Hi Everyone!! Guess what??  We drove to Canada today!!  Yep, it’s true.  There’s a new temple in Canada that the Prophet hasn’t blessed, yet, so we wanted to visit it!!  So this morning, we hopped in the car and took off…

“I’m tired. May I nap now?”

Poor Scooters started the trip ready for his morning nap.

And I started the trip enjoying some of my train books.

While Mommy started the trip enjoying my bare toes.

And the beautiful outskirts of our city.

Awww! It wasn’t long before Scooters drifted off.

And I decided to join him. :)

Mommy and Daddy enjoyed the peaceful tranquility of children sleeping and gorgeous trees.

—

The Border:

When we got to the border, we realized we were going to be there for a loooong while.  The Mormons were storming Canada and Canada wasn’t prepared.

But that’s okay, because I got to drink a Caprisun!

And we saw the Peace Arch!  It means that Canadians and Americans are friends.  I’m so glad!

But we weren’t glad that there were a million Mormons trying to get across the border and only three lanes open.

So we jumped ship while Mommy kept our spot in line.

“Wook! A Peace Arch! I wike Canada!”

While she was in line, Mommy remembered why she doesn’t like to drive in Canada.

And I pushed Scooty-tooty in his stroller!

“Hi, Mommy! Are you still in line?”

“Okay, we’ll come back later!”

Then we saw a PASSENGER train ZOOM by on the tracks behind us.  It was awesome!

And Mommy was still in line, so we wandered some more.

But then she moved!  And saw signs!

So we ran back and joined her.

But then we still had to wait.

So Scooters played with his socks!!!

Hee, hee!  He loves his socks!

**Fiercely intense chomp**

And Mommy broke out her secret weapon.

I love Mommy’s secret weapons.

And then!!  We were next in line!! And then!!  We were in Canada!!

—

The Temple:

Guess what!?!

We’re here!!!

We’re at the temple!!  And I get to go inside!!!

But first, we needed to find a place to park and walk back.

Oooohhhh, isn’t it beautiful!

I wanted to go inside right away, but first we waited for our turn to join a tour group and watch an introductory video about temples and the history of Mormons in the surrounding cities.

Then our group got in line to enter the temple!  And we saw lots of people we’ve known from all the places we’ve lived–it was like one big Mormon reunion!!

And some of them totally saved Scooty-tooty’s tired bacon from getting fried as we waited in long lines (there were thousands and thousands of visitors!).

They actually LET him pull their hair and then LAUGHED!!!  Mommy’s scalp cringed just watching, but since her baby was happy and they were happy, she was happy, too!

And I got to eat a GOGURT!  So I was happy, too.

But then.  My food ran out.   And I wanted to be a train and chug.  But I couldn’t!

So Mommy and I jumped ship and chugged around while Daddy kept a spot in line.

AND THEN!!!

It was our turn!  And I got to go inside!!  And it was so beautiful!

I saw the baptismal font–where I’ll get to serve when I turn 12 years old.

And a sealing room–just like where Mommy and Daddy were married.

And an ordinance room–just like where Mommy and Daddy go to learn about God and the purpose of life.   (When Mommy showed me the altar, I asked, “Where’s the sacrifice?”)  :)

And the beautiful, incomparable Celestial Room.

The room that represents what heaven will be like after this life.  A heaven with God and Jesus Christ.  And our families.

And being in that room all together as a family was a small glimpse of what it might be like to have our family for eternity.

Because that’s what temples are all about.

Hi Everyone!! Sorry about the delay in telling my story… Mommy’s been spending the week attacking our house with great gusto and is thrilled to have it completely organized and recovered from all our holiday excitement.

(Oh!  And she may have spent a bit of leisure time she usually reserves for blogging to read a delightful book instead.   Boy did it make her laugh!  Now she’s got the entire line-up of novels from this author on hold at the library.  So… please enjoy her posts until these babies start rolling in!) :)

So, let’s see…  Where was I?

Oh, yes!  It’s our third full day in California at Grandma and Grandpa’s house.  And now that it’s just us here with Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Elise, we got the royal tour of my Grandpa’s impressive projects…

Like his new composter!

Check it out! It’s completely enclosed, so there’s no odor or mess.

And even in the dead of winter, those little microbes are working up a storm!

And here’s another project: The new green house he built!

(Note: Check out that sweet fence he built around his garden. He needed to protect his food from all the deer and bears and other wildlife that prowl the mountain forests.  And now–it protects his new composter, too!)

The new green house is where he stores his finished compost in preparation for spring.  It’s also where he’ll start his seeds in the spring when it’s too cold to plant in the garden, yet.

Then Mommy spotted this and cried out, “So that’s how you make such nice furrows in your garden!! Holy smokes do I wish I’d had something like that 9 months ago when I was trying to plant our vegetable garden with an enormous pregnant belly and a garden of packed mud!”

“Hm, it sounds like you’ve got clay soil,” Grandpa replied, “Let me give you a few pointers on how to make it better…”

After that, Mommy tried to remember everything Grandpa said so she could go home and implement his suggestions.

And I ran around in the picturesque snow.

