Our Forever Family

Texas Trip Part 4: Bell County Museum & Christmas Eve

2012-01-12T11:54:00.000-07:00

On Friday, we visited the Bell County Museum in nearby Belton.

They were featuring a great exhibit on toys, and it was neat to reminisce about toys from our childhood and learn about different toys through the ages.

Some toys from our parents era:

They also had a little playhouse set up for the kids to play in...

...as well as a table full of toys, which the kids all enjoyed.

Travis teaching Grace the ways of the Jack in the Box:

Brandon, Kaden, and Spencer:

They even had an Atari game you could play. Here's Travis trying his hand at it:

After Toyland, we explored the rest of the museum.
Kaden and Grace with the electronic magnifier...

...and playing tag outside.

It was quite the cool little museum! And later that night, we played some more Ticket to Ride.

On Saturday (Christmas Eve), Travis and his brothers went for an early morning trail run, then Jason and Mindi and their family came over, and we hung out for most of the day, talking and playing Worms and Just Dance.
A few random pictures from the day:
Grace coloring with her cousins:

Bethany with her cousin Coralee, who's a month older than her:

Bethany just loved looking at her!

In the evening, we had a nice Christmas Eve ham dinner (thanks to Rachel and Mindi) and played Christmas Scattergories.

After dinner, the kids acted out the Christmas story, then Grace and some of her cousins opened one gift. Her gift (from us) was some new pjs (a recent family tradition).

And Bethany just watched it all and gave us some smiles. :)

Texas Trip Part 3: Park & Pool

2012-01-12T11:45:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, we headed to the train station to get our family pictures taken by Rachel (thanks a million!!), then played at the nearby Whistle Stop playground. It was a sweet little playground, and the kids had a great time!

After the playground, we headed over to an indoor pool for their open swim. We've really only taken Grace swimming a couple of times, so I was happy we were able to take her again.
Grace was a little bit unsure at first/clingy with dad...

...but she warmed up to it pretty fast.

Rachel and her boys, Kaden, Spencer, and Carter:

Smiles :)

Big swimmer Jenna:

I stayed poolside with Bethany so I could watch her and take pictures, and she was good enough to entertain us with some bubble blowing.

We had a fun, busy day!

Texas Trip Part 2: Temple, TX

2012-01-11T19:10:00.003-07:00

On the 19th (Monday), we headed over to Temple, TX to spend most of the week with Brandon and Rachel (another brother and sister-in-law) and their family. It was so nice to see them (after living next to them for 2 years here in Cleveland) and their new house, and crazy to see how much their kids had grown. Thankfully, Rachel kept track on facebook of what we did every day so I can remember and document it too!

So, on Monday we played, had a Papa Murphey's pizza party (we had pizza party's a lot when we used to live next to each other), and the adults watched "The Help" (which Rachel and I had both been dying to see).

Reading books with Grace and Spencer on Monday:

Jenna holding Bethany. It was so cute to see her older girl cousins with her. They were great with her!

On Tuesday, Rachel and I did a little shopping during the day, and that night we ate dinner at one of their friends houses and then went to see a light show called "Nature in Lights" (a 5 mile long light display) at the B.L.O.R.A. It was SO neat, and I took lots of pictures, but here are just a few so you get a feel for how cool it was.

This one was set up with 3 of this elf, so that when each one lit up in turn, it looked like he was unicycling across the tight rope. Cool, huh?!

There was a band-themed section:

And a section of the 12 Days of Christmas; this was the display for the Lord's a Leaping.

There was also a Santa's Oasis section:

In this display, the elf flew through the sky from the canon and into the bag:

Thought this was pretty funny:

Near the end of the display was this long tunnel of lights. SO pretty, and so neat to drive through!

The next day (Wednesday), we played and shopped a little at the mall during the day, and at night played Ticket to Ride and Apples to Apples (again, for old times sake). (Rachel took some great pictures, and you can go to her blog www.brholloway.blogspot.com to see them).

Next up: More of our time in Temple!

Texas Trip Part 1: OKC & Whitney, TX

2012-01-11T18:43:00.001-07:00

A month or so before Christmas, Travis mentioned that if he got a long enough break from school, he'd like to visit his brothers in Texas for Christmas. At first, I thought he was crazy. "A 20 hour drive, 6 weeks after having a baby?" I thought. "Travelling with a one month old" (which we knew also meant stopping every few hours for feedings)? But, as the time got closer to when we would find out what his schedule was, I got more and more excited about it. And when the first week of December rolled around, and we learned that--miraculously--he had 2 1/2 weeks off of school and clinic, we were sold.

We left on December 16th, and decided to break up the drive down a little by stopping at Travis' best friends house in Oklahoma City. Bart, and his wife Shantyl, had had twins since we'd last seen them, and they hadn't met Grace or Bethany either, so we were especially excited to see them. We had a wonderful (though short) visit with them, filled with waffles (for old times sake), and a tour of the downtown, including the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial.

It was very touching to see the memorial and learn more about what happened on that tragic day (which was actually my 10th birthday).

The outside of the memorial reads: "We come here to remember those who were killed, those who survived, and those changed forever. May all who leave here know the impact of violence. May this memorial offer comfort, strength, peace, hope, and serenity."

The bomb detonated at 9:02 am, and so two pillars stand on either side of this shallow pool of water, one with "9:01" - the last minute of peace - and one with "9:03" - the first minute of recovery - in remembrance.

There is a field of empty chairs, one for each person who died (smaller ones for the children, larger for adults), which have their names on them and are illuminated at night. Each one had a wreath on it during the Holidays.

Graffiti left by (I believe) some rescue volunteers, next to the survivor tree. It says, "We search for the truth. We seek justice. The courts require it. The victims cry for it. And God demands it."

Next to the survivor tree, so named because it somehow survived the blast:

Thanks again Bart and Shantyl! It was wonderful to see you!

On the 18th, we headed to Jason and Mindi's (our brother and sister-in-law's) house in Whitney for one night. It was great to see them, and finally see the cute house they redecorated and meet their sweet daughter (our neice) Coralee.

We played at the park near their house during the day...

Our neice Jessica (with a "cake" she'd made):

Grace and her cousin David:

Bethany getting some snuggles from her aunt Mindi:

And that night, the kids watched Rudolph and ate popcorn, and when they went to bed, the adults watched the latest Harry Potter movie and ate goodies. :)

Our neice Cailyn holding Bethany before bed. Her cousins were SO sweet to her!

Next up, Temple, TX!

Grace & Bethany

2012-01-09T12:46:00.003-07:00

Just wanted to share a few videos of our cute girls that I took recently. Enjoy!

Travis taught Grace "Jingle Bells" this Christmas season, and she fell in love with it & loves singing it, so here's a video of her doing just that (from December 14th):

Bethany recently started cooing (which we love, and which she loves to do when we're talking to her or while she's having tummy time), so here are a couple videos of her sweet coos (taken December 5th):

Christmas Letter 2011

2012-01-03T17:46:00.006-07:00

Dear Family and Friends,

2011 was a wonderful year for us, and especially so since it was the year we welcomed our daughter, Bethany Adelle, into our family.

Bethany, born on November 8th, is our "angel baby." Very sweet and mild tempered, she loves to watch her big sister and be cuddled by mom and dad, and has just started to really smile and coo (though I swear she began smiling the day she was born). She is a sweet, calming presence in our home, and we're so grateful to have her as a part of our family.

Grace, now 2 1/2, loves her little sister, who she talks to in a high baby voice, saying things like "Hi, sweetheart!" or "Hi, wakies!", gives lots of hugs and kisses to, and makes sure that she's taken care of by mom and dad, with directions to us like "Mommy feed her!" or "Daddy rock her!" Grace also loves to color (which she does several times a day); watch Signing Time and Curious George; play with her cars, Little People, and grocery cart; sing songs; read books; play the piano; and go to the park and zoo; and has just entered the "why?/question" stage. She never ceases to make us laugh, is too smart for any of our goods, and is a delight to watch as a big sister.

This year was full of new experiences for Jenny. First and foremost, being a mother of two, which she finds both a little challenging and very rewarding. Also, she started running (she competed in a 5k in February) and doing Zumba dance (which she loves, and is now considering becoming an instructor in someday). She also began a formal study of photography, and hopes to continually improve herself in that area. Jenny continues to serve as a compassionate service leader in her ward (with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), and to enjoy reading and spending time with her family and friends.

This past year also held new things for Travis. He began his 3rd year of Podiatry school in July, and has since participated in weekly clinic experiences at various clinics and hospitals in the area. He enjoys the practical experience he gets at clinic, as well as seeing new cases and procedures. He also began the exciting new hobby of ultra-marathon running. After several months of training, he competed in his first ultra-marathon in June, a 50 mile race, which he ran in just under 13 hours; and in September, he ran his second race, a 50k (or 31 miles), which he ran in about 6 hours. He LOVES distance running, and is always on the lookout for a new race to run and a chance to run on the trails. Travis continues to work with the young men in our ward, though now as the Young Men's President, and enjoys the time he gets to spend with them. In his free time, Travis enjoys running, baking, and spending time with his family.

Looking back over this past year, we feel so blessed, and hope that you and your's have been blessed too. We also hope you had a wonderful Christmas and holiday season, and that you'll now enjoy a blessed New Year.

With love,

Travis, Jenny, Grace, and Bethany

Trick or Treat!

2011-11-29T11:37:00.012-07:00

We had a great time celebrating Halloween TWICE this year!
The first time was at our Ward's Halloween party, which was held the Friday before Halloween.
I entered the Ward's pumpkin carving contest, so Travis and I spent the night before the party perfecting our pumpkin creations. Carving pumpkins is one of the few times each year where I really put my creative juices to use, and this year I fashioned my design after my Halloween earrings. Here are Travis' and my creations (Travis' on right, mine on left):

All lit up:
Doesn't this just make you smile?

They turned out pretty good, huh?!

We also dressed up for the party (and by "we" I mean Travis and Grace. I wasn't about to search for a costume that would fit my very pregnant physique.) They went as Calvin and Hobbes, and I thought it turned out so cute!

Our adorable Hobbes giving me a smile:

Grace was very concerned about her baby having a costume for the party as well. It was so sweet!

We had prepped Grace for Halloween by explaining trick or treating protocol ("So, you go up to the person's house or car trunk, and say "trick or treat!," then the people will give you some candy, and then you say "thank you!"), and she would shake and laugh with excitement every time we talked about it. Travis took her trunk or treating at the party, and she did a great job of saying "trick or treat" and "thank you." It was so fun to see her and Travis walk from car to car as I passed out candy. She still talks about trunk or treating that night, and all of the kids and cars that were there, and how you say "thank you" when people give you candy; cracks me up.

The 2nd celebration was Halloween night itself. Travis had to work late at clinic that night, so Grace and I made an evening of it. We went out to Cici's Pizza for dinner (where we gorged ourselves on pizza and cinnamon rolls), then came home and went trick or treating in our neighborhood. It was such as sweet experience to walk up and down the street with her, holding her hand, and hear her say "trick or treat" and "thank you," and have people exclaim about what a cute tiger she was. Holidays sure do get more and more fun as your kids get older.
We had a great Halloween x 2!

