15 Months!

Tolman went in for his 15 month check up and he was in the 50th percentile for height and weight and 94th for head circumference! He & Grayson had very similar measurements at this age. It's fun to see Tolman grow and show us more of his personality.  He learned how to roll his eyes (pictured above is the look he gives before he rolls them). He climbs on everything! (kitchen table, chairs, boxes, toilet, beds) He also started to expand his vocabulary. His favorite word is ball of course (anything circular is a ball to him), but also says things like shoes, socks and uh-oh (with his lips big & pursed together). He loves to play by Grayson and refer to him as "brother".

Saying "shoes"

 Playing with "brother"

Shooting hoops

Spring Break Part II

We went downtown for DC's annual Cherry Blossom Festival. It was breathtaking! We met up with our friends the Roberts & Sorensens for some paddleboating & a picnic lunch.

We also walked down and saw the new MLK Memorial along the Tidal Basin. Another highlight for Grayson was of course riding on the metro!

Putting on lifejackets. Tolman wasn't so excited about his!

Grayson was happy to have Hallee & Max there!

Excited Grayson & Hallee

Paddleboating was quite an adventure with the boys! We had a few close calls, but thankfully with friends close & chips from Robby they stayed in the boat.

Cute Boys!

GRAYSON

TOLMAN

BROTHERS

Family photo

The remainder of the week Strider finished Grayson's bed (or at least the bottom bed of his bunk-beds-to-be for the boys). Grayson still thought it was going to be a bunk bed, so that's him showing where you can sleep "on the bottom".

Strider's back to the grind and in his final stretch of lectures & bookwork! He's taken 2 tests and is also preparing for his board exam in June. Meanwhile the boys and I are trying to enjoy our last 2 months in Maryland.

Spring Break Part I

At the end of March for Strider's Spring Break, we took a quick trip to see church sites in Palmyra, NY as well as to see Niagara Falls. When I say quick trip I mean we left Sunday & got back Tuesday. Otherwise, what was suppose to be a 6.5hr drive there became a long 8hrs when rerouted by our GPS! It certainly was a scenic drive, but the last hour was not so enjoyable for the boys. Tolman was so happy when finally released from the car at the Palmyra Inn. In the end it was worth it though. We saw and felt some amazing things. We enjoyed visiting even though it wasn't peak season because we often found ourselves alone at the sites.

Palmyra Temple view from the Sacred Grove. They wanted the grove to be visible because the temple wouldn't be there without what happened below.

Closer view. The windows were gorgeous with scenic sacred grove images.

Grayson & Tolman on the temple grounds

Family picture by the Smith's Cooper Shop

(one of the many places Joseph used to keep the plates safe)

We also learned about and saw the beautiful log & frame homes where the Smith's lived.

Grayson by the nearby crooked creek before entering the Sacred Grove

Tolman enjoyed walking the gravel paths along the way and picking up the gravel of course.

The Sacred Grove where young Joseph Smith prayed to know which church to join.

There is a wonderful spirit to be felt. We enjoyed visiting these sacred grounds as a family.

We went on to visit more sites such as the Book of Mormon's publication site, Erie Canal, 4 churches intersection, Alvin Smith's grave and the Hill Cumorah.

Boys ready for the hike up the Hill Cumorah

Grayson by the monument at the top and us with the view below.

It was an 1.5hr drive from Palmyra to see Niagara Falls. We drove up Tuesday morning and looked from the American side. The weather and view was magnificent.

The whole time Grayson was begging to use the scenic look out binoculars. We gave in!

You can see constant rainbows below. It was so neat to see. After we turned around and drove home to DC.

Even with all the driving we're glad we took the time to see these sites. More to come on how we spent the remainder of our break :)