Home for a visit

 I headed to Utah for a few days to celebrate my nephew, Nathan's, marriage to Allie.  I regret that I didn't take any photos of their wedding day. However, I did enjoy a fun outing with my family at the  zoo while I was there.

Sure miss my kids!  

Monkeys--aka:  Ethan and Jacob

 

The Colorado Gordon's

Nikki, Syd, Heather, (Lyla), Ethan, and Dallin

Spring--finally!

As people met me they asked why I hadn't brought spring with me from Utah. I began to wonder the same thing. The long, hard winter of 2014 continued for quite some time. When spring broke, I was delighted.  My second spring, since I was able to welcome some of spring prior to departing Utah.  Here are some of our activities during the month of May.

Lindsey playing outside.  Lemonade and other sales efforts began with the neighborhood kids.

Lindsey's fourth grade poetry celebration.  Her teacher, Mrs. Hummerickhouse, is one of the finest teachers I've known in my career.  Her commitment to each individual student was evident in Lindsey's progress this particular year.  Notice that she surprised me by writing a poem about me. To this day I get a bit teary eyed when I read it.  I've sure grown to love this girls.

Over Memorial Day weekend we took a trip to Duluth.  Our adventures were many and great fun. It is a beautiful place, but definitely even colder than the Twin Cities. My friend, Lynnette Christensen, served in Duluth. It was her favorite area. Of course, it a coastal city with some spectacular sites.

Glensheen Mansion tour and grounds.  The is a historic house museum supposed by the University of Minnesota. It was built in the early 1900s, sits on 7.8 acres, and has 39 rooms.  It also has a murder story attached to its history.

Our next adventure was the Split Rock Lighthouse which is on the way to the Canadian border.  We walked many, many steps down to get some of the photos from the beachfront.  It is a beautiful area. The lighthouse was built in response to shipwrecks in Lake Superior vicinity

Gooseberry Falls, near Two Harbors, filled the other part of our day. Tanner chose not to join our jaunt. Notice Lindsey's sense of adventure and fun spirit!

One of the highlights of our trip was touring the Sudan Mine. (Thanks for the suggestion, Morton Family.) We were 2341 feet underground. Unbelievable!

                                   Our final day was a boat ride tour around the Duluth bay.

We ended the school year with two events for Lindsey--her school track race and first piano recital.

Marchant-Wood Family's First Month

Blending a family is a journey.  The journey is process, one that we're still experiencing in our home. Our first month together involved putting our house together. (Wish I had some before pictures.)  We started a routine of seminary, school, work, church, and extra-curricular activities.  I felt like I was a visitor for quite some time. I'm sure Lindsey, Tanner, and Ethan felt like they had a house guest who imposed a lot of changes.  Somehow we are surviving.  Here's what the first month looked like.



Farmington ward Pinewood Derby.  They included everyone! It was my first ward activity in Minnesota.  The people were very kind.




Lindsey turned 10 with a "Zoo Theme" birthday party.  Our house was almost put together by this time.  Lots of a fun with friends, treats, and games.  Katie, Alyssa, and Paige are in this photo.





Lindsey's fourth grade music program with their handmade dulcimers and recorders.  I was very impressed with the quality of music they produced!