Bethany's Blessing

2011-11-27T14:11:00.016-07:00

Our sweet Bethany Adelle Holloway was given a name and a blessing at our Church (in the Cleveland 1st Ward) on November 20th. Travis gave her the blessing, and was joined in the circle by my dad and some of our other friends in the Ward (Kory Miskin, Brian Freeman, Kevin Riddles, Travis Branch, Matt Hammond, and Bishop Shaw). It was a very sweet, and touching experience, and Travis gave her a beautiful blessing. We were so glad my parents were able to be here for it.

Here are some pictures of our beautiful girl in her blessing dress (the same one Grace wore):

Her little eyelids curl up like this when she smiles, and I adore it!

We love you Bethany and are so glad you're a part of our family!

Running Blog

2011-11-07T16:13:00.005-07:00

Hey everyone, this is Travis. Just wanted to put in a little plug here for the Holloway brothers' running blog. We've been getting more and more posts lately and my brothers are pretty entertaining writers. The website is hollowayrunning.blogspot.com . Some of the posts are reports from various races we've done, some are stories of other non-competitive runs, some posts are informative, and some are just for fun. If you like Holloways or you like running, you'll enjoy reading the blog. Thanks, and I'll see you at the Holloway Running blog!

37 Weeks

2011-10-28T20:11:00.005-06:00

On Monday night, Travis told me "Happy full term day!" (the cutie!); and it is SUCH a relief to be full term, and know that no matter when our baby girl decides to show up, she's fully developed and should be OK. :)
On Tuesday night, some sweet girls from my ward threw me a baby shower.
Here I am before the shower:

I had SUCH a good time at it and received such thoughtful gifts for baby Bethany (and even some pampering things for me :) ).
The sweet gifts Bethany and I received:

A close-up of some of the home made gifts (a receiving blanket with matching burp cloths, a rag quilt, a crocheted hat, and a diaper bag; SO cute, right?!):

We really have such a GREAT group of friends out here, and it's so nice to have them as a pseudo family while we're so far away from home.

On Thursday, we went to my Dr. appt and learned that: I am 2 cm dialated, 80% effaced, that the baby's head is still down and "right there" (which my hips and pelvis can attest to), and that the Dr. predicts I'll have baby Bethany a week early. It's so surreal to have "progressed" and know that Bethany could really come any time. I'm so grateful that my mom decided to change her flight to 2 weeks earlier so she can watch Grace for us during Bethany's early arrival!

We are anxious, but VERY excited to meet and snuggle our little Bethany Adelle!!

Patterson Farms 2011

2011-10-20T12:41:00.030-06:00

We wanted one last family fun day as just the three of us, so on Monday we headed out to our favorite Fall spot--Patterson Farms. We've gone to Patterson's every year we've been here and have a great time every time we go!
After days of rain, Grace was SO excited for the opportunity to play and run around outside.
Waiting for the tractor ride:

Grace got really into the slides this year, and Travis and I loved going down them too!

50 ft slide:

Tree house slide:

She LOVED walking through the leaves...

and throwing them too:

The tractors have always been a favorite of Grace's, and it was fun to see her drive herself on some of them this year:

She sticks out her tongue these days when she's concentrating hard on something. Too cute!

The sandboxes are another of her longtime favorite things to play in at Patterson's:

One of the things Travis and I enjoy doing there every year is stilt walking, and although a year had passed, I thought we still did pretty good!

We attempted the corn mazes too, but they were just too muddy from all the recent rain. (Travis was trying to get Grace to touch the sign, but she kept pointing at me instead (silly girl!)):

This was the first year that Grace really got in to the tree house in the woods, and she LOVED it! It was a testament to how well she's been doing on play structures at the park this summer. :)

We made lots of trips across the bridges:

She was determined to be like this other big girl and go up to the tower, and though I opted out (narrow staircase + pregnant lady = no go), with Travis' help, she did it!

Swinging on the tree house's tire swing with dad:

Driving a big wood tractor. Here she's peeking through the front at dad.

Walking through the beautiful woods, like we always love to do:

While we were there, I couldn't help but take some pictures of the beautiful foliage. Here are a few of my favorites from the day:

We had a great time!

Build A Bear for Baby Bethany

2011-10-19T15:00:00.011-06:00

Last Saturday, we took a family field trip to Build A Bear Workshop. I had read an article in a parenting magazine on ways to help older children adjust to a new baby, and one of the things the article had suggested was having the older sibling be involved in picking out and giving the baby a special present. I thought this was a great idea, and decided, what better gift than a special teddy bear that Grace helped make herself? So, to Build A Bear we went!
First we picked out a soft bear similar to the one Grace has, then brought it over to the different "building" stations.
Here Grace is pushing the pedal on the machine that puts the stuffing in the bear:

Picking out a heart to put inside the bear (Grace picked out 2 checkered ones):

The "workshop helper" told Grace to touch the hearts to different parts of her body, like her brain and heart, to help the bear be smart and loving, etc. Grace diligently did as she was told. ;)

And then she stuffed the hearts inside the now stuffed bear:

Checking out the machine before we moved on:

The next step was to give the bear a bath and brush it. Grace loved brushing the bear, and used several brushes to do so. ;)

And finally, we made a birth certificate for the bear and packed it in a box to take home.

It was a fun experience, and something that I hope will be a special thing for both of the girls, not only at the hospital (when Grace presents it to Bethany), but in years to come too (Bethany knowing that her older sister made a special gift for her, and Grace remembering that she did so too).

36 Week Update

2011-10-18T11:09:00.005-06:00

That's right folks! In less than 4 weeks, our baby girl will be here!
We went to the Dr. today for our weekly check-up/36 week ultrasound, and everything is looking good! It was such a treat to get to have an ultrasound at this point in the pregnancy, and although we didn't get a good view of baby Bethany's face (since she was turned the wrong way, the stinker!), we DID get a clear view of her little heart and spine, and we also got to hear her heart beating nice and strong. It seemed so weird to not be able to see most of her little body from one point of view; she's gotten so big! The Dr. didn't check my belly size, but he did say she's measuring 5 lbs 12 oz right now, and is on track to be right about Grace's birth weight (of 7 lbs 3 oz), which I must say is a relief, as I'd been worrying she'd be bigger (and I'm desperately hoping not to tear/have an episiotomy this time). He also said her head is still down, and that the fluids around her looked good. (He didn't bother "checking" me since I wasn't dialated at all last week and haven't had many braxton hicks contractions this week, which was fine with me, but I will get checked next week.) We were so glad to get all of this good news!
As far as baby prep, our house is now completely deep cleaned and organized (minus the fridge and basement), and the baby's nursery is just a quick sweep and rearranging of a few things away from being ready as well. :) Having all this done definitely makes me feel more ready for baby Bethany's coming, which is coming very fast! Having taken a tour of the maternity wing at the hospital (last Saturday) has helped us feel ready as well, as the rooms and nurses were all SO nice and they seemed to anticipate our every need and wish for our delivery and post partum care too. Now we just need to wash Bethany's car seat and pack our hospital bag and we will be (physically) ready to go!
And here's a picture of me from Sunday:

Til next week!

Our Performing Grace

2011-10-14T16:21:00.001-06:00

Grace has been really into singing and running around in circles lately, and has begun "reading" more and more books to us and noticing/recognizing print everywhere we go. Here are a couple videos from today of Grace doing her latest favorite things.

35 Weeks

2011-10-13T15:16:00.004-06:00

Since my last update, baby girl has "dropped" (this happened last Thursday--I think the 2 1/2 hours I spent at the zoo with Grace did the trick), and I've experienced some contractions (mostly this past Sunday; they were 3-5 minutes apart for an hour, and we were more than a little concerned that baby girl might come early; but thankfully the contractions stopped and I haven't had any regular ones since :)).
I went to the Dr. today and she said that the baby's heartbeat is strong, that I'm measuring right on, that I'm not dilated at all yet (which I was a little surprised at because baby girl sure feels like she's in place and ready to go), and that the baby's head is down (hooray!). I can't believe this was my last 2 week appt, and that (as of tomorrow) I have only 1 month of this pregnancy left!!! The Dr. also told me that at my appt. next week, she'll do an ultrasound to see how big the baby is and make sure everything looks OK (which I wasn't expecting, but am very grateful for).
As far as baby prep goes, our little scare on Sunday kicked us into gear for the final preparations, so the baby's bed is now set up, her clothes are washed and put away, and the diaper station is set up too (I'd post pictures, but we still have a little more organizing to do before the "baby area" of our room is complete).
And speaking of complete, a pregnancy post wouldn't be without a belly pic, so here's one of me from last Saturday (just after I got my hair cut):

33 Weeks

2011-10-02T12:41:00.003-06:00

This week finds me officially a week into my 8th month of pregnancy! According to "What to Expect," our baby girl currently weighs about 4 1/2 lbs, is around 19 inches long, and finally has opaque (non-see through) skin. It's crazy to think how close she is right now to what she'll look like at delivery (and OH are we curious to see how this little one will look, especially compared to Grace--will she look like a little Grace? Will she look completely different?)!
At the Dr.'s office this past Thursday, I learned that the baby's heart beat continues to be strong, and that she'd measuring right on. :) The Dr. also gave me the good news that although baby #2 won't necessarily come early, she should come fast (typical 1st labors last about 12 hours, whereas 2nd labors are only 4 or so hours long!), which I am SUPER excited about! We've been finalizing our birth plan this past week and can only hope that everything actually does go according to plan (a vaginal birth with an epidural and no tearing). I can't deny that I feel kinda nervous about the delivery (who doesn't I guess), but having gone through it once before definitely decreases my anxiety. I'm just so grateful that I'll have my super coach Travis with me no matter what. :)
I can't believe that (as of tomorrow) I only have 6 weeks left, and that my next Dr. appt will be my last bi-weekly one! Thankfully some nesting urges have kicked back in to help me get through the final baby preparations.
Well, last but not least, here's a baby bump pic from this week (taken yesterday):

P.S. In case you were interested, the name for baby girl #2 will be (as of now) Bethany Adelle Holloway.

31 Weeks

2011-09-15T11:58:00.002-06:00

It's funny how the 3rd trimester can feel so fast and so slow all at the same time. On one hand, I can't believe that in less than 9 weeks, our baby girl will be here. And on the other, 2 months feels SO long to wait! Either way, you know you're getting close when complete strangers start asking you when you're due. ;)

Here's me at 31 weeks:

I went to the Dr. today and everything is looking good--the baby has a strong heartbeat and I'm measuring just about where I should be. According to "What to Expect," our baby girl is clocking in at 3 + pounds this week and around 18 inches long! Crazy! Baby girl isn't kicking so much these days as she is STRETCHING and rolling over, which I'm grateful for since those kicks are getting painful (though the stretching and rolling isn't comfortable either)! She is a low rider (unlike Grace), which my ribs are very thankful for, but my pelvis and lower stomach are not. Sometimes I really feel that this baby is going to either drop out of me at any second or pop out of my stomach (thank goodness for cervix's and skin right?)! But, the Dr. tells me that "dropped" babies are typical for second pregnancies, and so I'm just hoping that this means that baby girl will decide to show up a couple days early (not too soon, mind you, but don't you think a couple days early would be nice?). ;) All in all, those discomforts are really all I can complain about besides the usual waking up 5-10 times a night (but what can ya do, right?). This pregnancy really has been so much nicer than the last!
Well, 'til the next check-up...

Mohican Race Report...Finally

2011-09-07T18:21:00.019-06:00

Well, I did it. I completed my first ultra-marathon, the Mohican Trail 50 on June 18^th. It took me forever to get this on the blog, but this is how it went down.

