3/11/24
Rachel and Mom went to the Natural History Museum and The Butterfly Rain-Forest. There is a cool simulation at the entrance in the museum:
One of our favorite exhibits in the museum:
Time for the Butterfly Rain-Forest Exhibit:
One landed on Mom:
We had a very nice day together!
3/04/24
They went out for Sushi!:
03/05/23
They continued their celebration the next day with a yummy dessert:
Grandpa Ed and Grandma Joyce sent them a beautiful card:
Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!
2/14/24
The table was filled with Valentines!
There was an awesome assortment of beauty products and treats for us:
Lizzy gave Rachel a Valentine’s day gift as well:
Lizzy had one for Dad:
Rachel had one for Dad too:
Grandpa and Grandma Beck sent Valentines as well:
Mom and Dad exchanged Valentines as well:
Valentine’s for Mom too:
Later that evening we had a very special Valentine’s Day Activity at church. We had a dinner and a movie night:
It was a Very Happy Valentine’s Day!
2/06/24
Our lifelong friend Haden played Gaston in Beauty and The Beast:
Mom and her friend Dimple went too:
He did an incredible job!
2/5/24
We went to visit Joy and celebrate her birthday:
Happy Birthday Joy!
1/18/24
Dad’s sister-in-law Becky (Married to uncle Patrick) came for a visit. Mom took her on a hike:
Yes, there were gators on this hike!
1/20/24
We celebrated Mom’s Birthday. Mom got a card from her friend Nancy:
Grandpa Ed and Grandma Joyce sent Mom a birthday card:
They also gave her some exercises bands that she really wanted:
Lizzy writes the best cards!
Lizzy gave Mom a new book:
Dad gave Mom a new Personal Trainer Shirt:
Rachel made Mom a beautiful card:
Rachel got mom a book about hiking the Appalachian trail. Miss Kitty would rather be petted than sit through all this:
Dad also got mom more toys for her gym:
Dad made mom her favorite chocolate heart cakes:
Happy 54th Birthday Mom! We Love You So Much!
Wait, Aunt Becky is also celebrating her birthday. Surprise!:
Make A Wish!
Happy Birthday Aunt Becky!
1/10/24
Service Project Activity: Free Babysitting
We played Duck, Duck, Goose:
While the younger ones were in the nursery room:
Lizzy made a friend:
We had races too:
It was actually a fun service project for our ward families.
01/07/24
Today we saw the Araques at church and we exchanged gifts. We brought them home to open them because we weren’t able to at church:
We are very grateful for the Araque family!
12/31/23
Throughout the year Lizzy wrote down things that brought her joy and she read them all on New Years Eve:
Mom and Rachel started it with her early on in the year but Lizzy stuck with it all year! Here were mom’s:
And Rachel’s:
We watched the New Years Eve celebrations on TV and got ready to toast in the New Year with some sparkling cider.
01/01/24
New Years Day Adventures: We each picked something we wanted to do today and then we did them! Mom made us “fireworks” pancakes (sprinkles) for breakfast:
We went to a local swap station (free stuff):
Then we went to a hike (Mom’s choice) we have never been on before:
We had some candy canes for energy:
There was a lot of flooding:
We made it to one of the river overlooks:
This little bridge was less than sturdy:
Then we went to a thrift store (Lizzy’s choice) we had never been to:
Next stop Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (Dad’s choice)!
And we went out for lunch (Rachel’s choice):
That was an awesome way to celebrate the New Year!
12/19/23
Mom gave us a pre-Christmas gifts for the travels:
And we are on our way!:
Dad is on the wheel:
The window clings are going up:
The final configurations:
Time for singing:
And dancing:
And having a good time!
12/20/23
Making progress:
We stayed in a hotel near the Appalachian Trail and so the next morning we can do some hiking!
