April started out with an April Fools joke. A huge snowstorm! It was pretty, and we need the moisture, but still...
Even with the cold weather, some of our kids were determined to enjoy their kids spring break, so Nick and Sara headed up to the cabin in cold Wyoming. Crista and Matt joined them after returning from their trip to Legoland. They found things to do--like braiding everyone's hair.
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| Ori, Ruby, Effie, Avie, Greta and Bridget |
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| To get them out of the house they took a side X side ride down to the lake. Greta, Bridget and Avie |
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| Elijah is growing! |
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| Since Camden loves to dress up with his sisters, his parents finally bought some "boy costumes" for him. They're definitely better than princess skirts and dresses. |
Roy and I headed up to the cabin for conference weekend. Crista had already left and Sara and Nick were packing up. There's only so much you can do with 8 children indoors. They had probably all had enough. We crossed paths with them and were able to see Nick and his family for about an hour. I played puzzles and games with Camden while his parents finished their packing.
Roy and I had a wonderful two days listening to the conference talks. We had planned on possibly socializing with the Dixon's while we were there, but Roy had come down with a cold (which he inconsiderately passed on to me), so we stayed in. One fun thing about conference was that in the Saturday afternoon choir there were several youth from our ward singing. We didn't know until we saw them on camera.
I especially loved the talk from our prophet at the conclusion of conference. He's so optimistic and positive. He spoke on having confidence in God's presence. He said,
"We all will experience illness, disappointment, temptation, and loss. These challenges can knock our self-confidence. However, disciples of Jesus Christ have access to a different kind of confidence. When we make and keep covenants with God, we can have confidence that is born of the Spirit. The Lord told the Prophet Joseph Smith that our confidence can 'wax strong in the presence of God...' When I speak of having confidence before God, I am referring to having confdence in approaching God right now! I am referring to praying with confidence that Heavenly Father hears us, that He understands our needs bettter than we do. I am referring to having confidence that He loves us more than we can comprehend, that He sends angels to be with us and with those we love. I am referring to having confidence that He yearns to help each of us reach our highest potential."
The talk is short, but as is typical of our prophet, amazing. Be sure and read the rest of it.
In Georgia, the Jackson kids had their spring break the week after their cousins. Caitlyn and I had tickets to fly to Atlanta to help Elise since Andy was supposed to be deployed on April 1. We thought a visit might lift her up a little after her husband left. However, the army's plans had changed and Andy's deployment is now later. We had already purchased tickets, so we went anyway.
The change: Andy was supposed to be deployed but then received notice that he was to be moved to Kansas. He told them he couldn't go to Kansas because he couldn't be two places at once. They said they needed him in Kansas and proceeded to deploy a different doctor in Andy's place; giving that doctor only two week's notice.
Knowing of the move to Kansas, Elise finally decided to let Andy move without her. This decision proved the right one, since Andy will be deployed for 8 months right after being moved to Kansas. He will leave in July.
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Going through customs, the guy checking IDS thought that Caitlyn was under 18. She just smiled and told him she was 25; old enough to have a driver's license.
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For the kids spring break and to welcome Caitlyn and me, the Jackson's drove to Atlanta to pick us up. We drove to the Roswell area to eat in a restaurant that had great memories for our family. Unfortunately, upon arriving at the hotel, we found that the restaurant was closed on Tuesdays! Oh well. Panda Express made the kids happy. We slept at a hotel fairly close to our first home in Atlanta and were able to make a quick drive by. This did not impress the kids who have had to do this tour on other occasions. We didn't drive up to Cumming. The kids were able to swim, but the pool was cold.
The next day we had a fun day planned. Elise had made reservations at the Coca Cola Factory and the Atlanta Aquarium. We took several pictures of these activities.
In one of the displays in the Coca Cola Factory, we were able to look into a mirror and see ourselves as we would have been back in the early 1900s. Some of the likenesses were better than others. In these pictures we have Catharine, Harvey, Bevy, Andy, Elise, Mav, Caitlyn and Max.
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| It was cold to start our day. We're huddled together waiting for the Coca Cola Factory to open |
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| Mav, Cait and Bevy in the very back of the car. |
The weather in Georgia was pretty similar to Utah's weather for the time we were there; but Utah had one day of almost 80 degrees and it didn't get that hot for us. By looking at the weather channel, we were able to choose the warmest day of the week to go to the lake near the Jackson's home. You can see from the pictures that there is a little bit of debri in the water leftover from Hurricane Helene, the hurricane that devasted Augusta (even though it's 3 1/2 hours inland). The river walk by the Savannah river is closed from all the damage. Elise said it's estimated the repairs will cost a million dollars.
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| Harvey |
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| Bevy |
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| Mav |
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| Cait, Elise and Mom |
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| Harvey and Max |
A trip to Georgia is not complete without a trip to Waffle House. I don't think Caitlyn had been before (if so she couldn't remember). Waffle House is known for their hashbrowns (smothered, covered...) but I had a pecan waffle and grits. Yum.
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| Mav, Max and Andy at Waffle House |
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| Bevy and Mav |
While I was in Georgia with Cait and the Jacksons, Roy took Gunnar on a side X side ride down in St. George. The first day was a lot of fun and went without a hitch, but on the 2nd day, a CanAm broke down and required towing. The Polaris that was towing it wasn't hefty enough, but Roy's Talon and his tow rope were plenty powerful. They even used the tow rope to keep the machine from going down the hills too fast. It may have been boring for Gunnar, but he got used to the idea of problem solving.
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| Grandpa and Gunnar |
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| Gunnar got lots of driving experience. He is a pretty good little driver for a 14 year-old. He'll get his driving permit in August or September. |
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| The Green's had us to dinner the Sunday before I left for Georgia. Ila made a lot of smores, and Cub ate all the marshmellows off her plate. |
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| This is at one of the kids baseball games. Cub is happy to get dragged around; as long as he gets to be with his brothers and sister. |
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There are lots of pictures this week (past 2 1/2 weeks), but I can't resist one more. When I returned home from Georgia the redbud blooms were out on our trees. Our Bradford pear trees are still in bloom, too. They're beautiful, but the blossoms stink. The yard looks a lot different than it did just two weeks ago when it was covered in snow.
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It's Holy Week. He is risen. I'll write again Sunday and express my thoughts about Easter. In the meantime, check out this video from President Nelson: President Nelson, Easter message
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