The race was on Saturday, the 18^th at 5am. I went down with a friend, Matt, on Friday because that made more sense than driving down that morning. He volunteered at the race as an aid station captain, so THANK YOU Matt for being my support crew and for helping all of us runners who couldn’t have finished without your help.

The whole week leading up to the race had me a little uneasy about the race, mostly because I was getting nervous and anxious about it. A few running dreams woke me up on certain nights and I didn’t get great sleep all week. Friday morning I had a CPR certification class to go to at school but the whole time I was dying to hit the road. I just wanted to get to Mohican thinking maybe that would help me settle down a little bit. Maybe not, but either way, I was anxious to go.

The class finally ended and I got home as fast as I could. I sat down for a minute to eat lunch with Jenny and Grace. I wanted to spend a few minutes with them because I knew I wouldn’t see them again until the finish line. They were going to stay at home and drive down Saturday afternoon to see me finish so they could get a good night sleep on Friday and wouldn’t have to wait around for me outside ALL DAY on Saturday with nothing to do.

When Matt and I got to Mohican adventures we went in for my race check-in and for Matt to track down the race director (Ryan O’Dell) about his aid station. He found Ryan and got scoop from him, then we went to his aid station to set up. Matt brought a HUGE canopy to set up there but there wasn’t much room. The Park Road aid station really was just a little pull-out on the side of one of the park roads. We somehow managed to get the canopy up and in the right spot (which took some work because there were only two of us and it was so stinking huge). Then we drove over to my hotel, the Mohican River Inn, so I could check in and drop my stuff off. There were two beds and I told Matt he was more than welcome to use one, but he said he wanted to camp at his aid station. We then went back to Mohican adventures for the pasta dinner – just spaghetti with salad, bread, and fruit…but not bad. It was 6:00pm by now and the reality of what I was going to attempt TOMORROW was starting to set in. I was nervous. We sat at a picnic table with some other runners but I didn’t say much because of how I was feeling. The guy across the table was running the 100 (I think) and he said once, “I’m a little concerned because I feel over-confident and under-prepared.” I laughed and said, “Well you’re better off than me because I’m feeling under-confident AND under-prepared.” Everyone assured me I’d do fine because ultra-runners are nice like that…but I was still nervous.

After dinner was the pre-race meeting. They described how the course would be marked in detail (which I was glad for because one big concern I had was getting lost on the trails), and also told of some recent minor course changes. The “private property” loop was to be run at the END of each lap, not at the beginning. They said that loop had one big hill at the end, to remind you that “this is Mohican.” Turns out they mis-counted...

The meeting ended and Matt dropped me off at the hotel. I told him again he was welcome to stay there with me but he said he’d be alright. Minutes after he left a big thunderstorm started with TONS of lightning and rain. I sent him a text but he didn’t come back. I guess he likes roughing it. Jenny called and it was really nice to talk to her. I hate being without my family so I was happy to at least be able to talk to her. My dad called too and said they were worried about me. Thanks for the confidence, Dad. No, he was calling to say good luck and to call them afterwards so they would know I survived. All of a sudden Friday was over and all that was left between me and the race was just a few hours – literally – of sleep.

3:35am my alarm went off. I did get some sleep but the bed was rock hard so it wasn’t great. I ate some breakfast, got dressed, and Matt came to pick me up. He’s a saint, really. He probably got less sleep than I did that night, and he had to stay up the next night too to run the aid station for the 100 milers. I threw all my stuff in my bag and he dropped me off at the starting line. I sat inside until about three minutes before 5:00, then I wandered out toward the start line and found a place way in the back. 5:00am came and we were off. Just like that, my 50 mile attempt was officially underway…SLOWLY. I really couldn’t believe how slow the pace was because we were still in the campground on paved roads. But I was the newbie so I decided it would be best to follow the crowd for a while.

When we got into the woods and started running the trails, I was in heaven. Those trails were absolutely incredible to run. I was still trying to shake off the nerves and it was dark so it took me a little while to notice just how beautiful the course was but man, oh man. If I could, I’d drive down there every day just to run those trails.

The first stretch was a lot of fun for me. I was figuring out how to best attack the trails – when to walk and when to run – and I was entertained by these three Canadian guys running just behind me. They were all good friends and were running the 100 mile race. They had pretty thick Canadian accents and it was a blast to listen to them chat as we ran down the trail.

It seemed like a long time to be running and only cover 5.8 miles, but I finally started to hear voices down below and knew the aid station must be close. Park road was the first aid station and that was Matt’s post. I came in, got some pretzels and gummy bears, refilled my water and had him take a picture of me. It was very nice to see someone I knew.

After park road I came up behind a guy who had the same minimalist running shoes (Merrell Trail Glove) that I did. He was a very cool guy from the Columbus area who was also running his first ultra-marathon. Turns out we had a lot in common and it was great to talk with him. We talked pretty much the whole 4 miles to the next aid station. I left the aid station before him and never saw him again.

The next stretch to covered bridge was a 6 mile section that had some “technical” portions – and by that I mean climbing, literally. It was awesome though and I wouldn’t have changed that part of the course one bit. We had to climb down these big boulders to get down to the bottom of a waterfall. There was only a little water trickling off the top but it was incredible. When I got to the bottom and looked up the view literally stopped me in my tracks. I had to stop and soak in that incredible experience. If I didn’t have 30-some miles left to run I probably would have stayed there all day. It was breathtaking. We ran along a muddy trail for a while then had to climb out. This was a network of roots – kind of like a jungle gym – that we had to climb up, hand over hand. Sure it made the course slower but it was a lot of fun. (here's a you-tube video of it if you're interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glZL1bb20uQ) On this section I met a guy from Michigan who was running his second 100 attempt and was determined to finish this one. (He DNFed his first 100 try.) He was a lot of fun to talk to and gave me some good tips on running. He even gave me one of his electrolyte pills that he uses to prevent cramping. Really, really nice guy.

I don’t remember details about the next parts of the course, but I did notice the pack starting to thin out. I also saw a lady named Colleen Theusch who is well-known around the race. She doesn’t run but she’s always dressed in all purple and is there every year. She was there to cheer us on at the covered bridge aid station and somehow showed up at the very next aid station, Hickory ridge, too.

The section from hickory ridge to the start/finish area included the infamous private property loop. I came into the area where the campground was and knew I must be pretty close to the aid station but I remembered them talking about that one last hill. I ran a flat, two-way section then turned and started up a BIG, steep hill. This must be it, I thought, because this is a killer hill. I walked up it (because it was almost impossible to run up), ran a little at the top, went up some more, then dropped right back down. It was flat for a little bit then started another huge climb. “Wait”, I thought, “I already did the last big hill.” Turns out there were actually four or five very steep, very long climbs in that 2.5 mile loop. Thankfully, I was feeling great at that point, way better than I expected, so I walked up the hills at a pretty good pace and jogged what I could of the steep downhills.

Finally, after the neverending hills, I made it to Mohican adventures. This was a little over halfway. My shirt was soaked so I changed that, got some more food in me and hit the road again. Because I was feeling so good I figured I better get as far down the trail as possible before something went wrong. The pack was pretty much gone by now. I must have been feeling better than most because I started to pass a lot of other runners. Some were visibly struggling, some were just taking it easy because there was still a lot of distance left to cover. I felt like I could keep up my pace as long as I continued to get enough water, sugar and salt. At every aid station I tried to eat something salty, something sweet, and drink Heed.

I hit park road again and Matt took another picture of me:

I was still feeling good so I pushed on. This part of the course was where the second loop was different from the first. The section with the waterfall was cut off and there was a modified loop that went straight to covered bridge without hitting the mountain bike parking aid station. Here, I ran for a bit with a woman who was running her first ultra as well, but she had paced her husband at Mohican last year. She told me about her two teenage daughters that she wanted to come meet her at the finish line but they were being sassy and didn’t want to come. We talked for a while then I ran ahead of her. She surprised me by coming up from behind several minutes later going pretty fast. She was MAD that we hadn’t hit the aid station yet. I guess someone told her it was closer than it actually was and she had run out of water. I gave her the little bit that I had left but it was really only a couple swallows. That was the longest section of course without aid – 6.2 miles according to the course map.

The aid station was covered bridge and I was excited because I knew this was where the podiatry tent would be. It was really cool to see the other students and Dr. Siesel there. I walked over and chatted with them for a little bit. They asked how I was feeling and how far I had left to go. I said I was about mile 40 and was feeling pretty good. Ten miles to go doesn’t seem like tons when you’re running 50 but it’s still a decent run… And with that last hilly loop, it might as well have been 20.

The section from covered bridge to hickory ridge was pretty uneventful. I could feel my energy starting to run out but I was still feeling pretty good and I knew it was the last aid station before the finish line. I drank some soda and got some more pretzels and gummy bears – my staple foods for the race – and started the last stretch.

As I left the aid station I had some shot bloks in my hand that I wanted to transfer to the pouch in my water-bottle holder. I tucked my bottle under my arm to use both hands to do that while I walked down the trail. I couldn’t get the stupid package opened so it took longer than I wanted but finally got everything in the right spot. I looked up and found myself on a wide, clear trail and started running. I came to a fork in the road and noticed it wasn’t marked. The whole race until now had been marked very, very well and there was never any question about which fork to take. I stopped and looked behind me to see nothing but the trail I had come down on. I turned around and started to go back but didn’t see any markings. The road looked so familiar to me that I was SURE it had to be right…but why wasn’t it marked??? I was baffled and my legs were starting to ache. I was very frustrated to say the least. After wandering in the woods for 20 or 30 minutes I finally found the trail. I had missed the turn when I had my head down and walked right past where I was supposed to go. When I got back on track I was mad at myself for wasting so much time and energy, and feeling the throbbing in my lower anterior ankles…and I still had four miles to go. I ran as much as I could but my legs were screaming at me with every step. Finally, I resigned to walking the rest of the way to the finish line. It was just too much pain. Walking hurt too but I was so close there was no way I was going to not finish. When I got to the private property loop more people started passing me. Normally in a race I would hate to be passed so close to the end but this was different. I knew my goal was to just finish and I was so stinking close. I knew at this point the other runners probably just wanted to finish too, and I was happy for them. I was impressed that they still had the strength to run and I wanted them to finish strong…even if I couldn’t. Maybe it was because I couldn’t. I’m not really sure.

On one of the rare flat parts of the private property loop I was passed by Michael Patton, this year’s chief course designer and marker. He was half-way through the 100 and didn’t even look winded. I told him thanks for making a great course and for marking it so well. Course marking was a big concern going into the race because the last thing I wanted to do was get lost. Ironic, huh. The course was marked perfectly...but I got lost anyway because I wasn’t paying attention.

Just after he passed me I walked by some guys in camp chairs outside their RV. The guy asked how it was going and I told him I was OK. He said, “You’re hurting, huh.” I said yeah and he told me it was impressive that I even tried a 50 mile race. It was nice to get a little sympathy and encouragement because I was in a lot of pain.

