Kirtland, Ohio

Our Second stop was in Kirtland, Ohio. It was so neat to see where the early saints started off from. We got to see the Newel K. Whitney store, and go inside the room where the school of the Prophets was held. We also went on a tour of the Kirtland temple. It was so neat to be where the Prophet Joseph once stood.

Everyone outside the Newel K. Whitney store.

This is the room where the school of the Prophets was held.

This is where the carpenters made the pulpits for the Kirtland temple.

Outside the Kirtland temple.

St Louis Arch & Liberty Jail

On our way from Kirtland we drove though St Louis and took a much needed break from the car to visit the St Louis Arch. It was really neat. You travel in a pod like device up to the top of the arch, and the views were amazing.

Luke and Nathan hanging out at the top of the arch.

Grandma and Ashlyn looking at the view.

When we got to Missouri we went and visited Liberty Jail.

The church built an exact replica of the Jail.

As we were listening to the recording of events that occurred at Liberty Jail Nathan had a blow out in his diaper, so I didn't catch the end of the presentation but what I did see was really nice. You certainly gain a greater love and appreciation for the Prophet Joseph Smith when you see what he went though throughout his life.

Far West & Adam-ondi-Ahman

On our way from Missouri to Nauvoo we visited Far West and Adam-ondi-Ahman. Below is the site dedicated for a temple at Far West.

One of the original corner stones that were laid before the saints had to leave Missouri.

Ashlyn, Nathan and cousin Luke hanging out on the grass at Far West.

This is the view from Adam-ondi-Ahman. It was so beautiful.

Carthage Jail

One of my favorite experiences from our trip happened when we visited Carthage Jail.

First I need to give a little background. We started our trip in Chicago drove to Kirtland, and then to Missouri, Far West, Adam-ondi-Ahman, and then finally to Nauvoo. As you can imagine this is a long time for a two and a half year old and a three month old to be in the car, so whenever Nathan got grumpy in the car we would play the children's song book CD to him, and as soon as he would hear the song "I am a child of God" he would stop crying and listen to the music. We listened to that song a lot. Well as you can imagine by the end of the day when we finally got to Carthage jail Nathan and Ashlyn were pretty grumpy. We started the tour by watching a video about the Prophet Joseph Smith, and then after the video they took us in the jail and showed us the various rooms that the Prophet stayed in, and the last room that you visit is the room where the attacked happened. By the time we had made it into this room Ashlyn and Nathan were not being the most reverent. When you come in everybody sits down and they play you a reenactment of the events that took place, but before the sister missionary played the recording she said she had been prompted to ask us to sing a hymn. She asked if we would sing "I am a child of God". As soon as we began to sing that song Ashlyn and Nathan stopped fussing right away and listened to the song and then to the recording. I know that we sang that song for my children and because of it the spirit was felt so strong. This wasn't a big thing to anyone else, but this simple act bore testimony to me that the Lord loves each one of us even his little ones.

Below our some pictures from inside Carthage Jail. This is the room that the Prophet Joseph and his brother were martyed.

This is the original door with the bullet hole that killed Hyrum Smith.

Outside the jail house.

Nauvoo

One of my favorite places we visited while we were back east was Nauvoo, it truly is a beautiful place. We were only there for a day and half so we didn't get to see everything, but we got to see the highlights.

One of the cool things we got to see was Joseph's Red Brick Store. It is owned by the Community of Christ Church, and they rebuilt it exactly how it was in Josephs time. On their tour they let you go upstairs and sit in the room where the Relief Society was organized. You couldn't take any pictures inside so here is one from outside.

Another fun thing we did was go to the Nauvoo visitors center. It was such a nice place, and the spirit that was there was very special. Ashlyn loved all the statues of the Prophet Joseph,

but her favorite statue was of our Savior.

At the visitor center you can take a wagon ride around Nauvoo. This was the best way to see everything. Everything was so green and beautiful it reminded me a lot of England. Below is a picture of the wagon we rode in.

And this is a picture of the Nauvoo temple up on the bluff. The temple was so beautiful.

This is the four of us on the wagon ride. It was so cold they gave us blankets to huddle up in. We bundled Nathan up so much that he fell asleep.

Below is a picture of the place where the Prophet Joseph Smith, his wife Emma, and his brother Hyrum are buried.

One of Ashlyn's favorite places that we visited was the Scovil bakery. You got to go inside and the senior missionaries told you a little history of the bakery, and then at the end they gave you a gingerbread cookie. (Can you can guess why it was Ashlyn's favorite)

We got to visit the brick yard where they show you how they made the famous red brick, and then you got to take a mini red brick home with you. For some reason we didn't get any pictures of that, but the bricks are really neat. We also went to the blacksmiths and they showed us how they made shoes for the horses and oxen. Below is a picture of a replica of what the saints would have used to travel to Utah in.

Another of my favorite things we did was walk down Parley street. This was the street that the saints walked down to cross the Mississippi river to start on there journey west. At the end of the street is a memorial of all the saints that died along the way to Utah. It was so beautiful and peaceful there you could really feel the spirit of those saints.

I know I keep saying another of my favorite parts was... but visiting the Nauvoo temple was in my top two for sure. Jarom and I, his Mom and Dad, and Todd and Jess got to go though a session there. The spirit was so strong. The temple is beautiful both inside and out. I don't think you can appreciate how big the temple is until you see it up close. It was amazing to think that the saints built that temple without the use of modern tools. Also I have to say a big thank you to Laurel (Jarom's sister) who watched Ashlyn, Nathan, and Luke so we could go to the temple.

This is a view of Nauvoo from outside the temple.

(More pictures of our trip to come)

I love to see the temple.........

Over summer break we took Ashlyn and Nathan to visit the Redlands temple. It was so much fun to walk around the temple with the kids.

What a blessing it is too know that we are a eternal family.

Nathan turned four months which meant we were able to give him rice cereal. Yay! Ashlyn was so excited. We went to target, and she helped me pick out bowls and spoons for him to use.

When we gave Nathan the cereal he just kept pushing it out with his tongue I'm not even sure if he got very much. Ashlyn laughed so hard because he just kept spitting it out. Anyhow I'm sure once he gets to eat food with some flavor he will soon learn to use that spoon.