{Playin' Catch-Up...}

at years end. I know, I know! But thank you for being patient. It's been a busy month... or two. I'm just gonna toss in some picts of what we've been up to. And why am I doing this at 2 am, you may ask. Besides the fact it's the only solitary time I'll have this week, I just got done making the last of the Christmas presents. I would tell you what it was that I was working on for days on end, but my family members are loyal lookers on my blog and I don't want to spoil the surprise, now that we are this close to Christmas. I'll share that afterwards. Enjoy...






We moved into Bapa & Grammy Lu's place a month ago... this is how the paint job on m'boys room turned out...






Buildin' gingerbread houses @ my bestest neighbors house ...





Home Depot with Bapa & {Bug}...





Family Christmas party... Candy bar game... don't mess with my dice...
btw, is there a lot of men here or is it just me?











Wishin' you all...






The <3 of my life...

{Travel Log - Day 5 Niagara Falls & Kirtland, OH}

Today we made our way to the beautiful and breathtaking Niagara Falls area. Our bus dropped us off in the middle of the State Park and we took an extremely WET ride on the Maid of the Mist followed by a short hike up the side of the American Falls and took lots of rainbow pictures. We then made our way over to the Hard Rock Cafe for lunch. M'mama and I shared the HR Nachos... mmmmm! Our bus then picked us up to head over to, Ohio area where we traveled through beautiful rolling hills and Amish country. We stopped at an authentic Amish restaurant (Mary Yoder's) for dinner then on to the Historic Kirtland Village Stake House to see one of the local theatre productions called "This Is Kirtland" about the lives of the early saints in the area. This production has become a yearly event (5 years now) and was truly a fun evening.

I'm at the end of the rainbow!!

{Travel Log - Day 3 Palmyra, NY}

At 7:30 this morning we began our journey to Palmyra, NY. Our trip took us about 4+ hours during which we discussed the sights we were to see in Palmyra and catching a bit of shut eye on the way there. We stopped at the Whitmer Farm where we visited with the missionaries and walked around the grounds. We then continued our journey driving through Palmyra Village and the surrounding areas. From there we drove to the HIll Cumorah to visit the Hill, the Visitors Center and attended the famous Hill Cumorah Pageant. We visited the Monument at the top of the Hill first thing when we arrived and then ate a delicious BBQ chicken and salt potato dinner from the local vendors. SO GOOD!! "Moroni" came and spoke with me and my bro as we were relaxing. We had really good seats, 5 rows from the front. What a great production. The special effects were SO awesome! I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it.


me & m'bro

me & m'parents

{Travel Log - Day 2 Sharon, VT}

This morning we loaded up on the bus and departed for a drive through the picturesque countryside to Sharon, Vermont. It was raining this morning and so we all dressed a little warmer today. All along the way receiving such great commentary and lectures about the area from Dr. John Lund. He shared with us many of the historical facts and stories during the time the Smith Family lived here, and all by his fantastic photographic memory! (If you ever get the chance to talk with Dr. Lund ask him for his impression of Pres. Bruce R. McConkie and about his conversion story... oh, and his MTC story... all hilarious and wonderful.) On our way to the Joseph Smith Monument and Visitors Center we saw many historic sites, the place where Joseph Smith had his leg operated on when he was 7 years of age (the home is no longer there, in it's place... is a KFC... so if you ever go eat there at that location, be sure to ask for a leg), another home they lived in when men came and demanded money from Lucy Mack Smith out in front of the home for something they had already paid for, also, Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire (a lot to do with Nathan Smith who performed the surgery on young JS), West Lebanon, NH, Norwich, VT, Tunbridge VT, and during all those crossing the Connecticut River several times. When we arrived at the Visitors Center the missionaries greeted us and guided us on a tour of the birthplace of the Prophet Joseph Smith including the Joseph Smith Monument. We then had some time to walk around the area before we headed down to a picnic area to have our lunch. The weather was so nice, just a perfect nice warm temperature and a slight breeze every once in a while. We then were able to take a nice little walk/hike though the woods to the foundations of the homes of Solomon Mack & Daniel G. Mack. We then loaded back on the bus and took a short ride to a cute country shop to buy Vermont Maple Syrup!! Then on to the location of the store where Lucy Mack met Joseph Smith Sr. and also the old saw mill and Mill Bridge. Then we continued back home, had dinner on our own as a family and here I am relaxin in the room, about to get into the shower cause tomorrow is an early morning. The bus will leave at 7:30 for a 4+ hour drive to Palmyra. I will be in a different hotel tomorrow night and do not know yet if I will have WiFi Internet service... if I do, I will post again tomorrow. The Monument

On the front step of JS home

Standing on the cornerstone of the foundation where JS home was

me, Dr. John Lund and his dear wife Bonnie, and m'mama



me & m'daddy

{Travel Log - Day 1 Manhattan, NY & Sharon, VT}

Yesterday we began our exciting Church History Tour. We flew out of SLC in the afternoon and into LaGuardia International Airport around 9pm. Needless to say... LONG DAY SITTIN! We were so excited to arrive and spent the night at the NY LaGuardia Marriott, very comfortable and nice. This morning our travels through mid-town Manhattan and through the countryside began early (6:45 Utah time, SIGH, which means I woke up at 5:30 Utah time). We had the opportunity to view prominent sites in the Manhattan area (Empire State Building, Columbus Monument, Statue of Liberty, Ground Zero, Central Park, NY LDS Temple, Trump Towers), which usually doesn't happen on this tour, but because it was Sunday, the city was not as busy and we were able to navigate freely through. We then traveled north toward Sharon, VT. We stopped for a late lunch at the famous home of Yankee Candles. This cute little village was so charming and set on several acres of gardens and tons of "Quilted Bear" type shops. We then continued through the beautiful Vermont countryside, where we have checked into the Hampton Inn in Brattleboro. Tonight we had a fireside about the need for the restoration, & the atonement with Dr. John Lund as our speaker. It was WONDERFUL!! I've been to his marriage seminars before and I looked forward to hearing him speak on this trip. He is so funny and SO smart. 2 hours of him tonight was at least 8 hours of info because he talks so fast. We have him all day tomorrow on our bus as a guide. I really look forward to it.
My youngest bro and me... ROOMIES!!
Washington Bridge
Cool shot of clouds reflected in building.
Near Columbus Monument
B&H- A favorite photo equipment shop of mine Home of Yankee Candle

My cute parents!