Temple Trip

Earlier in the week we called the temple and made reservations at the accomadations center to spend the night at the London Temple. We thought that if we drove up Friday night and came back Saturday morning/lunch time it would help break up the two hour drive each direction. So we headed out to the temple Friday and about four hours later we finally made it. Then today we headed back for home around noon and it only took us three and a half hours to get back. It was indeed a long trip but it was fun in a way....we got to spend a lot of time together without any distractions. And Emerson did really well for being stuck in the car for so long. Here are a few pictures from our trip.

The new Angel Moroni on top the temple.

Emerson watching the planes fly overhead.

Emerson standing.

Hungry for some yummy squash.

Hugs for Geoffrey

Emerson has a stuffed Giraffe that we have named Geoffrey that he got from his grandma when he was only a couple months old. It's very soft and cuddly and plays music. Now that he has gotten older he hasn't payed as much attention to it, but within the past couple days he has started taking an interest in Geoffrey again. When we wind him up so the music plays Emerson takes him in his arms and rocks him back and forth and gives him lots of cuddles. Last night we got it on video.

More Please

We have been trying to teach Emerson some sign language so that it is easier for him to express what he wants. He has been doing pretty well with it. This video he is eating graham crackers and signing 'more' and 'please'. I don't know why the picture is so grainy.

First Year Photos

When we were in the states we had Emerson's "one year" photos taken.

Still Adjusting

Below are some pictures of Emerson taking a twenty minute power nap Sunday morning before church. Adjusting is proving to be a bit more difficult this time. We have been lucky however, thus far we have only had one night where Emerson went to bed and then woke up and wanted to play until 2 am.

We're Back

We got back to England the Tuesday after the fourth of July. We had a night flight back so Emerson slept through the flight. We got back home around noon went and got some groceries and then started to unpack. It took us until Saturday night to finally get everything unpacked and the house in order. We left the house clean but trying to unpack and adjust to the time schedule took its toll on things. We had a great vacation and loved getting to see everyone, but it's nice to be home.

4th of July

We got back from camping the Friday before the Fourth of July. On the fourth Kristine and her mom went and did some shopping and then in the evening we had a BBQ. That night we drove down to the water where the fireworks were going to be shot off to watch them. Emerson had fun playing in the back of grandpa's truck while we waited for the fireworks. The fireworks were pretty good and Emerson really enjoyed the colors as they lit up the night sky.

Swinging

At the campgrounds where we stayed there was a playground that had little kid swings as well as regular ones. We stopped and put Emerson in them to see how he liked it. Well he loved it. We also took turns with Emerson on the regular swings and I think he might have liked that even more.

Fishing

A lot of our camping trip we spent down by the river fishing. We caught a lot of small fish but none of them were big enough to keep. The closest we got to seeing any of the larger fish was when they would jump out of the water to catch the little bugs that float on the surface. While we were down by the water we put Emerson's feet in to see what he thought. He wasn't too keen on the whole experience and prefered to be held and kept a safe distance from it all. He didn't even like standing on the sand next to the water because it was wet. You'll notice in one of the photos of him standing on the wet ground that he is only standing on one leg like a flamingo.

Camping Photos

Here are a few more pictures of us hanging out around the campsite.

Camping

We went camping at a national park right outside of Baltimore. It was all nice and wooded and we had a really great campsite that was secluded from other campsites. While we were there we did a lot of relaxing and enjoyed the wonderful weather. The first night it poured on us, but the rest of the time the weather was great. It wasn't super hot and there was hardly any humidity which was perfect for Emerson. Here are some photos from our first day. You can see in the background of one of the photos of Emerson and Kristine that Kristine's dad and Stephen are hard at work setting up camp while the rest of us carry on taking photos and having fun.

Preparations

We left Vermont on Monday and headed down to Maryland to spend time with Kristine's parents. We spent most of our trip in Maryland camping and had a great time. Below are some pictures of Emerson helping pack for our camping trip.

Reunion Cont.

Here are some more photos from the reunion.


Emerson and Skylar playing ball (Skylar is two weeks YOUNGER then Emerson)

Emerson and Miles playing with the football (Miles is three months OLDER)

Emerson being crazy

Emerson being shy

Emerson being sweet