Catching Up

We have been doing a lot the last week or so, but I have not been blogging much so I thought I would just let you all know the highlights, and a bunch of pictures of James.

* James started wearing 6-9 month clothes.

* My first dentist appointment in years.

* James started eating "solids." He likes eating rice cereal. Next we will try some sweet potatoes.

* James and I started going back to walking group.

* James had his first paid babysitter. Thanks, Kaitlyn!

* Stake Conference. The Sunday session was broadcast from Salt Lake.

* James got his hairs cut for the second time.

* Jon's last day of second year.

* Jon starting to study for Step 1 (the first part of the Boards).

* Our five year anniversary.

Grand Adventure Part 6: Driving Across the Country

This is the last part of our journey.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

We left Utah at about 10:00 a.m. and started the long drive I had been dreading. The first day passed pretty much without incident. It was a lot of driving through a lot of brown. Wyoming is not the most exciting place to drive through. There are some fun land formations, but not much else. Here are some pictures of the drive so you can see for yourself. James did really good. I was the most surprised by that. I was sure he would not like it and let us know, but he slept, chewed on my fingers, and played.

We stopped for the night in North Platte, Nebraska at about 9:30 p.m. James was really excited for the crib provided by the hotel we stayed at.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

We left at 9:00 a.m. The day started the same way with James sleeping. Here is some of the scenery of the day. A little different from the previous day, but still a little monotonous. We did see more cities through Nebraska and Iowa like Lincoln and Omaha. And we saw a lot of wind power being generated. James played again.

We arrived in Davenport, Iowa at a little after 6:00 p.m. and stated with one of Jon's mission companions and his family. It was really nice to hang out with them, and I am grateful they opened their home to us and let James sleep in Kara's crib.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

We took our time leaving since this was the shortest leg of our drive, and we enjoyed some time out of the car. James had fun "playing" with Kara, though I am not sure how much Kara enjoyed it. She did not see to sure about James wanting to hold her hand.

We drove through Illinois and Chicago, and on through Indiana. We arrived in Toledo around 5:00 p.m. James and I were so glad to be home. I had stake meetings that started at 6:30 that night, but I was exhausted and decided not to go.

I brought a few things back from out West.

• Four Jars of Nalley Pickles
• Salsa from Plum Loco
• Peppered and Cajun Jerky from Erda, Utah
• Homegrown Beef : two roast, 3 lbs. of hamburger, and four steaks
• Chocolate from Switzerland (Thanks Kirkham Family!)
• Easter Candy

Amish Country

For our anniversary, we went to Amish Country. On the way out of Toledo, we got breakfast at MacDonald's. We love their breakfasts, but have not had it in a long time.

It was about a three hour drive. The drive was really beautiful. Everything was green. We first starting noticing that there were a lot less power/phone lines. Then we saw a buggie coming down the road.

Our first stop was in Bunker Hill, Ohio at Heini's Cheese Chalet. Thanks Miller Family for the post about it on your blog! We got a free tour, but sadly they do not make cheese on Wednesdays (unless they have excess milk). It was really interesting. Jon was able to talk to the tour guide later and we learned a lot of things about the Amish that we never knew before. "Pennsylvania Dutch" is actually a dialect of Swiss German, which we had figured out before hand. In an Amish church service, they will read a part of the Bible in High German, and then, explain it in Pennsylvania Dutch. If there is a visitor there, they will just speak in English so everyone can understand it.

We were also able to sample a lot of different kinds of cheese and cheese fudge. Jon and I both picked one kind of cheese to buy. We got pizza cheese and jalapeno yogurt cheese. Yum! This is definitely a place to visit if you like cheese.

Then we drove down the road to Charm, Ohio and Chalet in the Valley for lunch/dinner. It was the best German/Swiss food we have found in a long time. Here is our food (and you can kind of see my shorter hair). We also got a piece of red raspberry pie for dessert. James was very talkative while we were eating. Shortly after this picture he fell asleep. We were sitting next to this wall. Check out the Coo Coo Clock, Beer Steins, and Cow Bells. This is the Cheese Factory across the street. We were going to check it out too, but it was pouring rain at this time and James was sleeping, so we headed for home.

Grand Adventure Part 5: Back in Utah

Sunday, April 12, 2009

After dropping off my sister and Jenni, I headed to Jon's parents house. It was about 10:00 p.m. when we got there. I was really tired and James had fallen asleep on the drive from West Jordan.

Monday, April 13, 2009

Grandma Felt spent some time with James while I ran a few errands. I needed some dry ice for the beef I brought across the country, and Jon wanted some jerky for a Smokehouse in Erda, UT. He says it is the best beef jerky he has ever had.

James and I just hung out with Grandma Felt, Anna, and Carson (James's Cousins) for most of the day. Here is a picture of James saying good bye to Grandma. These are pictures of the mountains that can be seen from Jon's parents' house.

At about 4:00, we headed to the Deru's for dinner. Jon graduated with Marc Deru from the Chemical Engineer Program at BYU. I was fun to see Marc and Miriam again and to meet their little girl, Anna. Anna and James were about the same size, but Anna is a few months older.

James was really tired, and had a little bit a a break down. I finally got him to Jenni's parents' house and to bed. He was then happier. Jenni's parents had just flown in from Switzerland. It was good to meet them and I am grateful we could stay at their home after their long travels.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

We left Utah and started our drive across the country.

5 Years!

Jon and I have been married five years today! It is great to be married to my best friend forever! I love you more today than yesterday!

Most of the first pictures are not good quality. I could not get the scanner to work so they are pictures of pictures.

Previous post took me a long time to do, so that is why I have not posted in a while. Hopefully now I will be able to get back to posting more regularly now. :)