DC Temple Trip

I had so much fun chaperoning this year's Youth Conference trip. Here is a quick synopsis of the weekend:
We did service on Thursday. Staining this sweet old woman's deck was one of the many service projects that the youth did a great job with:
After some time at host family's houses to shower and eat (I went home and put Elena to bed), the youth had a talent show and dance and then we boarded the buses just after midnight. Being a chaperone - I got two seats together and was actually able to sleep really well. I fell asleep before the opening credits on the movie they were watching were even over.
This is the whole group of kids right before we got on the buses. We all fit on 3 buses: 1 boys, 1 girls, 1 mixed. I was lucky and got to be on the girls-only bus.
On Friday we arrived in DC at 7ish, changed and were in classes all morning. Then Elder Hardy of the 70 spoke to us. That was really great. He spoke all about the founding of our nation and how the world was poised and ready for the gospel to be restored and the US was the perfect place for it to happen. We were so tired, but pinching ourselves to stay awake because he was such a good speaker and his message was wonderful. After that we went to the temple. We had spent the morning in a stake center right around the corner, so it was a beautiful and short walk. The DC temple is just unreal, it looks so amazing. It was nice to be there again and it brought back memories of the day that Dan and I got married for eternity. I'm so grateful for the blessing of being a family forever! It was awesome to be able to share that with the Young Women. Dan and I got engaged in DC too, so I was able to show the girls where that happened. It was a great day. This picture is of all of the members of the Spanish branch who came:
After going to the temple, we went to the Visitor's Center and watched Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration. Then we had dinner we another dance, and got back on the buses at midnight. We drove past the Mall and were able to see a few monuments from afar (I'll have to take the girls back for a trip to see the historical things in DC). When we got back to NC, we had breakfast and a testimony meeting and then we all went home and slept all day. Well, I bet those that don't have an 18 month old slept all day. :)

It's official...

We are now a two-car family for the first time since we got married! We are very excited about Dan's "new" 1997 Mitsubishi Mirage. The Bell family moved to Utah and gave us a great deal on the car that had gotten them through med school and residency. Hopefully it will last just as long for us. Here is the car in all of its glory on the day that we bought it. So far, it has been great having two cars - especially for Dan I'm sure.

Butterflies

A couple of weeks ago we went to a local butterfly farm with the ward playgroup. We were let into a little screened in greenhouse-type space and we were able to feed the butterflies by hand. The cotton pad I'm holding is soaked in a sugar water solution.
Elena enjoyed looking at the butterflies, but she definitely didn't want to hold them. She wasn't very happy when I held one a little too close in this video.

Family Trip

This post is so late! We took this trip last month. We loved getting to go to Virginia with Dan. It was awesome to have some fun family time. The first 2 pictures are of a kite-flying trip to Mt Trashmore and below are some fun pictures of Elena at Busch Gardens. Our kite is awesome and it was only $2.50-ish at KMart. We'll have to find an excuse to use it again soon.
Busch Gardens: Elena loved both of the kiddie rides and actually threw short tantrums when she had to get off them. Luckily, she is still young enough to be very easily distracted. She also liked the net climb and playing in the water park area. She would crack up when the water spouts would get her right in the face.
We had a great day and were glad that Granny, Grandad, and Bethany were there with us!

Somebody's in trouble...

I'll try to post again soon. Hopefully I will get a chance before I leave for Youth Conference next week. [Thanks to my mom in advance for coming to watch Elena. What would I do without her?] I'm so excited -- we are going up to DC. Sleeping on the bus there and back and going to the temple and visitor's center during the day. The girl's are most excited about the two dances. :) I'm so grateful that I get to work with the Young Women/Mujeres Jovenes. It should be a lot of fun.
In the mean time, enjoy this bonus picture of Elena as a master of disguise: