US Air Force Museum

Our Spring Break plans were foiled before they began.

We had arranged to drive to Washington DC on Monday to stay with friends and spend a couple of days seeing the sights. Coming home, we'd tour Gettysburg then stop to visit friends in Columbus. Last Saturday night we realized that we'd likely be driving in a snowstorm all the way there; the forecast was still awful for our only full-day of sight seeing. Both DC and Gettysburg looked like they might be buried by snow. Yuck! Driving on snowy, icy roads is bad enough around town. I didn't want to do it for 12 hours - that could easily turn into much longer - on the freeway, not to mention the conditions once we arrived. So we canceled our trip. Fortunately, the kids weren't devastated. We decided to make the best of our week together.

By Wednesday, we were ready to venture out for the day. Jeff and the boys were able to attend the temple in Indiana to do some work for extended family. From there we drove to Dayton, Ohio to visit the US Air Force Museum at Wright Patterson Air Force Base.

This museum was a favorite of our kids when they were small. We visited a few times when we lived in Columbus. It's been several years since we've been there so the kids were excited to explore it again. It was definitely worth the trip. The museum is HUGE! Four giant hangars display everything related to flight from the early days (Wright brothers) to space exploration and everything in between.

These missiles are HUGE!

Sadie and Soren loved exploring several former presidential "Air Force One" planes. We could actually walk through those and see the differences over the years. Spencer enjoyed seeing all the old war planes. They even have "The Bockscar" which dropped the final atomic bomb on Nagasaki to end WWII. Sterling liked the Cold War planes. That hangar housed an SR-71 Blackbird. My dad introduced my boys to the SR-71 years ago and they've loved it ever since.

We spent 3 1/2 hours at the museum before it closed. We could have easily spent twice that or more. In some parts we just did a quick walk-through to see what was there, but had to forgo all the cool displays and information. My feet, however, were happy to go. We did a LOT of walking. It was a great day and worth the four hour drive each way. By the way, the museum is free. :)

One of the smallest planes we saw.

A beautiful sunset for our drive home.

Beatboxing Battle

We attended a showcase performance of our high school's a cappella group last week. They had a beatboxing battle and invited audience members to volunteer to go against the group's vocal percussionist. Sterling was quick to volunteer. You can see his performance below. (We edited out most of the other not-so-serious contenders.)



Sterling is pretty reserved at school so a lot of people were surprised at his ability. Someone asked me, "Does he ever do this at home?" Only all the time.

After the competition, we learned that the audio techs were instructed to turn off the sub-woofers during Sterling's turn in an attempt to rig it against him. Nice try. :)

Sorry for the terrible video taping. That would be my fault...

Spring Break

I've mentioned what amazing and unseasonably warm weather we've had. Sadie picked a jar full of hyacinths for her room from our flower bed this afternoon. Jeff took this picture on campus yesterday of a tree in full bloom.

Our weeping cherry is starting to bloom and the grass is green and ready to be mowed. Spring is bursting out all over the place.

That's why the snow in tomorrow's forecast is so disappointing. Instead of the 50 and 60 degree weather we've been enjoying over the past few weeks, today started a week in the 30's. So while the weather is taking a break from spring, we're officially starting our spring break.

Yep, school is out for a week and, come Monday, we are looking forward to some new adventures. Stay tuned!

As You Wish

We were all pretty taken with Moana when we watched it as a family over Christmas break, but none as much as Sadie. She LOVED it! She has been talking about it ever since and has tried to be patient while waiting for the DVD release.

This morning she said to me, "Mom, if I came home from school and found Moana on my bed, I'd be so happy!"

I was planning to buy it anyway and I couldn't resist making Sadie's day. It's fun to make wishes come true.

Great Aunt

I'm a great aunt. Yep. My niece on Jeff's side of the family had a baby last week and, just like that, I became a great aunt.

Doesn't that sound so old? Seriously. There's your grandma and then there's your ancient and grumpy great aunt. It reminds me of a scene from one of our favorite and most quotable movies, The Emperor's New Groove. Watch from 1:43 through 2:04.




I've had that scene running through my head all week. It cracks me up, especially when my kids imitate it. Yzma is only pretending to be the great aunt in this scene, but it works so much better than if she had pretended to be their grandma. She is the picture of old.

We're super happy for Briana and her new little guy, Liam, so I will try to dismiss my perceptions of the term "great aunt" and wear it as a badge of honor instead. :)

Praying for Sunshine

 

Remember Sam and Savannah's snowy drive to Provo back in January? Well, today was the sequel. Savannah went to Idaho for the weekend to see her cousin's new baby and spend time with friends and family. Somehow, today's weather forecast was misleading and she ended up in a blizzard before she was halfway home. (It's amazing how quickly my anxiety flares up when I learn one of my kids is in danger!!) Luckily or maybe miraculously, with about 2 hours to go, she found a friend she could stay with for the night and they'll drive the rest of the way together in the morning.

We're praying for sunshine!

Incoming Cougar

Rise and Shout! We got the good news this morning...

Spencer has been accepted to BYU this fall!! 

He's pretty excited...and relieved. It's the only school he applied to. :) We're super happy for him and can't wait to share his BYU experience. 

Seussical Success

I will do my best to get a sharper photo after tomorrow night's performance, but I didn't want the day to end without mentioning how much we enjoyed Seussical, Jr. this evening. Oh, it was SO good!! From the costumes to the props to the brand new sound system, everything came together tonight and these kids put on an amazing show. Really, top notch all the way!

We can't wait to see it again!

3/4/17 Update: Tonight's performance was every bit as good as the first. What a fun show! This is a great group of kids who really stepped up to the plate to pull off such an impressive play. (I'm sticking with last night's blurry photo because the ones I took tonight only have a few cast members.) 

It Is Well with My Soul - BYU Vocal Point

It's always a good time for a new BYU Vocal Point video so I was excited when this arrived in my e-mail inbox this afternoon. This song is particularly beautiful and reverent. You may even notice that one of the lead singers gets a little teary at the end. 

How To Change the World

It turns out changing the world isn't as daunting as it seems. Here's a quick tip to get you started in that direction.


I hope my kids are watching... ;)

{This message came from a longer commencement address with ten tips on how to change the world. The other tips can be found here.}