And explored Grandpa’s handmade playground.

And laughed and giggled so cute.

Until Daddy caught me!!

Aaaaahhhh!!!

Then Daddy put me on a gigantic snowball he made.  And while I was a captive cutie…..

Grandpa joined me!

And then Daddy!

And then Bobby!

“What did you call me?”

*Hee, hee, hee!*  Bobby!  I cawed you Bobby!

“Now you’re gonna get it, Bubbers!”

After that, I asked Grandma to sing my favorite church songs.

And I played along.

And then helped her play.

While Mommy’s heart melted through the carpet.

I was particularly fond of Grandma’s neck exerciser, but it didn’t know the song very well.

So I took over again.

“I love to seeeeeeeeee the temple!  I’m going there some daaaaaaayyyyy!”

After that, I took a nap.  And when I woke up…..

Snuggles was so cute and happy to see me!

So I tried to explain that after my naps, I often need a few minutes to find my sunshine again.

Snuggles said that was okay.

He said he’d give enough sunshine for both of us until I was ready.

So I took his hand in silent thanks.

And he covered my back until I was ready.

Then sure enough…..

I found my sunshine again and shared it with my Aunt Elise!

And then I discovered…..

…  sports on TNT.

But not for long, because then it was bedtime.

And while Snuggles and I slept, all the parents went out to eat at a delicious restaurant in town.

After that, Grandpa broke out the cards.

And played his favorite game: “The No Name Game”.

I think it’s a game that Grandma’s parents used to play.

They had fun and Mommy thought about growing up in Nevada when she saw their old cards from the casinos.

(Note: They never actually gambled in the casinos. They just got playing cards from a friend who worked in a casino because they only use each deck once and then toss them).

And wouldn’t you know, Mommy won her third game in a row!!  She couldn’t believe it.

The next day we packed up and headed back home.

Enjoying a McDonald’s Playhouse at lunch.

And some beautiful winter weather!

Boy–what an awesome trip. Thank you so much, Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Elise (and our other wonderful family we saw there)–we had a fantastic time!!!

We love you,
Bubbers, Snuggles, Mommy and Daddy

They were lovely, well-behaved subjects, so I asked if we could add our two boys to the mix.

So, we did.  And they were all lovely, well-behaved subjects.

Except the Snuggles-meister.  As you can see, my mother had to keep him standing to get him to look at me.  Because if she sat him on her lap…..

…..  He was drawn to his Grandpa like a moth to a flame!

“Hello, flame!  I love you!”

Then it was time for our turn with the boys.  And the Snuggles-meister lasted about ten seconds.

Before finding a new flame.

“Hello, new flame!”

**Baby launches self from mother’s lap**

So we bagged it and got back to business.

Hi Everyone! Guess what!?! On my second full day in California, I went outside in the snow…..

With Cousin Adam,

and Cousin Tristan,

and Cousin Braden,

and Silly Daddy, (hee, hee!).

And we built a snowman!!!

And he was just my size!

I had so much fun!

I loved being with my cousins!

And I loved digging.

And I loved Wucy.

What more can I say?

Cousin Adam was my special buddy.

He’s only two years older than me and we got to spend a lot of time together while his older brothers went snowboarding.

I even let him play with my trains.

And you know how much that means to me.

He and his brothers were super cute with Snuggles, too.

Later that day, they had to leave and I was sorry to see them go.

So I wound up…..

….. and gave Cousin Adam a “five” to remember!

Then it was time to say goodbye to Wucy.

“Goodbye, Wucy. You’ll always be Ruff Ruff to me, girl.”

Then we all took naps while Grandma played with Snuggles.

And then!!!!!

Mommy got a belated Christmas present in the mail from Daddy (and Grandma, Grandpa, Papa, gg and the next six months of her personal money) that made her positively giddy!!!!

The Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1.

The camera of my Mommy’s dreams. With new digital technology, it has a live LCD screen and no moving parts inside the body of the camera. Which means Mommy can take unlimited pictures without wearing out shutters.

It’s also the smallest dSLR out there and weighs practically nothing compared to her Konica Minolta beast. Which means she can carry it AND her video camera AND her two boys all around with ease!!!!!

*Sigh* What more could a Mommy want?

So then she had to try it out all night long.

To see if the man at the camera store was right. And he was.

It blew her Konica Minolta out of the water.

(Thank you everyone!!!)

After that, I went to bed.

And Mommy spent the night reading her new manual.

And taking pictures of Grandma who ignored her crazed daughter.

Oh, and she played a little Scrabble, too. She’d won the night before for the first time in her life and wouldn’t you know she did it again!

She’s pretty sure Daddy and Grandma were her good luck charms.

—–

p.s. In case you’re wondering…..

The Snag still lives.

Hi Everyone!  I’m excited to tell you about our vacation last week!…..  We went to visit Grandma, Grandpa and Aunt Elise in California.  They’re my Mommy’s parents and sister and we sure had a great time!

They had a tractor!

That was just the right size for me!

And boy, I just hopped on and took off!  I accelerated up a storm, but my steering skills were quite limited, so Mommy and Daddy stayed nearby to keep me on the right path.

