This was a different Memorial Day for me. Growing up on this day we would visit our grandparents ' graves, leave flowers and then spend the ride home looking for asparagus on the back roads of Idaho. Well, today I didn't get to go to my grandparents' graves but I did visit the graves of Joseph Smith and Hyrum Smith in Nauvoo. I didn't really know there was a final resting place for the two of them. I knew there bodies had to be hidden for awhile to keep them safe from evil men. They are located in a beautiful spot where Joseph Smith used to live right on the Mississippi River. It was reverencing to be there. While I was there it hit me that it was Memorial Day. It felt like it in that moment. I was honoring two men who had fallen victim of different kind of war. They were truly soldiers for God's work here on earth. I really felt privileged to walk in places that the prophet walked. I felt humbled by the work he did in this life and what he suffered because of what he knew and saw. I have never doubted that Joseph Smith was a prophet of God. You can see the fruit of his works and know that he was a good man called of God. My testimony has only deepened of him as he became more real to me today. I saw where he lived. I saw where he died. He was an amazing man. I am grateful to him for choosing to follow God, laying a foundation for Christ's church, and being faithful to the end.
We woke up early this morning, dressed for church, and took a 3 hour drive to Nauvoo. We barely made it for the beginning of church. So many people were there. It filled the chapel and the whole gym. A lot of people left after Sacrament meeting. I was worried there wouldn't be a Primary but there was with actual children who live in the area.
We had a picnic after church.
Then went to the Visitor Center. It is always so peaceful to see the large statue of Christ. I loved just sitting there.
Nauvoo has a records center where you can look up your ancestors. We went so I could find out where some of my ancestors lived. I found two of them and one actually had owned property in Nauvoo. Good ole Zerah Pulsipher. He was a pretty cool dude. Here is where we think his property was. Later we went to Carthage Jail where the Prophet Joseph Smith was shot and killed by a mob. It is such a somber place and is humbling to be in the place the prophet died. Lacey was a little frightened because she kept thinking that the mob was going to be there and hurt her. I think Aidan really enjoyed seeing the actual jail and bullet holes in the door. I think it made it real for him. The window Joseph fell out of after he was shot. The original door with two bullet holes from the mob.
Last year Ryan and I made a New Years Resolution to go on a road trip. We wanted to drive somewhere and discover our part of the country. Well, with gas prices so crazy last year we bagged the resolution until this weekend. Ryan had four days off and Aidan had a day off from school so we decided it would be a great chance to go. We chose to go to Nauvoo. When we told the kids they didn't really understand. Aidan started asking me what airport we were flying out of and how many planes we were going on and what time our flight was. When I told him we were driving he said, "Why?" Even as we started our trip he said, "Dad, do you know airplanes are faster than cars?" "Yes" said Ryan. "Then why are we driving?" asked Aidan. We laughed. Yes, my kids have a warped view of traveling. Road trips are a new concept to these spoiled flyers.
We started off for St. Louis about 5:00 p.m. and will stay the night tonight.
Aidan had his birthday party today. This is the fourth year I think that he has had a party with his buddy George. It was Indiana Jones themed this year. First we had all the kids go on a scavenger hunt for Indiana Jones items, hat, whip, binoculars, compass etc. Then we had them go through an obstacle course. First they jumped over a pool of snakes, then crawled through a tunnel of rats and bugs to a tent where they had to pick a Holy Grail. They continued to crawl through another tunnel which led them to climb up some steps and run across a table while boulders (beach balls) were being thrown at them. Finally they had to step across a brick path to a chest of sand in which they had to dig through snakes and bugs to find a treasure (golf ball). We had a winner for the right Holy Grail and the specially marked golf ball. It was really fun. A little crazy but fun.
Here is the cake.
Here is the invite.
Aidan had a great time and is so happy so many of his friends came to his party.
Cassidy is approaching 16 months and isn't walking. She will take just one or two steps at a time. She walks from me to Ryan or alongside you but not just on her own. It has really bothered me so I devised a plan. I bought a bag of M&Ms and spent 20 minutes bribing her. I had her walk from the piano bench to me and she got an M&M when she walked but when she didn't I would take it away. She got ticked when that happened. But just after a few tries she figured it out. Walking gets you chocolate. After working with her she began to choose to walk on her own for no reward at all. As she played with the kids the rest of the night she was walking so much more. So, all in the name of chocolate. Here are her two videos.
She walked all that way on her own with no reward. Pretty darn amazin'!
Aidan is six today. Yes SIX. So crazy. He has been so funny about his birthday, quite the DIVO- male form of Diva, which is true Gremmert form. First, a couple of days before we came home from our trip he told us that starting Sunday we could start calling him Birthday Boy. Good to know. Then he told us that he wanted a ride to AND from school. He told us all day he could do whatever he wanted because it was his day. That night he asked if he could fall asleep in our bed and I said no. He said, "That doesn't make any sense that I can't fall asleep in your bed on my BIRTHDAY!"
Last night we went out for pizza with my parents for Aidan's birthday. He opened their presents which were a new spiderman ball he had lost in the nearby ditch and a tennis racket. He was thrilled about both. Today we took treats to his class. He sat in a special chair today and received a small gift from his teacher. They even announced his birthday over the intercom at school. He loved that.
When Aidan got home from school we had decorated the house in Star Wars streamers, balloons and a happy birthday sign. He walked in a screamed. He then said, "This is my best day ever!" We played for awhile after school. Then he wanted dinner and presents. I asked what he wanted for dinner, his choice. He said, CEREAL. I tried to talk him out of it and even offered to go out but nope cereal it was. We had cake and presents after. He got soccer goals, a leapster and Star Wars game, a Lego Star Wars pen, a kickstand for his bike, and some legos.
