Monterey Trip

Hey folks! The Springville Harris's just got back from a fabulous trip to Monterey, CA. It was really our first big trip as a family. If you have never been to that neck of the woods, all I can say is WOW! It is a beautiful place with all kinds of sea life. We spent most of our time sight seeing, which I am not sure Afton was all that excited about. I think her favorite thing was swimming in the hot tub at the Hotel. A close second might have been a cotton candy ice cream cone that she picked out because it was pink. It tuned out to be a bigger mess than if you gave her ten permanent markers and free reign on her bedroom walls. We had a lot of fun though. Aleese is from Monterey (Pacific Grove if you want to be exact), so she knew just where to take us. We met a couple of her old friend who are still living in the area, which was a real treat. Sometimes I think that we are the only people that she has ever known.

Some of the places that we visited were Big Sur, Monterey Aquarium, Pebble Beach, Dennis the Menace Park, and Capitola (Santa Cruz). We loved walking on the rocky beaches and collecting sea shells. We found 5 abalone shells, which, from what we understand, finding just one is quite special.

-Jason

Hello everybody. A few weeks ago Heather, Lola, myself, and our 13 yr. old nephew Connor went on a road trip. By the time it was done we traveled 1800+ miles in a week. I thought I would give you the highlights. We started out from 535 Harris Place (yes our street name is really Harris Place) and drove north to Kirtland, OH. We took a tour of the Newel K Whitney Store, including the room where the School of the Prophets was held. The missionary on hand told the story of the school, and then ask us to sing "I Know that My Redeemer Lives". It was something I will never forget. The highlight of Kirtland for me was the temple. Just like so many of our temples today it sits atop a hill and is beautiful. The tour is given by the Community of Christ church since they own it. Our guide was a young intern from Independence, MO. While they have a different view of the temple then we do they still treat it as a holy and sacred place. From Kirtland we drove NE along the shoreline of Lake Erie. I think lake is a bit of an understatement. It seemed more like the Erie Ocean to me. The fun part of road trips is that you do whatever seems fun at the time. We decided that swimming in the lake sounded fun. We pulled off the road in a little upstate NY town and went swimming with the locals in Lake Erie. It was great fun. We stayed the night in Buffalo, NY. The next day we drove 30 min. to Niagra Falls. The falls are more massive than I imagined. We took a tour ride on the Maiden Mist which gives you a very upclose and personal look at the falls. It's like being in a massive rain storm. Lola loved it. She kept yelling "Water, water ..." like she had to point out to me that it was there. After Niagra we spent the night in Rochester, NY. Wow what a cool city. It is only 1/2 hour outside of Palmyra. On the way to Palmyra we stopped and had lunch along the boardwalk of the Erie Canal. It was a fun little area that reminded Heather and I of Sun valley. It made us wonder how many great little towns are there that we've never heard of. Palmyra was great. The highlight for me was the newly restored Grandin building where the Book of Mormon was published. The sacred grove was of course very special as well. From Palmyra we drove south to Hershey, PA. I heard once that when you drive into town it smells like chocolate. Not so, but we spent one of the funnest days of the trip at Hershey Park. It is an incredible amusement park - ENORMOUS. From Hershey it was only 45 min. to Gettysburg, PA. I have been several times now, but it never gets old. From Gettysburg we made an 8 hour drive back to good ole 535 Harris Place. Anyway we had a great time. There is so much to see. I can't wait until our next road trip.
The picture of Lola is on Little Round Top at Gettysburg. If you don't know the history of Little Round Top be sure to ask Troy Langston at the next family get together.

While I am it, I though I would share a few cute photos of my little girl.

Cabin Clean Up!

Sorry for the delay. When I first received the pictures I couldn't download them. Then I forgot to keep trying. Anyway, forgive me and enjoy.

Jason

I added a new post today but it listed it as May 21st. So scroll down for an update on Heather, Lola, and Danny. I thought a new look for the blog was in order. Do you approve? I can always change it back. Have a great day.
Daniel Larry Harris

I am here in beautiful Virginia visiting with my folks. What an impressive place. I had forgotten what it really means for a landscape to be green and lush. It has been eight years since I was in this neck of the woods. That would be my mission I am referring to. I am here for 5 days. Aunt Karen is running me ragged. We spent the first night here walking the monument loop. It was magnificent. The monuments are grand, stately, overshadowing, and moving. I was very impressed with the Korean War memorial. The next day was spent viewing the Natural History, and Holocaust museums. We were on our feet all day. The picture to the right is of Monticello, Jefferson's home. Another place where we did a lot of walking. Things are beautiful here. I can hardly believe they are going to move back to the desert, but then again how can you stay away from a cute kid like Afton.

Well gotta go. Mom and dad want to take me for a drive. There is more to see I guess.

Jason

Howdy to all Buswell Bloggers. Well it is official I have made it through year two of dental school. Yahoooo!! I am an "upper classman". They say that the second year is the most gruling and in all honesty I am worn out. Don't get me wrong I am enjoying the world of teeth, but like anything else worthwhile it has its hard times. The first two years are mostly about hitting the books where as the 3rd and 4th are clinical. It is a huge relief in many ways to move on to the clinics and yet so scary. In two weeks I will be drilling, filling, pulling, etc. on real live human beings. I think I am really going to love dealing with patients every day. I like people a lot more than I like books. I am so thankful that I have found a proffession that gets me excited to learn and get better. As for the family they are doing great. Lola turned two on May 25th.We can't believe it! She is such a happy little girl with a zest for life. I never thought of myself as the fatherly type but I can't wait for another little one to come into our home. Heather and I are in the midst of filling out papers for adoption. We were asked to speak at an adoption conference in Indianapolis recently. It was an emotional time as we shared our story with many couples that are still longing for a child of their own. The Lord has blessed us greatly with such a beautiful little girl. We listened to the many tips from the adoption counselors one of which was networking. So we are doing our best to get the word out that we are adopting. It is through telling others about our adoption process last time that brought Lola into our home. So please keep us mind. Anyway I hope everyone is doing well. I am really loving the buswell blog. Aunt Marne you go girl!

Love ya, Danny

P.S. I have attached a couple of pictures of Lola (one of them is with Afton) at her birthday party. She was in Utah and loved having a party with her cousins.