FHE and More in Pennsylvania

Part of the fun of this trip was just being there for the normal, every day activities. The big stuff is nice, but it's the little things that really make a family unique and wonderful. So, here's documentation for some of the ordinary things that make each day an adventure.

It was a joy to be able to participate in their family night. In honor of Clark's arrival, Megan prepared the special "A Child of God" lesson from the Family Home Evening Resource Book. One of the neat parts of the evening was when Weston asked Wyatt to choose the opening hymn, although he gave the caveat that if his mom wanted a special hymn to go with the lesson (she wasn't in the room at the time), they might have to change. Wyatt picked "I am a Child of God" which is exactly the one the lesson suggested. I loved how they pointed out to him that he was listening to the Spirit to help him pick the perfect hymn.

Another special part of the lesson was when Megan shared each of the "how you came to our family and how you got your name" stories for each of the boys. So much love was present. And fun, too - can't end the evening without blowing some special R2D2 bubbles and eating some cookies, and maybe even playing a game.

It doesn't have to be family night to play a game, and we did a lot of that, plus reading stories, throughout the week.

Trying to get a picture with everyone looking at the camera, with their tongue inside their mouth and their limbs not in front of their face is asking a bit much, but we tried anyway as part of family home evening, and the boys were good sports about it.

Outside play is essential for growing boys.

I loved watching their imaginations at work. Wyatt finally found the treasure chest he had buried and then promptly re-buried it, but with new treasure inside. Sam had to do some digging as well. The play structure was turned into a sailing ship, and became the base for several adventures. The beautiful flowing cherry tree became their cousins' home across the ocean. (The other cousins'  home was the hill in the backyard.) We had a great time sailing to visit them.

We don't have the normal four seasons in Florida, so watching spring arrive was a real treat. And the pussy willow tree brought back great memories of when I lived in Maryland when I was 5.

 Imaginations were at work indoors as well.

The creative juices were flowing also.

I learned all about Octonauts and their Gups (or vehicles). Here's Wyatt drawing a Gup A for me.

Here's a Gup H. There are a lot more!

When you're 5, part of the daily routine involves going to school. Kindergarten is half-day, but the buses only do full-day runs, so Wyatt gets the best of both worlds!

When they purchased their house they were told the street used to be called Mormon Hollow, and there was a historical marker a few houses down. I decided I couldn't leave without reading what it had to say, so one day I took a short walk.

Basically it states that this seminary building was built by a Quaker, Edward Hunter, who donated it to the county under condition that any group could use it for educational or religious purposes. The prophet Joseph Smith preached to the Brandywine Branch here in January of 1840, and in October of that year, Edward Hunter was baptized. There's a great article about his life in the Ensign. It's actually quite fascinating, almost as fascinating as daily life with our own family members.