To finish off the night, Ryan took him to play tennis, just the two of them.
Early Sunday morning Ryan and I left for our "really long date" (as named by Lacey). We were off to St. Maarten in the Caribbean for the week. We were celebrating our 8th anniversary on May 4th and my mom came in to watch the kids. We have been looking forward to this for a long time.
St. Martin is an interesting place. It is half Dutch and half French but most speak English and they accept the dollar everywhere. I guess you suppose the island will look wealthy because it is a big tourist attraction but really the local life looks quite poor. I felt like I was in Mexico. Ryan kept comparing it to El Salvador. The roads were real small and driving was an adventure. Food was very expensive. A bag of Doritos was $7.00. Insane. It wasn't as tropical as I expected. There were a few mountains but they weren't green and lush. The beaches were nice and clean though and there were enough palm trees to know you were somewhere tropical.
We had such a great location. We had a studio condo on the ground floor and the front "lawn" was the beach. It was awesome. Anytime we had a few moments we just grabbed a chair and laid on the beach. Or we ate lunch and breakfast watching the waves roll in. It was great! The water was so beautiful, a bright turquoise.
View from our room
Our highlights: We were able to explore most of the island. We visited 12 different beaches. All had something different to offer. Our favorites were Rouge, Cupecoy, and Little Bay. It was fun to explore each one. Some had softer sand than others, some had prettier views, and some had no people on them at all. Ryan and I loved napping in the sun, talking, watching the waves, floating in the ocean, and reading. One beach had great snorkeling real close. You could see other islands off in the distance at some locations.
Along with discovering all the beaches we played tennis, swam in the pool, ate out, ate in, read on the beach, made pina coladas, and went shopping. It rained some days but never for the whole day.
LOW lights:
I tried to give Ryan the gift of me loving scuba diving, but it just didn't happen. I tried. I took a discovery dive, practiced in shallow water and everything. But when we got out into the real ocean I freaked out a little. Okay a lot. I could see Ryan below me in the water and it just spooked me to go down so far. I felt like I was being buried alive. I felt so bad that I just couldn't overcome the fear. I know Ryan really wanted this to be a hobby we could do together but it is one we can definitely cross off our list. We are NOT going to be that couple that goes on dive trips together. I guess he will have to settle for a wife who relaxes on the beach or shops while he dives. I was pretty bummed that I couldn't give that to him but he said he still loves me. However, Ryan was able to do two dives a different day. They both ended up being wreck dives where they explored two boats that had sunk. He had a great time. He saw some cool fish and went to 110 feet which was a first for him. See I tried!
Right off the runway of the airport is Maho Bay, a beach that you can sit at to watch planes land and take off. About 25 feet separate you from the runway. We saw a couple of planes take off and a few come in to land. It was one of the craziest things I have ever done. When the plane comes into land you are staring it right in the face. It is very loud and you are really hoping they don't land on you. BUT the taking off is what is crazy. We watched two planes take off. One was a 737 and another was and Airbus. The first was pretty cool and you could definitely feel the thrust of the engines but the second one we watched was PAINFUL!!! The first one hadn't come to a complete stop before it took off. It kind of rolled around the corner and continued to take off. So the thrust of the engine wasn't as intense. The second one come to a full stop and then took off. The thrust of the engines kicked up so much sand and threw it right in our faces. It was seriously so painful. Ryan and I ran down the beach toward the water to get away from it but it just got worse. My shoe flew off, Ryan's sunglasses came off and we had sand permanently embedded into our skin. I took a video of it but once I realized what was happening I hid the camera in my towel so it wouldn't be ruined. The camera continued to record so you can hear me screaming and screaming. It was hilarious. So no kidding, one of the craziest things I have done. Probably up there on my stupidest too.
The trip was so fun for us. It was great to just be us again. We were often mistaken as honeymooners which made me feel young. I loved having Ryan all to myself and having no commitments to anything. We could do whatever we wanted when we wanted. We did miss the kids a lot and received plenty of voicemails from sad children. They were happy for us to come home. Aidan was up at 5:30 a.m. the day we came home anxiously waiting for our arrival. Lacey kept asking why we needed to go on a long date. And when Cassidy saw me for the first time she looked at me in wonderment. She couldn't believe it when she saw me. Her mouth went open wide and her nose crinkled up. It was so funny. I think she was permanently attached to me for the next 24 hours. They were great for my mom though and had a great time playing with her.
Flying with us today is Sr. Captain Ryan. He is the most experienced one so he does all the flyin'. He overseas the crew and keeps us all on route. He makes flying fun and keeps us from burnout.
Aidan is our Jr. Captain, although he's only four. He takes over the controls as directed by his Senior. He tells us where we are going and how much fun it will be. He is obedient, smart and nice and so very funny.
Lacey is the FO, First Officer as they say. She is a very girly one, the princess of the airway. She speaks her mind and exclaims how things ought to be done. She thinks she is the boss although she is the most junior one.
Tiffany is our Flight Attendant, she has the toughest load. Her first task is that safety regulations are always followed. She next makes certain all are fed and cleans up after each person. She wants the plane to be tidy for when they meet their destination.
Starting in January we had a new hire. We are so happy about the acquire. Although her position is simply all show, We are happy to see the Gremmert crew grow.
Our highlights:
