Happy Halloween!

Miramar Beach and Destin, Florida

Em and Mom getting our feet wet!


Evan and Seth posing for a picture for Mom...what they were really doing on the beach was playing football with one of their shoes since they don't have a real one on this trip...playing football together is one of their favorite things to do!


Emilie admiring her first ever french braid in the mirror of the little Winnie's bathroom


Soaking up the sun in Miramar Beach, FL


A Tribute to Smoothie King! Steve's favorite place to eat....and the rest of us love it too! Going to all of our favorite stores and restaurants on this trip has been a real perk since none of them are in southern Oregon! Besides Smoothie King, we have loved going to Panera, Trader Joes, Whole Foods, and Cracker Barrel.

Tannehill State Park, Alabama

We happened upon one of the neatest events of the year for the locals in Birmingham, Alabama and surrounding areas. In fact, this event draws thousands of people from all over Alabama to celebrate Halloween at Tannehill State Park. Families start to prepare 1-2 months in advance by parking their RV's and Fifth Wheels at Tannehill to elaborately decorate for Halloween. They set up camp and live there for a month or two and have big parties with lots of good grub while they watch football on their big screen tv's that they set up outside their RV's.


Seth and Evan in front of the train at Tannehill State Park

Seth as Anakin Skywalker, Emmy as Tinkerbell, Evan as a Vampire


Tinkerbell Emmy


Besides a fun Halloween event, Tannehill is known for its historical Ironworks Mill. Steve gave the kids a history lesson about the Civil War while we visited one of the mills where they made the canons and guns for the Confederate army.

Salisbury, North Carolina

Riding the Train at Dan Nicholas State Park


Emilie loved playing with Don McCall's daughter Eva while Steve worked with Don in North Carolina


Rocking out in front of the Cracker Barrel, one of the kid's favorite restaurants on our trip

Colonial Williamsburg, Virginia

Govenor's Palace


Crime and Punishment...Yeah right!


Evan and Emilie are Horse Lovers!

Niagara Falls, Canada, New York

Right before we crossed over the border from Canada back into the U.S. we visited Niagara Falls...because it was later in the day and dark already, it's hard to tell that the boys are standing in front of the falls.

Seth and Evan at Niagara Falls


Evan and Seth at The Hard Rock Cafe in Niagara Falls, NY

North Eastern Apple Harvest

From New York to Boston to Toronto we enjoyed the MOST delicious apples we have ever tasted! They were crisp with the perfect tartness and sweetness!

At Chudleigh's Apple Farm in Toronto, Canada, we stocked up on big bags of delicious apples, and of course we couldn't pass up on their homemade berry and apple pie and fresh apple cider that was amazing! With Steve being so far away from his Mom Judy and her amazing homemade pies, we found a way for Steve to satisfy his pie fix!


Steve searching for the perfect apples out of dozens of varieties to choose from!


Pumpkin Harvest

Medieval Times, Toronto, Canada

Tanner Cropper and The Jensen Family at the feast




A medieval feast of chicken that you have to eat with your hands!

A miracle in Toronto, Canada

We were staying at a KOA campground just outside Toronto. The kids were playing right outside the RV. The camp host had put all the picnic benches up for the season (due to the cold weather) leaning against the trees. Seth and Emilie were running around and playing near our picnic bench, when before I could do or say anything, I witnessed the heavy wooden picnic bench falling down with my two youngest underneath it! I ran over to them as fast as I could and was relieved that the table missed Emilie completely! I knew that was a miracle all by itself- then I realized that Seth hadn't been as fortunate and he was face down on the grass! He wasn't moving and it hurt so bad that he wasn't even crying which of course made me panic even more! I picked him up and saw that his head was bleeding, so I grabbed a towel and put pressure on his head. I looked at him in the eyes to show him my love and told him that I was going to say a prayer for him. Then, with all my children around me, I offered up the deepest prayer of faith and pleading that a mother could muster. Then I grabbed some ice for his head and I just held and comforted him. I was amazed at how quickly he recovered. I thought of how bad it could've been. When the table fell it hit his head and hurt his neck. He could've broken his neck, been passed out cold, paralyzed or worse. I am so thankful to my Father in heaven for protecting him.

