Together At Last!

Dave, Dad, Mom, Miffy, Amy, and Mark at the Washington D.C. Temple
I like this one because it showed the spires. It's such a majestic temple!
Eating at the Bombay Cafe after the temple. Uncle Dave sure knows how to pick a good Indian Restaurant.
Storytime with Daddy
Abby is our little helper these days. She loves doing what Mommy is doing. Here she's helping set the table.

Mark is home!! We've had such a fun week this week since Mark arrived home from Atlanta (the girls are now officially off the market). He surprised us by arriving home a day earlier than planned and thus insured that I would not be carted off by the men in white coats (phew!). I just don't know how single parents manage -- I have tremendous respect for all that they do.

I can hardly imagine a better week! We've had fun just hanging out as a family -- everything has been fun because we've been together. It's been great to finally be home and not living out of a suitcase any longer. The girls were overjoyed to see all of their old toys which all of a sudden seem remarkably like new toys and we've had fun getting Daddy, Millie, and Abby ready for the start of school this coming week.

We had such a special experience yesterday going through the temple with my youngest sister Allison (Miffy) who will be leaving in two weeks for a mission in the New York Rochester/Hill Cumorah Mission. We're so excited for her -- she'll be a fantastic missionary!

Kids for Sale!

Now offering a great deal on three adorable little girls. See below for details:

Item #1 (ID#MILL05): Often takes flight into Imagination Land and is hard to retrieve, especially when parental figure is making urgent requests. Loves to run, jump, and engage in generally boisterous behavior -- specializes in this behavior especially when in close proximity to parental figure who is talking on the phone. Master of Stealth, especially when involving sweet items such a cake mixes or ice cream which are often later found stuck to the carpet behind the item's bed. Expert Negotiator, tries to negotiate everything all of the time (i.e. MILL05: Mom, can I have a cookie? MOM: Yes MILL05: No wait, can I have 6? MOM: No. MILL05: Ok, then 5!). Innovative User of New Vocabulary Words: "Mom, you are just so jealous!! (apparently thinks that jealous is a worse form of "mean").

Item #2: (ID#ABB02): Specializes in naughty behavior accompanied by a winning smile (i.e. Item looks at parental figure, lifts cup of water, pours it onto the floor, and smiles sweetly). Has suddenly found it impossible to go to sleep without being in immediate proximity to parental figure, often resulting in one screaming child and one disgruntled parental figure. Learns much from older sister (aforementioned Item 1) and so also thinks that Mom is "so jealous". Has shown extreme stubborness in regards to potty training yet does not always like to inform parental figure when diaper is full, thus often resulting in certain small "leakages" or "deposits" found around the house, which upon interrogation by parental figure, Item most readily (as if with great pride) identifies.

Item #3 (ID#JA-pre-1): Practically perfect in every way, except of course when parental figure is tired or has a headache, in which case Item's new pet behavior -- loud and incessant screeching whenever item wants something in particular (usually small infant snacks) -- or just wants to hear the sound of her own voice, becomes somewhat difficult. Currently cutting two new teeth, which often makes Item fitful at night. Ms. Sharp Eyes -- if you have lost any minute, dangerous, or merely chokable items that need finding, this is the girl for you. Item can spot that which is completely invisible to the naked eye, crawl toward it with lightning speed and place it in her mouth before parental figure has processed that Item is on the move. Master of the Stairs -- if you'd rather get your exercise vicariously rather than using the StairMaster at the gym, just leave your stairs unguarded for an instant and Item will be half way up in no time(a sure way to get your heart pumping as Item is not yet completely steady on stairs).

SELLER: If interested in the above items, please contact the seller at 1-800-TYRDMOM. Once again, that number is 1-800-TYRDMOM. On second thought, the above items are available for brief rental only, starting immediately.

In Utah with Friends and Family

Abby holding Mark's sister Melissa's two-week-old baby, Rachel. It was so fun to meet her!
Millie playing on the water slide with Melissa's oldest boys Spencer and Jonathan.
Millie in action on the water slide.
Our our dear friends the Southwicks, who now live in Singapore, came to visit for an afternoon in Midway. We love that we have kids the exact same ages and are so happy when the stars align and our Utah/Idaho time coincides! It was so wonderful to see them. Here is a picture of Abby with their Eliza.
Millie and Claire Southwick.
Mark's kind of taken on the role of master mower when we are in Midway (he just loves to ride on the mower) and the kids love to ride with him.
Millie having a quiet chat with Grandpa Ward.

My dear friend Kirsten, who lives in California, also came up to Midway with her three kids to visit. It was so great to see them all and to get caught up! We loved having them come! This a picture of us with Kirsten, Ian, Kate, and Jacob.

