Visitors from Indiana

A couple weeks ago my sister, Megan, and her family drove clear from Indiana to visit us here in New York!!! I had been asking Megan to come and visit for a long time but the timing just never really worked out, but one day she called me and asked if they could come visit... I think I screamed/squealed in the phone because I was so excited!!! So they safely made the long drive, and we began our week of fun!

The first day they were here we mostly stayed at home and let the kids play, play, play. Then that night we got a baby-sitter for the kids and the adults headed out to do a session at the Palmyra Temple. It was really nice to be in the Temple with family!

The next day I took Megan to Zumba and then we headed to a salon to get Megan's hair cut!! She was brave and got a pixie cut, it turned out super duper cute!!! After we got home and revealed her "new do" (which everyone loved) we headed back out to Palmyra for lunch at the famous "Chill and Grill" and then on to the church sites!

Sisters!! 

 Chill and Grill is mostly known for their huge portions of ice cream. The cone that Grayer is holding below is  half a kiddie cone... yes you read that right, it is HALF of a KIDDIE CONE!

  After lunch we went to the Grandin Building where the Book or Mormon was first printed and published. 

Most books back then were paper bound (white books) but Joseph Smith chose to have the Books of Mormon leather bound (books on left side on the bottom).

 This was Mr. Grandin's (the owner of the print shop) office

 Grayer with cousins Maggie and Eva 

 One of the original Books of Mormon, next to the Bible

 

Grayer and Maggie in the printing room 

Now with Eva 

 I thought this was way cool, the Ink marks on the door and wall are original!! 

                            

 Andy and Grayer in the room where they constructed and bound the books.

 

The next day we headed to a beach on Lake Ontario, and it was such a hit that we went back to the beach again the next day too!!! 

 

Grayer loved having Baby Beau at our house

p.s. the band-aid is Grayer's way of accessorizing:) 

He is not really hurt.

Digging tunnels in the sand with Uncle Justin

Sandy Bum!

Grayer was having some swim suit troubles.
Good thing he has a cute bum:)

Sandy Toes!

A fun day at the beach finished off with some ice cream sandwiches, what could be better? 

Oh, and Megan and I went one morning to pick Strawberries, this is one box of two that we picked.

Thanks Whiting Family for the fun week, we are so glad you came!!!

FRIENDS

One of Grayer's favorite things to do is play with friends! He has some wonderful friends who range in age from 9 -2 years old and he enjoys playing with all of them. In fact one of the biggest struggles Grayer has is understanding that there has to be a temporary end to playing with friends. He cries and cries when friends leave our house or when he has to leave friend's house. We are working on replacing devastation (literally he gets so sad) with excited anticipation for the next time he gets to play with friends.

Anyway, on Memorial Day two of his friends, David and Phillip (twins), invited us to go to the Memorial Day Parade with them and then head over to their house to swim. Grayer was in heaven that day, he loved, loved, loved it!!!

Fun with Aunt Molli

This post is WAY over due but I still wanted to post these fun pictures and thank Aunt Molli again for coming out to be with us!!

While I was down for my surgery Andy's sister, Molli, 

was so wonderful to come out to visit and help out!

Grayer loved having his Aunt Molli here to play with and take him places:)

We got a few fun things in before my surgery!

We visited Susan B. Anthony's home. This was really cool, 

we had never been before and it was fascinating to 

see her house and hear some of her stories. 

 

The big tree was there when she lived in this house, as well as the little cement block on the grass. 

That was used as a step to get out of carriages. 

 The house with the "open" flag was Susan B. Anthony's 
sister's home. They lived next door to each other.

 

Statue of Susan B. Anthony and Frederick Douglass, 

they were friends:)  

 And of course we went took Molli to the church sites,

 here we are at the Smith Farm and Scared Grove 

 

We also went to the Peter Whitmer Farm. This was our first time coming since we moved here, 

so it was neat for us to see this as well. 

 

The small little kitchen/dinning room/living room where the church was organized.

                            

 Upstairs sleeping area

 

Then after surgery we did a lot of this....

 hanging out on the couch watching movies!! 

As of late....

The past couple of months have been a whirlwind here at the Gilchrist home. And for my own record I just wanted to document a little about what we have been up to...

MARCH
- I (Susan) found out that I have Endometriosis and went in for a laparoscopy (laser surgery) a few days later. This was my first ever surgery and I must admit I was VERY scared, I had never been put "under" before and I had no idea what to expect. Turns out it is basically the wait/anticipation that kills ya because once the anesthesiologist gives you the "knock out" it is smooth sailing from there until it is time to wake up. Then it is pure misery trying to get your head out of the fog enough to be able to get up and go the bathroom so they will let you leave the hospital and go home.
Anyway, to make a long story short I woke up earlier from my surgery than hoped because once my doctor got in there she realized it was much worse than what appeared on ultrasound and would not be able to treat it with laser, which meant I would be needing another surgery... one where they actually cut me open to operate. To be continued....

APRIL
- Andy, celebrated his 30th Birthday!!!!! I threw him a little party and invited some couples from our ward over for dinner, dessert, and games. It was great fun and a great couples date night:) Everybody asked Andy if he was feeling old now that he is 30, and his response was: "No, I actually wish I was older so then my voice would be more mature." (That is his singing voice he is talking about, he is on the young end for his voice type.)

 Grayer and I blew up 30 balloons for Andy's B-day door. 

Andy got to pop each balloon to find out 30 reasons why we love Andy/Daddy!

 

- In April we took a quick family trip to Niagara Falls, see here for more details we had a lot of fun!

- Andy also spent the month of April writing a 20 page paper and memorizing music for his doctoral recital.

MAY
- I went back under the knife for my second surgery this time a laparotomy to treat my Endometriosis. My nerves were not as severe this time even though it was a more invasive surgery because I knew more of what to expect this time around. My doctor said things went really well, the surgery went quicker than expected and I didn't bleed as much as expected. She was able to remove all the Endometriosis in both the left and right ovary. I spent 2 nights in the hospital and am now home recovering! I walk like a little old lady all hunched over but, Oh Well:)

The upside to having surgery, is my house has been filled with beautiful flowers given to me from loving family and friends!! I have also received many get well cards and packages. We have been served with delicious meals, wonderful babysitters, and generous offers to help with whatever we might need. 

We are so blessed to be surrounded with amazing people near and far.

- A few days after surgery Andy performed his hour long doctoral recital. Before surgery I wasn't sure if I would be able to go to his recital but I wanted so badly to go, so I made sure to take it really easy that day so I would have enough energy to sit through his fabulous recital. I wore my sweats, carried a pillow with me to hold my guts in, and had a wonderful night listening to my husband sing!! Andy put in hours/days/weeks of time and preparation and he sang beautifully!

Here is a video of my 2 favorite songs from his recital.

GRAYER
- What has Grayer been up to you might ask? Well, he has been such a trooper I'll tell you what... being dragged to and from Dr. appointments, to and from the hospital, missing naps, missing our usual normality as his Daddy finished up his busy semester, and his Mommy has been out of commission. Through all of this he has been a wonderful little boy!!!!! We couldn't ask for a more loving little guy that does a pretty darn good job of being patient with his crazy parents.