12/21/23
We were ready to go hiking except Dad accidentally brought two left foot boots so he had to hike in the only other shoes he had, his moccasins!:
Off for our first real winter hike (although there is no snow on the ground):
We had to cross the Railroad tracks to get to the trail:
Mom loves hiking on the Appalachian Trail!:
Dad and Lizzy climbed up to get some icicles:
It was a steep climb down:
They slid down to the trail:
Now that’s a big icicle:
It’s sharp too:
We made it to our first viewpoint:
Mom and Dad were pretty happy to be on the Appalachian Trail:
It was a bit of a steep climb:
We made it to the top:
Rachel was enjoying her audio book:
Time to stop and explore:
Lizzy went inside the cave:
She’s back!:
Lizzy and Sullivan made it out to the furthest point for a good view from the top of the mountain:
Beautiful views at the top of the mountain:
The top of the mountain ridge-line is quite rocky:
Lizzy and Rachel hiked ahead of us a bit and we found them here:
Lizzy is quite the climber:
We made it back!
Dad’s Moccasins did great on the Appalachian Trail. Dad officially received his trail name: “Moccasin”
Mom gave us another surprise gift for after our hike:
Our AirBNB in Geneva, NY:
We made it to Grandpa Ed and Grandma Joyce’s house (Mom’s Dad and Step-mother) and we met their new German Shepherd Nina:
NY pizza is perfect for a birthday celebration! Grandpa and Grandma celebrate Lizzy and Dad’s birthdays when we visit at Christmas since we both have December birthdays.
“Happy Birthday To You”
Make a wish!!
Time for cards and gifts:
A “Wild and Crazy” card:
Lizzy’s turn:
Grandpa and Grandma always have such nice cards!
Gift time:
More gifts:
Lizzy’s room:
Rachel’s room:
12/22/23
We slept in while Mom and Dad went to the temple:
Mom and Dad were very happy the temple was open!
When they came home we went to our cousins’ house in Canandaigua, NY:
We played the card game Anomia:
It was a lot of fun:
We visited with Gabe and gave him his Christmas present:
He likes space things so he liked the shirt we got him and the treats too:
12/24/23
We drove out to Fayette and went to the Peter Whitmer Farm for church. This is the church where Mom, Grandma in heaven, Aunt Karen and Lizzy were all baptized.
Then we thought it would be fun to go ice skating so we drove to Geneva to the ice skating rink:
Unfortunately It Was Closed.
So we went to Grandpa and Grandma’s house and put together a new puzzle:
Dad made Chicken and Dumplings for dinner and it was a big hit!
Then we played a question game mom lead:
We went back to the airbnb and played a knock each other over game with Dad:
It was so much fun!
12/25/23
Christmas Day! Grandma Joyce with help from Grandpa Ed made a wonderfully delicious Christmas meal!
Lizzy bonded with Nina:
And then we exchanged gifts starting with handmade Christmas cards for Grandpa and Grandma:
A gift for the both of them first:
Then we shared some individual gifts:
Nina got some gifts too!
Grandpa and Grandma had gifts for us too:
The treat bags are always a big hit!
Lizzy actually puts seaweed snacks on her wish list!
There were snacks for all our pets too!
Time to play with Nina!
12/26/23
Time to head back to Florida. Making progress:
12/27/23
We made it home. Luna was Very Excited to see us!:
She always greets everyone individually. Time to say hello to Mommy!:
“Santa” came:
Luna’s stocking first!:
Bunya next:
Windy and Miss Kitty next:
Windy hides under the desk unless Mom is home alone:
Now for our stockings!!
Time to open our special gift box about Jesus before we open all the gifts. this is to remember the reason for this holiday.
First gift: Spotify (music app) for the family!
Handmade cards from us to Mom and Dad:
And cards to each other:
Gift from Lizzy to Rachel:
And a gift from Rachel to Lizzy:
We got Mom some gifts too:
Dad’s turn:
We got some gifts for our car:
We had a wonderful Christmas!!