This Week...

SO.....

As many of you DON'T know, Mr. Davy had surgery this week..

He had tumor under his jaw on his right side.

Big enough that you could see it..

So...

Wednesday he went in to get the thing removed..

Before his surgery they had him go in and put on his gown, 

and also to mark (with a "YES") where the surgery should take place..

{is that a little creepy to anyone else?? }

I imagine this..

"Here's a sedated man.. Hmmm where should we cut him open?..

HOLD IT!! Right here on his neck!!"

Anyhoo..

I wanted to take a picture of his "YES" but he was feeling freaked out and wouldn't let me.. It was hilarious.. He'd done it in the mirror, so it was backwards, and also, Davy is not known for his beautiful handwriting.. so he wrote it backwards, and.. well.. it actually looked like a 2 year old had got too close to him with a pen..

So...

After his surgery (supposed to be 45-75 minutes.. took 3 hours!) (his "golf ball" sized tumor turned out to be "baseball sized") he was really antsy coming out of anesthesia.. He was very wiggly and kept pulling off his blankets and gown.. Not easy to keep him clothed!! Plus - he had a drainage tube coming out of his neck, and I was worried about him tugging on that..

Later...

After coming to and being relieved the surgery was over with he was ALL for having his picture taken.. 

::dang.. I wish I would have pushed harder for the neck-writing.. never mind, I pushed pretty hard..::

[WARNING - if you're freaked out by tubes sticking out of necks, skip the 2nd and 3rd photos]

Moved to his "overnight" room.. Yes, he had to be kept overnight.. 

To a recliner..

He thought it was heavenly..

THE TUBE.. not as bad as I thought it would be..

and his incision.. its almost 2 inches long..

THE DRAINAGE TUBE..

He told me he felt a little like Angelina Jolie..

{then, of course, I had to make fun of him and say, wouldn't it be more manly to say he felt like Billy Bob Thornton? And wasn't it the other person's blood? Not their own?.. Really, we laughed pretty hard about this!!}

EATING PUDDING..

He said, "take a picture of me eating"

so I did :)

I spent A LOT of time there at the surgery center.. 6am to 9pm..

I did take a short lunch break at 1.. And then had to be there to pick him up at 6 am the next morning..

He seems to be doing all right.. 

but laying in bed makes for a boring Father's Day..

He got a ping-pong table, 

though he won't feel like using it for quite a while..

{actually sounds EXACTLY like how I spent Mother's Day.. 

its a trend!!}

He is hoping to be able to go to work tomorrow.. We'll see.. But I may have to drive him, though he's trying to wean himself off his Lortab..

So - Happy Father's Day to my wonderful Husband!!

DAVID, I LOVE YOU!!

Also this week..

I painted my living room.. 

Its hard to tell the differences, but I loaded the pictures so here we go..

BEFORE

a peachy-cream color

not at all exciting against those chair rails..

AFTER

3 of the walls are now "Mochachino"

a brownish green

And one wall is Twig Basket

(a shade darker on the card)

Really loving them!!

Even have the room put back together!!

(that is huge for me!!)

Vermont, Upstate New York - DONE!!

Sunday, June 6

Sharon, Vermont

We kind of drove out of our way to go to Joseph Smith's Birthplace..

It was worth the drive!!

The road to turn on..

At the Visitor's Center..

I'll warn you right now.. These missionaries in the East like to put you on the spot..

Unfortunately, we have one of those easily remembered Mormon last names, 

and they liked to call on us A LOT..

Here in Vermont, especially Chelsea.. They had her reading quotes and defining Apostasy, 

to name a few..

They also asked Savannah to tell the story of Joseph Smith's leg infection..

Now, my kids are like me, and don't so much like being randomly called on - if we have something to say, we'll raise our hand and say it!

Otherwise, we don't love being called on..

They did a great job in their assignments!!

(as we were heading to Palmyra, they started asking questions on what they might be asked.. I think they were nervous and wanting to be ready for more questions)

A rocking chair built by Joseph Smith..

The monument..

Have I mentioned that Adeline has turned into quite the poser?

The doorstep in its exact place where the cabin would have been..

The area where the Smith cabin was..

I can't remember what that plaque says..

It was an absolutely beautiful drive -

and we passed signs saying "Moose Crossing" and "Bear Crossing"

I was extremely disappointed to see neither..

After Sharon, it was a 6 hour drive to Palmyra..

We bought the "Shrek the Musical" soundtrack and listened to it over and over..

As it got late, somehow Chelsea started using Adi's baby to dance to each of the songs..

Apparently, this was HILARIOUS!!

Really, this went on for at least a half an hour, and Adi laughed SO HARD the WHOLE TIME!!

