Major Strong

On October 15, 2010, Cody was promoted to Major. A small ceremony was held at Prince William Forest Park (PWFP), VA to mark the occasion. Cody decided to hold it there for two reasons:

1. PWFP is one of our favorite places near our home. We typically go out there a couple times every month to walk on the trails and enjoy the beautiful surroundings.

2. It was where the men and women of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) trained during WWII. The OSS was the forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency. The first director of the OSS was a New York National Guardsmen. The building we are in was build by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) during the 1930's and was used as a mess hall for the trainees by the OSS.

A great day!

Pokemon Birthday Party

As you all know, the theme for any five year old birthday party changes several times during the year (i.e. Power Rangers, Star Wars, etc.), but this year it was all about Pokemon. Thanks to Heidi, Eli had a birthday he won't forget!

With 14 kids in tow, he celebrated in grand style!

Five years old never looked so good!

Eli had this look on his face all day long. Happy birthday Eli!

Fall in Virginia

It's hard to beat fall in Northern Virginia. This is our home on September 22, 2010.

Eve: Kjersti, when I put these leaves on your face, you're going to want to hold your breath. Here, let me seal your nasal passage for you.

Eli: I can still see your face! That's how I know you're under there still.

Eve: Maybe we should mark where Kjersti is by putting a big log on top of her?

Kjersti: Go ahead and lay back and forget all of your worries. Eve, our professional leaf masseuse will cater to all of your fall colors. She likes to start things off with a whirlwind of leaves to the face.

Kjersti: Ok guys, we've got him right where we want him!

Eve: Dad just won't be satisfied with anything less than a rake of leaves to the face. Let me go get the garden rake!

Eli: I'll hold him down until you get back!

Attempted Hit and Run

Eli: This green machine was made for one thing and one thing only... pain! Watch out fellow motorists! Prepare to be clobbered!

Eli: When I turn too far to the left, I start going in reverse. What's wrong with this machine-o-chaos?!?

Eli: Still looking for someone to smoosh. This is taking much longer than I had hoped.

Eli: Is that a Power Ranger on the floor of my Car of Carnage? Oh, ah, no, that looks like a Red Vine. My bad.

Eli: Well, if I can't carve a path of destruction, at least I'll be the best looking driver look out here. Cheese!

The Scary Fish

Kjersti: This ride is so slow and lame I can't believe I'm on it!
Eli: That's what I'm talking about!


Kjersti: Water shooting up from both sides... wait a minute, this is suddenly pretty intense. I did not see that coming!
Eli: That's what I'm talking about!


Kjersti: Goodness gracious! I think we're going to die on the kiddy ride!
Eli: That's what I'm talking about!!!

Eli: Kjersti, we're still alive.
Kjersti: That's what I'm talking about!

Pilgrimage to Busch Gardens

Every year we've lived in Virginia, we've gone to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA with the Allphins. This year was no different, however, there were some new attractions to see, including some new characters like Cookie Monster. Despite the fact that Parker and Eve were within arms length of a life-sized Cookie Monster, clearly there was something much more interesting off to the left.


Elmo was a hit with Eve. I think she said his name about 200 times that day and hasn't stopped since... Seriously.

Momma and Daisy Queso. How did she get that name you ask? Daisy from the nickname of the bomb "Daisy Cutter" known for its mass destructive capability and Queso for her love of cheese. For the record, when squeezed tightly, Daisy Queso's tounge has been known to pop out.

Eve's favorite things about flowers are to smell them and to pick them. The picking part is not encouraged by Busch Gardens.

Things were going along quite well and then the water starting shooting over the top of them and Eve thought for sure this was a sign from her fish friends that she should join them. It took everything Heidi had to keep her in the boat.

Put on Your Helmet

For some strange reason in mid-September, Eve went through a stage where she just had to wear Kjersti's bicycle helmet. It made her kind of look special, in a not so appealing way. :)

The Wreck

On Tuesday, October 12, 2010, Heidi was hit in the passenger rear side as she and all the kids were cruising 50 MPH (the speed limit) on the way to take Kjersti to guitar practice. The rear of the van was knocked into oncoming traffic and struck on the driver rear side. This caused Heidi to fishtail and overcorrect which lead to a roll over. The van was a quarter turn away from rotating a full 360 degrees on its side. Amazingly, no one was hurt! Kjersti got a little burn from the seat belt on her neck and Eli got a small scratch on his face, but that was it. Heavenly Father was definately looking out for us that day. The remains of the Honda Odyssey are frightening to look at. Notice the license plate of the vehicle that struck Heidi is embedded in the rear wheel (one on the ground) of the van.

