Road Trip

I started this post a few weeks ago but blogger was having trouble uploading photos so I set it aside. I sat down to do it again today and I just got another error message. AAaarrggghh. Here are the photos that worked. Maybe I'll try the others later. I just haven't felt like blogging knowing I only have a 50/50 chance of having success. Any ideas for alternatives??


We had a great visit to Michigan to see Daniel's parents, his brother Steven, and his grandma last month. Spencer and Esther were very excited to go see new places and were good little buddies the whole trip. We also made a long excursion and drove 14 hours to Pennsylvania for Daniel's grandpa's 90th birthday. We got to see the rest of Daniel's siblings (but missed you Lynsey and Gavin!) and really enjoyed the mini-reunion.

Checking out the organ at Great-Grandma Rinker's house.

Spencer and Esther were glad to get candy and cashews each time we stopped in to see Grandma Rinker.

We had a great time at the hotel pool in Pennsylvania with all the cousins. Esther was hesitant to be in the water at first but had so much fun that by the end she did not want to leave.

Spencer was very interested in Uncle Jim's electronic gadgets and was happy to play with them with Charlotte.

The best parts about the birthday party for the kids were playing with the ice,

and the live music. (I got a video of them dancing but they were also intrigued with the instruments and loud speakers.)

Esther was so happy to be home again and see all her old toys!

Summer Catch Up

Spencer and Esther have loved playing in the water outside, at least on those days when we don't have a heat advisory. Spencer loved his two weeks of swimming lessons this summer also and is eager to get back to the pool.

A happy daddy on Father's Day.

It's hard to believe this was our back yard a month ago, one morning after a particularly hard rain. The grass is now brown and we are missing the thunderstorms.

Esther makes the goofiest faces at the table to get us to laugh at her, and it works!

She is also very interested in doing everything Spencer does. Perhaps that will mean she'll be ready for potty training early?

Spencer has started to request that I take pictures of him and wanted to make some silly faces for the camera.

Here was another request for a picture. Esther started by putting on my shoes and Spencer wanted to join in since Daniel and I thought it was so funny.

Visit to Iowa, Part 3

Just a few more pictures, courtesy of Amy and Ben. The grandchildren were a lot happier than they look--they were just done with the photo shoot!




And here's a snapshot from the ride home. They both happened to be looking at a Friend magazine so I'm assuming Spencer handed one to Esther because I didn't. She is definitely out of the baby stage and very much a toddler now, trying to keep up with her big brother. She does a good job making her voice heard.

Visit to Iowa, Part 2

We enjoyed seeing my parents' new house in the spring and spent a lot of time outside. They have a wonderful front porch that we put to good use--we DeVochts are good at sitting around and talking! We also received a big surprise while we were there--my brother Kevin, who has been in Iraq for a year, showed up at the doorstep with his family one night. They had driven overnight from Utah and this was the first we had heard from him since he returned from Iraq. He and his wife Stephanie had been scheming this surprise for a while and boy did they surprise Mom. She screeched so loud I thought something horrible had happened but she was just totally and completely shocked. I'm so glad our trip got delayed so we could overlap their visit. It was great to have all of the grandchildren together--the first time ever. Thank you everyone for the great visit!!

Visit to Iowa, Part 1

We got back from a great visit to Iowa this week and I'm congratulating myself for posting already. I can't believe I haven't posted anything since Mother's Day! The highlight of the trip was going to the Nauvoo temple. We had hoped to go on our 5th anniversary, but going a week and a day late wasn't bad. We haven't been there since our wedding and I could not believe that much time has gone by already. It feels like we just got married last year, but we now have two beautiful children and are grateful for the many other blessings we've received in our five years of marriage.

We drove directly from Indiana to Nauvoo and met my parents and some of my sisters there. I couldn't get over how beautiful the temple looked, even though I've seen it many times before.






Spencer was really excited to see the temple (I love that face!) and really wanted to go in with us. Fortunately Gramma and Aunt Amy volunteered to take him and Esther to Old Nauvoo and they had a good time there while the rest of us went in to do a session.


Esther continues to be our shy one but we brought her favorite bunny puppet along (look familiar, Tamara?) and that helped ease the separation.


I'll be so glad to show Esther these pictures of her at the temple once she is older. They are happy memories.

Mother dear I love you so ...

I got to hear Spencer sing this Primary song all day today. Daniel has been practicing with him this week and though he sang it for me at home, he was silent when the Primary children got up in sacrament meeting to sing it. I had a lovely day and feel so blessed to be a mom.

Here's a happier picture of Esther.

Greatest Treasures

Our little daredevil.

Our happy boy.