Seth after accident with bloody towel and battle wound on side of head


The wooden table that fell down on top of Seth and Emilie

Adirondacks, New York

Steve thought it would be fun to tell Emmy that Carebears live in the Adirondacks Forest. He told her if we look really hard we might be able to find a Carebear in the Adirondacks Forest of Feelings. He secretly had me buy a Carebear before we left for the Forest. Then when we got there, he hunted for one with Emilie, while I hid the Carebear in a tree in the forest...this is a picture of Emilie and the Carebear Harmony after the capture!


The Winnie Jack with the Fall Colors


Adirondacks in the Fall


We had woken up to get an early start on our long drive up to Toronto, Canada. We were driving in one direction when we realized we needed to be heading the opposite direction. And as you can probably guess, 29 foot Motor homes with a car in tow are not the easiest things to flip a u-turn in! We had found a decent place to turn around and as Steve was going to make the turn the car dolly swung out a little too far and caught the guard rail! As we went to turn around we heard a noise and realized we couldn't move forward anymore! We were stuck on the guard rail! The scariest thing about it was we were taking up both lanes! People drive really fast on that road and we were panicked that someone would come around the bend and not be able to stop in time! We were really stuck too! There was no quick way to get out of this sticky mess! Thankfully, we were able to stop traffic before they hit us and with the help of 3 nice men we were able to get unstuck and get off the road. Unfortunately, our early start didn't help much as we now had a flat tire on the tow dolly that needed repair. So I stayed with the kids while Steve drove to a town to get the tire fixed. We are very grateful and feel blessed that we were protected and nobody got hurt.

Scary accident with the Winnebago and a guard rail


The Tire that blew from catching the guard rail

Historic Boston

Along the Freedom Trail we visited a cemetery where many famous historic persons are buried including Samuel Adams

Boston Common Tadpole Playground

Seth with Paul Revere Plaque

Cape Cod, MA

Atlantic Ocean in Chatham, Massachusetts


Cape Cod Bay at Sunset


Fall Time in Massachusetts


We met up with Steve's cousin Stuart in Franklin, MA and had a great time catching up and enjoyed a nice dinner together

Boston, MA

Sandie and Julie Gronneberg-Shulman. I've known Julie since I was about 8 years old and she has been a special friend to me throughout my growing up years...I hadn't seen her for about 10 years...so it was so great to see her in her beautiful home in Stoneham, MA where we were treated to a delicious home-cooked Lasagna dinner. Julie is the head Graphic Designer at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. She has a wonderful husband Tobin and adorable son Lincoln.


Emilie & Lincoln

New York, New York

We had a great time in NYC for two days. We went on Sunday morning and took the train into the city. We first went to a Stake Center on the Upper East Side to watch General Conference. A special broadcast from our church leaders including the prophets and apostles of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We had a great time afterwards walking through Central Park and it was a big highlight to check into our hotel, The Hudson. We spent the night Sunday and Steve took the day off on Monday so we could continue to sightsee on Monday. We then took the train home on Monday night after two long, fun-filled days in the Big city. We were a little taken back to get back to our car late at night to find that someone had broken into our car with no forcible entry and stolen our GPS. Then, they didn't shut the door tight so the battery was dead! What a bummer! Even though the kids were bummed about the GPS being stolen, someone helped us jump the car and we prayed for the person who stole the GPS that their life would improve and we all felt better. Overall, we had a great weekend!

Boys in awe at Grand Central Station when we arrived in NYC


Emmy in Central Park


Emmy on the windowsill of our hotel enjoying the view


The view from our hotel room


The Hudson Hotel where we stayed


Seth checking out the view from The Empire State Building


WOW! TIMES SQUARE! THIS IS AMAZING!


An ultimate space dining experience was had at the Mars 2112 Restaurant


New York Skyline


Jensen's at the Statue of Liberty


Em enjoying Ice Cream at the Statue of Liberty


Seth and Evan on the ferry with NYC in the background


Kids at fountain near Rockefeller and Radio City