Newman Funnies

Daniel woke up blind the other day! He was feeling around the walls and bumping into things. I told him I had some magic glasses in my room. So he went and put them on and it was a miracle-he could see! They were pink with rhinestones and he wore them all day, even to the Dr.'s office where he was concerned that they would think he was a girl. The glasses also seemed to give him super smell sense, as they brought in the shots for Eva he said. "Somethings up, I can smell shots!"

Eva is hilarious! She has a few addictions in her new little life. One is shoes. (She has started early) She loves to put the shoes on her hands and crawl around with them. She does this all throughout the day. Whenever she sees a pair she goes after them. When she is crying we try and distract her by putting some shoes in front of her, and it works!

Eva's other addiction is being outside. She is like a dog in that whenever anyone comes to the door she races for it and tries to get out. If the door closes and she doesn't get to go out she stands there like this and just howls and cries, like her little heart has just broke! (It is pretty funny.) We were wondering today what she is going to do when it is winter out.

Big News!

Caleb has braces! He has 4 braces across his top teeth. He is the first in his class to have braces, he feels pretty cool about that. He doesn't love the head gear he has to wear every night though.
I don't feel old enough to have a kid having braces!

First Day of School......Kind of

Ok, Ok ...It wasn't really the first day of school. It was the second. It was the second day because we were too late to take them the first day. AND we were too late the second day to take GOOD pictures. That is why the sun is killing Caleb, Harmony has a squinty face, and I have no idea why there is so much blurriness. Now by the time we got to Daniel's first day we were faster and smarter. We did them inside and he is an afternoon kindergartener so Mom is way more coherent by the time he gets ready.

Everyone is loving their new classes.

Caleb is in 4th grade and his 3rd year of Spanish Immersion. His teacher seems to expect a little more from him, which is good for his brillant mind and his tendencies for laziness. He has a new girl in his class named Elsie, that has been a big deal because his class dynamics don't change yearly because of the program.

Harmony is in first grade. It is hard for me to let her go all day, but she is helping me through it by coming home super ornery. It is not as hard the next morning to let her go. I thought she would really be a teenager on me about waking up early but she has done really well with that and sometimes been the first one awake. She rates how good her days are by how many of her friends wanted her in the middle of the hand holding line at lunch recess.

Daniel is a kindergartner! He loves it! He is so smart and more academically ready than the other two were, which is weird because he is my preschool drop-out. He has already cut the apron strings with me. On the second day of kindergarten he was begging me not to come to pick him up from school. OUCH! He just wants to be a big kid and have the older kids come get him, not his mommy.

So now it gets a little lonely with just Eva and I. I think she feels more lonely than I do as she follows me around everywhere and gets so excited when the kids get home.

Summer of "Facing our Fears"

Our summer is over! I love summer so this is a hard time for me to give them back to the School system. We have had a great summer though. One of the things I am most proud of the kids for is the skills they learned this summer as we focused on bike riding.

Caleb especially made the most progress. At the beginning of the summer he had a pretty bad attitude and was really scared of bike riding. However through bribery, threatenings, and lots of practice he became converted and he is officially a bike rider! He kept asking me why it was so important that he ride a bike. I told him it was because he was afraid of it, and the only way not to be afraid is to face our fears. (Mom needs to take this advice on some things too!)
In the end that is what he told me he feels most proud about, that he is not afraid of it any more. The funniest part is that on the day he finally "got it" he said. "I get it now Mom, it is all about my attitude!" (I hope this new found wisdom translates to homework.)

Harmony is our daredevil bike rider. She actually learned last year and has been honing her skill. She can ride Caleb's big bike (thanks G-ma Newman) even though she can't touch the ground. She flies down the hill, goes off curbs, and can ride one-handed. What a girl! Her only concern was that she didn't think we cheered for her when she learned. I told her that we for sure did and have video to back it up! (got lucky on that one!)

Daniel was a daredevil to begin with and was actually riding without help. As he was trying to learn turns and starting himself he had some pretty major crashes (one where he flew over the handle bars). His courage has diminished and now he won't let me let go. I am hoping that over the winter he will forget and we will start fresh with him next summer.

Can I just add that the little bike buddy on the back saved my back this summer!

Eva & cuz!

Eva and her new little cousin Elyn. She just loves babies (as if she isn't one anymore).

Israel and Eva

So while it was a lot of work to bring the kids, it was nice to have them there to see the reality of our beliefs. Above is Eva in a ruin of a manger trough.

After we got back to the hotel we all crashed except for Eva. She tore apart the diaper bag and then curled up on the wood floor with the curtain and fell asleep.

More Israel

This spot was my favorite of the whole trip. It is the garden tomb. Inside the door behind us are two rooms about 10x10 each. In the second room is a part in the floor that had been carved out for a body.

Our guide told us that at least two prophets have come to this tomb and confirmed that this is the tomb that Christ was buried in. (President Kimball and President Hunter).

More than that is the beautiful spirit that exists there. This spot is kind of smack in the middle of the city. But they have converted this little area into a beautiful garden. You cannot hear the city noises from inside. There is a lot of shade and places to sit and worship.

I was overwhelmed to tears of the reality of the Savior's death and more importantly His Resurrection.




It was incredible!

Isreal continued (this really is abridged)

This picture is what is left of the Western wall of the temple that was destroyed by the Romans. Jews come to this wall to offer prayers, read scriptures, even have their Bar Mitzvah's. When it is a BarMitzvah day (which was the day we went), the men and the women are separated and the men have to have their heads covered.



One of the ways the Jews pray at the wailing wall is to write their requests on a piece of paper that they roll up and stick in the wall.













Del Parson decided that he was going to roll up a prayer. "Just to cover my bases," he said jokingly.





This is the Dome of the Rock. It is the third most sacred site in Islam. There is a rock inside the Dome where the Muslims believe Muhummad was taken to Heaven from that rock.

The Dome of the Rock is built on the same land as the temple used to be built on.

Our trip to Isreal (abridged version)

This is the whole group (from L to R): Top-Casey, Del Parson, Tyler, Camilla, Paul (Dad), Janna, Travis, Amy, Stephanie, Savannah
Bottom-Daniel Rona (our guide), Lynette Parson, Destiny, Christy, Grandma, Harmony, Caleb, Cherish and Eva, Kelly, Daniel. The Dome of the Rock is behind Tyler's head. We are on the Mount of Olives where our guide believed Gethsemane could have been located.


This is the Sea of Galilee. We swam in it, found sea shells, rode a boat on it, and posed for pictures by it.

Kelly noted and I agree that one of the things we were most excited about were seeing some ruins. By the third days were astonished that there are ruins EVERYWHERE!!!