Santa Clause Parade

Today was the Santa Clause Parade in Grand Rapids. For the past 3 years we have been able to walk in the parade and pass out candy and foam Statue of Liberty crowns. It is always cold but once you get walking you warm up pretty fast. This was the coldest year. We layered on the clothes. The twins had a great time, but Abby wasn't too sure about it. She kept crying and saying that she was cold even though she had a bunch of clothes and blankets to keep her warm in her stroller. She finally was ok when I let her throw candy. She thought that was pretty fun. I had to get pretty close to the kids so that she could get it to them. She doesn't have much of a throwing arm yet. It was cute to see the twins wave at all the people at the parade. They thought that they were pretty cool.

Kirtland, Ohio

The kids had a couple of days off from school so we decided to get out of town. We had originally planned to go to Illinois to visit Zach's sister Mariah and her family, but her kids were sick. So we called up Andrew and Steph (Zach's brother) and asked if we could crash at their house for a few days. We had a great time as always. Our kids love to play with their cousins. Abigail loves her boy cousins because they don't have a sister so they pay alot of attention to her. On Monday we went to Kirtland. While driving we ran into a snow storm and there was about 3 inches of snow on the ground. We went to downtown Kirtland to see the early Mormon settlement. We then went to the Kirtland Temple, but it was closed. After we had left I realized that I hadn't taken any pictures of the Temple. I was so mad at myself. I guess there is always next time. We then went to the Johnson farm. That is where the mob pulled Joseph Smith from his bed and took him outside and tared and feathered him. It was a neat experience being in the same place that a Prophet of God had lived and also where God the Father and Jesus visited. It's amazing the spirit you feel in these places.

This is the Newel K. Whitney Store. Joseph had lived here for a time.
This is in the Johnson Farm. This was possibly the bedroom where Joseph and Emma slept with the Murdock twins. Where Joseph was sleeping when the mob came to tar and feather him. This is where they held the School of Prophets in the Johnson Farm

I wish I had a pantry like this.

This is the fireplace that I needed last night while I was freezing in the basement.

Happy Halloween!!

This year I didn't do much as far as costumes go. I have made the kids costumes in the past and I am usually a wreck by the time Halloween comes around. This year I purchased Jacob's Red Ninja costume and MaKayla's costume was really easy, I just sewed pink fleece onto the front of her sweat shirt. Abigail's costume was the easiest because it was one that MaKayla wore a few years ago. We were invited to go the the Bishop and Suzanne's house and trick or treat and after we sat around the bonfire and chatted with some friends. We had a great time. Now it's on to the next holiday.