HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA!!!

Well, I promised a new blog entry dedicated to Grandma for her birthday. So here it is! I hope she enjoys! Thanks for the gift of our gas on our wonderful road trip! WE LOVE YOU!!!
Well, this was our first stop. The Hill Cumorah Visitor's Center. We really enjoyed this spot and definitely felt the weight of the sacred event that took place here. Our kids were very impressed and we had to take many pictures at this site. We even came back the next day for another visit. Same with the Sacred Grove. VERY special places to us.



A picture from the top of Hill Cumorah. The metal structures on the sides are for lighting during the pageant in July.



Here we are at the Palmyra temple.


This is us in front of the rebuilt log cabin home of the Smith family.






This is what we really came for. We were able to spend some time in the Sacred Grove as a family and feel the sweet spirit present in that holy place. It was really good for us and our children.





At Aunt Amaya's recommendation, we ate lunch at Mark's Pizzeria on Main Street of Palmyra and took these pictures.




We had a pool at one of our hotels and decided to take a few pictures in one of our swim times.


These pictures are of us at the Peter Whitmer farm, where the church was restored on April 6, 1830.


We also visited a friend of mine from my middle school days. Elena fell in love with their dog and followed her all around the house, so we took a picture.
We also got to visit Niagara Falls on our way home from the historical sites. Here are some pictures we took on our visit. Many of them are from the "Maid of the Mist" boat ride we enjoyed.














This is us in front of the Newell K. Whitney store in Kirtland. We got a chance to visit this site after eight years. The church has done major improvements in the historic sites in Kirtland since the last time we were there. The school of the prophets in the top floor was a special place. Kevin really enjoyed the video that told how Newell K. Whitney prayed to meet the prophet and one day he showed up.
This is the missionary inside the store showing Elena some of the things that were sold in those days.
And this is us in front of the Whitney home. We really enjoyed this original building. We also got to visit the rebuilt sawmill and ashery.
These pictures are of our family at the Kirtland Temple. What a different feeling here than at the other historic sites. It's a shame our church doesn't own this temple anymore.