We Love New York - Day 5 - Saturday July 16, 2011

Day 5 was the day we had been planning for. We were excited to be with Elder and Sister Esplin. Parker didn't waste any time wearing out Grandpa by playing soccer with him early in the morning.

Grandma and Grandpa took us to the North Pole for a majority of the day. We made some necessary stops (an Amish store) so that Grandma and Grandpa could spoil grandkids. The North Pole was a lot of fun. Parker loved the rides and the fact that he could ride them non-stop with no lines made it heaven on earth. Of course Grandma and Grandpa continued the spoiling as they bought toys and hats for the boys.

On the way back we stopped in Lake Placid - site of the 1980 miracle on ice.

The day concluded as they showed us some of the area around their home. The trip wouldn't have been complete without seeing some "lightning bugs" so me and Parker went and found some in Grandma and Grandpa's backyard. The night was finished with Grandpa and Parker putting on a little show.

Thumb Sucker

Parker went for the ears.

Brock goes for his thumb.

From day one Brock has been a thumb sucker. Whenever he is tired he grabs his blanket and shoves the thumb into the mouth.

Articles of Faith

Chalk another one up for mom.

By the age of 3 Parker knows the first 3 articles of faith. Early sign of spirituality? Probably not. We just hope that this may be his ticket into Primary after the damage he has done in nursery.

(Parker with his Article of Faith card)

In reality it is a great testament of a wonderful and thoughtful mother who puts her children's' pursuits ahead of her own.

"Cheetoh Bites"

Parker has mom's blood. Mom and the boys spent a summer trying to avoid and deal with what Parker calls "cheetoh" bites.

My Kind of Campin'

We are not much of a campin' family. We enjoy it but just never seem to get around to it. Melissa had a brilliant idea that fit us just perfectly. "How bout a camp out in the backyard?" Of course Parker was excited because he could now graduate from his "buzz tent" to a "big tent". The campin' festivities began with roasting some marshmallows and making some smores. The fun continued as we entered the tent and made alligator puppets with our hands. The flashlight also provided some entertainment. Tootsie rolls were our treat and of course when it was time to get in our sleeping bags we abided by the campin' rule of "no girls allowed". Mom didn't seem to protest much as she entered the warm home and "camped out" with Brock.

Parker told me a few stories. One was about an alligator named "Woody" and another was about a frog named "Buzz". Of course each story ended in "the end" but the substance of the story is left up to the imagination of this three year old having his first "camp out".

(Tootsie Rolls)

(Good Morning Parker)

In his prayers since the experience in the "big tent" Parker has thanked Heavenly Father for his "big tent" and wants to "sleep well in the big tent".

If all camping trips can be this successful then we just might become a camping family!

We Love New York - Day 4 - Friday July 15, 2011

We bid farewell to the Brookwood Inn and started our way towards Elder and Sister Esplin's home today. Of course we took a few detours along the way. After all, you can't come all the way to New York without going to Cooperstown! Much to our delight we were able to visit Cooperstown and other adventures along the way.

My mom had suggested that we stop in a little place call Flycreek just outside of Cooperstown. It was nestled in a beautiful town nearby many lakes and orchards. Flycreek is a Cider Mill and it was a highlight of the trip.

Parker loved the Tractor Land.

The Cider Slushes and Floats were to die for


The New York trip wouldn't be complete if there wasn't a stop at the Baseball Hall of Fame. It wasn't exactly kid friendly but after tolerating a little bit of a tantrum and Melissa taking Brock I was able to enjoy this wonderful museum.

One of the first things we did in the museum was go in a little theatre and learn a little about the history of baseball. At the end everybody sang, "Take Me Out to the Ballgame". This was right up Parker's alley and he loved it.

A security guard gave Parker this baseball card to try and calm him down. He fell asleep with it in hand.

The Ted Williams display was one of my personal favorites.

The display on Hank Aaron was pretty incredible as well.

After four fun filled days on our own we finally arrived for the reason why we came to New York, Elder and Sister Esplin. They were outside waiting for us as we pulled up. Parker was sure excited to see Grandpa.