Awesome Vacation Part 1 - Missouri

-
The day after Steven's graduation, we hopped into the car and set off on an adventure. As a family, we had never been east of Mt. Rushmore. Steven and I saw a couple east coast airports traveling to and from our missions, but we didn't get to actually see anything then, so we were very excited to be heading east.

Our first destination was my sister Kristy's house, near Kansas City, Missouri. The kids had a blast playing with their cousins. I had my first experience with cicadas. I never realized before how loud they can be!

John and Dallen

Peter and Benjamin

Hannah, John, Joshua, Peter, Katie, Matthew and Benjamin
a cicada exoskeleton on a tree outside Kristy's home

We went to church with Kristy and her family Sunday morning, and after lunch we set off to explore some Church history sites in the area.

Our first stop was the Visitor's Center in Independence, MO. While here, we took a tour with a sister missionary, who told us the story of the early Mormon saints' search for Zion, the frantic building of homes before the winter, the crowded one room cabins, and the destruction of the printing press. The kids enjoyed the many different exhibits.

Family picture in front of the Christus statue.

The kids got to play "pioneer"

the Community of Christ building across the street
Our next stop was my friend Tabitha's home. We enjoyed a delicious dinner with her and her family, while the kids mingled and made friends. Hannah and Emily instantly gravitated toward each other. One of Tabitha's little boys followed Steven around, and another supposedly shy little boy gave me kisses. They are a sweet family and I enjoyed spending time with them.

All the kids (I won't name them... I'm sure to make a mistake somewhere.)

Tabitha and me

Emily and Hannah
After dinner, Tabitha and her daughter Emily took us to see the Kansas City temple and Liberty Jail, where the prophet Joseph Smith and other Church leaders were imprisoned for several months. Here, we listened to another sister missionary talk about the difficulties the Saints encountered in Missouri. She spoke of the massacre at Haun's Mill, the extermination order, and how Joseph came to be imprisoned. After that we went into the room where the jail itself was contained. The things we heard and experienced here were powerful, and the Spirit was strong.


We returned to Kristy's house for the night, and the following morning we packed up and set off on our way again. Before we got too far out of time, we stopped at a place called Far West, where we saw some corner stones and a monument, as well as a restroom and picnic tables.

From there we traveled to a valley called Adam-ondi-Ahman, where we stopped to have lunch before heading on to the next part of our trip: Nauvoo.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Talk about Gratitude

-
I recently told my bishop that I enjoyed giving talks in Sacrament Meeting, and it is true. I didn't expect, however, that I would get an email from a bishopric member on Thursday last week to say that his talks for Sunday had to leave town, and would I be willing to speak? Here is the talk that I gave on Sunday, May 27th, 2012: For my topic today, I was given a talk which was given by President Monson in 1992, entitled “An Attitude of Gratitude”. In his talk President Monson begins by telling the story of the 10 lepers. I would like to share it with you. In Luke 17 we read: And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.” And when he saw them, he said unto them, “Go show yourselves unto the priests.” And it came to pass, that, as they went,
Read more

How Clean is Clean Enough?

-
Image
How clean is "clean enough"? I realize this question is loaded and the answers are very individual, so for a moment, think about yourself and your home and consider, for you, how clean is "clean enough"? What is the difference between a "quick clean", a "daily clean" and a "deep clean"? At what point do you consider your home "clean enough"? Does "clean enough" mean having a clear path from the front door to the other rooms in the house? Is it having the clutter picked up and the floors vacuumed? Must it be dusted every week, every month, or at all? Is it a quick swipe on the surface to remove the dust or crumbs? Is it a scrub with disinfectant? Is it clearing tables and desks, or delving into cupboards and drawers, purging and organizing?    Does it depend on the day of the week? Is "clean enough" on a weekday the same as "clean enough" on a weekend? If not, is it more clean, or less? Is there a
Read more

School closing, Josh adventures, Back pain relief...

-
On Wednesday school was cancelled all over the Denver area because there was a credible threat that an 18 year old woman with a fixation on the Columbine shooting would attack a school. Apparently she arrived in Denver and bought a gun and then vanished, so they shut down everything just in case. (They found her body later that day... She committed suicide. More info here .) John was frustrated that school was cancelled because one acts are coming up (they are this week!) and he needed the rehearsal time. Instead, John took advantage of the free day to go to School of Mines to check out the campus and talk to someone about getting his admission deferred. I got a ride to my book club, and both of us were home again before Josh and Peter rolled out of bed. Early in the afternoon I took Josh to Children's Hospital to see a cardiologist about his seizures . They did an EKG, but the results were normal. He doesn't have a heart murmur or anything else they could identify. I still thi
Read more