Our time in New Harmony

About three weeks into my rotation in St. George, Utah, Christy and the girls decided to come down and hang with me, Grandma and Grandpa Graf, and Great-Grandma Gilmore. It was great to have them with me again. I never thought I would miss changing diapers and wiping bums so much!

Me studying like a mad man for my board exams coming up in a few short months! I look semi-constipated. Sorry.

Me trying to remember where the "ON" button is on my computer.

Emily is really starting to get into scrapbooking. Here she is with her first gluestick, which she decided would be put to better use in her tummy. Christy scrapbooked a lot while I studied and wasted loads of time playing Civilization 4...

Grandma Graf with two homeless children we picked up off the side of the road.

Grandma took Christy and the girls to lunch and to the park. Here's Avery pounding her 4th pint of chocolate milk.

Christy (with her new hat) and Avery after one too many chocolate milks. What a couple of cuties!

Madi and I playing frisbee in Grandma and Grandpa's backyard. What a pretty view of Kolob National Park!

Grandma and Grandpa Graf playing bubbles with Madi and Avery. They never get sick of popping bubbles. They ran everywhere chasing bubbles for about an hour. They crashed hard that night!

The girls and I chilling on the hammock. We were looking for animals in the clouds. What you don't see is about 5 minutes after this picture, Avery hopped off and I was lifting Madi off when the hammock flipped on me and I face-planted into the ground.

Grandma and Avery on that same treacherous hammock, which, of course, did not flip on them...

Avery revving up her engine. She'll have that same look on her face in 13 years when she starts driver's ed.

Madi taking the plunge on Grandma's slide. Isn't it funny that when you're little, even the smallest slides seem big?

Madi waving off the Paparazzi.

Grandpa Graf discovered that the Easter bunny had come a little early to New Harmony and left a bunch of eggs on their front yard. Madi and Avery braved the cold and the wind to collect them.

Grandpa Graf's son Jason and his wife Jessica came to visit. They were super nice!

My mom and I made Peanut butter cups for the people at work so that they would be my friends. I think it worked. At least they stopped making fun of Idaho when I was around.

Yes, they were as good as they look! And yes, I ate most of them.

Madi got a cup with dirt and sunflower seeds in it at church. We watched to see how much they grew every day. Sunflowers grow really fast, apparently.

Awww. They really are best friends. Christy made a collage of pictures because she couldn't decide which one was the cutest. The picture in the middle is the way they usually look.

We wanted to do a four-generation picture with Great-Grandma Gilmore, my mom, me, and the girls, but apparently three weeks wasn't long enough to get all of us together and smiling for a picture on the couch. At least we got Emily smiling, though. Avery looks sort of violent to me. Madi looks possessed. At least Grandma and I look incredible.


As a side note, my dad started having serious chest pain while we were in New Harmony. He was taken to the ER and found to have about 95% blockage of one of the main arteries of his heart. Luckily he hadn't had a heart attack yet, but it was about as close as you can get! He had a stent placed that evening and now is doing great! We love him so much and we're grateful he's doing well. Grandma Trudy took really good care of him. We're so blessed he's doing well!