a day in our life...: Eastward bound....

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Eastward bound....

Thursday after we closed on our house...and took Brooklyn to the Doctor for a spur of the moment appointment for what I hoped was not a urinary tract infection...and then picked Ethan up from pre-school...and then got some lunch at my favorite pizza place Donatos...and filled up with gas...we were finally headed to New York to meet Cory's parents who had been on Long Island all week.

But our destination was Rochester-6 hours away. Boy was it a cold trip; but good. For some reason...I don't know why, I packed all of our winter coats in the big moving truck. Perhaps it was the balmy 80 degree weather we had in Ohio which gave me cause to believe it would be that in other places we'd be going. I was so wrong. I dare say we were lucky to be in the mid-forties the entire time in New York and we even woke up to snow on Sunday. Our kids were troopers as I dressed them in long sleeved shirts and sweatshirts (sometimes two) to help compensate.

Friday we headed to Niagra Falls for a few hours. It rained almost the entire time we were there. Cory braved the weather with Briggs and Carl and Judy to do the Maid of Mist. Ethan, Brooklyn and I took cover inside. Then we walked around to Horse-shoe falls. Definitely worth the walk; it was pretty amazing!

on top of the viewing deck!

Braving the COLD and wet maid of the mist

This trip was in celebration of their 40th wedding anniversary.

Playing the itsy bitsy spider. She LOVED that!

So cute!

Saturday we braved the 40 mph winds and rain to visit the Hill Cumorah and to Fayette to visit David Whitmer Home. Briggs, Ethan and I had fun climbing the hill straight up. What a great workout.

Hill Cumorah

This view doesn't do it justice!

Notice my hair, the flag and the tree. It was sure gusty!

Cute picture with grandma and grandpa

Briggs said, "hey, I think thats the hole that Joseph got the plates from" and I couldn't resist getting a picture of him in that hole.

The Whitmer Farm

Ethan had fallen alseep in the van on the way to our last destination and I got a laugh out of him as he woke he looked out the window at this beautiful white church and said to me, "is that our [new] home?" Such a cutie!

We took the boys scooters and mitts and balls to play catch. Cory and Briggs played catch while Ethan rode his scooter. Brooklyn did not want to cooperate for much of the tour but such is life with a determined little 22 month old. The David Whitmer home was a first for us so that was fun to see.

Whitmer home

In the upper room of the house

The whole gang

Cute picture; I only wish Ethan were in it.

Can't resist those little cheeks!

Saturday night Carl and Judy fed the kids pbj sandwiches and watched them in the hotel room so Cory and I could go to Olive Garden kid-less. Happy Mothers day to me!! It was really nice after living in a hotel, out of our car, and eating in restaurants together without a break!

Sunday it was so cold, and I think I mentioned snow flurries, and would have been a perfect day to visit the sacred grove as far as time was concerned but we decided to hold out for Monday which promised to be 50-60 degrees. We found a ward in Rochester and we were really glad we went. What a neat ward. They had an entire section for the hearing impaired, I've always wanted to learn sign language, and the spanish group of people with an interpreter. It was really intriguing and inspiring. We drove out to Palmyra in hopes of visiting the Grandin Press, where the Book of Mormon was first printed, but unfortunately it was closed for filming. We drove back to the hotel and played Settlers while the kids rode their scooters outside (for a few minutes) and then in the hotel ;-).

Monday morning we got up early to drive to Palmyra and we toured the Joseph smith home, the frame house and briefly walked through the Sacred Grove before headed out to drop Carl and Judy and Brooklyn off at the airport. I wish we could have spent more time in the Sacred Grove; there is such a neat spirit there!