As you might expect in a roll over, the roof and sides of the van took quite a beating.

The back windows blew out. Fortunately, the rear window made for a good escape hatch which Heidi and all the kids ultimately used.

This is just a part of your vehicle you never want to see exposed like this. -sigh-

The front passenger side of the van took the first impact when the car rolled. A little bit more momentum and the car would have done a full 360 degree roll.

Food Storage

When mom makes such a good dinner that you just have to save some for later...

It's good to know that you can use the inside of your shirt as a handy food storage area.

The Second Battle of Manassas

On 28 August, we went to Manassas National Battlefield Park to enjoy the ceremonies marking the 148th anniversary of the Second Battle of Manassas. In 1862 when the battle was fought, it was the bloodiest day of combat in American history claiming 23,000 casualties. The battle also is considered the high point of Confederate military power during the war. Pictured above are re-enactors of the Confederate Cavalry. The kids really didn't care about that though. They just liked watching the horses.

Notice how Eve is not pointing at the Confederate soldiers in the back ground, but is instead focused like a Blue Tick Hound on the nearby horses.

The kids loved the horses.

It's tough to beat the artillery when it comes to re-enactments. The 10 pounder with a little extra pounder made a very nice boom!

Kjersti's Big Day!

On August 29, Kjersti was baptized and confirmed by Cody. What a happy day it was.

Heidi and her mom, Elaine, spoke at the service. It was a very special day for everyone!

Prior to the baptism, Cody managed to get his hands on a sweet jumpsuit. Unfortunately, it was deemed "distracting to the spirit" and was ultimately shelved. Cody had a hard time getting over that one.

Home Sweet Home

We enjoyed some time in Utah from 2-18 August. One of the many day trips we took was to Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, Utah. We toured the gardens and they looked beautiful as usual!

One of Kjersti's favorite places at Thanksgiving Point was the Secret Garden. She couldn't have been happier.

Eve also enjoyed the Secret Garden, but for completely different reasons.

We spent a day up in Heber City with Cody's entire family and enjoyed eating at Tommy's Texas BBQ. Cameron and Grace just had a great time playing in the gravel. Soooo fun!

The family loved the restaurant, but Ruby thought it kind of stunk. She went on to say that she's had better BBQ out of a bottle.

Heidi and the kids along with a bunch of cousins went up to Tony's Grove. Again, the water was the dominant feature for Eve.

And guess who loves to do dishes? Not Eve!

Grand Teton National Park

We had a wonderful trip to Grand Teton National Park from 28 July - 1 August. We went there with all of Heidi's family so it was an action-packed trip full of fun and excitement!



Beautiful kids and beautiful mountains. Here we also see Kjersti practicing the "Kjersti Hip-Out". This is a technique that enables Kjersti to actually hold Eve for more than a few seconds. At this stage of Eve's young life, she hasn't missed many meals.



Eve had been in camp for about five minutes when this picture was taken. I'm not sure if she found the dirt, or the dirt found her, whatever the case, the two were inseparable for the entire trip. As it should be.


We stayed at Coulter Bay on Jackson Lake. The kids loved going down to the lake to toss in rocks and just hang out with their aunts, uncles and cousins. We managed to add a few rocks to the lake before a classic summer storm rolled in.


We hiked into Hidden Falls and the troops loved it! You can see in this picture that Eve became a bit nervous when she thought she saw Bigfoot. We told her it was just a bush and she was fine.



We then trecked up to Inspiration Point and Eve and Heidi are seen here enjoying the wonderful view over Jenny Lake. Spectacular!


The kids loved hiking, but it was the fat squirrels along the way that seemed to intrigue them most! Kjersti kept a cracker in one hand and an apple in the other as she moved carefully down the mountain.

We drove down a dirt road and stopped for lunch on a dirt ledge overlooking the Snake River. The kids loved throwing rocks into the river from way up high!

The wide view of the area. Amazing!

In the lodge we ran across a few odd animals. The Eve Moose.

The Big Horn Kjersti.

The Single Antler Eli.

And the Insane Lopsided Mother.