Redeming Our Dead

 

Well, a few nights ago, we got the wonderful opportunity to be involved in some temple work for our very own ancestors.  For years, Nick's mom has been busy tracking down her ancestry.  Part of the challenge has been that her very own father needed his temple work done, as well as all of the others in his line.  However, there were some inaccuracies in our records, making it difficult to track down all of the members in his line.  As it turned out, he was on his own by the time he was a 14, and ended up changing his name and birth date to disguise his past.  Nobody knew it while he was alive, but after a bit of research, Grandma Hoskins was able to correct the information and find his real name and birth date.  In Additional, she was also able to find out where he was from.  That was the awesome part of all of her research.  As it would turn out, her father, Glen Clinton Richard "Buck" Anthony, was actually from North Dakota--a North Dakota cowboy in fact.  When we found out, we could hardly believe that he and his family were from our new home state.  Consequently, it seemed appropriate for their temple work to be completed in the Bismarck North Dakota Temple.  At first Nick's mom wasn't sure she was ready to do the work for her parents, but, with some gentle nudging from us, we convinced her to make a trip out so we could all complete the work here.  Then, on Thursday, September  27, Nick, Susan, Gordon, and I all went to the temple and completed their family names.  After the session, we got an extra special blessing.  The Temple Presidency allowed us, on the spur of the moment, to do a live sealing session.  Now that their other temple work had been completed, Nick's mom could finally be sealed to her parents and grandparents. Right then and there she was sealed to her parents with Nick and I acting as their proxies.  It was amazing!  Several other family members were sealed as well.  It was a really special experience, and I am sure the timing of the genealogy work coincided with our move.  Those family members wanted their work done where they had lived, and the Lord, in his great wisdom, moved us into position to grant that wish.  Whatever doubts we had about moving to Bismarck were swallowed up in that night.  How long we are supposed to stay, I can't say, but without a shadow of a doubt I know we were supposed to come! 

"Way to Bee"

Today the kids got their first ever chance to not only watch the Bismarck City Parade, but to actually be in it as well.  The Primary President in our ward came up with the idea to put all the primary children in the parade with a float displaying President Hinckley's six B's--Be smart, Be grateful, Be true, Be humble, Be prayerful, Be clean.  Her husband built a giant beehive for the actual float, and then all of the primary children were the bees.  Here are some shots of the whole primary.

 

 

 

And a few of our little bees before,

 

during,

 

and after the parade.  

They loved being in the parade, especially handing out the Bit O' Honey treats to all of the kids.   It was a really great missionary opportunity too.  I'm proud of them for their little missionary efforts and for not being ashamed of their Mormon identity.  Rumor has it, they might end up in the Friend magazine soon too, so keep your eyes open for them!

Emergency Banquet Fit for a King...or Not!

Well, that wonderful time finally came when all of the food in our 72-hour kit expired, and it was time to toss it out and to order anew.  Being the conservative spenders that we are; however, and seeing as how we are actually banking on being able to eat this stuff in an emergency, we figured that we would take all of the food and have an honorary MRE family meal night rather than just tossing it in the rubbish bin.  What a fiasco that was!  The MRE's were barely palatable, and most of my kids voted to starve rather than force them down.  Even I couldn't make it through enough to take the edge off of my hunger.  Nick scarfed it up, but in our mock emergency, the rest of us simply perished with hunger.  Actually, we snuck a little Little Caesar's Pizza after Nick took off for work, but he was none the wiser.  Us, on the other hand, well we knew not to replace those nasty things with another load of cardboard flavored dog food.  Instead we filled our 72-hour kit with a much more appetizing assortment of power bars and trail mix.  As such, I guess the night wasn't a total loss.  And I did learn my lesson about storing something I had never tasted before--Don't! 

 

Oh Boy---I've Got Joy!

Don't ask me how, but somehow I got roped into doing another year of preschool for my little Emma this year.  It's technically a "Joy School," not a preschool, and actually should be really good for Emma, but I have no idea how I am going to manage it.  I'm already homeschooling Spencer and running Music Makers for Mason.  Everyone knows I just can't say no though, so, here we go again.  Home Preschool #5, here we come.........

Medora, North Dakota

With a week and a half of school down, and a three day weekend staring us in the face, we did what any all-American family would do--took a vacation.  After all, a week of hard work deserves a reward, doesn't it!!  Actually, it really doesn't, but we needed something to do to celebrate Nick's 33rd birthday, and seeing as how we are in the public school world now, we've got to take advantage of every school holiday there is to get away. Getting away is considerably more difficult than it used to be though, especially since there is only one vacation destination that is close enough to go to on a three-day weekend.  I guess one destination is better than none though, so we packed up our camping gear and headed due west--straight to North Dakota's top toursit attraction--Medora!  As its webite states:

 Historic Medora is a unique mix of spectacular scenery, wildlife, outdoor adventure, entertainment, dining, and shopping.  It's famous for its Bully Pulpit Golf Course, its Medora Pitchfork Steak Fondue, the great outdoor Medora Musical, and its proximity to the Theodore Roosevelt National Park.  As official North Dakotans, we figured we had better go and see what it was all about.

 

Upon arriving in Medora, we poked around the old town for a bit, including a visit to the Old Fashioned Candy Store and the famous Rough Riders Hotel.

Then we headed over and set up camp at a cozy little site just steps from the National Park entrance.

 

 

We couldn't hang out at the camp site for long though.  We were all getting hungry and there is apparently only one way to eat in this neck of the woods:

 

 

In case you can't tell from this quality photograph, that is the one and only North Dakota Pitchfork Fondue.  In other words, they take a steak, literally stick it on a pitchfork, and deep fry it in a giant "fondue pot".

 

It was actually all right, though I think half of that must be attributed to the great cowboy atmosphere.

 

After dinner we took a few pictures of the kids with the North Dakota Badlands in the background.  I know they are called the Badlands, and I know this is North Dakota we're talking about, but it was actually really pretty.  The pictures didn't even do it justice.  Nick and I couldn't help but smile.  Both of us were a little relieved that there was somewhere we could get away to in an hour or two that was quaint enough to touch our fancies.

 

 

We lingered on the hill for a long time, then snapped a quick family photo, and made our way over to the outdoor theater.

 

It wasn't Broadway, by any stretch, but the backdrop was really quite stunning, and the Musical folksy enough to make us fall in love with the great cowboys of the past that brought the state of North Dakota into being.  Nick's Grandfather was actually one of those cowboys, and I think the spirit of Elijah snuck in and tapped us on the shoulder as we watched and sang along.  Truly, it was an evening we all enjoyed, and made me long for more good, clean, family fun.  This is the way the world ought to be! 

 

The next day we hiked, biked,

 

 

and drove through the National Park.  There are so many prairie dogs,

 

 

and buffalo,

 

 

and wild horses that you really do feel like you are living in the Old Wild West.  I didn't think I had much of a cowgirl inside of me, but it turns out, I just might.  Something about our weekend really resonated with me, and I think I'm going to like this new home of ours.

School Clothes Fashion Show

Day 2

 

Day 3

 

 

Day 4

 

Day 5

(After four days of skirts, we had to throw some pants in there, just so Maddi's teacher wouldn't think we were FLDS or something!)

 

 

In case you can't tell, I still love shopping for kids clothes, and and I still love turning my children into little dollies whom I can dress-up and accessorize. Madison is still so obliging that she gets spoiled with the grandest wardrobe. Spencer and Mason also wear whatever I want to put them in, but boys clothes are pretty boring, and they refuse to be photographed anyway, no matter what I bribe them with. Emma, on the other hand, is very particular about what she will wear, and it seldom meets with mommy's approval.  Occasionally, however, I can convince her to put together a photo-worthy outfit.  Those days are becoming fewer and farther between though.    Ahh well, such is life.  I'll get away with it as long as I can, and then look back on the cute pictures I took when I can't get away with it any more.