Fall

What is it about fall, that makes everything seem to smell a little nicer, look a little prettier, and seem a little happier? I love everything about fall. I love the smells, the colors, and the thoughts of upcoming Holidays. I love pumpkin chocolate chip cookies and hot apple cider. I love the fact that it is not humid in Virginia anymore. I love buying Halloween costumes for the boys. (NO, I do not make their costumes.) And I love having my mom here with me. She loves Fall as well. I probably learned some of my love for all things fall from her.

James' Baptism

This was one of the most important days that our Huff clan has experienced for a long time. Matt and I have never been more pleased with James than we were this day. It was a very special experience for all of us.

James was also very happy to have his grandma and grandpa Kinney there to give talks on Baptism and the Holy Ghost. He also asked Katy and Sammy to sing his favorite baptism song. They all did a beautiful job. It was truly an unforgettable day. I wasn't quite prepared for the feelings I had. I felt the approval of our Heavenly Father, His love, and the truthfulness of the gospel was again made apparent to me through the whisperings of the still small voice. The amazing part was that I felt all of those things because of the example of my 8 year old son James. Wish everyone could have been there.

Huff Trip to Florida

The Huff's decided we had to get out of Richmond for the week. We couldn't handle watching one more friend and neighbor drive away in a moving truck. We made an awesome stop in Savannah, GA and ate dinner at the famous Pirate's House built in 1773 by actual pirates. The boys were in heaven.

The next stop on our trip was Daytona Beach, FL. We figured we might as well stop there since we were so close. Everyone had a great time getting wet and sandy.

Our final destination was Sea World in Orlando, FL. We all had a great time touching sting rays and feeding them. Watching the whale and dolphin shows and riding the rides. We especially enjoyed having Scott, Julie and the little boys join us at Sea World.

Matt finished another triathlon. We are so proud of our athlete daddy! It was especially nice to have my parents here with us. And we had Katy with us the week before. We had the pleasure of attending Sammy's final concert (Carmina Burana) in which Sammy had the highest solo part I have ever heard in my whole life. She was amazing. Things are getting back to normal for everyone now. Matt is looking forward to being done with school and finally being a fourth year dental student. I don't have any pictures to post of the triathlon or Katy or my parents or Sammy's concert. I forgot the digital camera. And the biggest news of all is we are expecting a BABY!!! That's right, Little Huff #4. Everyone think....GIRL!!! Send frilly, pink vibes my way.

James 1st Day of 1st Grade

Here we are again! The first day is always so hard for me. We are excited for James, though. Last year he learned so much and really blossomed in school. I still can't believe how well he reads. We will miss James very much. His little brothers have already been at each other's throats this morning. James must be the peacemaker. Hopefully his teacher will be as great as last year. I can't believe I have a first grader......I'm having a major reality check right now, better go!!! WOW!!!

More summer visitors

One of the highlights of the summer was our trip to Mount Vernon with Grandpa Kinney and Aunt Katy. They brought Sammy back to Virginia for an other semester of school. We had such a great time at Mt. Vernon, but mostly just having them around was such a joy. It reminds me of how much I really want to be near my family. There is nothing quite like having family around.

New Puppy

Probably the craziest thing we have ever done was purchase this little bundle of joy. His name is Scout and he has been quite an experience. We are learning to love him. He is much more enjoyable now that he's a little older. He was 8 weeks old in this picture. He's still cute, but a little less happy to be held by the little boys. He is 16 weeks old now and he has learned to be a little leery of kicking feet and swiping hands. But he is learning to not bite, not bark at everything, and to not chew on everything. The house training is another story. Apparently Yorkshire terriers are the hardest dogs to house train. Wish I had known that. We love our little Yorkie (most of the time), despite him being such a puppy!!!

Special Visitors for Special Occasions

We were so happy to have Grandpa Huff come and visit when Matt was put in the bishopric. It was a very special experience for Matt to have his father set him apart as a high priest. It was so nice for all of us, especially the little boys. They love their Grandpa. We even got to take a quick tour through the museum of the Confederacy, and the Confederate White House.

New York, New York!!

We took a trip with some friends to Palmyra and Niagara Falls a few weeks ago. It was the best trip we have ever taken. We enjoyed every part of it. It was especially nice to be in Palmyra, New York. There is a special feeling in that village. The
Sacred Grove, the Smith Farm, the Grandin Printing Press (where they first printed the Book of Mormon), the Palmyra Temple, and the Hill Cumorah were the highlights of the trip. I hope our boys will be able to remember the special feelings they had there. My testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon has increased tenfold. I knew it was true before, but learning more about the sacrifices and experiences has deepened my feelings and conviction for its truthfulness. Every member of the church should have the experience of visiting the birth place of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ.




Niagara Falls was impressive. It was amazing to see the power of the falls and very enjoyable to ride the maid of the mist boat tour right into the falls. It was beautiful there. We almost got stuck in limbo because we didn't have proper documentation to cross the Rainbow Bridge that crosses the falls between the U.S. and Canada. Thankfully we had asked the guards to open the gate for the stollers and they remembered us going through just a few minutes prior to returning to the United States or we would have been in serious trouble. I've never enjoyed my brief visits to Canada. Great trip. I highly recommend staying in the Palmyra Inn. Go as soon as possible. And if you go in May, take jackets.

Back to Normal

My life is finally back to normal. I have been able to thoroughly enjoy every cold, flu, and disease that has ripped through our family the past month, because I am no longer the proud owner of Treasure Gift Enterprises. I sold my business. I can now totally focus on taking care of my family, and myself. So many things have happened and I haven't been able to even take a moment to document them. My parents were here in January. The only thing that would have made it better is if they could have stayed longer.
For Matt's spring break we took a trip with some friends to Maryland and stayed in their relatives beautiful home. We spent some time in D.C. seeing a lot of the sights that we hadn't seen before. The Jefferson Memorial is my new favorite. He is directly facing the White House so that he can keep an eye on what goes on there. It gave me chills just to stand there and read the quotes. It was amazing.
The boys have fun no matter where we go. This was taken in D.C. with our friends, Tan and Angela Jones. That is their little girl, Samantha. How perfect would it be to add a cute little girl face to our team of boys? Maybe some day. Hopefully I'll be writing more now that I am actually home some days. The business was such a blessing, but it got to be more of a burden towards the end. I was too busy, and not able to be who I really wanted to be. I'm sure many of you can relate.
This week has been perfect. James had spring break, so the boys and I have had such a good time playing games, going outside, exploring nature, relaxing, telling stories, and enjoying one another's company.
Wish all weeks could be spring break weeks.