Odyssey in the Odyssey: Day 2

Day Two brought just as much adventure as Day One! We departed bright and early from the Wests' and headed straight to Palmyra, New York. First stop: Hill Cumorah.

Our faithful group of eight hiked up the hill to get a closer look at the monument at the top. It was a gorgeous Sunday morning, and if we couldn't be in church meetings, at least we were someplace beautiful and sacred.


My sister-in-law, Anne, with our niece Leah. Cute girls!


Our kids were already fatigued with all the picture-taking, but we forged ahead anyway. As Kyle says, "once you leave, your pictures are all you take with you" - or something like that. So we have lots of pictures, many with our kids looking rather grumpy. Like this one, at the top of the Hill Cumorah:


Leaving the hill, we headed to the Sacred Grove. Here we are, in front of the recently reconstructed Smith farm house, which sits in the exact location of the original:


It was a beautiful day to explore - which is just what our boys wanted to do. It was all I could do to keep them from sword fighting with sticks in the Sacred Grove. But really - with kids this age - you can't expect a very solemn visit to the Sacred Grove.


Our niece and nephew were doing much better picture-wise than our guys, as is evident in their family shot in the Grove:


Even in the midst of the wonderful chaos four kids under the age of five bring with them, it was a special experience to be able to visit these sacred historical spots and think about all the spiritual things that took place there. I am grateful for a Church that provides beautiful places to visit, learn, and strengthen testimonies.

After a picnic lunch at the Sacred Grove (where kind people the next table over generously gave us a pie! Thanks!), we loaded up the cars for the long-haul to New Hampshire. All told, over Days 1 and 2, we traveled through Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York (lots of toll roads), and Vermont (never saw a moose, although I tried), finally arriving in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire at about 9:30 p.m. Whew!

Mason, who had been clutching his Moon Sand for two days, waiting to be able to play with it "at the lake," was finally allowed to dig his hands into the sand. After two days of waiting, I wasn't about to stand between him and his Moon Sand. As one might expect from two boys totally cranky from two days in the car and up way past their bedtime, the experience was punctuated with plenty of crying and tantrums. But at least he got it out of his system.

Anywho, we were thrilled to make it to the lake house and happy to settle in to our comfy beds. Our Danny slept in a big boy bed by himself for the first time, and proceeded to fall out at least once per night - usually twice - over the course of 6 nights. Thankfully, we had thought to put pillows on the floor. In spite of all the falling-out, he was so excited every night to sleep in his big boy bed. After 950 miles in two days, we were all grateful to get a good night's sleep.

Stay tuned for more tales from the Odyssey in the Odyssey!

Odyssey in the Odyssey: Day 1

Just before Labor Day, our family departed on our Great Tour of the Northeast! We were gone 9 days and had lots of fun seeing the sights along the way from Cincinnati to our final destination, Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire. It was a LOT of driving - 950 miles each way. Gulp. But our boys did surprisingly well, once we turned on the movies. :-) Here they are, zoning out to "Bolt."


Our caravan (we traveled with Brandon's brother Kyle and his family) left on a Saturday morning, with an ambitious itinerary: lunch in Kirtland, dinner in Niagara Falls, hotel in Rochester. Before we'd even driven 100 miles, plans changed (as plans often do). I had called our good friends the Wests, who live near the falls, to see if she'd be interested in meeting up with us there, and she kindly (crazily?) offered to put ALL EIGHT OF US up for the night! We ended up canceling our hotel reservations and staying with the Wests. It was so fun to catch up, and as certified locals, they treated us to authentic Buffalo wings (yum) and took us right to the falls, where they were privy of places to park for free. Thanks, Wests, for letting us invade your home! We loved seeing you and are ever grateful for your impromptu hospitality!

So, we stopped in Kirtland, Ohio for lunch and a quick tour of the area. We made it to the Newell K. Whitney store, the sawmill, and the ashery. Here is our family, inside the School of the Prophets on the second floor of the Whitney store:


We also stopped and took some pictures outside the historic Kirtland temple, but did not go inside for a tour (no time!). Ever tried to take a still shot of four wiggly kids who've been in a car for four hours? It looks like this:


By the time we made it to the falls, it was very late. We observed Niagara Falls from the American side, so you can see the Canadian side in the background of these nighttime shots.

Note: it's hard to take pictures in the dark. Darkness = long shutter time = everyone has to stand perfectly still. Since standing perfectly still isn't something this crew is very good at, our pictures are a little blurry. They remind me of the picture of Marty's family in Back to the Future, when his siblings start to fade away. Anywho, they prove we were there.


Day 1, accomplished: Kirtland: check. Niagara Falls: check. Fun visit with our friends the Wests: check. Stay tuned for Day 2 and beyond!

Catchin' up!

Whew! This past month has been a busy one. I've got some catchin' up to do!

Let's start at the very beginning, a very good place to start! (Name that show!):

At the end of August, I celebrated my 35th birthday - yikes! I must say, it was one of the best birthdays in years. My girlfriends from church took me out to lunch and another friend even watched my kids, so I could actually enjoy it! Rachael, our resident cake queen, made this fantastic birthday cake. Seriously, I haven't had a cake this impressive since my wedding! Each layer was multiple layers of chocolate cake with a whipped cream/oreo filling. It was a.maz.ing. Thanks, Rach!

We took the boys and ate out at LaRosa's - one of my favorite places. Also, coincidentally, my first job. I was a hostess there, many moons ago.

I received oodles of birthday wishes from facebook friends, which was also quite fun.

And I got a pedicure! Check out my cute toes:

Brandon gave me a lovely necklace, bearing my birthstone - the peridot. I used to loathe my birthstone and look longlingly at the garnets, rubies, and pearls in the Sears catalog, but now I kind of like it. Peridots rock. You heard it here first.

All told, it was a perfectly wonderful birthday weekend, filled with family and friends and lots of fun. Thanks to all for making me feel so loved.