Heaton Happenings

A few years ago we had to turn Penelope's door knob around because she kept locking herself in her room and we got tired of taking the door knob off to get her out. Well, we never changed it back.

(Prepare for a long post and lots of pictures.) We had 3 very long days of travel to reach our destination for our vacation this year, but it was all worth it! We drove to SLC because it was MUCH cheaper to fly to the east coast from there and as an added bonus we were able to see Dan and JaNeil and family on their way to Vernal. We left early the next morning and flew to Charlotte, NC. When we got to Charlotte we found that only Sullivan's and Eleanor's carseats had made it with us, but it was a good thing we had those. We got our luggage and Penelope's booster seat about 6 hours later. The next morning we drove to Williamsburg, VA, where we spent most of the vacation. My Mom used her timeshare points to get condos for all of my family to stay in. We had 5, 3 bedroom condos. The complex was really great. It had 3 pools, mini-golf, tennis, volleyball courts and they had fun activities throughout the week like a pool party for the kids and crafts and bingo. So we spent most of the time hanging out with cousins, aunts, uncles and Grandma at the condo complex. Penelope and I went to a ghost tour one evening in Williamsburg (it is a good thing she doesn't know what vampires are). Aaron went to Busch Gardens with nephews Justin and Tanner and niece Katy. They had a great time.

We went to historic Jamestown where we listened to a retired lawyer dressed in period clothing describe the hardships faced by those early settlers. Here is a picture of us with Pocahontas. (Penelope refused to be in this picture. Embarrassed of us already?) Uncle Morgan was a good sport, carrying my kids all over the place. And he wasn't the only one. They attached themselves to anyone who would take them. In Yorktown, we spent a couple of hours on a sail boat on the James river. It was a very hot, humid day with little wind, so we did a lot of motoring and not a lot of sailing, but the girls really enjoyed being on the boat. It was interesting to see how many jellyfish there are in the James river. And some of the kids spotted stingrays too. Can you believe they actually had a little beach where people were swimming? We decided against it.

Little Eleanor was so hot and tired on the boat that I was pouring bottled water on her head to cool her down. One of the crew saw me doing it and offered a hose. After hosing her down a bit she perked right up and enjoyed the boat again.Penelope with Aunt Penny.

Virginia Beach was gorgeous! It was kind of a cool windy day (where was that when we were on the boat?), but the kids had a great day anyway. It was a red flag day. The waves were really big and the current was strong, so I made sure that the girls stayed shallow and were always holding someones hand. Here is a picture of Isabelle and Eleanor. And Penelope with Katy and Maliyah.

My brother, Matt, and his family stayed in our condo with us. The girls had fun playing with McKenzee and Kaylee. Here they are doing McKenzee's hair.

After spending a week in Williamsburg, VA, we drove to Princeton, WV, where my Mom is from. My Dad and sister, Stephanie, couldn't spend the whole time away from work, so they joined us once we got to WV. We were able to go see the Johnston family farm, which is still owned by my uncle Doug. It is something like 460 acres and a lot of family live on it. My grandparents house burned down many years ago but the foundation of the original house is still there.

There were a bunch of cows in the pasture and Sullivan didn't like their mooing. Aaron could mimic the mooing pretty well. He kept picking on Sullivan.

Our main reason for going to the east coast for vacation was to attend the Johnston family reunion. My grandparents had 12 children and my Mom is the youngest. There are 8 surviving children, including my Mom. I don't know this side of the family very well. They are so friendly and loving but they all live on the east coast. The first night we were in WV we went to my uncle Frank's house for dinner. It must have been quite a sight as we arrived. We had 8 cars driving in a line. We all parked in his field and were walking toward his house at the same time. 40 people arriving at once. My Mom was so excited to show off her family. We have never all been there at once, so it was great.We went to the Johnston family reunion at Pipestem park. They have this huge amphitheater, where my kids played almost the whole time we were there.

