Summer VA-CAY

I'm hoping pictures really do speak a thousand words because I'm lacking in time and energy to blog the last month.

Here goes.

We started our trip at Hill Cummorah for the Pagaent, a walk through the Sacred Grove, and a tour of Joseph Smith's boyhood home. My camera battery was dead, so I suppose a few words will have to suffice.

Let me sum up: Hill Commorah was basically a scene-by-scene musical of the Book of Mormon with as many stage pyrotechnics and special effects as humanly possible. Entertaining to all four kids, saying a lot. We'll be back in five years.

The Sacred Grove was just as I remembered it when I last went, IN THIRD GRADE. I hope it's as impressive to my kids even though they ran more than walked, and forgot Jeremy's counsel to use this as a quiet place to pray and reflect as soon as their feet hit the forest floor. Aaahhh well.

Joseph's home I loved -- for the perspective it gives my into his early transformative years, for its humbleness...how in the world did the family not wake up during Moroni's visit? The house is soooo small.

Next, with camera battery up and charged we headed to Niagara Falls. AWESOME.



We hiked.





Walked the "Rapid Walk." Took the "Journey behind the Falls," an amazing passageway carved out of the rock that drops you off behind the roar of crashing water. And, of course, "Maid of the Mist."





Last stop was the butterfly conservatory, an amazing place filled with thousands of butterflies that land on you, your neighbor, just not Jeremy?!





Our hotel room overlooked the falls; one side wall was a giant window, and on Sunday night we played games and then watched the firework show over the falls from our room window. It was magic!

We drove back and were barely home a few hours before I picked up the packed suitcases and we headed to the airport for the California leg of our trip. We met up with the Anderson's and went to Disneyland, then Jeremy flew back to DE and we stayed another couple of weeks.

Cade LOVED surf camp.



I went to watch the last day and was freaking out. No lifeguards. They surf wherever the surf report says the best waves are for the day. They're parking on the side of the road. There was a storm blowing in from Tahiti which made crazy surfing conditions the day I was there. A surfer died that day twenty miles up the coastline. Big waves, multiple swells. Sam the surf pro called off the surf competition because of unpredictable waves. But Cade still wanted to go out. Sam went with him and my heart raced and he got further and further out, a pindot in my camera's veiwfinder.
He rode a few waves, wiped out hard once, and headed in. The other, older, kids in the group watched from the beach and talked about his "guts." I was happy when it was over. Cade said the "rush" is what makes it fun.



Cade's biggest fans.