{thanks Chelsea, for being so darn entertaining!!!}

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Monday, June 8

Palmyra, New York

This is us after hiking to the top of Hill Cumorah..

It was quite a hike!!

They had a road to drive up, but thought, "its not that far!"

Lets just say, its very steep and we were tired!

The view from the top

The Angel Moroni Monument at the top!!

Heading back down, this time on the back side..

The girlies frolicking at the base of the Hill

The Smith Family Cabin

A re-creation of how it would have looked - on the actual site

As you walk between the log cabin and the frame home you pass the Palmyra Temple peeking through the trees.. it overlooks the Sacred Grove

This is the Smith's frame home, just down the road..

It is the actual home, and much of it is original - 

The Sacred Grove

I had no idea how HUGE the Sacred Grove is..

Of course, they don't know actually where it occurred, and there are MANY paths to take and explore - I truly loved this place!! It was so peaceful, and we pretty much had the whole grove to ourselves.. 

WONDERFUL

Fayette, New York

This is the actual room where the Church was organized..

The Whitmer Cabin

We had a wonderful missionary here.. 

It was just our family, and he was just darling, I want him to be another grandpa!!

Back in Palmyra..

The 4 churches on each corner..

{Lo here! Lo there!}

Martin Harris' Home

They don't do tours here.. In fact, someone lives here, but it has a parking lot and the 2 large plaques in the front yard..

{I have always had a soft spot for this man, he made some big mistakes, had a very unsupportive wife, and look at the huge help he was to the early church..}

Tuesday, June 9

Palmyra Temple

This is the view from the temple over the Sacred Grove

::sigh:: Davy mauling me in front of the Temple

Niagra Falls (the US side)

I have to say, beautiful, but very freaky..

Lots of water, lots of height, lots of power

Wow! Is that it?

Well, mostly.. I do have some loose ends to pick up..

but that's it!!

Yay me!!

NYC & Massachusetts!

Thursday, June 4

New York City

We took Amtrak to New York City

Our hotel was in Times Square and the first thing we did was head out

to buy our Broadway tickets..

In the Lion King Theater (Minskoff Theater)

Before our show!!


After Lion King - in Times Square!!


Silly girls in the room..

Friday, June 5
At lunch - authentic New York Olive Garden!!

We made the LONG trek to FAO Schwarz in a huge downpour..

(we'd gone the day before and the little girls decided to buy these fabulous babies..)
Savannah after choosing hers..

Adi with her baby!!

During her adoption interview with Nurse Ghenet (say ja-nay)

Savannah answering her questions..

Back at the hotel.. We are WET!!!

Adeline with Alison

Savannah with Zoe

Well, with the rain we couldn't go to the Statue of Liberty,

and we couldn't see from the top of the Empire State Building..

So the next best thing??
Naps!!

Chelsea with Alison

Sleepy!

Shrek!!

It was a little chilly, but at least it had stopped raining!!
____________________________________________________________________
Saturday, June 6

Plymouth, Massachusetts

The Plymouth Rock

Its pretty much.. a rock

It DOES have 1620 stamped on it, but you can't tell from this..

The girlies AND Plymouth Rock..

The whole monument (girlies to left..)

The girlies looking down at Plymouth Rock..

Mayflower II
A replica of the Mayflower..

The girlies on board.. being Pilgrims!

There it is!!

Having fun!!

Adi.. checking the horizon..

Lexington, Massachusetts

A boulder marking the line the colonists stood in to slow down the British march to Concord..

The girls are "acting out" the quote engraved in it..

Chelsea - Stand your ground

Adeline - Don't fire unless fired upon

(but if they mean to have a war)

Savannah - Let it begin here

The Old Monument

(this marks the other end of the line, and is the burial site for 7 of the 8 men who died here)

The Minuteman Memorial

____________________________________________________________________

Sunday, June 7

Concord, Massachusetts

Sleepy Hollow Cemetary

Our brand new rental car!!

We love it!!

It's a Cadillac Escalade that had 9 miles on it when we picked it up!!

The entrance to Sleepy Hollow Cemetary

(I really wanted one of the girls to pose for this with their head in their shirt -

like the Headless Horseman.. I finally talked them into it,

but we forgot when it was time to leave)
(Actually, I'm pretty sure this is the wrong Sleepy Hollow Cemetary.. but still..)

Exploring Author's Ridge - many famous authors buried here:

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Louisa May Alcott

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Henry David Thoreau

Really a beautiful place..

I thought these were really neat.. Many graves had these next to them..

They say Civil War Veteran..

The Old Manse

The home of Ralph Waldo Emerson and later Nathaniel Hawthorne

And right next to this is

The Battle of Concord site

The Battle Monument

The Old North Bridge

(the girls are on the left)

The Minuteman Monument, and its inscription, above

Overlooking the Battlefield