They also have this great tram that takes you down into the canyon where the river runs. It has a lodge in the bottom of the canyon and there are all sorts of fun things to do down there. I think we should stay there the next time we go.

Most of my brothers and sisters left after the reunion and it was so sad to say goodbye. We had such a great time. Penelope and Eleanor had a great time with the cousins. I wish we lived closer. Here is Penelope with Adrianne at a restaurant. Our flight didn't leave Charlotte until 6:30 pm on the day we were leaving, so we went to the children's museum in Charlotte. It was the best children's museum we have ever been to!This is Eleanor, beating Aaron is a pushing contest. Aaron laying on a bed of nails.

Walking through the rain forest bridge. The girls walked through this bridge about 20 times and would have kept going all day I think.

My sister, Stephanie, went with us to the children's museum. It was so fun to have her there with us.Even Sullivan had a great time!

Penelope: "Dad, can I put these flowers on the table?
Aaron: "Sure"
Penelope: "Cause then it will be pretty like a restaurant."


I later complemented Penelope on her beautiful bouquet of flowers and she was positively beaming! I love my girl.

Eleanor has a button obsession. If you are wearing something with buttons, Eleanor will be on you in a flash. Buttoning, unbuttoning. She can, at times, button for hours. I know because I have been the victim of such marathon buttoning. At church yesterday, my friend wore a dress that buttoned all the way up the front. She went home and changed so that she could still have Eleanor sit on her lap without danger of exhibition. And later when she saw the back of a cute little baby's dress "I like her buttons." Yup, totally obsessed. So, I have been pondering how to give Eleanor something to occupy her little fingers besides the shirts and dresses of unsuspecting friends. It took me awhile to figure out how to do it, but once I had a plan it only took a few hours to make it. This is half of a 3-ring binder. (I destroyed a lot of perfectly good things today in my quest for the freedom to wear buttons, but it was free and it is exactly what I wanted, so it was worth it!) I put this inside of the bag to make it sturdy so it will be easy to button, snap, tie and zipper against. You can also flip the bag over and use it as a base for coloring on since it is so sturdy now.I started with ties because Penelope has just learned how to tie her shoes, so this will be fun for her too. The material for the bag is left over from a chair that I re-upholstered in El Paso. So cute! Next layer is a shirt with snaps on it. I used shirts and a jacket that we already had to make each layer. It took me awhile to get over having to cut up perfectly good shirts for this project. Buttons! Sweet Buttons!And a jacket zipper. I put a velcro closure on the inside at the top so I can take out the binder piece and machine wash it or add other items if I want to. I can also store paper, pencils or other items in the inside since I made it like a bag. It was Aaron's idea to put the strap on it so she can hold it like a purse. Brilliant honey!
And a very happy little Eleanor. As soon as I gave it to her she figured out that the jacket on front has pockets and she is stashing all sorts of treasures in it.

I thought I would post a picture of the girls' horses. Aren't they adorable? I tried to get Penelope to get one that was a little more gender nuetral so we could use it for Sullivan later, but she wouldn't have any of that. Pink and purple all the way.

We bought Penelope and Eleanor some cute horses at a parade/street fair last week. Rather pricey, but worth every penny. They have been in constant use since we bought them.Eleanor has been putting Sullivan in dress-ups again. We love Daddy! Sullivan looks as big as Eleanor in this picture. I assure you, he is not. . . .yet. Say Cheese!

Do you like Penelope's mustache? Such a creative girl. I just laughed and laughed when she came up to show me.

On Monday evening we all took a little walk around the neighborhood and the girls took turns taking pictures. It was fun to see what was interesting to them. After we were done taking pictures, Aaron gave them a little caution tape to fly in the breeze. Boy did they love that.

I often feel bad that we don't have a zoo or children's museums or other fun things to do nearby but I have to keep reminding myself that the kids love the little things we do together too. About a week ago, the girls and I cooked hotdogs in the firepit in the backyard. Penelope's reaction, "This is the best day EVER!"

Music to my ears.