of things that Mikkie loved... bubble gum, lip gloss, and bubbles. We were honored to be a part of this special remembrance for Mikayla and love her family so much. We are aware that we don't always say and do the right things, but we hope that Tim and Laura know how much we love them and want to support them.