Matt's and Sara's Wedding

The three flower girls: Abby, Millie, and my sister Jennifer's Emma.
Millie dancing with Jennifer's David at the reception at the Millcreek Inn.
Abby dancing with my sister Miffy with Jennifer in the background.
Mark and baby Jane.
Millie and her cousin David at the temple.
Matt and Sara at the Bountiful Temple right after Sara received her endowments
Millie and Sara at the temple after the ceremony.
Grandpa Ward holding Jane at the temple after the ceremony.
Abby on the temple grounds after the ceremony.

We had such a wonderful two weeks in Utah while we were there for my brother Matt's wedding and a Ward family reunion in Midway! The girls enjoyed spending time with their cousins and grandparents from both sides of the family and I enjoyed seeing Mark after a separation of three weeks while he's been working in Atlanta. It was a great time to be with family and get caught up with wonderful friends!

The week of the wedding was perfect (notwithstanding the bad luck that seemed to plague me at every turn -- finding that the car battery was dead just as I was about to leave for the temple when Sara went through for her endowments, having my cell phone go on the fritz and not being able to get a replacement for several days, having a spray on tan go terribly awry and being a streaky orange (fortunately it wore off before the wedding :)) -- the list could go on and on!). We loved getting to know Sara and her family better and rejoice in her and Matt's happiness. They are such a fantastic couple!

Goodbye New York, Hello Boston!

The girls with our dear friend Marianne Hopkin and her dog, Micah (oh how Millie loves Micah!)
Abby, Mason Apke, Will Thomas, Millie, Thomas Apke
Millie and Will Thomas
Kids in the Candy Shop

We've finally finished our traipsing up and down the eastern seaboard of the United States for the summer (phew!) and are setting our sights on the West as we get ready to go to Salt Lake City for Uncle Matt's wedding.

We sadly said goodbye to NYC after making visit to Dylan's Candy Bar (a candy store owned by Ralph Lauren's son) for some sweet treats. It was a riot watching the girls pick out what candy they wanted. It was like, well, watching kids in a candy shop! We then made our way to Boston (we won't mention the nightmarish traffic we encountered on I-95!) and had so much fun revisiting old haunts and reconnecting with wonderful friends! It felt so much like home and satisfied the longing I've felt all year for New England. Unfortunately, I was so busy reconnecting with people, I forgot to take a lot of pictures!

Serendipity and Such

We've had such a fun week! On Monday, Uncle Dave, was in town on business and we had such a great time getting together for dinner. It was a real treat for us to be with him and have dinner on his company's tab :).

Manhattan has all of a sudden turned intensely hot and muggy so we've been trying to do things to keep cool. Yesterday we spent the day in the Manhattan Children's Museum and explored a little of the west side. The girls loved the museum, especially baby Jane who loved exercising her new crawling power to explore everything. She was practically giddy. Millie and Abby especially enjoyed exploring the Dora the Explorer exhibit.

Today we had another park day and a special lunch at the restaurant Seredipity 3 -- known for its appearance in various movies and the frequency of celebrity sightings there (we actually did see, gulp, Amanda Bynes. She was, like, 10 feet from our table and actually smiled at us. :)) It's famous for its frrrozen hot chocolate and its ice cream sundaes. It was a fun "touristy" experience and the girls eyes popped when they got their desserts. There was a small table near us where restaurant employees sat to eat on their breaks. Millie observed it and said, "Mom, is that where the servants eat?" Apparently a great deal of vocabulary comes from her Disney princess movies.

We're feeling a little sad that things are wrapping up here in NYC and that Mark will be leaving for Atlanta soon -- we'll be done this Saturday -- but the girls and I are excited to visit dear friends in Boston before heading to SLC for Uncle Matt's wedding.

The Natural History Museum and a Visit from Grammie and Grandpa

We had a great week this week. The highlights: a visit to the Natural History Museum and a visit from Grammie and Grandpa Ward for Grammie's birthday. At the Natural History Museum, Millie was very taken with a bejewelled, three-sided dagger from ancient Tibet that was said to be poisonous and to exorcise demons. As we were walking away, she asked, "Mom, why did they do poisonous exercises?" Abby liked the little golden statues and rushed to the display cases exclaiming, "Oh how gohjus (gorgeous)!" We then played in the water park outside of the museum with some friends from the ward, whom the girls get along with famously. With Grammie and Grandpa, we had a great time eating Chinese food, taking an evening stroll through the city, playing and having a picnic in Central Park, shopping on 5th Avenue, and just having fun together. We were sad to see them go!