My mind was a little mushy and I didn’t want to get my hopes up…so I kept telling myself the finish was still far away. I just had to keep my head down and keep walking until I got there. I really couldn’t remember how many climbs there were on that loop…or maybe I lost count because there were so many. Anyway, I came down from one climb and saw a couple boys running up toward me. They told me I was almost done and I thought, “Don’t tell me that. There’s probably another hill.” I was still grumbling about it when I came out of the trees and saw some more people off the trail up ahead. “Am I really almost done??” I finished walking that gravel road and realized it really was the end. I couldn’t believe it. The ground turned to pavement and it hit me that I was actually going to finish a 50 mile race. But I wasn’t going to limp it in so I reached deep and found a hidden reserve of strength to help me run the last quarter mile or so.

I ran up the paved road, turned into the campground and saw the finish line. I saw Jenny and Grace just on the other side. And I finished. My time was 12:54. I'll take it.

I was pretty emotional at the finish line. It really was an indescribable feeling and one that I’ll never forget. It was too much for me to really contain. All race I had been thinking about the parallels between life and an ultra and meeting my family at the finish line really brought that thought process full circle. Life really is like an ultra in so many ways. Maybe I’ll write something about that someday. For now, this is enough...sorry its so long.

Our Girl Grace

2011-09-07T16:38:00.011-06:00

Just thought I'd share some fun pictures of Grace, as well as her latest favs, from the last couple of weeks.

Grace LOVES to help us cook. She's especially good at making pancakes and waffles (she pours in all the ingredients and does much of the stirring), but will do anything we'll let her. ;)
(Note: the Burger King crown and Crocs (shoes) are Grace wardrobe staples these days. She will be in nothing but a diaper, but throw on the crown and shoes, then sling her purse over her shoulder and say "Ready to go!" Too funny!)

Grace's favorite part of playing in our backyard is playing in the water, either at her water table or with the hose. Travis made a "sprinkler" with the hose for her the other day, and she loved running through it!

So. much. fun.

Grace is still in love with her big girl bed. Toys are more fun if they are played with on the bed, books are more interesting if they're read there, bouncing is even better...you get the picture. Tonight after she finished her dinner, she told us she was "ready go to bed," and we chuckled thinking, "Really? Is that right?!", knowing that she in no way wanted to go to sleep yet--just play in her bed for awhile.
I LOVE to see Travis and her reading books together there; totally melts my heart.

And of course, she loves to play with dad. After being around pregnant (low energy) mom all day, "fun-energetic-and-ready-to-play-dad" is a very welcome addition to the home for Grace (and me). Travis is SO good with Grace, and they have so much fun together.

Being a sport and giving mom a big cheesy smile:

We sure do love our Grace girl!

Big Girl Bed

2011-08-24T12:50:00.002-06:00

Last week, we took a leap of faith and switched Grace over to her new toddler bed (for night-time sleeping). I gotta admit--I was a little nervous. I wondered: Would she wake up and be scared? Would she constantly be trying to leave her room? Would she just play with her toys all night? Would this be a majorly rough transition? But all my fears were unfounded. Grace has done absolutely GREAT! There has been no opening of doors, no playing with toys (though she does play with her window shade, silly girl!), and way less bedtime sadness!

She was (and still is) SOOOO excited about her new bed!

In fact, the first night in her toddler bed, she pretty much shooed us out the door after we finished her bedtime routine (which was super impressive since her usual practice in the crib had been to cry when we leave), and proceeded to spend the next hour and a half bouncing on and happily talking to herself in bed before falling asleep.

And now her bedtime routine takes place in her bed. When reading scriptures and stories, we are requested to sit next to her on it ("Mommy sit on bed--a right titder (there)"), and during prayers, she kneels on it and has us kneel by it (since we can't all fit on it). And she still shoos us out the door. Where as before she wanted several songs and for us to hold her (and NEVER put her down), we now have to ask for our hugs and quickly sing a song before she declares "Lay on bed!" and says "Love you, bye!" To be honest, part of me is a little sad and misses the "old" Grace who would cry because she wanted me to hold her one more time or sing another verse of "I am a child of God." But, at the same time, I'm proud of my "new" BIG girl, and excited to see her be so successfully independent. We love you big girl!

28 weeks and...

2011-08-22T12:44:00.006-06:00

Drum roll please...
Today I enter my seventh month of pregnancy AND my 3rd and final trimester!! I have to say, after going through all this early nesting, it's nice to reach this big milestone, and know that our baby really IS coming soon!
In "What to Expect" (my, how I love that book series!), it says that "this week, (my) amazing baby has reached 2 1/2 lbs and may be almost 16 inches long." Also, that she's now blinking and dreaming (aww!). She sure is growing fast!
And so is my belly! ;)

As if on cue, right when I was about to start my 3rd trimester, my belly hit the "uncomfortable any way you sit" phase (so. much. fun.). I've also recently lost most of the amazing energy I've had lately, which makes me very grateful for the things I've been able to accomplish the last couple of weeks (like buying the last big item on our "baby needs list"--a double stroller, pictured below). Now, I just have to hope that I'll get a second nesting wave a few weeks before the baby comes to help me finish up the final preparations!

I can't wait to wheel my two girls around in this baby! (Grace has me wheeling just her around in it already.) ;)

Post Catch Up

2011-08-17T17:20:00.005-06:00

As you all know, our blog experienced quite a lull in posting activity from (let's say) February through June, and while there may be no excuse for it, I'm going to blame it on something I like to call "first trimester syndrome" (aka pregnancy nausea and an all-around feeling of "blah-ness"). However, now that my second trimester is in full swing and my energy is back, I'm happy to say that I'm back in blogging and am making up for lost time! So, keep reading to find not only a recent post of our day at Huntington Beach, but also (catch-up) posts of our late winter/spring/early summer adventures: Summer Fun, Birthdays, Christmas Story House, Happy Easter, The Great Singing Grace, and Holloway's Visit (and soon to come: Nauvoo and Travis' 50 Mile Race). Thanks for stopping by!
Note: All of the new posts have been back-dated to when the originally should have been posted (right after the events), so you might have to look back a few pages to find them. :)

Huntington Beach

2011-08-13T16:40:00.050-06:00

We declared today a family day and headed out to Huntington Beach with our friends, the Miskins (Kory, Elizabeth, and Conner).
For the first time in a LONG time, my inner photographer emerged...and it felt SO GOOD.
As a result, I took LOTS of pictures and will be posting LOTS of them here. :) So, enjoy!

Huntington Beach:

We walked and walked down the beautiful beach...

...until we came to our (perfect) spot (and can I just say, Travis can sure pick 'em!):

We set down our things and set off to play!

Here we are playing with the Miskins:

Grace and Conner are pretty much BFF. ;) Too cute!

Elizabeth and Conner catching some waves:

Grace and Conner LOVED playing in the sand! (It was a good thing we both brought lots of sand toys!)
Conner:

The Grace girl:

(I love her sweet face!)

Grace thought it was so neat to run her hands through the sand (or "dirt" as she called it; probably because playing in the dirt isn't typically encouraged by mom):

She could have played in the sand all day :)

Travis and I...
In the usual self-portrait:

And the not-so-usual feet photo:

And Grace, with lots of smiles...

...and a few funny faces:

This is often how Grace comes to us when we call her. SO funny!

Speaking of Grace walking...doesn't this totally look like a big foot pose? Grace the Sasquatch!

We played, then had a nice picnic lunch, and played some more!

Grace & Travis (she just LOVES her time with dad):

Daddy-daughter footprints :)

:)

Playing in the sand together:

Grace & Me:

Holding hands :) (Melts my heart!)

After some long, hard test weeks, it was SO nice to have a family day together. (Thanks Miskins for joining us!) We loved our time at the beach and can't wait to go back again next summer!

Summer Fun

2011-08-11T15:42:00.018-06:00

Poor Travis has had a super busy summer this year with boards (a BIG medical school test) in mid-July (and weeks beforehand to study for it), and more school tests at the beginning of this month to study for and take. So while he's been hitting the books hard, Grace and I have kept ourselves busy with playdates and library story times (it's a pretty rough life, huh? ;) But we have sure missed having Travis along on our adventures :( ).

Anyways, we are so blessed to be in a ward with lots of other great podiatry student and other young families, and Grace and I have enjoyed getting together lots with them this summer!
Our most regular adventures have been going to library story times on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, and play dates at the park with some other moms and kids from the ward on Thursdays.
On June 29th, our little park playgroup went to Preston's Hope Playground (in Beachwood).
We had gone here last summer too, but now that Grace is super mobile, she enjoyed running all around the playground by herself!
Taking a break from exploring to swing with mom:

She's really become a great climber lately, and climbed up the stairs...

...and onto the dinosaur all by herself!

The sandbox was a big hit with all the kids:

Grace having fun on one of the rockers with "friend Grace":

Big smiles!

We LOVE getting together to play every week with our friends!

We decided to buy a Zoo pass this summer, and it's been SO nice to have! We've been at least 5 times already (whether it be just Grace and I, as a family, or Grace and I with friends). We love the whole zoo, but our favorite exhibits are the bats, fish, wolves, birds, sea lions, turtles, and elephants. We're excited to use our pass in the fall and winter too!

Watching the birds in the Zoo Rainforest:

Last time we were there, the same pink birds from the above picture jumped down and walked around by us! We thought it was pretty cool!

The beautiful foliage outside the Rainforest:

On July 29th, we headed to the Memphis Kiddie Park for some fun with our friends Elizabeth and Conner.
Grace was super brave and went on the boat ride all by herself. I was SO proud!

She loved "driving" it and ringing the bell (and eating the string):

Grace opted out of the carousel ride, but Conner had a couple of great rides on it:

The big hit ride of the day (for Grace and me) was the train ride. I just loved snuggling my girl as we took a ride (or two ;) ) around the park, watching all the rides and people go by.

Grace and Conner both decided to be brave and try the car ride together.
Cuteness!

Riding away together. :)

Their feelings about the car ride were a little mixed, and a few tears were shed, but they finished it and Elizabeth and I were proud of them!
Thanks for sharing the morning with us Elizabeth and Conner! We had a great time with you!

On Monday (this week), our friends Courtney, Luke, and Leo invited us to join them at the Museum of Natural History. (Unfortunately, I forgot to bring my camera :(, but) Grace had a great time with Luke and Leo coloring, "digging," and playing with blocks, puzzles, and dinosaurs, and I enjoyed watching Grace learn and explore, and having girl talk with Courtney. :) Thanks again guys for bringing us along!

And this past Wednesday our good friends Misty and Grace invited us to play with them at one of our favorite places: The Great Lakes Science Center. We always love getting together with Misty and "friend Grace," and had a great morning playing and talking together there!

Grace checking herself out in the funny mirrors:

Grace LOVES playing in water, and had so much fun playing in the (new-to-us) outdoor portion of the kids area:

The Graces :)

Checking out the touch and feel wall:

Grace thought the ball-sucker toy was pretty neat...

...so neat in fact that she thought she'd stick her arm up in it to learn more about it :)

Ahhh...a kid-friendly computer. Grace loved it, and I loved being able to let her have free reign on a computer (for once)!

The Grace's experimenting with the headphones. The cuties!

We had SO much fun! Thanks again Misty & Grace for letting us join you!

It's been a great, busy summer. And it's really flown by; I can't believe it's almost over! So, here's hoping we'll have a nice, long fall, so we can enjoy more fun times with our friends (and now Travis too)!

25 Weeks

2011-08-06T21:01:00.003-06:00

25 weeks...can I really be that far along?! It's so crazy to think that I'm over halfway with this pregnancy, and that in just 15 (short) weeks, our baby will be here.

25 week baby bump photo:

I don't know if this is the typical time to be nesting, but boy am I! I've been on a major baby-stuff kick lately, and have been madly checking things off the list of baby needs, from clothes, to Christmas presents, to bassinets (plus cleaning all the things that we already have). It feels so good to know that in terms of "gear," we're almost totally ready for our baby to come. Plus, buying things for our little girl to wear or play with makes me that much more excited for her arrival. :)

A friend of ours tipped me off to a GREAT sale on baby things, which really helped us fill out our little girl's wardrobe. Here are some of the finds:

Now I feel like I just need a refresher on basic baby protocol, like swaddling & feeding & napping. But I have 3 more months for that, right? ;)

I went in for another Dr. appointment this past Thursday, and got the news that our baby's heartbeat is still nice and strong and that I'm measuring (lbs and belly wise) almost spot on. :) (It's always SO reassuring to hear those things!) In terms of development (from What to Expect), our baby girl is 9 inches long and 1 1/2 lbs in weight this week! Her face is almost fully formed, she has facial and body hair, and her lungs and capillaries are further developing. Also, her kicks are getting stronger and more frequent, which has been fun since I can now see her move from the outside and Travis can now feel her too! All in all, she's looking and acting more and more like the little one we'll meet in 3 months (did I mention that we can't wait?!). :) Grace just loves to look at the "picture of baby sister" in the book and on our blog, and to talk about what baby sister will do when she comes ("cry all the time"). It's so fun to have her share in the excitement of baby with us!

Til next time dear readers...

Happy You & Me Day

2011-07-29T11:31:00.021-06:00

For our 4 year anniversary, Travis and I decided to go on a harbor cruise around Lake Erie. And I'm so glad we did! The 3 1/2 hour cruise felt way too short--I never wanted it to end!

Our cruise ship, the Nautica Queen:

We boarded right in the heart of downtown, in an area called the "Flats" (because it's the lowest part of the city), surrounded by buildings from the 1800's.

Once the ship left the shore, we were fed a buffet dinner of various salads, fresh fruit, rolls, green beans, roasted potatoes, beef, and chicken.
Here we are waiting at our table before dinner begins:

We stuffed ourselves silly for dinner. And for dessert, we had NY cheesecake with raspberry sauce--YUM (still not sure how we squeezed it in)!

The morning and early afternoon of our anniversary had been rainy and gray, but thankfully God answered my silent prayers and blessed us with a beautiful evening. :)

It was wonderful to watch the sun set over the water (and very romantic ;) ):

After dinner, we headed out on deck to better take in the view.

It was warm and breezy--perfect.

A nice man saw us taking the above pictures and asked us if he could take some pictures for us (he basically said "Here, give me that camera and get over there!"):

The lovebirds:

Thanks again nice man!

Heading back toward the city, from the bow of the ship:

The skyline:

After being in the front of the ship for awhile, we decided to go up on top...

...where we got these pictures of the city as the sun set...

...and danced to a slow song just before the night was through.

We had a wonderful time talking, eating, laughing, sightseeing, cuddling, kissing, and dancing. It was the perfect setting to remind me of how in love I am with Travis and how much I love him too...and always will. Happy Anniversary, my love! I'm so glad I get to spend forever with you!

Baby Names & Preggo Pic

2011-07-25T07:01:00.005-06:00

We finally narrowed down the list of baby names to our top 5 picks, and would love to hear what your favorites are. Just go to the poll on the top left side of our blog to vote! (Note: you can only vote once, but if you'd like to give a shout out for your #2 & 3 picks, you can leave a comment under this post).

And because we're on the topic of babies, here's a pic of my baby bump from Week 23:

21/22 Week Update

2011-07-11T08:27:00.004-06:00

Since I saw the Dr. last Thursday, I wanted to give everyone another update on our baby. The Dr. said that our little girl's heartbeat is strong and that my tummy is measuring right on (21 cm for 21 weeks), so everything looks good! According to "What to Expect", our baby is 1 lb in weight and almost 8 inches long this week (week 22), and is developing all of her senses. She's also getting more coordinated. Example: I asked Grace this morning if we should sing baby a song and suggested we sing "If you're happy and you know it" (since that's her favorite one to sing for FHE). Well, when we got to "If you're happy and you know it, shout hooray," baby sister gave me a little punch in the stomach. It was a pretty funny coincidence. I love feeling our baby kick, and am so grateful I get to feel her every day.

And since my mom always wants to know how big my tummy is now:
Week 21:

Week 22:

And a picture from today of our sweet Grace to make you smile:

The Great Singing Grace

2011-07-10T15:42:00.001-06:00

Grace has become quite the little singer lately, and since she usually won't perform for more than 2 seconds when we pull out the video camera, I was SO excited when I was able to capture her singing some of her favorite songs on video at lunch today.
So here she is in her blog musical debut singing...

"Popcorn Popping" (unfortunately my camera malfunctioned and I didn't catch the whole thing. I was SO bummed! I love her little signs with it though :) ):

"The Itsy Bitsy Spider":

The "ABC Song":

And "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star":

We love to hear her sing, and are so glad that she enjoys music as much as we do!

It's a...GIRL!!!

2011-06-23T12:18:00.009-06:00

It's not dejavu. It's true! Baby #2 is a GIRL! We are SO excited to be having another girl, and for Grace to be having a little sister. We hope the two of them will be fast friends, as well as best friends for life.

As promised, here's a preggo pic of me from today at 19 1/2 weeks:

And now, of course, more pictures of our little cutie!
These first 3 are of our baby girl's feet, profile, and arm:

And these 3 are of the baby's profile and face:

Pretty cute, huh? ;)

The ultrasound tech said the baby's heartbeat was perfect, and that her (it's so nice to be able to say "her" and not "it"!) leg and head measurements look great too (she's measuring just 2 days behind my due date, so right on schedule!).
I didn't want to take my eyes off the screen, to stop looking at her spine, her "skeletor" face, her long legs, her little feet as she rubbed them together, or her arms that she kept "waving" at us by her face. She was so perfect and beautiful, and looking at her made me love her that much more. I'm already craving holding her in my arms & shushing her back to sleep at night. *Sigh* But at least we're halfway there!

You might be wondering if we have a name picked out now. Well...we're still at a loss! Funny thing is, Travis and I were just saying to each other last night that if this one's a girl, we're in trouble, because after looking through our book of "50,001 Best Baby Names" there were only TWO girl names that the both of us really liked last time around, and I'm not sure that we'll go with choice #2 (Kailey). But I hear that tastes in names change, and I'm hoping that's the case for us, and that we'll find another girl name that we really love for our little one (I'm sure we will!). And, thankfully, now that we know what we're having, I'm excited to let this naming business begin!

Anyways, I'll be back in weeks to come with more pregnancy pics and updates about our little girl (including a name poll). 'Til then!

Birthday Stuff

2011-06-15T11:44:00.012-06:00

Grace's "Grammy" and "Poppy" were very sweet and sent her some money for her birthday, and it's been fun deciding what to get her with her special money. The first two things we bought were a new pool and some sand toys for her water/sand table, and so here, Grammy and Poppy, are some pictures (from this last week) of Grace enjoying her birthday presents!

Can you tell that she loves them?!

Grace loves to "play outside day" as much as possible, and these new toys have made playing in the backyard so much more fun!

Throwing some water with her shovel:

And dumping it on herself:

Smiling for mom: :)

Dad had the great idea to make a water slide...

and Grace thought it was SO fun!

She's so enjoyed all of the little toys we've been able to buy with the money. Thank you again and again!

We're Pregnant!

2011-06-13T19:07:00.005-06:00

(A picture of me 16 weeks pregnant.)

As most of you probably already know, we are pregnant with BABY #2! After many months of trying and praying we are so SO excited to be adding another member to our family. Baby #2 is due November 14th (so "baby" and Grace will be almost exactly 2 1/2 years apart when "baby" is born).

Grace already understands (at least somewhat) that a new family member is coming along, as, since we told her we were pregnant, she has started being extra sweet to babies she sees and giving kisses to the baby (via mommy's tummy). She's such a sweet, thoughtful girl that we know she'll make a great big sister.

As for "Mommy," I've definitely experienced some nausea (& fatigue, bloating, restless nights...) this pregnancy (particularly the first trimester), but my nausea has been MUCH better this time around than in my pregnancy with Grace, and now that I'm in the 2nd trimester, I'm feeling much less nauseus and have more energy and drive.

It's weird to be on pregnancy #2 and feel that we're both prepared for this baby and not prepared at all, so it's good to know we have a few months left to for sure get everything ready for our next little one. For example, we haven't even thought about names (we wanted to wait until we found out the gender), but since we have our next ultrasound in 1 1/2 weeks, things will get rolling in that department very soon. We'll really be ok no matter the sex, but I'm dying to find out which one it is! And on that note, I'll sign off on pregnancy news for now and check back in with the gender and a new pregnancy pic in a couple weeks!

Birthdays

2011-05-30T21:30:00.000-06:00

Since I'm a little late in posting about our big days, I thought I'd group them all together and just give you a quick run-down. So here's...

Grace's Birthday--May 7, 2011

The birthday girl:

Getting the party started:

Even Baby was in the party spirit:

One of Grace's favorite dinner's right now is cheese pizza, so a pizza party it was!
Her "personal pan pizza":

When discussing with my mom what to do for Grace's birthday cake, the word "pie" came up, and Grace got really excited about it, so I decided to make her a pumpkin pie (which she LOVED at Thanksgiving and Christmas last year).

She was pretty excited about it. (This is Grace realizing that it is HER birthday :) )

The whipped cream and sprinkles were her favorite part:

After birthday pie, she opened presents. She LOVED these colored necklaces:

Some books and tapes from Grammy & Poppy:

Swim stuff:

And a new toy:

Rachel & Brandon and the kids joined us for the festivities and we loved having them celebrate with her!
A very (belated) Happy Birthday to our sweet girl! We can't believe you're already 2 (where have these last 2 years gone?!)!!

Jenny's Birthday--April 19th, 2011

Travis was a major sweetheart and blew up these balloons and put little messages inside for my "card"...

...and he got me some gorgeous long-stem roses (with another sweet little note) too. I was a happy girl :)

Since I was in prime pregnancy nausea time (and super sweet things were a no-go), Travis made me a dessert pizza for my "cake" (he let me decorate it though). And OH did it hit the spot!!

We brought it over to share with Brandon and Rachel and the kids:

Making a wish:

It was a great day!

Travis' Birthday--March 13, 2011

We invited our friends the Miskin's over for Travis' birthday dinner (of crock pot lasagna), and finished the meal with his favorite--root beer cake:

Blowing out the candles:

Afterwards, he opened up his presents--Madden NFL 11 (for the Wii) and some new (Merrill Trail Glove) running shoes--then played some Wii football with Kory.
Happy happy (belated) Birthday Travis! We love you and are SO glad you're apart of our family!!

Holloway's Visit

2011-05-23T16:00:00.000-06:00

Travis' parents came out for a brief visit this past week to attend Brandon's graduation from OCPM, and we loved having them here!

Dave treated Travis and Brandon to a tour of the Pro Football Hall of Fame (in Canton) one afternoon.
Here they are in front of the museum:

Travis and Brandon doing the Heisman:

And a few shots from inside:
Joe Montana's statue:

And some football helmets through the ages:

After the museum, the guys hit up Penn Station for lunch (yum!). They had a great guys afternoon out!

Another day, Rachel and Brandon and the kids, Dave & Anita, and us all went to the kiddie park for some fun.
Here we are riding the carousel:

Kaden, Spencer, and Grace all went on the boat ride (it was Grace's first time and she did great!).
Waving at the crowd:

Riding with the Kaden kid:

Grace also rode on the roller coaster with Travis (which ended up being a little much for her, so we'll be sticking to the low and slow rides from now on!).
The pre-ride excitement:

Up, up and away!

Coming back around the bend (with Anita & Spencer riding in the car ahead):

We always love going to the kiddie park, and it was great to have Dave & Anita in on the fun.

In between outings, the kids enjoyed having special time with "Grammy and Poppy."

While they were here, we also enjoyed celebrating Jenna's birthday, going out for birthday dessert at Applebees, attending Brandon's graduation and eating at Famous Daves afterwards, going on walks, and spending lots of time talking/playing games after the kiddos were in bed.
Grammy and Poppy, we miss you already and hope you can visit us again soon!

A Christmas Story House

2011-04-28T10:45:00.001-06:00

One of the things that Cleveland is famous for is that it's where (a part of) the movie "A Christmas Story" was filmed, and where there now is "A Christmas Story" house and museum.
Rachel & I decided that this was a Cleveland landmark that just couldn't be missed, so today we got the families together and took ourselves a tour.
We started the tour in the museum, where they had all sorts of memorabilia from the movie (clothes, antique toys, pictures, etc.), as well as a gift shop full of all things "A Christmas Story." There, we also met and talked for a while with a man who had played a small part in the movie (and become friends with the "dad"), and heard some of his memories from making the movie.

Some pictures and clothes from the filming of the movie:

After the museum, we headed over to the house where many of the scenes were filmed:

The famous leg lamp:

The living room:

The kitchen (I always love seeing old furniture and appliances in places like this; it's so neat to get a glimpse of the past!):

Some of the upstairs rooms:

Also in the house were some costumes/hats from the movie that they let tourists try on.
Here are Grace and I trying out Ralphie's ridiculous bunny costume:

(I'm trying to display how Ralphie felt wearing it)

It was a neat experience, and made us wish we had watched the movie again before going. Definitely something that big fans of "A Christmas Story" shouldn't miss!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-25T11:27:00.000-06:00

Doesn't the smell of blooming flowers just outside your door say "Spring" somehow?
I just love their fragrance--and especially how the scents remind me of springs back home in Issaquah--and the sense of "rebirth" that the blooms bring.

Speaking of rebirth...
The day before Easter, Grace and her cousins (Jenna, Kaden, and Spencer) took part in a little Easter egg hunt (or two) in our backyard.
Since it was Grace's first real egg hunt, we gave her a little head start :).
And she's off!

Success!

A happy hunter:

Grace learned pretty quickly that there was candy inside (and that this egg hunting thing was about the greatest thing ever).

She loved L.O.V.E.D hunting for Easter eggs, and could literally do it everyday, several times a day (which we've done some days since)!

A tradition of ours has always been to dye Easter eggs, which we did again this year (sans Grace) on Easter eve.
The dye spread:

My eggy creations:

Travis' works of art:

After we finished dying eggs, we put out Grace's Easter basket. It was SO fun to put it together (like Christmas Eve all over again)!

But even MORE fun to see her reaction on Easter morning! :)
"Ooh! Wow!"

"Yum! More candy-filled eggs!"

We made Rachel's Resurrection rolls for Easter breakfast for the first time this year, and loved them! They'll definitely be a part of our Easter traditions from now on!

Grace and I in our "Easter dresses":

After Church we had a yummy Easter dinner with Rachel and Brandon and some friends (another Easter tradition that Rachel helped us start last year that we'll also be continuing).
It was a very happy Easter for us, and we hope yours was too!

New Post

2011-03-10T11:20:00.001-07:00

Look beneath Grace's new videos for my latest post--Chili Bowl 5k!

Latest Grace Videos

2011-03-03T12:14:00.003-07:00

Here are several entertaining videos of Grace taken in January and February of this year. Hope you enjoy!

I had been asking Grace to say a few new phrases (which she can say, but didn't want to), when all of a sudden she proclaimed...

"I WANNA WATCH THE BABY (ME)!"

It was so funny I had to get her to say it again!

(It's hard to capture her doing anything in videos these days because she is FAR more interested in watching the videos than in having them taken of her--hence the "stop filming me please so I can watch the video already!".)

The funniest thing about this video is how much Grace laughs when she watches it (every time! She thinks she's pretty funny stuff!)

We recently learned that Grace has basically memorized her favorite books, and can often finish the pages for us (especially if they're rhyming), so we captured her doing that in the next two videos:
Travis and Grace reading a book called "Moo Baa la la la":

Travis and Grace reading a book called "I love you as much":

We love our smart, funny girl!

Chili Bowl 5k

2011-02-19T10:54:00.002-07:00

Although I'd done a family 5k with Travis and his siblings in the summer, I thought it'd be fun to do an "official" one as well (and that training for it would be a great way to stay in shape). So today, Rachel and I (with Travis and Grace along for support) headed to Tower 230 in downtown Cleveland for our first "official" 5k!

The front of Tower 230 was our start/finish line (they were the sponsors for this event):

Crystal Carlson (a friend from Church) met us there to join in the fun. Here we all are before the race (with race numbers on and "chips" on our shoes):

It was a COLD and WINDY morning to race, but the sky was sunny and clear, and the course was picturesque, running along some downtown streets, then by the Brown's stadium and along Lake Erie (it was a really neat view of the city, to see it by foot).
The race officials warmed us up afterwards with steaming bowls of Tower 230 chili (which was pretty good!).
Rachel and I with our chili:

My main goal for the race was to beat my previous time of 40 minutes, and my "dream goal" was to run it in 35 minutes. So, I was VERY happy when I crossed the finish line at 35:12! Never having considered myself a runner, I got a big sense of accomplishment in finishing my first official race!

Grace's first snow experience

2011-01-12T11:59:00.001-07:00

Today was Grace's first REAL experience IN the snow (complete with hat, gloves, boots, and sledding).
Strutting her stuff in her snow gear:

Can I just say how much I LOVE her kitty hat?! I just think she's so adorable in it!

Looking good!

Checking out the snow...

WHOOPS! And falling into it...

Then brushing herself off and moving on to more fun:

Checking out uncle Brandon's snow cave ("What is this?")

Uncle Brandon was sweet enough to give her a ride in the sled around their yard. Though VERY interested, Grace started off a little unsure...
Here we go!

But in the end, she thought sledding was pretty great!

Sweet daddy taking her for another turn:

More smiles:

Needless to say, she had a great "first" time in the snow!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-01T11:09:00.001-07:00

Since we were going to Idaho to visit Travis' family for Christmas, we put our decorations up early so we could enjoy them for as long as possible:
u

Every year we do a gingerbread house, and this year was no different (we thought it turned out pretty well :) ):

After all the anticipation, here we are at the airport, getting ready to leave on a jet plane (for our 2 week vacation in Idaho):

We spent the first couple of days in Rexburg: going to the new BYUI Auditorium dedication & touring the new parts of campus; having lunch with Tyler and Tia at Bajios; visiting more family and friends (aunt Terri and uncle Jarom, grandma and grandpa Larsen, and our friend Mary from Great Harvest), and getting some yummy Great Harvest bread. It was SO nice to be on our old stomping grounds, and see our friends and loved ones from Idaho again!

Here we are at the auditorium dedication:

Santa came a little early to our house (since Chelsi's girls were going to spend Christmas with their dad in Washington this year).
Grace was a little awestruck:

Chelsi and her girls with Santa:

We went to the mall one day for a little last minute shopping, and Grace had fun riding the toys and seeing Santa (who she kept waving to and smiling at, very excitedly!):

My Aunt Carol and Cousins Elysia and Audrey (and her daughter Abby) were sweet enough to come over from Twin Falls to visit with us for a few hours one day. It was SO nice to see them again and catch up!!

And Grace and Abby turned out to be pretty good buds :)

Grandma reading Grace "The Night Before Christmas" (where Grace learned that Santa says "ho ho ho"--pretty cute to hear!):

Grace lovin on her new cousin Carson:

It's a Holloway tradition to act out the Christmas story (as well as sing Christmas songs), and our Christmas Eve wouldn't have been complete without it! (My niece and nephew Megan and Gavin were Mary and Joseph, and Tyler and Travis were the shepherds.)

We were SO excited for Christmas morning with Grace, to see her reactions as she opened her presents. :)
We discovered that she's a big fan of stockings...

Hooray for fruit!

A new baby doll was Grace's big Christmas present, and we were so pleased when it turned out to be a success!

Also a hit was her alphabet letter magnet set:

Grace also had fun playing with aunt Cassie's jewlery...

...and her cousins new toys...

...and watching Signing Time (of course)!

Our last night there, we drove down to Salt Lake with Mom, Dad, Chelsi and her girls, Tyler, and Tia, to see the lights in Temple Square. After we got to our hotel, we hit up the awesome pool (complete with an indoor/outdoor waterslide), had a pizza party in the party room, then hit the town to see the lights.
Here we are in the Temple Square visitor's center:

Then out into the chilly night to see the lights:

They were SO beautiful!

They had put all of these neat nativities displays around the Square:

It was truly a winter wonderland!

After the lights, we went back to the hotel, put the kiddos to bed, then stayed up late having an early New Year's Eve party, complete with munchies and lots of Phase 10.
And in the morning, we said goodbye to our loved ones, then caught our early flight home.

We had SUCH a wonderful Christmas, and came home feeling very blessed for the family we have and all that we've been given. Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Letter

2010-12-25T10:09:00.000-07:00

Dear loved ones,

Another year has passed--how quickly they go by! And in case you haven't been following us on our blog, here's an update of what we were up to in 2010.

Travis completed his first year of Podiatry school in July (with a 4.0 GPA), and the first semester of his second year of school in December (with a 3.9 GPA). We are SO proud of him for all of the hard work he puts in to his future career! Travis continues to enjoy serving as a counselor in the Young Men's Presidency in our Ward, and is a great example to the boys he works with. When he's not studying or serving, he enjoys running (he hopes to run a 50K next year), spending time with his family, watching sports, and playing our new Wii.

Jenny continues her "work" as a stay at home mom to Grace, and loves it more every day. We feel very blessed that she's able to stay home and do this important work. She also serves in our Ward as both the Compassionate Service Leader and Ward Choir director, and is grateful for the ways in which these callings help her grow. When she's not serving in these capacities, she enjoys reading, crafting, and spending time with her family and the other women in the Ward.

Grace is now 20 months old, and is a great joy in our lives. She is currently very interested in colors and numbers, and can now recognize most of the colors and the numbers 1-10. She is a great talker and signer, and impresses us every day with her growing vocabulary, and we enjoy having more interaction with her. She is now in the Nursury class in our Ward, and is starting to enjoy playing with the other kids there. We're so grateful for how Grace makes us laugh everyday, and how she helps us become better people.