And wook!!

There’s Wucy!!  I wove Wucy!!!!!

She came with my Uncle BJ’s family and holy smokes did I wove it!  Every time she was awake, I followed her all around calling out the name I gave her, “Ruff Ruff!  Ruuuuff Ruuuuuff!”

And when people told me, “Her name is Lucy,” I replied calmly, “No, it’s not.  It’s Ruff Ruff.”

Then all of a sudden, I looked out the window and saw this:

It started snowing!!!!!

It was beautiful!  And I was really excited, because I’ve been wanting to build a snowman all winter!  So I went outside with Daddy, but the snow wasn’t ready to build with yet.  So Daddy promised we could try again the next day.

So then we went back inside and I played with my cousins, Aunts and Uncles.

And then I found Wucy’s bed!!!!!!

Oh man, this is the wife!

**Chickit**

“Wook!  My wittow paw is stickin’ out!”

Hey Snuggles!  Can you see me in here?  Can you see me?

Ha, ha!!  Cousin Adam took a turn, too!

Then it was time for bed.  Good night, Snuggles!!

Hello my friends and Happy New Year!

We traveled out of town this week for a vacation we are eager to share with you. Stay tuned for more details and I hope you’re all doing well!

Love,
Heidi

Hello!

My name is Flat Stanley and this is my friend, Conner.

Conner made me for a school project based off the book Flat Stanley.

I am supposed to visit different houses and states, so Conner asked his Mommy if I could go home with his Aunt Heidi and Cousin Bubbers after they were done visiting us.

So before I knew it, I was a stowaway in Bubbers’ luggage on my way through airport security.

Now, I have to say, I was a little nervous about going with them.

Because three years ago, Conner’s older sister made me and I got sent to Heidi and Charming’s house…..

….. And they stuck me in a vent.

And a CD player.

Which you really wouldn’t expect from such normal looking people.

But deep down…..

….. They’re loons.

And they tried to bite my head off.

But I guess I shouldn’t complain too much, because they did take me to Canada while they celebrated their 5th wedding anniversary.

And showed me some beautiful gardens.

And tried to sell me as a postcard.

But hey!

That was a long time ago, so maybe things have changed.

Maybe they’ve amended the lunacy of their ways.

All I can do now is wait and see…..

–

To be continued…..

I’m sorry it’s taken me a while to finish up my trip story…..

Last time I told you about the day of my Great-Grandma’s funeral.

After that, it was time to say goodbye to my cousins.

“Goodbye, Jacob!  Thanks for teaching me how to do ‘stones’ and ‘knuckles’!”

“Goodbye, Makayla!  Thanks for being so sweet and helpful with me!”

“Goodbye, Jackson!  Thanks for sharing your toys and always wanting to be with me!”

“Goodbye, Conner!  Thanks for playing outside with me!  And for sneaking Flat Stanley into my luggage!”

Wait a minute…..

Flat Stanley?

Who on earth is Flat Stanley?!??

–

To be continued…..

I’d like to tell you about the day of my Great-Grandmother’s funeral.

It was a long, hard day for Mommy and I, but we were grateful to be there.

Mommy told me I was a real trouper.

And I told Mommy she was a real trouper, too, for carrying me around the whole day because I was so tired and wanted lots of holding from my Mom.

(Consequently, she made the very painful realization that high heels and one pair of feet are not meant to support three people at the same time for hours on end.  Ouch!!)

One of the treasured and special moments of the day was when I got to see my Great-Grandma in a quiet room at the church.

Mommy was touched by how sweet and tender I was toward her.

And how I seemed to instinctively understand what had happened to her and that she was with God.

Throughout the day, I also got to meet my Grandma’s siblings.

They were sad to say goodbye to their Mother, but happy that she no longer suffered with Alzheimer’s or missed their Father who was already with God.

And even though it was only for a little while, Mommy really enjoyed seeing another sister and brother who were able to come.

She also really enjoyed seeing this.

Me and my cousin, Makayla.

Makayla was so sweet and always wanted to be with me and tried to entertain me when I’d let her.

It was a great help to my Mom, who thinks Makayla is going to be a phenomenal mother someday.

And I listened very carefully to my Mommy and didn’t step on people’s headstones.

But…..

She didn’t say anything about not touching them with my tie.

So I figured it was okay.

**Munch, munch**

**Crunch, crunch**

**Munch, crunch**

Whoop!

Hi there!  Sorry you caught me with my mouth full.

We’re here visiting my Mother’s last living grandparent and my Great-Grandma.

And I’m enjoying this 20 pound bag of animal crackers that Mom packed to last our entire trip and then some.

I’m really glad we came to visit Great-Grandma.

It was the first time I’ve ever met her and my Mom hasn’t seen her for a long time.

I also got to meet some other relatives who were there visiting and we had a lot of fun!

But when it came time for the great-grandchildren picture…..

I was not a happy camper.

Poor Mom tried to cheer me up off camera, but I was sick, sleep-deprived and surrounded by strangers…..

So the dear woman intervened (thanks, Mom!).

And I became the levitating (but tearless!) great-grandchild.