Back from Balmer, Hon!

Last week, Cole had a conference in Baltimore for NRPA (National Recreation and Parks Assoc.) I was able to go with him, so we left the kids with their Grandma and Grandpa S., and went on a much needed get-away! Apparently, "Balmer" is how the locals say it, and "hon" is just one of their colloquialisms , kinda like we say "you guys".

I really had no idea how much history is out there! It was really cool to visit some of the historical spots...

We were able to go on a bus tour down to D.C. called "Monuments by Moonlight", and saw the Capital, Jefferson Memorial, the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, and the Vietnam War Memorial. Some were just from a distance as we drove by, but the Lincoln, Washington, and Vietnam we were able to walk around and see up close. It was a very overwhelming and somewhat spiritual experience to think about what they mean and represent in our country's history. There were a number of times that I got a little teary eyed, and noticed Cole did, too!

Of course, it was just my luck that our camera battery died just as we got down there! (I was enjoying my "do nothing time" so much that I forgot to charge it that day in the hotel room.) So we got one blurry picture of the Capital, then it died! So one of Cole's co-workers took some pix for us, but she hasn't sent them to me, yet. So, here are some pictures of our trip!

This is Camdan Yards Stadium, home of the Baltimore Orioles.

That's Cole in the red shirt.

I danced with the Orioles' Mascot at the welcome party for the conference!

Eating "real" seafood at "Phillipes" in the Inner Harbor. The Hard Rock Cafe- Inner Harbor.

This is a clock tower right outside our hotel. We could see it out our window.

Union Station

The blurry Capital Building!

On the "water taxi" in the Inner Harbor.

Behind me is an actual ship (not a remake) that was built in the early 1800's.

A jelly fish right off the dock where I am standing.

This my friend Becky (room-mate at BYU) that lives in MD. We hadn't seen each other for 11 years! I'm just sad that I didn't think to call her before we got out there... It didn't even cross my mind 'til thurs. so I called her friday and she and her husband were able to get a sitter and come into Baltimore from Fredrick (40 min.) and we went to dinner. It was so good to see her... I consider her one of my best friends EVER!

This is a model of Fort McHenry. It is also located in the inner harbor. This is where Francis Scott Key saw the flag still standing after a huge battle with the British Fleets in the war of 1812, and wrote "The Star Spangled Banner".

This is Cole standing out by one of the cannons in the fort.

This is the view of the flag from the harbor.

This is a shoe that was found in the fort that dates back to 1840. There was a whole glass case display of artifacts that were found in the fort. Fort McHenry was really neat and brought an overwhelming feeling of Patriotism to our country...an interesting place to visit if you're ever out that way. We're glad we decided to go out there Saturday before we flew home!

Fall is Falling!

I have never been more excited for Fall and Winter than I am now! For whatever reason, (either a side effect of my injury, or hormones, or just the intense heat of the summer...or a combination thereof), I spent the summer in a puddle of sweat! So as the weather has cooled drastically, I have actually welcomed being COLD! I WANT to wear sweatshirts, and wrap up in a Fuzzy blanket, and drink hot chocolate, and sit by the fire... The irony in this is that I usually don't like being cold because it takes me forEVER to warm up. If the temp in the house drops below 70 ( in the winter), I tell Cole it's way too cold! But today when I got up to send the kids to school, it was 65 and I was feeling great! Cole keeps telling me it's menopause, but c'mon~ I'm only 35! OK...36 next month, but still... So for those of you whining about the cold coming...WAAAA! Just turn up the heat in your own house! Now in memoriam of the fun we had this summer, despite the heat, I'm posting a slide show of the Stephens Family Adventures... Enjoy the show!

Silly Sleepers!

Every night before I go to bed, I check on my kids... I can't sleep well if I don't. Anyway, this is how I found Taylee and Alexa the other night...

How We Watch Conference

This is how Cole and the twins watched conference on Sunday morning.

Isn't it great how we can absorb what we hear while sleeping? Better yet, aren't ya' glad we can read the conference talks again in the Ensign?

Accident Prone

Let me tell you a little about Karly. When she was almost 2, she fell off my sister's trampoline right on her face. Which is bad enough, but she had her binki in her mouth, which pushed up and cut her nose open on the litlle part between her nostrils. (Did I say nostrils? That's one of those words that starts to sound funny the more you say it!) Anyway, we took her to Primary's to get stitches. Then just after we moved into our new house, I hear this crying outside. So I go to see who it was and this big man with a big, full beard wearing painter's clothes is walking up to my house carrying my daughter. His shirt is covered in blood, as is my baby girl's face! So I'm freakin' out, thinking this guy just ran over her, and he turns out to be the nicest guy. He tells me he was painting next door, and she and Alexa were watching him, and she fell backwards into the window well! She had a huge gash on the side of her forehead, just in the hairline. 3 inside stitches and 7 outside stitches! Then a couple weeks ago, I'm on my way to Caleb's football game (Cole's the coach, so he's already there.) Karly is sniffing a lot, so I say, "Do you need a tissue?" She replies, "No, I have ball in my nose." "A ball? You mean a bead?" They had been playing with beads earlier. "Yeah, a bead." So I'm thinking, "Great! I am not going to the doctor!" So we get to the game, and one of the moms there is a nurse. She's also my visitng teacher. I ask her if she's ever removed objects from a child's nose! She happened to have some tweezers, so we lay her on a blanket and Joanne carefully removes the bead. Karly didn't fuss or even move! Which is how she reacted getting stitches, as well! And that's not the end! Last Sat. at Caleb's game, she got hit by a golf cart! Yes, a golf cart! She's fine, just a huge, golf ball sized knot on her head. But it really shook me up and I had a hard time getting my emotions in check for a couple of days. When the kid that was driving (not his fault, but it's a long story, and my hand is getting tired) asked if she was ok, my mom said, "She's ok." And I said, "But the mom's not!" I was just trying to lighten things up, but apparently he felt really bad and brought Karly a little gift. Isn't that cute? So there ya' go! That's my Karly! Here are a few of my fave pics of her: ok it put them at the top...I'm still figuring this out.

Back to School

The kids started school in August. Caleb (8) is in 3rd grade, Taylee (6) is in 1st, and the twins, Karly & Alexa (4) are in pre-school. Yay for mom!

I love having that time to myself...yeah, I'm a slacker, but I don't know any mom who doesn't appreciate a little "me" time.

Am I Cool Now?

So, I'm finally joining the "blogger nation"! Where have I been that I haven't joined 'til now? I don't know, but it's not out of boredom that I'm starting this thing, that's for sure! Anyway, this is my first post, so it's gonna be short 'til I get it all figured out.