Monday at the Mission office and Family Home Evening

On Monday we went into the mission office and helped Nee and Papa do all sorts of things. From labeling mail to organizing the supply room we did it all...And got to see just how busy Nee and Papa are on their mission. It was really cool to watch them in action and try to help just a little.




That night for Family Home Evening we went to see a Botanical garden that was transformed for the winter with lights. They give you a map and a list of things to find (like lizards, slugs, and monkeys). We found the everything on the list and it was beautiful. The pictures give you just a small glimpse of the display. Lights were blinking to make it look like water was flowing and of course still pictures can't capture that...So, just use your imagination....





Using the light from Papa's cell phone to check the map and search out the hidden creatures.

Our 1st Weekend in Seattle

After a day of traveling all day Friday, and a 3 hour time change we were pretty tired on Saturday. We had a fun day hanging out with Nee and Papa in their cute little apartment, that is just perfect for them. We had fun spending time playing the Wii, making fairy houses, running to a grocery store with tons of candy by the pound, and feeding...oh, I can't remember what we ended up naming him, but Nee and Papa's "pet Squirrel"...Confused? The pictures will make it a little clearer....And you know I took a lot. :)

Craft projects
Feeding...the cute squirrel, whatever his name is...

Nee and Papa working together doing the dishes. On Saturday night a couple from church had gotten tickets for them to go to the Nut Cracker. Our plane tickets were purchased after the Nut Cracker tickets and they hated to back out...We didn't mind them heading out for the evening because 7:00 pm in Seattle was 10:00 pm to us so we headed to bed!

On Sunday we went to church and had fun helping teach Nee's primary class with her. Later that day we went and walked around the Temple grounds and it was beautiful.


Jake said he really felt the Spirit...I could totally tell he did when we passed this statue and he...well, he acted like Jake, and I of course couldn't resist snapping a picture of it. In ten years when he is getting ready to go through the Temple to go on his mission (wow, it just hit me that 10 years is going to go by really fast....) I can show him this picture and remind him even at the tender age of 9 he was able to recognize the Spirit in holy places. :)
We had to prop up the camera and get a shot of all of us. Later in the week Mom and I were able to do a session at the Temple and it is just as gorgeous inside as it is out. I love going to the Temple....
The Stake Center is right next to the Temple and they had over 300 nativities on display, along with different rooms to show the Saviors life. The room these next few pictures were in, depicted His life from birth to Resurrection. It was amazing and a great reminder of Christ's perfect life. Even the children couldn't help but walk quietly through this room and take it all in.



The nativities were beautiful and there was even a living nativity (no animals, just Mary, Joseph, and Baby Jesus...Since I didn't want to post 100 pictures I decided on this one instead.

Jake's favorite nativity was this one of the Peanuts gang:

Finally back to blogging....Arriving in Seattle

I am finally back to blogging and have a lot to cram in, in the 3 days that are left of 2010....So, here goes the first of MANY posts: (Aaron just asked me why I had to get them all done when I still haven't finished the book for last year yet...I will and soon too!!! I am a little nervous to see how much it costs to print a year full of my ramblings and pictures....It is going to be a thick book...)
After 12 hours of traveling by car and plane we made it to SEATTLE!!! When we got off the plane and went down the escalator we thought we would see them immediately (like at the Charlotte airport), but we had to get on a subway...And when the doors opened we thought we would see them...but we had to go back up another escalator! The suspense was killing us!!!! When we got to the escalator I said look Jake their they are (up at the top waving). I got on the escalator before I realized Jake had made a last second decision to just run up the stairs next to it he was so excited. It was like in a movie...All the people on the escalator were pointing and "ahhhhing" and I watched the hugs that hadn't been able to happen for 10 months. It was awesome...

Jake enjoying Cinnabon...special occasions, call for special treats. :)
After hugs, kisses, and giggles we set up for our first shot...and Papa's phone rang. I had to snap the picture anyway to mark the memory. Dad always has to answer his phone. He is the guy in charge of all the mission cars and sometimes those calls are "we just got in an accident", or "the car broke down"...I thought it was a perfect picture to capture the moment. :)
Best friends reunited. :)
We got our bags and are ready to go and enjoy our 10 days in Washington with Nee and Papa on their mission!!!!