We enjoyed several vacations as a family as well as visits from family this year. In March, Jenny and Grace traveled to Louisiana to attend the baby blessing of our nephew Sean. In July, we enjoyed a visit from Jenny's parents, during which we all traveled to Palmyra, NY to attend the Hill Cumorah Pageant and see the Church History sites there. Also in July, we celebrated our 3 year anniversary. =) In August, we were blessed to have much of Travis' family visit, and enjoyed seeing the sites of Cleveland and the Church History sites around here with them. And in December, we flew out to Idaho to spend Christmas with Travis' family, and had a wonderful visit there. We feel so blessed to have been able to spend so much time with our loved ones this year, and to get to have family living nearby (Travis' brother and sister-in-law) while we're far away from "home." We're also grateful to have such a wonderful friends here (especially in our Ward), that help make our home here truly feel like "home." Indeed, we have been, and feel very blessed with the life God has given us.

With love and best wishes for a Happy New Year to you and yours,

Jenny, Travis, and Grace Holloway

Colors of the Rainbow

2010-12-12T13:17:00.004-07:00

One of Grace's favorite things to talk about/identify these days is COLORS. So, here's a video of her talking about a few of her favorite things. =)

P.S. She's getting upset because she wants me to stop recording so she can see the video of herself...funny girl!

Our Talking Girl

2010-12-08T12:31:00.002-07:00

Here are a few videos we took a couple days ago of our talking girl. Enjoy!

Halloween

2010-10-31T22:02:00.000-06:00

We had a fun filled Halloween weekend this year! On Friday, we attended our Ward's Halloween Party, where Grace dressed up as a princess and colored and trunk-or-treated (of course, she thought taking candy from people's buckets was pretty great), and we all mingled and ate cupcakes and other goodies.

Here's sweet princess Grace:

Then on Saturday we went to a friends for a low-key Halloween Party, where we ate chili and hung out. And after we put Grace to bed, Travis and I carved our pumpkins (don't be too impressed--they were patterns; but I did think they turned out pretty good!).

Travis' haunted house pumpkin:

My pumpkin patch pumpkin:

And today (Halloween itself), we decorated Halloween cookies with Brandon and Rachel and the kids and handed out candy to the trick-or-treaters. All in all, we had a great Halloween weekend!

New posts

2010-10-22T12:04:00.004-06:00

Once again, I've fallen behind in my posting, so scroll down to find my new posts on:
*"An Evening with Richard Paul Evans"
(and then below "All About Grace")
*"Grace's New Ride"
*"Sunflowers," and
*"Patterson Farms."
Thanks for stopping by! =)

A Night with Richard Paul Evans

2010-10-14T17:16:00.007-06:00

So a couple of months ago, I saw a flyer for "An Evening with Richard Paul Evans" at our local library and I thought "Hey, I've never read any of his books, but my mom loves him; I should go to this in honor of her." Well, fast forward a couple weeks, and I've decided "Might as well read one of his books so I have something intelligent to say if I talk to him." So I got a copy of his first book, "The Christmas Box," from the library and loved it. Anxious to read more, I then read his "Christmas Box Miracle," and then "The Timepeice" and "The Letter" (the other two books in the Christmas Box Trilogy). As you can probably guess, by the time the event came around, I was a devoted fan, and was now very eager to meet my new favorite author!

It was a great event!
First, RPE (my nickname for Richard Paul Evans =) ) took our picture so he could post it on Facebook (there were about 200 of us fans there, and if you go to his fan facebook page, you might just be able to pick me out of the crowd in the picture he's taking here!).

Then RPE talked for an hour and a half about his journey as an author, things that he's learned along the way, and his upcoming works. After that, he did a quick Q&A (and I got to ask him a question!).

And finally, we headed to another room for the book signing.
After RPE signed my books (one for me, one for my mom), I got a picture with him...

...and since the girl who took our picture didn't like it, I got another!

I loved getting the opportunity to meet and talk with RPE. He was very genuine, and was really great with us fans. His books are truly inspired, and I'm so excited to read more of them!

All About Grace

2010-10-07T11:44:00.006-06:00

Since it's been a while since I've done one, here's a post all about our Grace.
Grace has gone through a language explosion this last month, both in spoken word and in signs.

She can now say:
mommy
daddy
me
doggy
bye
hi
car
home (she'll even go to her stroller or the door and say "home" as in "lets go home now!")
cracker
cookie ("cu-khe")
please ("deese")
sky
baby ("bebe")
banana ("nana")
Jesus ("dedus")
Carter
Bobby
hot dog
ball ("ba")
cat ("dat")
go
cold ("coh")
cool
beep
outside ("sie")
slide ("slie")
bubble
boy
girl
potty ("py-ee")
boo
lala (singing)
ra-ra ("rubber ducky")
woof ("ff")

And she can now sign:
please
more
baby
ball (like more)
boy
girl
monkey
deer
dog
cat
wolf
fish
juice
eat
swim
flower
brush teeth
cracker
bird (by sticking her finger up her nose)
cookie
sad
sleep

She can also point to various body parts when asked (on her, but also us), including:
nose
eyes
head
ears
tongue (she just sticks it out when asked actually)
teeth
belly button
toes

In other news, she now has 16 teeth and long hair (past her shoulders). She loves to drive her "cozy coupe" car, dance, read, sing songs with mom and dad, be chased, play outside, climb, watch signing time and online music videos, blow on her food, blow kisses/kiss her toys, give hugs, and dip her food in ranch (she's my daughter all right). And now that I've boasted about her extensively, here are a few videos of her dancing and being incredibly silly! =)
(I like to think that she's breakdancing and doing "thriller" moves in the 2nd and 3rd ones personally. =) )

Grace's New Ride

2010-10-03T17:16:00.001-06:00

We got this Cozy Coupe car for Grace for Christmas, but after realizing that we wouldn't be able to take it to Idaho with us, and seeing how much she LOVES Rachel and Brandon's kid's car, we gave in and gave her present early today! She was SO EXCITED!!

She just kept pointing at the box and saying "Car! Car!"

And if that didn't tell you how she felt, the look on her face in these pictures would do it--pure joy. =)

Now she loves to say "bye!" to us, then happily get in her car and drive off, honking her horn and turning the key as she goes. We just love our little driver! =)

Merry early Christmas Grace!

Sunflowers

2010-10-01T14:46:00.002-06:00

I took these pictures out at Patterson Farm's as well, but since that post was already chocked full of pics, I decided to make this post just of my fun sunflower pictures. Enjoy!

Patterson Farms

2010-10-01T12:16:00.002-06:00

Today, we headed out with Brandon & Rachel and the kids to one of our favorite fall spots--Patterson Farms. We loved our time there so much last year that we just had to go back!

Here we are outside the Farm's little country store, where the fun begins:

Then on our tractor ride out to the farm:

We love Patterson Farms because it has SO many great things for the whole family, like SLIDES:

(including their famous 50-foot slide:)

(Trav and I took turns sliding down it with Grace, who is a BIG slide fan!)

TRACTORS:

(I love the look on her face, like "Look at me riding this tractor all by myself. I am pretty hot stuff!")

PUMPKINS:

(Grace givin' em a little love pat:)

(And with her pumpkin vine walking stick--pretty ingenius, huh?)

STILTS:

(This is one of my favorite things at the Farm. Here Trav and I are in a race, seeing who can make it to Brandon first. =))

(Trav struttin' his stuff:)

(I'm proud to say that my stilt-walking skills have greatly improved since last year =).)

SILLY PHOTO OPS:

(Don't we make a cute pumpkin family?)

CORN MAZES:

(In the kid's-size corn maze:)

(Grace thought playing hide-and-go-seek and peek-a-boo in here was super fun!)

(In the full-size corn maze:)

(This is me with a "V" for "victory" for completing the corn maze this time!)

TEE-PEES:

and SANDBOXES:

(If you look closely you can see Grace's mouth bubble. She's actually quite the accomplished bubble blower. =) )

So you see why Patterson Farms has become one of our fall family traditions? And we can't wait to go back next year!

Post Catch Up

2010-09-06T10:53:00.003-06:00

Since I'm doing some catch-up posting, but have back-dated the posts, please look below my post on the Brown's game to see my posts on the Buddy Walk, Hershberger's Farm , Akron Zoo, Niagara Falls, Kirtland, Train ride, and the rest of our Palmyra trip. Also, check back soon for a few more posts (that will also be posted under the Brown's game) on our Holloway Family Reunion. Thanks! =)

GO BROWNS!!

2010-09-03T11:35:00.007-06:00

Last night, Travis and I went on a big date to our first NFL game!

We saw the Cleveland Browns play the Chicago Bears:

It was a gorgeous night:

And we got there just in time!
Here they're doing the singing of the Star Spangled Banner to start the game:

The love birds sitting in the stands:

(The lady in the corner here took the above picture for us =) ).

We were in a sea of orange!

#12, Quarterback Colt McCoy (former UT qb), led our fearless team for the 1st half.

Go Browns Go!

And we emerged...VICTORIOUS! It was a 13-10 win!

We had such a good time and can't wait to do it again next year!

Buddy Walk 2010

2010-08-21T11:34:00.001-06:00

This morning, we participated in The Upside of Down's Buddy Walk, in support of a young man in our ward who has down syndrome, and the other special children in our area.
Before the walk, Grace got her face painted and a Blues Clues "tatoo" at a couple of the booths they had set up, and then we hung out with our friends from the ward who had also come and danced to the music.
For the walk, we did one loop around the outside of Progressive Field (Indian's Stadium), and one loop around the Field itself. We even got to sit in one of the dugouts!! It was really cool!
Then afterwards, we ate a nice lunch that they provided in the stands, and headed home.
It was a neat experience to be there with those special kids and all of the people who love and support them. We had a great time!

Holloway Reunion 2010--Part I

2010-08-10T11:34:00.003-06:00

Jason and Mindi and their kids were the first to arrive for our Holloway Reunion (last Saturday night). We wanted to do something fun just for the kiddos before Anita, Dave, Tyler & Tia come tonight, so we headed out this morning to one of our favorite spots--the Memphis Kiddie Park!

Here we are on the Carousel (Grace & I, Jenna, and Mindi & David):

Grace is finally learning to love it!

What a big girl!

David & Mindi had fun on it too :)

Jason and Mindi forgot to bring their camera on the trip, so we took some pictures of them and the kids on the rides. So guys, these pics are for you!

Cailyn and Jessica riding the crazy cars. Cailyn loved it; Jess, not so much.

But she was a cruisin' cat in her racecar!

Jason and David went on the kiddie coaster (aka the Little Dipper):

Up up up!

Way to go David!

It took Jess a little bit of convincing to get on the Carousel, but once it was going and the music was playing, she loved it!

Look at that smile!

Hugs ;)

Grace was too young to ride most of the rides, but she didn't care. She loved walking around and watching her cousins instead!

(Note: This was Grace's first time wearing pigtails!)

Hangin' out with Jenna, Cailyn, and Jess:

We had a great time at the park, and will definietly be back! =)

Check back soon for Part II of our Holloway Reunion!

Hershberger Farms

2010-07-31T10:13:00.003-06:00

For our last hurrah of summer vacation, we hitched a ride with Rachel and Brandon and Rachel's family to Amish Country for some good times at Hershberger's Farm & Bakery in Millersburg, OH.

After arriving, we headed straight for the bakery, which was adorable and offered a wide variety of baked goods, goodies, & homegrown produce. Everything looked delicious, but we went with a doughnut and a few fry pies for our treats, and boy were they scrumptious!

