Across the US...and Back Again

Well, we ended up heading back across the United States...at least this time it was by airplane. My grandpa passed away about two weeks ago. I will miss him. He is a great man. He was the first of my relatives to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. For those of you that know me, know that is a very important part of my life. He also worked hard to provide for his family, loved fishing, was kind, witty, and smart. His medical condition declined in October of 2000, and for nearly the past 8 years my grandma has taken care of him. In some ways he is probably relieved, but we will miss him. I was very glad that we were able to go to the funeral. It was good to be with family during this time.
Connecticut has been a lot of fun. We have seen an aquarium (note the ginormous sea turtle), gone to the beach, and I went on some steroid enhanced go-karts this week. It is crazy to think we have been here 4 weeks. Time is going fast and slow at the same time. I have enjoyed my work with United Rentals. I have not enjoyed the commute. Ariana is sort of crawling, sort of talking, and always very good. Kierra is really fun and...we'll leave it at fun. She turned 3 this week. I can't believe that. We celebrated by going to the beach. We miss our family, but I am glad that I have my family with me.


KIERRA QUOTES:

After going to the beach: "I like Connecticut a whole lot...but I like Utah a little bit more."

"One for me and one for Kindra and one for you, madame." (First, why is she calling her mom Kindra? Second, I am not 'me' and I am not Kindra, so I must be....D'oh!)

After seeing a lady with a tattoo on her arm in Walmart: "Why did you color a flower on your arm?"

When we unfortunately had to go by the same lady again: "Hey, I asked why you colored a flower on your arm?"

Simple Things of Life

Today we sat down at a table and had dinner as a family in our apartment. Doesn't seem like much to write about, but for me it was wonderful. We have always had family dinner around the dinner table together. That has gone away as we have been traveling and trying to get furniture in our apartment and cooking utinsels, etc, etc. It was just really nice to sit around our beefy macaroni and eat as a family. I didn't even mind fighting Kierra to eat her food. We are getting a bed tomorrow, and we will finally be settled in. Everyone here has been very helpful to us. I have really enjoyed my internship so far. The first of two projects that I will assigned is very pertinent, and I am learning new things. It is nice having Adam (another BYU MBA) in the cubicle kiddy corner from me. The culture here is very different. I love that. My manager is Jewish. It was very interesting to me to hear him tell us what foods are kosher. Our managers took us to sushi. I have no problems trying new food, but I had no idea how to order. My manager just ordered for all of us. I really liked the food. It is definitely unique. We also had Indian food that other night. The restaurants here are very good. It is nice to be getting settled in.


Kierra Quotes:

Me: It is time to go inside Kierra.
Kierra: (While crying) I don't want to sit on the hard floors anymore. (We have all hardwood floors and at that point we had no furniture).

In Kierra's prayer tonight: "Please bless that we will drive to Utah safely." (If she keeps this up for two months, our drive back will be great).

Day 16 - Cortland, NY to New Canaan, CT

We drove a really long way...we are finally here. No furniture but, as you can tell from the picture, we can adjust on the fly.

Day 15 - Dunkirk, NY to Cortland, NY

Today we saw Niagara Falls. I thought it was great. I know a lot of people say it is smaller than they were expecting...I would hate to see what they are expecting. We took a boat ride out right up to the base of the falls with mist spraying everywhere. Kierra loved it. She just walked all over the boat looking at the seagulls and the waterfall. Thank goodness to Dora the Explorer. The entire drive there I would say "Where are we going?" and Kierra would yell "Waterfall!" She was a little disappointed that we didn't find Boots there, but she was not at all sad to miss out on Swiper. Ariana, on the other hand, didn't seem to impressed. She was fine...she always is. But every time the water would hit her face, she would get a big scowl. She is growing up fast. She is scoot along pretty well, getting her top teeth, clapping, waving, saying mama and, my personal favorite, dada. I have been especially glad to have a calm baby on this trip. There were times that I felt like I was going to blow a gasket, and a crying baby might have pushed me over the edge.

Day 14 - Milan, OH to Dunkirk, NY

So, I finally figured how to put pictures in the post so they will be archived correctly. For those of you who need help...it is the little icon that looks like a picture. Seems to make sense to most! Today's highlight was going Kirtland. Kirtland was a very interesting place. It was amazing to see how well the Saints were in Kirtland. It is an interesting progression seeing the living circumstances deteriorate as the Saints headed west. We were in a hurry (as always) but we were able to see the Whitney store and the temple. Both were amazing to me. I loved being where they had the school of the prophets, where so many of the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants came, where the prophet Joseph saw his brother Alvin, and where he was ministered to by angelic beings, including the Savior himself. It was a quick visit, but I am glad we made it. A distant second, but still a highlight of the trip was going to a restaurant and being served by Amish people. Other cultures intrigue me. I grew up around Hutterites, and Amish seem somewhat similar. I am interested as to their beliefs. For now it's enough to say that they are nice people, and they make a mean piece of fried chicken.