We also took home some fresh cooked kettle corn, prepared just like you see in the picture below. Yum-o!

Next up was the Farm's free petting zoo. Grace was a little wary of everything at first, but by the second go-around, she was down with the petting zoo scene. =)

Here's Travis & Grace with the biggest horse in the county:

The bunnies were SO soft!

Bunny's ears, Grace's ears!

After befriending the goats, Grace was more than happy to allow them to nibble on her pants and shoes. =)

I couldn't resist the urge pet those cute little animals too, and loved the baby bunnies, dogs, goats, and pot-bellied pigs.

Ooh, I just wanna squeeze 'em!

After our second tour of the petting zoo, we went on an Amish buggy ride:

A teenage Amish boy led us on our tour and explained the operations of the farm.

We had a great time!

(I just love how they have those reflectors on the back!)

After the buggy ride, we wrapped up our tour of the Farm by exploring the handmade Amish goods store.
They had this ginormous rocker out front, so we all took turns in it for a picture:

Huge huh?!

It makes Grace look so tiny!

As we left, I noticed this woman feeding the goats on the roof via a cone attached to the pully. So funny!

The coolest part of the trip though (or at least the most authentic) was probably seeing some Amish people gathering their hay in the fields and carting it home on their wagons, like this...

...or just riding down the street in their buggies too.

We loved getting a little taste of Amish country and can't wait to explore the Amish culture and countryside some more!

Akron Zoo

2010-07-29T12:00:00.001-06:00

Wanting to make the most of the rest of Travis' summer break, we made back-to-back Zoo trips (unintential really, but it was super fun!). Day 1 (yesterday) was the Akron Zoo (which this post is dedicated to), and Day 2 (today) was the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo (which I won't cover since we've posted pictures of it before).

The Akron Zoo (cool sign, huh?!). They also had these ginormous doors at the zoo entrance that were pretty cool too.

The zoo had an AWESOME jellyfish exhibit there that we all enjoyed:

Here are some of the other animals we saw:

A Komodo Dragon. (These guys are HUGE! I had NO idea how big they were! And they are seriously cool dudes.)

Turtles:

Tigers (this guy just kept pacing back and forth; we wished he would have come closer to us, but it was still cool to see him move):

Bald Eagles:

Another favorite exhibit of ours was the petting zoo:

This wall was just too cool to not get a picture by:

The Akron Zoo was the perfect size to cover in a morning outing. We had a great time, and will definitely be going back!

Kirtland

2010-07-22T16:00:00.000-06:00

My parents had never been to Kirtland before, so this morning we headed out there for a tour of the old Kirtland town center and the temple.

Here we are in front of the Visitor's Center:

And the Newell K. Whitney Store:

This is an upper room of the store, where the School of the Prophets was held. I always love visiting this room, knowing I'm standing in a place where Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have been.

(Our senior missionary guide was sweet enough to take this picture for us:)

Sitting by the fireplace where the men threw in their pipes after recieving the Word of Wisdom from the Prophet:

The Johnson Inn:

The Ashery:

Aren't the wild flowers here SO beautiful?!

I spotted this little guy on our way back to the Johnson Inn and couldn't miss the photo op!

Here we are leaving the old town center with our senior missionary guide. Him and his wife gave us a fabulous tour!

After we left the Visitor's Center, my parents toured the Kirtland Temple while we walked around the grounds and explored the museum at the Temple Visitor's Center, which had some really neat artifacts like the Temple's original weathervane and a 1st edition Book of Mormon.

We love living so close to Church History Sites, and having family come to visit so we have another excuse to go see them! Thanks for the wonderful visit mom and dad! We miss you!

Come on Ride the Train!

2010-07-21T15:27:00.004-06:00

My dad, a life-long train fan, treated all of us to a tour of the area this morning on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. Dad, this post is dedicated to you!

Here we are boarding the train:

All aboard!

In our seats, getting ready for our tour to begin:

Mom and Dad Reed: (As you can see, we relocated partway through the trip to get a better view and a little more space for Grace =) )

Grace & Grandpa watching the scenery:

Our Family:

The train ride also included an audio tour which explained the history of the area (especially the canal). It was super interesting!

As you can imagine, a 4-hour train ride was a bit much for Grace, so we did some other things to keep her entertained, like read books...

...snuggled...

...sang...

...and danced!

("Reach for the sky, so high, so high!")

(Her signing "swim")

Here's some of the scenery we saw. It was so beautiful and green!

We passed a swamp where they had eagle and heron nests. Cool huh?

A bend of the river:

Dad was real chummy with the staff, who even held up the train to let him step off and take this picture!

Here we are with one of the crew members after our ride:

And back at the Station:

Thanks for the great time, mom and dad!

Palmyra Trip--Part 7: Niagra Falls

2010-07-17T14:19:00.003-06:00

On our way home from Palmyra, we decided to make a stop and see Niagara Falls. We had originally planned to do the Maid of the Mist tour while we were there, but after (what felt like) hours of traffic and a crazy time parking, we settled for a quick walking tour of the Falls. =) And still, the drive was worth it, because IT. WAS. BEAUTIFUL. Definitely something that everyone should see at least once in their lifetime!

The toe bridge overlooking the falls:

A panoramic view:

The American Falls (the U.S. side):

Family photo:

Grace hung out with Grandma Susie and Grandpa John...

...while Travis and I went on the toe bridge to get a better view of both of the falls.

The view from the edge of the bridge (from the spot where we're standing in the above picture):

After seeing the falls, we ate dinner at a little cafe just down the street before finishing the long drive home.
Grace thought the airplane ride at the cafe was pretty fun...

...especially with Grandpa! =)

We had such a great family vacation, and look forward to touring more of the East coast during the rest of our time here in Ohio!

Palmyra Trip--Part 6: Palmyra Temple & Hill Cumorah

2010-07-17T12:19:00.000-06:00

Dustin and Bridgette were good enough to babysit Grace for us so we could go to the temple with my parents (BLESS THEIR HEARTS!). It was so special to be in the temple with my mom and dad, who were actually the witness couple for the session. It's always so good to be in the House of the Lord.

The Palmyra temple was beautiful inside and out. It overlooks the Sacred Grove, and uses the Grove as it's theme, incorporating tree-themed stained glass windows throughout, as well as stained glass pictures and oil paintings of the Grove and the First Vision.

Here we are in front of the temple:

The Hill Cumorah Visitors Center, which had some neat displays on the Restoration and the Prophet Joseph Smith:

The Christus:

Inside the Visitors Center:

I just thought this stained glass portrayal of the retrieving of the Book of Mormon was so beautiful!

A replica of the gold plates and fascimile of original transcripts of the Book of Mormon:

After touring the Visitors Center, we headed up the footpath to the top of the Hill Cumorah:

We climbed, and we climbed, and we climbed! =)

At the top, we found the Hill Cumorah Monument and plaque:

The Monument:

In front of the Monument:

The view from the top of the Hill:

Though the climb was steep, it was worth it to be able to stand on the same hill where the Book of Mormon was buried and finally retrieved.

Our trip to Palmyra really made the events of the Book of Mormon and the Restoration so much more real and personal to us. We had a great time!!

Palmyra Trip--Part 5: Camping at the KOA

2010-07-16T17:00:00.002-06:00

When we weren't touring, we were kicking back at the KOA (where we camped in style!). The weather today was HOT, so we took advantage of the campground's pool to cool off a little. This was Grace's first time swimming in a real pool, and she LOVED it--just swam and swam! She's going to be a little swimmin' girl when she gets older, I can tell!

Here she is, splashing with dad...

...and doing some doggy paddle:

Grace and I swimming together (I have to admit that I'm super excited to teach this girl how to swim!):

Our Family (aka the water babies):

After we cooled off, my parents and I introduced Travis and Grace to shuffleboard...and they became big fans! =)

Here's Travis learning the way of the shuffleboard...

...and Dad showing him how it's done (Travis actually picked up the game really fast and did a great job):

And Grace did a great job of inspecting our pucks for us :)

Round 1: Jenny and Travis win!

Round 2: Travis and John win!

We had a great time camping with my parents and the Grimmetts at the KOA, and were so glad that they all joined us for our big trip!

Palmyra Trip--Part 4: The Book of Mormon Publication Site

2010-07-16T11:43:00.002-06:00

Later in the afternoon, we drove into Palmyra and met my parents for a tour of The Grandin Press--Home of the Historic Book of Mormon Publication Site:

A period Bible and Book of Mormon:

The Palmyra Bookstore (this would have been the place to not only buy the Book of Mormon, but also any other literature of the day):

This plaque was on the counter:

Heading up the stairs to view the rest of the building!

A few pages of the Book of Mormon manuscript:

The Printing Room:

(Mr. Grandin placed the Printing Room on the 3rd floor because it was the one with the most light, as you can see by this next picture:)

A sweet senior missionary guide explained to us that in the 1800's, they used a pully system, such as this one, to bring materials into the building...

...from the cellar below (the materials having been brought there from the very nearby canal, on which they were shipped).

It was really interesting to learn about the entire process for making these first editions of the Book of Mormon--from printing to binding to the finishing touches of even painting gold letters on the cover. And to understand how much the Book of Mormon meant to the Saints--that they'd spend 2 days worth of wages on it. Definitely a tour worth seeing...and seeing again!

Palmyra Trip--Part 3: The Smith Farm Complex

2010-07-16T10:00:00.001-06:00

After walking through the Sacred Grove, we took a tour of the Smith Farm Complex (their Log Home, Frame Home, Threshing Barn, and Cooper Shop).

First on the tour was the Log Home.

The downstairs bedroom (where Joseph Smith Sr. and Lucy Mack would have slept):

The upstairs of the Log Home (where ALL of their children slept--can you imagine?):

(We like to think that) this is the room where Joseph Smith might have been sleeping when the Angel Moroni appeared to him:

A view of some of the Smith's farmland:

Next up on the tour was the Smith Frame Home.

Our family in front of the Home:

This tree is believed to have been planted in honor of Alvin Smith:

Inside the Smith Frame Home:

A bedroom:

A living area:

This is the fireplace where Joseph Smith sometimes stored the gold plates (underneath the bricks):

A view of the Frame Home from behind:

Our third stop on the tour was the Threshing Barn:

And finally, the Cooper Shop:

Grace loved walking around the farm!

It was so neat to see and be in the places where so much history concerning the receiving and translating of the Book of Mormon took place. A great tour!

Palmyra Trip--Part 2: The Sacred Grove

2010-07-16T08:50:00.001-06:00

We wanted to have some time just as a family in the Sacred Grove, so we got up early this morning and arrived at the Grove a little before the first tour at the Smith Farm began. Being in the Grove just by ourselves, early in the morning, made all of the difference--because the Spirit there was SO STRONG. It was amazing to listen to the birds chirping, reminding us of the hymn "Joseph Smith's First Prayer" (Oh how lovely was the morning! Radiant beamed the sun above. Bees were humming, sweet birds singing, music ringing thru the grove"), and think about what happened right there in those woods--Joseph Smith vision of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ; and to think that I might be walking in the same spot where that holy and magnificent event took place was an incredible feeling.

Travis and Grace at the entrance of the Grove:

A placard along the path:

Grace and I in the Sacred Grove:

It was so beautiful and peaceful there...

...we could have walked the path all day.

I'm so grateful for the special opportunity we had to visit this sacred place, and will treasure the feelings I had when we were there forever.